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The performance of Team Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom has been adjudged as the best in the history of the Games. The team, made up of 94 athletes, posted its best ever performance since it began participating in the Games in 1950. Apart from finishing 7th on the medals table with 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals, Team Nigeria was the best from Africa. Incidentally, the 12 gold medals were won by women. Significantly, three Nigerian athletes, Ese Brume, Tobi Amusan and Adjat Olarinoye, broke the Games record in the long jump,100 meters hurdle and weightlifting, respectively.
Remarkably, Ese Brume’s defence of her win recorded in Glasgow in 2014 at the event was the first time a Nigerian would do so. Before now, Nigeria also did well in Victoria, Canada in 1994, where the country got 11 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals. Also, the team finished in the 9th place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Ghana with nine gold, nine silver and six bronze. Expectedly, Nigerians have praised members of Team Nigeria and urged them never to rest on their oars. Arising from their sterling performance, President Muhammadu Buhari has enjoined the officials to work with relevant stakeholders to build on the success of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and begin early preparations to surpass this spectacular achievement in upcoming competitions.
We urge the President to reward members of the team. Corporate organisations can equally do the same. We believe that the performance of the team will inspire upcoming Nigerian athletes to work hard and bring more laurels to the country.
One of the lessons from Team Nigeria’s performance is that it pays to prepare adequately for any sporting competition. No team can achieve success without adequate preparation. Another lesson is the need to adopt an athlete and nurture him/her to greatness through adequate funding and training. The non-interference by government in the selection of the team can be said to have helped in the success achieved. We call on the sports officials to see the need to widen the scope of our participation in the Commonwealth Games through the inclusion of games such as swimming, karate, judo and others where we have comparative advantage. These are the low-hanging fruits through which we can win more medals at the Games.
Sports can earn revenue to the country and serve as a unifying factor if well deployed. Nigerians are more united each time we do well in global sports event. The image of the country can be further enhanced through sports. The Team Nigeria’s success in Birmingham momentarily diverted the attention of the citizens away from the sad news of insecurity, abductions, banditry and poverty.
Efforts should be geared towards discovering and grooming new talents that will, in good time, become world beaters. More sporting facilities should be built and the existing ones upgraded. Moreover, the participation of the country in more local and international competitions must be encouraged. In addition, our athletes should be vigorously exposed to foreign training. While the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, in 1994 where Nigeria excelled, was dominated by men virtually clinching all the nine gold medals to the exclusion of women, the recent Birmingham Games had women hugging all the headlines with 12 gold medals. Efforts should be made to ensure that men and women do well in future games, including the Olympics, at the same time.
We commend the government and the sports officials for the support given to the team. It is hoped that the performance of Team Nigeria in Birmingham 2022 will spur the government and our sports officials to do more to discover and nurture more athletes for the country.
