Nigeria relying too much on Okagbare – Micheal

Blessing Okagbare

The Nigerian athletics team arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 1992 for the Olympic Games boasting an impressive record in their pre-Games events.

The squad were bursting at the seams with talents – and the likes of Oluyemi Kayode, Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi Imoh and Osmond Ezinwa were considered frontrunners for medals in the men’s sprints, while Mary Onyali, Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen and Christy Opara Thompson were tipped for the podium in the women’s version.

But national coach Tobias Igwe was a bit disappointed that the team could only win silver in the men’s 400x100m relay and bronze in the women’s 400x100m.

Igwe, who is backing multi-talented United States-based Blessing Okagbare to win more gold for Nigeria, had a reason to celebrate four years later at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games – when Nigeria ended their 44-year wait for Olympic gold with double success. Nigeria first participated in the Olympic Games in 1952. Their first medal came at the Tokyo’64 Olympic Games courtesy of Nojim Maiyegun, who won bronze in boxing. Isaac Ikhouria also won at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Peter Konyegwachie won the first silver (in boxing) for the country at the Los Angeles ’84 Olympic Games, while the men’s 4x400m team consisting of Sunday Uti, Moses Ugbusien, Rotimi Peters and Innocent Egbunike managed to win bronze.

Chioma Ajunwa leaped 7.12 to win gold in women’s long jump while the Under-23 team won gold in the men’s football event. It was Africa’s first Olympic football gold.

The quartet of Olabisi Afolabi, Fatima Yusuf, Charity Opara, Falilat Ogunkoya won silver in the women’s 400x100m. Onyali   won bronze in the 200m event while Ogunkoya won bronze in the 400m event.

The athletics team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games comprised athletes who had made their mark on the track long before the competition – and many were not surprised by Nigeria’s showing at the competition. One gold, one silver. Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, Sunday Bada and Enefiok Udo-Obong won gold in the men’s 4x400m while Gloria Alozie won silver in the women’s 400m hurdles.

USA won the Sydney 2000 4x400m gold, but the International Association of Athletics Federations ruled that Jerome Young, who was caught doping a year before the Games, was ineligible to compete in Sydney and stripped of the Americans of their medal. Nigeria, who came second in the race, were awarded gold.

At Athens 2004, the likes of Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Aaron Egbele, Deji Aliu and Udo-Obong gave a good account of themselves. Nigeria managed to win two bronze in the sprints – men’s 4×100m and men’s 4x400m.

The country only won two bronze   at the Beijing 2008 Olympics athletics events. Okagbare won bronze in long jump while the women’s 4x100m team won the second bronze.

Nigeria failed to win a single medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.

And Igwe, who is popularly called Toblow, has voiced his concern about the shortage of top-class sprinters in the country, urging the government to act.

The veteran coach, who has earned himself a reputation for turning unknowns into stars, says he is not happy the country’s best chance of winning medals at major athletics events these days lie on the shoulders of Commonwealth Games women’s 100m record holder Okagbare.

Toblow, who is one of the coaches training the national   team ahead of the All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo in September, says Nigeria have the potential to become great rivals for Jamaican and American sprinters “if we can overhaul our system”.

However, he believes Nigerian runners will still find their mojo at Brazzaville 2015 and stay at the top of the table.   Nigeria won the athletics events of the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique with 10 gold, six silver and five bronze.

“The preparations for the All Africa Games started very late, but we are equal to the task,” the 62-year-old told our correspondent on the telephone from Port Harcourt during the week.

“Yes, it (late preparations) will affect our chances at the Games, but I’m confident that we will still maintain our stronghold – sprints and jumps.

“The AFN (Athletic Federation of Nigeria) is doing its best to develop our athletics and ensure we become a major threat to Jamaica and America, but the government is not backing the federation with enough money.”

Toblow added, “We produced top athletes in the past because the government released money in time for camping ahead of competitions.

“We camped for at least nine months before competitions. You can only get the best out of our athletes when you put them in camp for at least nine months, because our athletes  start very late.

“In the Western world young boys and girls begin sports at seven or eight. When they get to 14, they know where they belong.

“Our situation is different. We start very late. Because we start very late, our athletes have to be at least 18 years to be ready.

“If we can overhaul our system, we will be beating Jamaican and American athletes. Their sprinters are black like us. There is not special about them.

“But we should support our athletes and coaches. Jamaican and American athletes get scholarships and other incentives.

“We have talents like Jamaica and America. But our   problem is how to develop them.

“The Jamaicans and Americans are dominating the sprints because they have good programmes for the development of their athletes.”

Toblow added, “Our athletes are really suffering. We still have good athletes in the country. The government should do something about the welfare of our athletes and provide good facilities for training.

“When we talk about the World Athletics Championships (in Beijing, China between August 22 and 30), the only name many Nigerians remember is Blessing Okagbare. They believe she is the only one capable of winning gold for the country. It shouldn’t be so.”

Toblow insists the solution to the myriad of problems facing Nigerian sports does not lie with “return grassroots sports”.

Rather the coach, who discovered the likes of Mary Onyali, Tina Iheagwam, Sunday Uti, the Ezinwa Brothers Desmond and Osmond Ezinwa, Henry Amike, Clement Chukwu and 2002 IAAF World Cup winner Uchenna Emedolu, says such calls are wide of the mark.

He said, “I just don’t understand why people keep saying the solution to the problems in our sports lies with grassroots sports – that we should return to the grassroots.

“This is not correct. Talents are being discovered in every youth competition in the country.

“Organising grassroots   competitions is not the real thing. What plans do we have for the talents discovered?

“We must have plans for all athletes discovered in any competition. We should put them in schools close to stadiums.

“The NSC (National Sports Commission) should have plans for games masters or games mistresses.

“If we have good games masters in our primary and secondary schools, they will do the groundwork for the national coaches.

“In the Western world when an athlete is discovered, he is taken to a school having a games master or a games mistress who is knowledgeable about the process of grooming young athletes.”

Toblow rejects suggestions the country has been forced to rely on overseas-based   athletes for medals in recent athletics championships because homegrown coaches are not current.

He said, “We lack encouragement. The country doesn’t support us like our counterparts in other countries.

“I read a lot of athletics books and follow what is happening in the sport. If the government encourages us, we will produce top athletes for the country.

“But we don’t have the kind of support coaches have in Europe, America and Jamaica.

“I can’t inspire other coaches because of the way I have been treated by the country, particularly the South-East.

“Since Abia State asked me to leave in 2011, because I’m not from the state, I have yet to get another job.

“They asked me and my wife to leave at the same time because we are from Imo State.

“I suffered the same fate with Enugu State before I was employed by Abia State.

“They didn’t consider my achievements. I have been suffering since Abia asked me and my wife to leave.

“I wrote Imo State Government to give me a job but nothing has been done for three years. I even appealed to Ohanaeze Ndigbo to help me but nothing has been done.

“I wouldn’t have been going through a hard time if I were from   one of the states in the North or South-West. My people only think about themselves. The South-East has been unfair to me.

“I’m grateful to the AFN for inviting me to camp. I want the government to support the federation because they have good programmes.”

Despite being forced out of his job as a Deputy-Director in Abia State Sports Council, Toblow says he will keeping discovering new talents for the country.

“I derive joy from coaching and discovering athletes,” the national 3000m steeplechase record holder since 1977 said.