why should we give a damn?

I love watching the Olympics. I don’t know why but I think it’s an event that reflects the best of human character. At the Olympics, I see achievements gained against all odds, I see determination and tenacity and I see the discipline that is reflected in the final performances. At the Olympics, I discover a sympathetic and empathetic side of myself; I am tremendously happy for the gold medallist who obviously deserves his/her medal and I’m sad for the unfortunate athletes who lost out on medals in spite of their best efforts. As a Christian, I’m also aware of Ecclesiastes 9:11 being fulfilled in some of the competitions because at times, the underdog takes the medal (did anyone watch the 200m men’s butterfly event?)

 The London 2012 Olympics has been fantastic to watch and for now it’s my sole source of TV viewing. As a citizen of the world it is pleasant viewing but as a Nigerian…in BlackBerryspeak ‘can’t watch’. I don’t know what I expected but I just felt that a country of over a 150m people should be able to excel at something.

I know that serious Olympic medal contenders generally start preparing more than 2 months to the games but that didn’t stop me from hoping for a bronze medal at the very least. I know that the performance of our athletes in London is just a reflection of the Nigerian situation but the performances of countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa made me hopeful. These countries have their own share of poverty, disease and corruption but they still managed to get onto the medals table; in fact South Africa is in the top twenty on the medals table. Some racists might say that it is the South Africans with the paler complexions that are getting on to the medals table and I am going to say it is the South Africans with the darker complexions that have been in leadership for over 20 years so they must be doing something right as far as sports is concerned. Anyway being black doesn’t preclude superior performance; the track events are virtually dominated by the black race so why can’t the most populous black nation get a medal? To further buttress my point, the reigning king of the tracks is a black man after all.  

There are certain sports that require lots of financial investment in order to achieve Olympic medals and this explains the dominance of the richer countries at the top of the medals table. However, Kenya and Ethiopia have dominated middle distance and long distance races long enough for me to know that money isn’t all that is needed for stellar Olympic performance. If it was merely a question of money, then Nigeria should be light years ahead of several of her sub-Saharan African counterparts.

Nigeria’s performance at the Olympics is a reflection of poor planning, selfish leadership and a cringe worthy celebration of mediocrity. We have become a country that doesn’t “give a damn” about excelling at home or abroad. And why should we care anyway? What does it mean to be Nigerian? What does Nigeria exemplify? Until we can collectively answer these questions positively, national excellence will remain an illusion.