London 2012: At last, who is able?

LIKE a rose amid thorns, Nigeria’s contingent to the 2012 London Paralympic Games returned home to put a smile on Nigerians amid disappointments in recent sport outings.

Team Nigeria attended the London 2012 Olympics with so much expectations and glamour but in the end, there was nothing to show for several months of preparations with millions spent in the process, as they failed to win a single medal for the first time in Olympic history since 1988, after achieving poor athletic performance at these games.

The Paralympics team on the other hand, enjoyed neither adequate foreign training nor media hype and ended up doing the country proud. The team did not only emerge 22nd country in the world but came third in the ranking of African nations at the Games. 

They were able to amass a total of 13 medals; six gold, five silver and two bronze in sharp contrast to the devastating performance of the so-called healthier and more furnished Team Nigeria at the July Summer Olympics in London that didn’t win any medal in all competitions at the games. Most remarkable in the performance of the Nigerian Paralympians is that they created four world new Paralympics records, the biggest accomplishment of any Nigerian team in the history of the Paralympics games. 

With widespread public disappointment with the dismal performance of Team Nigeria, which is one of the nation’s poorest outings since the beginning of present Olympics 60 years ago, Nigeria’s paralympic athletes conversely, were given little chance for success. There were minute expectations that they would make their presence felt. But surprisingly, as the games were declared open the athletes began to show their courage and determination to make a difference. It should be noted that the Nigerian Paralympic Team has never disappointed the country on the Olympic medal front.

It is safe to say that, what Team Nigeria cannot do, the Paralympic Team will do better, as they have succeeded in comforting the hearts of Nigerians, by their exploits, from the pain caused by their physically healthier compatriots at the 2012 London summer Olympics. Their dominance in the power-lifting competition has been exemplary and the fact that none of the athletes tested positive to any banned substances has been comforting as well.

They deserve every encouragement, and government should set the pace for this exemplary recognition of their phenomenal success in sports despite their disability. The national honours given to some of the Paralympics by President Goodluck Jonathan is commendable but more encouragement should be structured for Paralympics in a more formal way beyond the honours.

Therefore, the exploits of the Nigeria’s paralympians should stimulate the urge for early preparations and commitment ahead of major competitions by both the sporting authorities and the athletes. These were clearly lacking ahead of the summer Olympics in London, and the results was the performance of Team Nigeria at the 2012 London summer Olympics.

Nigeria must identify her areas of comparative advantage, such as wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, football and athletics, and pay adequate attention to them. Rio must not turn out to be a repeat of London. The government should lay a solid foundation for sports development, and the enabling environment that will bring the best from both able and physically-challenged athletes. From the exploits of the paralympians, it is not in doubt that Nigeria’s major problem in sports is not the availability of talents, but how to manage and nurture them to become world champions.

Banji Boye:

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