Reflections: WHAT DID WE DO WITH OUR SPORTS?

Perhaps, one of the earliest recorded history of Nigerian sports was told by Chinua Achebe in his "Things Fall Apart." It was about Amalinze "The Cat," who earned popularity as undefeated wrestling champion across the communities stretching from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was later defeated by Okonkwo whose reputation also soared across the land.

The stories of Amalinze and Okonkwo was drawn from around the 1800s and early 1900s, and two things stand out for me from the accounts: that our forefathers not only knew sports, but they also organised sporting events in a big way in our communities; and that our traditional societies accorded honour and reward, not only to the athletes but also to their communites, just as, today, some of the most popular people in the world are sportsmen.

In modern times, sporting prowess have been converted to assets which attract financial benefits to both the athlete and their communities through brand sponsorships, endorsements and other forms of marketing communication relationships.

Now, the thing for me is, if we had such sporting culture in Africa, and Nigeria particularly, as described by Achebe, how did we lose it to now become fans of WWE, UFC and the foreign leagues now imported to us?

In growing up, I saw that clubs like Enugu Rangers, IICC of Ibadan, Stationery Stores of Lagos, Spartans of Owerri, Bendel Insurance and NNB of Benin, Mighty Jets of Jos and Ranchers Bees of Kaduna, were like a religion for our people.

The communities did not only throng to the stadiums on match days, they emotionally owned and possessed the clubs and honoured the players as heros, as our traditional society did to Amalinze and Okonkwo. 

So, if we have had that sporting culture, how did we get to the curve at which our wrestling and football fans, and indeed all other sports, are now tuned mostly to foreign sporting events and more emotionally connected to the foreign offerings?

Today, the global sports economy is climbing to over $2 trillion. Our population and it's passion for sports provide an enviably large market for those who can explore and mine the business and revenue possibilities therein.

But here we are, standing and staring, while the foreign clubs convert our fans into their own business assets, enjoying great financial benefits from huge brand sponsorships, corporate endorsements and investment partnerships from the massive fan base we have conveyed to them, while steadily selling our people various sports contents, merchandise and other sporting entertainment experiences to maximise their gains from our sporting population and enthusiasts?

Truth is that we love wrestling and we had great community wrestling events. We love football and have had great football clubs with great followership. So, why are we importing sports entertainment? What did we do with our own? What are we doing with ourselves?

I want to take optimism in the fact that President Bola Tinubu has taken certain decisive actions to not only reposition our sports establishment, but has asserted that he views sports seriously.

I also take confidence in my  personal knowledge of the persons in the leadership of the National Sports Commission, the Chairman, Malam Shehu Dikko, and the Director General, Bukola Olopade, that they understand these issues and would give their best short to onboard sports as a veritable asset in nation building.

What is required now is less talk and more action - deliberate, intentional and concerted push, to turn the tide.

I no fit shout...

- By Fred Edoreh