When stars shone ever so brightly

Team Nigeria amassed 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze medals, altogether 35, at the end of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The gold medal haul was the highest at a single Commonwealth Games for Team Nigeria, representing its best performance ever. This impressive outing ensured Team Nigeria finished as the best-ranked African country on the medals table, placing 7th. The medals came from weightlifting (6), athletics (7), para-athletics (3), powerlifting (4), weightlifting (7). The others were para-table tennis (4) and boxing (5).

On their return home, the young men and women who did their country proud, were received by President Muhammadu Buhari. He told them, “We are proud of these achievements and the memories will linger with the nation forever and for me this is a special moment and a fitting parting gift, being my last Commonwealth Games as Head of State.” He also lauded the coaching crew and team officials for their passion towards the development of sports in the country, assuring them that history would remember them for all their contributions toward making Nigerian athletes shine in the international arena.

It is noteworthy that the stars shone even brighter on Nigeria, barely a week after a young lady Tobi Amusan set a world record in the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Championship held in July in Oregun in the United States. She was the first Nigerian ever to have achieved that feat. She did it without much support from the government, showing love for country. She didn’t ask what Nigeria would do for her but instead what she could do for it. This is the right spirit that we all, as Nigerians, should possess. 

Unfortunately, there are many of our compatriots that have been driven by greed and inordinate quest for wealth into criminality. These ones, unlike the heroes and heroines from Oregon and Birmingham, have heaped shame and ignominy on the country. They are the forces of evil but their darkness will not and cannot black out the light of hope our young athletes and other achievers hold out to us.