Falilat Ogunkoya first came to limelight at Kwara ‘85.
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The country is already agog as the 18th National Sports Festival begins on Tuesday in 10 centres across Lagos State. It is a homecoming of sorts for the games, which was first staged in Lagos 39 years ago.
Tagged Eko 2012, Lagos has strived hard in the last few months to ensure that the state hosts a world-class sports showpiece that will linger on for years.
Facilities across the state, from competition, to accommodation venues, as well as hotels have been upgraded to ensure that athletes, officials and visitors get the best during the festival.
Over the years, several states have taken the short cut to victory like poaching, using ineligible athletes, falsifying ages of athletes but there are huge expectations in terms of unearthing new talents who will become the country’s future stars in various sports at Eko 2012.
Also, observers are also on the watch to see how the games will foster unity among states — the main reason the festival was initiated by former military Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (retd) in 1973.
Festival history
A peep down memory lane shows that Gowon, wanting to promote oneness among Nigerians after a 30-month civil war that almost divided the country, kicked off the competition 39 years ago at the then newly-built National Stadium, Lagos.
Despite criticisms from several quarters that the festival was uncalled because of its huge cost, the showpiece held from July 20 to August 3, 1973 with all the 12 states involved.
Former Nigeria Football Association board member, Brigadier-General Gregory Adebiyi (retd) said, “The Civil War had its positives and negatives. Most of the boys that did sports while in school were Igbos. But the war made most of them, including Sydney Asiodu, one of the greatest runners in Igbobi College, Lagos, return to the east.”
“So Gowon was looking for ways to reintegrate the Igbos into the system and Ogbemudia realised the importance of sports, he created Afuze and he raised his team with athletes like Thompson Usiyan, Charlton Ehizuelen and others.”
Mid-West domination
Mid-West State, later renamed Bendel before it was further divided into Edo and Delta states, emerged winners of the inaugural event. The victory was largely due to the motivation of the state’s governor, Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia (retd). The state has gone on to dominate the festival.
As Mid-West, it won it twice while it emerged victorious as Bendel four times although it won the 1991 edition as Zone 2, which comprised Bendel, Ondo and Rivers states.
After Bendel was split into two, Delta won it four times with Edo winning once.
Fulfillment of objectives
Mid-West won the next festival in 1975 and 1977. Lagos claimed their first title in 1971 while Bendel triumphed again two years later. The objectives of the festival were fulfilled during these early stages of the competition.
Footballers like Sylvanus Opalla, Humphery Edobor, Ikechuckwu Ofoje, Paul Okoku, Taju Disu, Femi and Segun Olukanmi, Dehinde Akinlotan and others were discovered.
In athletics, Hamid Adio, Gloria Ojukwu, Rotimi Peters, Henry Amike, Mary Onyali, Osmond and Davidson Ezinwa, , Faith Idehen, Yusufu Ali, Innocent Egbunike, Beatrice Utondu, Tina Iheagwam, Chidi Imoh, Falilat Ogunkoya, Patience Itanyi and many others came to limelight.
Boxers-Peter Konyegwachie, Christopher Ossai, Jerry Okorodudu also caught the eyes of people during the festival.
Table tennis stars Babatunde Obisanya, Atanda Musa, Segun Toriola Kuburat Owolabi, Sunday Eboh and Funke Oshonaike also came to prominence through the games.
Because of the junior and intermediate cadres at the festival, there were always athletes of different age grades ready to take over from the senior athletes representing Nigeria. And the result was evident: Nigeria gave a good account of itself in global games like the Olympics, Commonwealth and world championships.
Outstanding athletes also got scholarships to study abroad. However, the purpose of the festival seems to have been defeated over the years.
Dehinde Akinlotan, winner of the football gold medal at the 1981 edition, said, “Back then all the schools in Nigeria were extremely engaged in football and every pupil that was selected to play for his state wanted to give his best.”
