Leadership (Abuja)
28 August 2008
editorial
After every poor outing, Nigeria's sports administrators are fond of blaming it on inadequate preparation, insufficient funds or late release of funds. Everyone has got tired of their excuses. Now that attention has been shifted to the next edition of the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in London in 2012, this must end.
Countries that did not perform well at Beijing need not be reminded to prepare well for the next Olympiad. Let us begin now to identify, groom and select athletes who have the potentials to compete with the best in the world. The concept of federal character should have no place in sports. That is why lesser nations like Togo, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe could win more medals than Nigeria this year.
Estacode-chasing politicians and other public office-holders should be prevented from attending major tournaments on the pretext that they want to support our athletes. They end up distracting them. If we must avoid a repeat of this disastrous outing at London 2012, let the preparations begin in earnest.
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