Remember the record-breaking gold medal recently won by Tobi Amusan? From the general media hubbub to the discussion surrounding Sports, the lodestar event has caused quite a stir across the current state of Sports in Nigeria. Her performance moments after she set a record time in the 2022 World Athletics semi-finals with 12.12 seconds broke the 12.20 record of America’s Kendra Harrison.
Besides this success and other remarkable record-breaking performances in Olympic games, some Nigerian boxers are making waves on the global circuit. Such talented stars as Antony Joshua (former world Heavyweight champion), Lawrence Okolie (cruiserweight), Efe Ajagba (heavyweight), Efe Apochi (cruiserweight), Israel Adesanya (Lightweight), and Raphael Igbokwe (middleweight) are among the highest ranked Nigerian boxers.
Still basking in the euphoria of fascinating individual performances, another female Nigerian Athlete, Rafiatu Folashade Lawal, recorded a massive win with another gold medal in Women’s 59kg to take Team Nigeria’s medals to three.
In terms of football, Nigeria has engraved its name into the crystal of most-feared football teams with amazing athletes like Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha, Yakubu Ayegbeni, John Obi Mikel Etc.
These are all interesting facts about Nigerian sports, and it’s evident that of all those activities a foreigner might be inclined to associate with Nigerian, “conventional” Sports would probably top the list.
There has been a solid connection between Nigeria and Sports; however, it has been accompanied more recently by an explosive growth in competitive sport, which has seen Nigeria top the medals table at recent sports events.
Overall, Nigerians are making waves globally, displaying some breathtaking and exultant moments. However, with the Nigerian government’s lackadaisical effort, there has been little to no cheer about Nigerian sports locally.
Closing thoughts
While corruption has eaten deep in almost every sector of Nigeria’s economy, from a systemic problem standpoint, it is perhaps more rampant in the Sports sector. This crooked state of affairs has stagnated Nigerian sports for years. So, due to many issues ranging from bad administrations, and lack of transparency to nepotism, it is underdeveloped locally within different states.
Fortunately, most Nigerian athletes are overcoming these significant challenges to produce superlative performances globally. Learn more about the country here.
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