2016 Olympics and Nigeria’s culture of underachievement - 2

What is Olympics? It is basically an attempt to shift the focus of the world away from war - albeit unsuccessfully. In doing that, races are meant to come and showcase what they’ve got in human talent and physical prowess. A nation will only ignore the Olympics in futility. Even countries that have had serious ideological differences have had to swallow their spleens and jostle for medals on the Olympics table. It could almost be said that a country that refuses to spend on the jaw-jaw of Olympics, will expend the money on the war-war of internal conflicts, insurgencies or if not so lucky, full blown wars. The Olympics are extremely important, even countries try to undo themselves from the beginning to the end because of it. The Russians were banned from some events this year, and the way the global media feasted on that news showed some of us with suspicious minds that the West either had something to do with Russia’s troubles, or were greatly delighted by it. After all, there is a new Cold War afoot, between the USA and Russia, linking Iran and Syria. Wars never end.

I recall the China 2008 Olympics; CNN almost made a pig’s dinner of it for that country. For weeks on end, they focused on pollution in China, and predicted that the Olympics will end in a fiasco. Several blonde presenters came on screen to talk athletes out of going to China. They interviewed many Western athletes, some of whom vowed not to go to China. They reported on how the Chinese will be unable to complete the necessary infrastructure, they reported on the heat and humidity, and they amplified the problems that the Chinese were having with the Minority Muslim Uighurs. There was the bird flu scare then too. Brazil Olympics wasn’t meant to hold. The country was meant to be thoroughly embarrassed. Brazil was meant to miss all the deadlines. There was the Zika Virus scare. A few athletes dropped out due to the hoopla over Zika . Brazil started having serious political problems. Their president was impeached. Some allege that a powerful country was behind it. Somehow, rising countries who aspire to host the Olympics are passed through the wringer. London did not get that much negative focus in 2012 - probably because it belonged in the right crowd. Olympics is war, by other means.

The way a country fares at the Olympics says a lot about its present and future. Olympics is the open field where countries come the to warn others of their prospects; their dreams, aspirations and potentials. It is where you know which countries are organized and which are not. It is a diplomatic tool as well. There is no event that compares to the Olympics, because of its multi-talent focus. It is far bigger than the football World Cup in terms of its import in the comity of nations. This fact should be properly assimilated by Nigerians, especially our leaders. For the Olympics is where you see the word ‘Race’ activated. Have you ever wondered why different colours, languages and facial arrangements are called ‘races’? Racing or running to where? Perhaps we can ignore the rat race for money and concentrate on the races on track and field, and other sporty ventures that tell of human fitness.

To that extent, preparation for the Olypmics, if all was well, should be like the preparation for a war. That is why the big countries jostle for the top of the table like their existences depend on it. That is why Russia and China always gives the USA tough times up there. That is why Great Britain chooses to come together in Olympics while it splits into England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Scotland for the World Cup. For the Olympics, every talent and strength of a nation - especially its youths - should be pressed into service. It should be an opportunity for a great, much-needed, massmobilization.

This year, Nigeria will not feature in Archery, Badminton, Canoe Slalom, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Field Hockey, Golf, Handball, Gymnastics, and Shooting among others. And those are where the medals are. There are 18 Gold Medals in Cycling, and 10 in Fencing, 14 in Gymnastics 32 in Swimming, 14 in Rowing and many more.

Hosting the Olympics is meant to boost the economy of the host country. But sometimes it doesn’t work out. Greece got into deeper economic problems for hosting the Olympics. The promised post-Olympic business did not materialize. They believed too much in what right-wing economists say about markets. For China, it was more a statement of achievement. Chinese technology was deployed. We had the most colorful calisthenics ever! The garish Chinese sense of aesthetics was unleashed upon the world without apologies. The Western countries bellyached, but China made its mark.

Olympics is a rallying point for a country. Every group within a country should struggle to contribute. But for Nigeria, that is not the case. For example, the rich people in Nigeria - and their children - are hardly represented. Only the children of the poor represent us. The Charles River in Houston divides Harvard and MIT. One can hardly spend a minute there before seeing teams of rowers - all university students. Nigerians constitute the highest number of black students in those two universities; most of them sponsored by monies their fathers creamed off Nigeria’s commonwealth. But not for them to represent Nigeria in any sports that they learnt in school. Many of the young people who represented other countries are children of rich people. This Olympics show that Nigeria is fatally divided. Let us not deceive ourselves about some ‘one Nigeria’ mantra. This place is not one!

I had cause to complain about our match past at the opening. Most of our contingent were short. This is because short people often make better footballers. But the Olympics is where the evolution of races are displayed. Only countries with nutrition problems remain short. Asides from that, Nigeria is the 8th or 9th most populous country on earth. Shouldn’t that mean that if we were serious, going by statistics, we should be at the 8th or 9th position on the medal table, not number 190? Meanwhile in terms of genetics, black people are certainly naturally better in some things, like sprinting, and even in the long distances. The East Africans have taken over long distance even though we have millions of people here who are almost of the same genetic stock (slim and tall). The stocky Jamaicans have taken over the sprints, even though we have millions of people with that build and strength. Shame on us, Nigeria.

I will close with an advice to government on what to do. Firstly, government should not alienate Nigerian students abroad. We can get much more back from the investments of billions of dollars on yearly school fees. We have to brief them on the possibilities of giving back to Nigeria their youthful strength and knowledge. Two, let us get serious and awaken university, police, secondary schools, and polytechnic games. Let us give these things national coverage. Our sports administrators should not be only obsessed with embezzling all the money meant for our sport development. Also we should understudy each Olympic event thoroughly and aim to participate in almost every sport therein. Yes we can! Planning must commence immediately once an event is over. Lastly, President Buhari should by now see, that he has neglected fixing Nigeria’s huge disunity problem - at great, almost irredeemable cost. What a pity!