Was the scribe of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Bolaji Ojo-Oba, being clever by half? Why did he charge sports critics with complicity in the failure of Nigeria to excel in other sports, save soccer?
Hear him: “I am aware that football is king of sports but let us not continue to pretend that football is the only sport. Every minute, every hour, we ask questions of football, of the administrators, of the coaches, of the players, of the referees, and so on. But we keep quiet about the failings of the other sports and those other sports remain comatose. The present administration has won five trophies, made good changes to administration in terms of personnel and physical edifice, got more partners from the private sector than ever, focused on areas of development and achieved harmony within its ranks. Yet, the critics are unsparing, for God knows what.
This country won her first Olympic medal in boxing (1964 Olympics) and then won another bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and then a silver at the 1984 Olympics, long before football won in Atlanta in 1996. What has happened to Nigerian boxing?”
The media and other sports
Given Ojo-Oba’s gloating, it’s obvious that either he does not read publications/ does not listen to the broadcast media when they address other sports or he is suffering from selective amnesia.
When Nigeria failed to make any impact at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics which held in Berlin last August, the angst about our fall from grace was palpable. Reasons proffered included lack of funds to the disinterest of government and the private sector in other sports except football. May be, the football scribe was in Mars then and having come back, he thinks an excursion in revisionism is apt.
Perhaps, Ojo-Oba would not recognize criticism if he sees one. Let’s offer one which was authored by Olukayode Thomas and published in Next of August 21, 2009. According to Thomas, “only those without knowledge of athletics will be surprised at the Team Nigeria’s failure at the on-going Berlin IAAF World Athletics Championship. Their poor performance was caused by the Solomon Ogba-led board, which failed to do what was necessary in bringing the best out of the team...The last time we won medals at the World Championship was Sevilla ‘99. We won three medals because Oluyemi Adeyemi-Wilson allowed the technical people to do their job. He put in place a sound elite programme and a good youth and developmental programme. We also won a gold medal and silver in athletics with the programme at the Sydney 2000 Games. Ogba needs to read Adeyemi’s script and act on it, or else 2010 Commonwealth Games will be a repeat of Berlin 2009.”
Funding of sports
Even the examples that the scribe gave are indicting. When funding by the National Sports Commission was relatively fair, football was a failure. The international laurels that were garnered by Nigerians in several sports surpassed the achievements in football. But with sports ministers unashamedly becoming ministers of football, the sports authorities have made other sports near-extinct.
Tell me which sports federation would have such surplus as to allow over $236, 000 to go missing as happened at Glass House? If the authorities in table tennis, volleyball, basketball, weightlifting, chess and wrestling can each have $236,000 in a year either as sponsorship money or allocation, their chieftains might collapse (ala Justice Ovie-Whiskey of FEDECO fame.) The National Sports Commission gives Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) a quarterly allocation of N250, 000 (that is, one million naira for a year.) Indeed, other federations get between N50, 000 and N150, 000 per quarter. Ojo-Oba should tell Nigerians the quarterly allocation of NFF?
The sums associated with football in Nigeria when compared to other sports are obscene. Hear Sanni Lulu, the chairman of football federation, when he was disputing the claim of his predecessor that he left $1.5 in the coffers: “I’ve read stories where Galadima said that he left $1.5 million for NFA. I did not meet any dime but inherited N300 million debt. I have written formally inviting Galadima to come and help us unravel the mystery over the missing money. It was Mike Adenuga that came to our rescue. He was like an Angel. Without any prompting, he gave the FA N210 million. It was the money that we used to prosecute the Nations Cup qualifier against Lesotho and the hordes of hoteliers that were breathing down on me.”
Football’s big spending
After the Super Falcons clinched their fourth African title in South Africa in 2004, the ladies seized the trophy and returned to their hotel rooms demanding to be paid their winning bonuses which totaled US$6,000.
During the stewardship of Berti Vogts as national team coach, Adenuga bailed the Nigeria Football Federation by doling out over 90,000 Euros monthly for the payment of Vogts’s salary and the tax accruable.
Courtesy of a fund raiser, the Presidential Task Force for Nigeria’s qualification to World Cup 2010 garnered over N800 million. For winning the World Cup qualifiers match against Kenya at Abuja, the Super Eagles were paid $200, 000. And for breaking our hearts in the draw with Tunisia in Abuja, they were paid a ‘winning’ bonus of $10, 000 each.
The government has spent N9 billion and counting, hosting a cadet football tournament. Which other sport can ever dream of government hosting its major tournament with such stupendous amount? Imagine state governments spending N20 million to purchase tickets for Nigeria 2009 to enable fans watch matches free. That’s the annual budget of many sports federations.
The winner of the Dala Hard Court Tennis Championship in Kano goes home with N250,000(men) and N130, 000 (women.) Yet, the winning bonus for the each Eaglet is $500.
And when will the private sector know that sporting life does not end with football?
To its credit, Glo gives N52 million to Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for the sponsorship of the Lagos International Half Marathon. But compare that to the over N900 million it pays for sponsorship title to the Nigerian Premier League.
It was Dr. Ukpabi Asika, the administrator of former East Central State, who once mused that those whose pear have ripened should consume them. Football’s pear has ripened and football administrators should savour it but they should not insult our sensibilities. When the playing field is even ‘half-level’, Ojo-Oba will know that the hubris enveloping the Glass House over modest achievements is misplaced.