AJIBADE OLUSESAN writes that Nigeria’s sports thrived in the early days of the country as an independent nation, but the sector has long slipped into the abyss. therefore concerted efforts must be made to arrest its dwindling fortunes.

As Nigeria marks 64 years of independence, the nation’s sports landscape tells a story of great potential, remarkable past achievements, and current struggles. Sports, once a beacon of national pride and unity, have fallen into decline, and Nigeria finds itself on a quest to restore the glory days when its athletes dominated the global stage.

From the outset, sports have been a unifying force in Nigeria. Despite the ethnic, tribal, and religious divisions that have plagued the country since its independence in 1960, nothing has united Nigerians like sports.

Whether it’s football, athletics, or boxing, Nigerians rally behind their teams and athletes, setting aside their differences in the pursuit of shared victories. Sports have transcended these divides, promoting peace, diplomacy, and youth empowerment, and serving as a critical avenue for foreign investment and international recognition.

However, like many sectors of Nigerian life, sports have been marred by mismanagement, corruption, lack of infrastructure, and insufficient support for athletes. While the passion for sports remains high, the systems needed to sustain success have weakened, and Nigeria’s ability to compete on the global stage has steadily declined.

Glorious past

The story of Nigeria’s sporting greatness began even before independence. Nigeria played its first international game in 1938 against the Gold Coast in Lagos. The hosts were led by Alfa Bello Fashola. Adegboyega Folaranmi Adedoyin, a Nigerian, participated in the long jump event at the 1948 London Olympics and reached the final.

He was a medical student at Queen’s University, Belfast. Emmanuel Ifeajuna, a student at Dennis Memorial Grammar School [DMGS] in Onitsha, became the first Black African to win a Commonwealth medal in 1954, achieving this in the high jump at Vancouver ’54.

Nigeria was a British colony during this time. In 1957, Hogan ‘Kid’ Bassey became the country’s first world boxing champion, winning the World Featherweight title. Two years later, Dick Tiger followed with a World Middleweight Championship victory.

These pioneers laid the foundation for the country’s post-independence sporting success. In the years immediately following independence, Nigeria made its mark in the Olympics. Boxer Nojeem Maiyegun won the country’s first Olympic medal, a bronze, in 1964. By the 1970s, Nigeria had further cemented its place on the global sporting stage.

The construction of Lagos’ National Stadium in 1972 and Nigeria’s hosting of the All-Africa Games in 1973 were landmark events. Rising stars like Modupe Oshikoya, who won multiple gold medals at the Games, and athletes who excelled at the Commonwealth Games, propelled Nigeria to international recognition.

The 1980s represented a golden era for Nigerian sports. Nigeria’s football team, the Green Eagles, won the African Cup of Nations in 1980, and stars like Atanda Musa and Nduka Odizor made strides in table tennis and tennis, respectively. Nigerian athletes shone brightly in global competitions, from the NBA’s Hakeem Olajuwon to the Olympic medalists of the 1984 and 1988 Games. By the 1990s, Nigeria’s rise in sports seemed unstoppable.

The Super Eagles qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1994, after winning the African Cup of Nations that same year. Then came the pinnacle of Nigerian sporting achievement: the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Chioma Ajunwa’s historic long jump gold medal and the U-23 football team’s stunning victory over Argentina to win gold placed Nigeria at the forefront of global sports.

Steady decline

Despite the moments of brilliance, Nigeria’s sporting fortunes began to fade in the new millennium. Poor performance at major international events, including the Olympics, has underscored the country’s steady decline. After the heroics of the 1996 Olympics, Nigeria’s haul from subsequent Games has been disappointing, with only a few medals to show for the nation’s potential.

Until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where Nigeria won a silver and bronze, the country had struggled to claim even a single medal at the Games since 2008. However, it is pertinent to note that the 2024 Olympic Games turned out to be a disaster for Nigeria as Team Nigeria returned from Paris without a single medal despite the country splashing a whopping N12billion on participation.

So in over 15 Olympic Games appearances, Nigeria has won three gold medals. This is indeed a miserable record when compared with what other smaller African nations like Kenya and Ethiopia have achieved. It must be mentioned here that Nigeria’s saving grace is the Paralympians, who have consistently performed.

Most of these physically challenged athletes like Monday Emoghawve, Edith Nzuruike, Adekundo Adesoji, Eucharia Njideka and Yakubu Adesokan, took turns to break and set new world records in their events. Although football has brought Nigeria fame, the country has yet to fully realise its potential in the game. In six appearances at the FIFA World Cup, Nigeria with its array of stars is yet to reach the semifinals. Football, once the nation’s pride, has also seen a downturn.

The Super Eagles’ performances have been inconsistent, and the local league is in shambles, with low standards, poor management, and dwindling support. Nigerian football clubs are often eliminated in the early stages of continental competitions, and many fans now turn to European leagues for entertainment.

Sports like athletics, table tennis, boxing, and tennis, which once thrived, have seen a sharp decline in both participation and success. Poor infrastructure, lack of investment in grassroots development, and inadequate training for athletes and coaches are some of the major challenges.

The way forward

Sports stakeholders have voiced concerns about Nigeria’s regression in sports and suggested pathways to recovery. A former Green Eagles star Felix Owolabi said the results achieved so far in sports are not commensurate with the country’s potential. He insisted that poor planning, poor technical ability of coaches, and poor welfare of athletes affected performance all around.

“We really need to go back to what was working for us in the past to take our sports to the next level and regain our lost glories. Football, athletics, basketball, boxing and the rest, we need to do what was giving us results in the past and see how we can regain our lost glories,” he said.

He canvassed for the formulation and effective implementation of policies that can help revamp the sector with competent and sincere personnel to drive the process.

“Instability in governance is another problem. I don’t know why we have decided to scrap the sports commission, which is supposed to drive development. A sports ministry is supposed to be filled with technocrats but in our case, it’s a different ball game. We need a good structure to get things right. It will be very difficult because of our fire brigade approach to doing things as a nation.

We need to start getting things right, now is a time for reflection,” he said. Former fastest man in Africa Deji Aliu said Nigeria was struggling in unlimited potential. He said the sports sector needs to be overhauled.

“Nigeria’s sports needs a total overhaul. We need to bring in our professionals; people that know more about sports. We need to bring back life into the sector for us to move forward,” he said.

Despite the challenges, there is hope that Nigeria can reclaim its sporting glory, another ex-international, Friday Ekpo, said. “Recent successes, such as Nigeria’s U-17 football team winning multiple World Cups and the D’Tigress, Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, dominating the African championships, indicate that the talent and potential are still there.”

He said the rise of Nigerian athletes like Tobi Amusan, who broke world records in athletics, shows that with the right support, Nigerian sports can thrive again. “To achieve this, the country must prioritize investment in infrastructure, create sustainable development programmes at the grassroots level, and provide better support and welfare for athletes. Effective governance and longterm planning are essential if Nigeria hopes to regain its place among the world’s sports elites,” he said.