It is quite hilarious how many Nigerians express shock at the manifestations of the issues plaguing Nigeria like they didn't know beforehand that we have serious problems.
We have problems no doubt, some admit we do while many others either live in denial or are genuinely naïve. The fundamental problem(s) with our union is widespread and the symptoms are more or less similar across various systems.
We have been informed that we are technically in recession (even though some don't quite like the use of technically) and that our contingent to the Rio Olympics are out sourcing for help to live their dreams. There is not enough money to do as we like which is the truth but some do not want to accept this just as they do not accept that the looting of the past years since democracy returned has brought the nation to her knees.
Some individuals came out claiming to be Marvel comic characters while another group claimed marginalisation and sought secession. Oil installations were set ablaze like it was Christmas season yet they demanded for more revenue; the president was blackmailed and accused of crimes despite being just a few months into his tenure. Some athletes have recently become very vocal and overtly criticised their trainers and officials like the impending failure at the Olympics has nothing to do with all that has happened for many years now.
Many have cheered the Avengers for holding the nation to ransome and those who think secession with bring them paradise have not lost their voices. Times are hard but many want Merlin as their president. They don't realise or won't admit that this anemic nation won't bounce back immediately after a life threatening crisis just at the snap of a finger.
The truth is that Sports in Nigeria has been run in recent years as an appendage of government; a sector to rehabilitate politicians and retired military folks. It was so even when we had success winning championships and Olympic medals. We threw money at everything and those within sports administration fed fat. They got so used to feeding that Amos Adamu found himself in FIFA and joined the bandwagon.
The practice of 'chop clean mouth' is characteristic of Nigeria and all her ministries. One becomes endangered and vilified if one appears to be opposed to this modus operandi. $200,000 was reported to have gone missing from the safe of the Nigeria football federation a few years ago and that money remains in a gaseous state till tomorrow. That is exactly how monies have been vaporising over the years in Nigeria such that even hardware like generators got snuffed like cocaine dispensed on a phone.
Scandals have always happened but they always threw money at such. There have always been disputes between officials and sports people over money. Footballers complained about travel arrangements and safety; some had to wash and wear jerseys in between games while our female team was once conveyed in a truck from the airport after arriving from a successful nations cup in South Africa.
It is not today that our athletes got upset and dumped the country for saner climes; our fastest man opted for the British navy to wade in water. I watched one boxer one day get pummeled by a well nourished North African during an All African games bout in 1999 and I wondered why he was starved before the games. We went from a nation blessed with great female quater milers to one searching for those who couldn't make the grade in other nations to represent us.
All these happened but those who played the politics successfully recycled themselves and lived large covering their tracks in the process. They always appeared to get it right at the youth level but these youngsters somehow more often than not manage to fade into oblivion due to retroactive fusion of their epiphyseal plates. The football house was always broke and were perpetually cap in hand begging previously boyant governors for bail out. Money no dey again and this has embarrassingly exposed their poverty such that no foreigner is interested in their job offer. Unfortunately the man who wants the job is deemed unworthy and people who do not even have a clue of his record indulged in vilifying him on social media because of his ethnicity and religion. It is unfortunate that Nigerian coaches including the recently departed ones are still owed money.
Nigeria is one nation where the rich, high and mighty oppress the poor. It is one country where a 'money miss road' football club chairman went onto a football pitch after a match involving his team and slapped an opposing player. Trainers and officials must have oppressed and blackmailed their athletes forcing them down the alley of cheating and servitude. Football administrators have been reported to literally sell players like slaves for financial reward and match fixing has not been alien to us.
Many have thrown the word 'restructure' around but I fear they don't quite understand what it connotes. We want to restructure Nigeria but we may not understand how greatly messed up we are. I think it goes beyond one man issue a directive in a democratic setting; the people also have to want restructuring. This is more than changing a roof or repairing some pillars; it may require a new foundation altogether but it appears we don't want the time out in the sun or rain.
We have had a dysfunctional civil service in Nigeria (I can't tell how much disorganised this it in all ministries) but we cannot just fire them all to import new ones. The last individual who shook the nation in like manner was eliminated within 7 months. In recent years, we would not have readily gotten wind of failings in government but we get such now. I think this is much needed transparency which allows the people to see clearly the problems and those who trouble us.
It is not money released in the past 12 months that would have adequately prepared us for the Olympics to win medals. Serious nations have been prepping their sports men, women and teens for at least 4 years since the London games. We have had budgets, grants, sponsorship deals and all sorts of revenue sources over the past 4 years at least but only a remnant must have trickled down to those who actually needed such funds to prepare. We ought to be glad that this is out in the open; we would not have helped ourselves if we went the denial route and bailed out the creators of this mess.
Another truth is that the resources available to the central government to fight financial crimes have been stretched very thin. There has been corruption in the sports ministry but the reality on ground is that the investigators can only do one step at a time. The same way a wrapper has been tied to cover the rot in sports is the same a laboratory coat covers the decay in the health sector and the book of these ministries haven't been brought out yet for scrutiny like defence and petroleum. The politicians, other civilians and military folks under scrutiny for arms purchase are busy playing chess with the judicial process while they get protection from their aides and fan club who do not waste time to scream "Victimisation, witch hunting or tribalism" when questions are asked of them.
Corrupt administrators at all levels have their fans as well but it will take other stakeholders getting sick and tired of mediocrity to wrestle our institutions from their grip and prevent them from covering up their deeds and manipulating the justice system. We really need to take this raging bull by the horn instead of letting it roam free to destroy our fields.
To the matter of the minister of sports Solomon Dalong. I have read many criticisms about his choice of apparel but frankly; I don't have any issues with his khaki and red beret. We have had ministers draped in expensive 'agbadas' or red caps in the past who were woeful at their jobs. He is most likely out of his depth sportswise but this is the hazard of our federal character system of appointing government officials and ministers. Many of those contesting his abilities now will be the most vocal if their kin or state got overlooked for an ambassadorial slot as stipulated in the constitution.
I am not certain being from any catchment area should be the most important criterion to become a minister in an associated field. Doctors have mostly held sway in the health ministry but the disputes in that ministry are near world war proportions and never ending. A lawyer is the attorney general but that judicial sector has been systematically rigged to ensure a phone thief got locked up for months to years while another who collapsed a bank remains relevant and without a fine. Dalong has not covered himself in glory by meddling with football matters and claiming that Nigeria qualified for the Olympics while some other unfortunate nations didn't. He has also been making some noise for a few months about the state of his ministry's finances but I guess he wasn't taken serious enough.
The sports ministry didn't necessarily need a minister to get us well prepared for Rio. We don't need some of the ministries we have now and we also don't need so many ministers. The reality is that a few of those appointments were made to fulfil all righteousness and we should be weary about being overly upset that there are many redundant portfolios. Should we not aid the current administration to develop a system that eliminates waste instead of always brandishing a seemingly sacrosanct constitution overdue for modification?
Are we really ready to wrestle our nation from the sleeper hold of corruption and its sons? It is high time we embraced and leveraged on the information getting out to make appropriate demands of our government to truly serve the people and ensure justice is served. I'm afraid we will suffer and experience some embarrassment from this process but this is the bitter truth we have to tell ourselves if we are indeed sincere. We need a complete culture overhaul and I want to believe we are on the right track.
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