Despite having some of the best athletes and teams, Nigeria does not have a medal to mark its participation in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Nigeria’s women's basketball team made history by becoming the first African basketball team (male and female) to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games, but only to the limit. Rena Wakama, the team’s head coach, was recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the best coach for the 2024 Summer Olympics, further proof that there is no shortage of talent needed to bring home a medal. did. Most of the athletes representing Nigeria are the ones who broke records by qualifying for the Olympics after years of Nigeria failing to qualify in any category.
In fact, it is no surprise that some Nigerians returned home as medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics. But what these Nigerian medalists had in common was that they represented other countries. Knowing that not only have they attempted to represent Nigeria in the Olympics in the past, but that many who have competed have been thwarted in their attempts and hopes of winning an Olympic medal, their journey to becoming an Olympic medalist is The journey becomes even more interesting. It was the same systemic neglect that his colleagues on the Nigeria national team experienced at the hands of the Ministry of Sports Development. Unfortunately, this carelessness is common in all institutions in Nigeria.
Annette Echikunwoke, a Nigerian-American hammer thrower who won a silver medal with the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics, was one of 10 members of the Nigerian team affected by systemic negligence at the 2020 Japan Olympics. . Crushing the dreams of 10 athletes who have spent endless amounts of time training and preparing for their dreams would really cost a country like Nigeria the Olympics. It is no wonder, then, that Echikunwoke and athletes of Nigerian descent choose to represent other countries in international contests. As the wise youngest sheep in a popular Igbo folk tale tells his mother, “We don’t wait for experience to teach us what not to do; we learn from what happens to other sheep.”
Nigeria has positioned itself as a wake-up call for those who have the luxury of options as talented athletes continue to fail, and talented athletes often provide that luxury. Nigeria may not have won a medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics and may have disappointed its athletes in the past, but far worse than losing a few medals today is the loss of talented athletes of the future. There is a possibility that they will lose the trust of others and may not be able to win medals. tomorrow.
