By Chisom Emmanuel
Nigeria was once recognised as a giant of Africa in sports. This glory was however short-lived, having been terminated in phases. It is on record that Nigeria is ahead of many African nations in football (the most watched sport in the world) and our beloved nation is respected by other nations. But that is fast becoming history as some of these countries have trampled upon our nation like sand in many outings, hence losing their respect for Nigeria. A few instances will suffice.
Many will not forget Atlanta 96 when the Super Eagles took the world by surprise by defeating the likes of Brazil, and Argentina to clinch the gold medal. It was a thing of joy, people cried in happiness, and the world could not believe it. That day, Nigeria forever changed the state of African football. The question is, can feats like this still be achieved?
The Super Eagles’ current team was once seen as the future of football in Africa with the likes of Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, and Wilfred Ndidi making the nation proud in Europe. Nevertheless, national duties proved otherwise for these talents as the national team failed to perform well during the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers after they found it difficult to defeat the likes of Sierra Leone, Cape Verde Islands, and the Central African Republic (CAR). At a point, Nigeria played the qualifiers with laxity such that they gave up a 4-nil lead to draw the third match of the qualifying series against Sierra Leone in Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin.
The appointment of Austin Eguavoen just before the African Cup of Nations came with strings of hope as the Super Eagles completed the group stage with a 100 per cent record but the same team that made Nigerians glued to their television sets with their group stage performance was humiliated by the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia at the first knockout stage. It was clear that they were not prepared for the heat of the competition.
The Super Eagles had more than a month to prepare after the AFCON to regain their almost lost pride before facing the Black Stars of Ghana in March but still, they prepared to disappoint the nation by failing to pick a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup which is the first time in sixteen years. After losing the world cup spot to Ghana, the fans became very angry and vented their anger by destroying the recently renovated M.K.O. Abiola Stadium in Abuja. Many fans could not talk about the Super Eagles due to the shame they brought.
To fuel the disastrous fire that already started, the Super Falcons (Female National Team) could not defend a title they have won 11 times after they lost to Morocco, the host nation of the Women AFCON on penalties in the semi-final last month.
Nigerians lost interest in supporting the nation during sporting competitions as no one wanted to experience disappointment again. But Team Nigeria came with a cry of hope in the just concluded Commonwealth Games by pulling off the nation’s greatest ever performance in the competition.
Team Nigeria amassed 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals, making the just concluded Commonwealth Games the most productive in the nation’s history. This achievement surpassed the 1994 Commonwealth games in Victoria, Canada, 2010 in Delhi, India, and Glasgow 2014 in Scotland where the country won 11 gold medals respectively.
The majority of the Nigerian athletes who won gold medals in the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham set world records and Commonwealth records that brought smiles back to the faces of Nigerian supporters as the nation’s anthem was played continuously with Nigeria’s colors flying high above others more often than before.
Much to the joy of Nigerians, the power and pace of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Grace Nwokocha and Rosemary Chukwuma at the Alexander Stadium got Nigeria its first-ever gold medal in the 4x100m relay race while their counterparts (males) clinched the bronze medal to win the nation’s first medal in the 4x100m in 40 years.
Another impressive performance that got tongues wagging was when Oluwafemiayo Folasade showcased power by lifting a 155kg world record in powerlifting. Also, another grand representative of the nation, Chiemere Nwachukwu impressed the supporters when she broke the world record twice in the women’s F42-44 Discus throw event with throws of 34.84m and 36.56m respectively to win another coveted gold medal for the nation.
A stellar performance that personally wowed me was Tobi Amusan’s run of 12.30 seconds in the 100m hurdles that broke the Commonwealth record, hence adding to the stock of gold medals the nation had accumulated at that point. Amusan’s record-breaking hurdle race in Birmingham saw her become the only Nigerian athlete to complete a clean sweep of titles at the World Athletics Championship in Oregon, Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and African Athletics Championship in Mauritius in June.
Adding to the blessings, Ese Brume became the first athlete in the event to hit the 7.00m mark, thus becoming the first African female athlete to clinch two World Championship medals in the long jump and a gold medal in the commonwealth games.
Other gold medalists that made the nation proud are Odunayo Adekuoroye (third straight wrestling gold medal in the event), and Blessing Oborududu (second consecutive wrestling gold medal in the Commonwealth Games), Eucharia Iyiazi (F55-57 shotput gold medal).
As of today, the fire is still burning hot as the Falconets of Nigeria refuelled it in the on-going U-20 Women World Cup holding in Costa Rica after defeating South Korea to claim six points and a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Falconets battled to a 1-0 victory over the Korea Republic in the early hours of Monday in Alajuela. Esther Onyenezide’s curling effort from the edge of the box in the 83rd minute proved to be the difference as the Falconets cruised to victory similarly as they did against one of the tournament’s favourites France in their group opener.
The tie between the South Koreans and Nigeria was a clash of titans as both teams came into the game with earlier wins against Canada and France, respectively. Though the two teams were tied on three points, the Korean girls sat on top of Group C with a better goal difference after defeating Canada 2-0, as opposed to the Falconet’s lone goal victory over France.
Nigeria on Thursday demolished Canada with a 3-1 scoreline in their final group game, thereby going into the quarterfinals with the maximum nine points.
The nation is watching to see if the Falconets will go against all odds to win this year’s U-20 Women World Cup tournament after coming close twice but losing to Germany in both finals. We also hope that the Super Eagles will learn from the younger female footballers, the Falconets, and do the nation proud.
• Emmanuel, a 300-level Mass Communication student of Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos is currently an intern with The Sun Newspapers.