The Sun News On-line

At a time like this, when Nigerians are still battling to come to terms with the inability of our athletes to compete favourably among their peers from other parts of the world at the just concluded Beijing Olympics, one man who represented Nigeria at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Enefiok Udo Obong, said he has wiped the tears of over 140million Nigerians with the award of the 4x400 meters relay gold medal by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the quartet that represented Nigeria at the Games in 2000.

Speaking to Daily Sunsport at the National Stadium, Lagos, on Monday, Udo Obong, who is preparing to bury his late father, said he’s happy and at the same time sad with the award of the gold medal. He advised the National Sports Commission (NSC) to start preparation for the 2010 London Olympics immediately to forestall the embarrassment Nigeria suffered in Beijing.

"Who said Nigeria did not win gold medal in Beijing when we were awarded one for our effort at the Sydney 2000 Olympics?" Udo Obong began.

"Don’t forget that, that medal was stolen from us by the United States’ team, who ran on drugs. The debate on when and how the medal could be given to us lingered until the Beijing Olympics, and I make bold to say that we really deserved the gold and it has finally come to us.
"I am happy to be addressed as an Olympic gold medallist, because that is the height of ones career as an athlete. I want to congratulate my teammates in that race too. I urge them not to lose hope in life because life itself is a race that must be completed."

He continued: "Though the award is belated, at the same time, I am happy to have crossed the rubicon of defeat to this exulted position, which is worthy of celebration. But I will not start the celebration until I conclude the burial rites of my late father.

"I want to advice athletes, who may be thinking of making it big through drugs to desist from that because of its inherent danger. I would also warn them to be weary of sponsors who masquerade themselves as genuine stakeholders. Some of those sponsors, out of what accrues to them when an athlete excels, will knowingly or unknowingly push the athlete into drugs.

"Again, our athletes should take their education very seriously because illiteracy has contributed to over 90 per cent of the reason athletes cheat on drugs. I also pray that athletes should do away with greed.

"Greed has cost most athletes their future. For what they gain when they win certain events in terms of sponsorship and endorsements, most athletes have gone out of their ways, damning every consequences to engage in the use of drugs.

"On Nigeria’s performance at the Beijing Games, I want to say that it was an improvement on our last outing in Greece where we won only two bronze medals. Though the Beijing outing is nothing to write home about, credit should still go to the athletes for going all the way against all odds.

"I am not saying that what we got at the Beijing Olympics is the best we can achieve among the rest of the world, but we should take courage in the fighting spirit of the athletes who made us proud. Moreover, when you consider their current age, you will agree with me that we have a brighter future. For instance, the lady, who won bronze in long jump is about 17 years old and I want to believe that with proper planning and care, she will jump for gold in London in 2012.

"I watched how she qualified for the final event in the long jump when an athlete was disqualified. She came into the picture as the last qualified person. This shows that we have champions in this country, what we lack is the administrative know-how to harness all the raw talents at our disposal.
"Most sports administrators in the country masquerade themselves as genuine stakeholders, but I want to advice the federal government not to be deceived by their antics, because as soon as they arrive Nigeria from Beijing, they will begin to apportion blames to the athletes and be given excuses.
"I will advise that fresh blood should be injected into the NSC and even in the Ministry of Sports to lift our participation in international events.

For me, Nigeria should be competing with the likes of Britain and Jamaica in medal haul, but that has remained a mirage to us because of the selfish interests of most of our administrators. Those countries do not spend up to three-quarters of the money we spend to prepare their athletes, yet they get good results.

"If you ask me, I would say that the time to start preparation for the London 2012 Olympics is now, we do not have any option unless we are ready to face another disgrace next four years in London," Udo Obong concluded.