Support – in order to inspire and unite

Every four years we’re mesmerised by the amazing spectacle of ordinary human beings achieving the most unbelievable feats –  be-it incredible times, absurd distances (Russians and Ben Johnson aside), the heart and courage to compete against the very best despite being from an island of just 10,000 people ,  or dogged determination to overcome seemingly insurmountable adversity and hardship.

I recall shedding tears as I watched a young female swimmer overcome her own personal adversity of being born with a major handicap by winning gold in London 2012 (still and always will be the best Olympics ever!!!).

A few days later I shed more tears, this time in the grip of feverish delight as I watched Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce win the women’s100 metres final (that gorgeous smile still warms my heart).

And Usain Bolt? I’ve ran out of words to describe this particular living legend. Okay let me try – a phenomenon, once in a life time, colossus, a gift to athletics, a gift to sports, a gift to entertainment – gift to mankind even!

I make no exaggeration when I say I regularly pray to God that there should never be even the most minute of nano seconds in which the integrity of his achievements are in doubt. Heaven forbid, but should that worst nightmare of a day occur I will have no alternative but to wave a bitterly sad and finite goodbye to my love affair with athletics; and quite possibly sports altogether.

Remember how ecstatic we all are when the Nigerian Under-23 team won Gold in Atlanta ‘96? How proud we were of our boys? How proud we were to be Nigerian? And, dare I say it, even if it was for just a few hours until our proper senses duly returned, how proud we were of Sani Abacha? It happened under his watch after-all.

I also recall how proud I was of Blessing Okagbare when she won the sprint double at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow a few years back. Her wonderful achievement presented me with a rare but most precious opportunity to be proudly Nigerian.

Back to Usain Bolt – such is my admiration, appreciation, respect, and fondness of him that on the day of the men’s 100 metres final of any major international championship I usually pretend to be Jamaican for the day.

The relevance of these memories? Simple – sport’s ability to unite – generating an incredible and all-conquering feel good factor across an entire nation, regardless of colour, ethnicity, or creed.

If I was to give the late General Sani Abacha a complement it would be his administration’s perceptive understanding of  the power of sporting success – its ability to unite a nation in focussing on the positives – even if only for just a few days. As a result his government took the matter of looking after our sportsmen and women extremely seriously.Developing and building on a nation’s sporting success is one of the most effective ways of connecting with the electorate – giving them something to be proud of, and thereby making them proud of their country and government.

Adolf Hitler understood this, even though his Aryan race shindig was given an unexpected but very welcome kick in the teeth by Jesse Owens.

Nelson Mandela’s wholehearted and passionate support of South Africa’s hosting of the ‘95 Rugby World Cup demonstrated his recognition of sport’s ability to unite even the most fractured of nations.

The British government’s commitment to funding Britain’s athletes via the lottery conveys its’ belief in sport’s ability to inspire people across the United Kingdom.

This is why I’m so baffled by the reluctance of the government of Africa’s largest nation to provide for her athletes. How on earth can we tell our athletes to pay for their own air tickets to Rio?

Not only do we not provide the necessary resources for them to flourish, but we then tell them they’re of so little value to us that they should find their own way to the Rio.

The message is loud and clear – ‘Yes you’re Nigerian, and yes you’re representing us, but you’re on your own.’ Would you want to represent such a country?

We spend billions on musicians but can’t be bothered to spend a few thousands on people that can inspire, heal, and unite. For that is what sportsmen are capable of – inspiring youngsters to greatness, healing wounds, and uniting the nation at large.

In my view any athlete that represents this country is a hero for merely turning up – such is the insulting and disdainful manner in which our athletes are being treated.

This is not a ‘who’s to blame’ article. I want to encourage this administration to appreciate and encourage our sportsmen and women. Providing the necessary resources for our sports men and women to thrive will positively impact our nation in three powerful ways.

1. Inspire our children – empowering them with the belief that the most incredible of dreams can be achieved with Courage,  Hard Work, Perseverance, and Determination.

2.  Promote a feel good factor – thereby fostering a powerful and much needed unity across the nation. A united nation is capable of achieving even the most far-fetched of goals.

3. Create a strong positive connection between the government and the electorate.

At a time in which the majority of Nigerians are somewhat miffed by the state of the nation, garnering the support of the electorate by enabling our athletes to perform well in Rio would have gone some way to numbing the acute pain being experienced across the nation – even if only for a few days.

Some might say such relief would simply be a false bubble. Yes, maybe so. But at a time in which everything we hear and see is negative, and wherein there seems to be no respite to the strenuous economic hardship that has enveloped us all, even a seemingly ‘false bubble’ can go a long way.

This unfortunate matter was brought to my attention by a good friend of mine. Hence I conclude with the message he sent me on Saturday afternoon.

“Nigerian athletes are being asked to pay for their own tickets to Rio! What a joke! Nigeria is in trouble. Naija should be ashamed of itself. In Naija we invent ways of doing wrong and being lazy. It’s actually pathetic how profligate we’ve been. It’s embarrassing. My foreign investors now laugh when I approach them about Naija. They ask me questions about Mozambique. Please write about it. In Nigeria we invent new ways of doing wrong.”

Segun Akande