“At the Oluyole festival (1979), we did not win anything, but at Bendel ’81, we won the gold medal in football and I was the highest scorer of the entire festival for Ogun State but then they didn’t give prizes for individual awards. But it was fun,” Akinlotan, who went on to represent Nigeria at the 1983 U-20 World Cup, added.
Sharp deviation
However, the festival turned from fun to boredom when states started applying back-door tactics to win medals.
“For me, the real sports festival ended with the Kwara games in 1985 where the likes of Falilat Ogunkoya participated. After that, what have we had? Sports gathering and not sports festival,” Adebiyi said.
Poaching
Poaching became the order of the day as states chose the lazy way to success. This trend began in the 1990s. Rather than groom their own athletes, they snatched ready-made athletes from other states to win medals. Athletes now swapped states with reckless abandon leading to a constant recycling of same athletes. Grooming of athletes was ignored by officials.
Adebiyi added, “Because of the downward trend of the economy, people started poaching. It was invented to foster unity and the festival brought inter-marriages. But now, it has been turned to an avenue of making money.
“Certain states are not prepared for the festival. All they are interested in is to buy athletes from other states. Now the outgoing athletes are even younger than the newly discovered athletes. What kind of system is that? The festival has to be redefined and restructured.
Age problems
Another rampant development in the 1990s was the falsification of ages by athletes, which led to the exclusion of the junior and intermediate categories at the festival. It was evident as Nigeria struggled to replace ageing athletes. Medal hauls in international competitions like the Olympic Games also dropped tremendously.
Hosting to win
The hosting-to-win syndrome also contributed largely to the declining fortunes of the competition as states wanted to win it at all cost after spending so much to host it.
Highest bidder
In recent festivals, there have been cases of states accusing other states of buying medals. A recent host state was alleged to have paid huge sums for gold medals just to emerge winners of the competition.
Irregular dates
The first five editions of the biennial festival were held at the right time but afterwards, it has been regularly shifted for reasons ranging from politics to finance. After Gateway Games 2006, the next edition in Kaduna was held three years later. Lagos is hosting just a year after the last edition in Port Harcourt. Athletes become demoralised when they are told festivals have been postponed after rigorous camping and training.
A new beginning
Sports followers would be looking to see a redefined festival that would unveil future stars for the country.
Rather than just an avenue to winning medals, Akinlotan said the festival should be used to breed athletes, who will represent the country internationally.
He stated, “It’s good that they are hosting the festival this year. I will advise the organisers to conduct an interview for the athletes in terms of their schools and how they are doing in school because a lot of states are only coming to win at all cost they forget that the festival is not only based on how many medals won, but to scout for athletes that can represent the nation at international levels.
Glamorous festival
In its bid to host a memorable festival, Lagos State has updated facilities at the 10 venues to world-class standard. The state in conjunction with Vodstreet Limited, a life streaming outfit, has given the global sports audience the opportunity to watch the festival on mobile telephones and ipads.
Aside the sporting events, other programmes have been put in place to host an unforgettable festival. The Miss Eko beauty pageant would be staged during the event along side a raffle draw with a car as star prize.
The Local Organising Committee secretary-general, Dr. Kweku Tandoh, said the state had put in place a ‘tight security network’ for the festival while the Lagos State sports commissioner and vice chairman of the LOC, Waheed Oshodi, said Lagos would be “home away from home for athletes and officials.”
Edo/Delta rivalry
The rivalry between Edo and Delta states have been intense in the last five festivals before Rivers 2011 with Delta emerging victorious on four occasions while Edo triumphed just once. But the tide turned last year as Rivers claimed the top spot ahead of Delta (2nd) and Edo (3rd).
One of the high points of the competition has been fierce rivalry between the two states from the old Bendel. Are we going to witness it again? Will Rivers hold on to top spot? Are other states coming to topple others with their bags of tricks? Will Lagos host a festival that would linger on for years?
The answers to these questions would sure start unfolding from Tuesday when the festival begins in the city it was first hosted.
Culled from punch
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