Independence Anniversary: Highs and lows of Nigerian sports in last 365 days

As Nigeria marks its 64th Independence Day anniversary, ABIODUN ADEWALE spotlights some moments in the last year that add to the fascinating sports history of the country

 Nigerians have been taking part in international sporting events before Independence in 1960.

Sixty-four years later, the sports sector has grown bigger in stature, with numerous unforgettable memories (good and bad), and the list keeps getting longer.

HIGHS

U-19 Women’s Cricket World Cup ticket

Just before another Independence Day anniversary, one of ‘the so-called lesser sports’ cricket has given Nigeria something to cheer about, thanks to the women’s U-19 team, the Junior Yellow Greens, who clinched the ticket in Rwanda on Sunday. Although their final clash against Zimbabwe was washed out by rains, the Nigerian girls were adjudged the best team in the qualifier, having gone through the group stages with a perfect record, including a one-wicket win against Zimbabwe. It’s the second time Nigeria will be qualifying for any cricket World Cup after the men’s U-19 team achieved the feat in 2019.

Coincidentally, the triumphant team will also arrive in the country on Tuesday, today, when the nation marks its 64th Independence Day anniversary.

Paralympians shine again

Team Nigeria’s seven-medal haul at the Paris 2024 Paralympics might be the country’s worst outing at the summer event, but the feats of the athletes stand as some of the best the country recorded in the last year. One of them was para-powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiayo, who broke her world record in the women’s over 86 kg para-powerlifting, becoming the first para-athlete in history to lift 166 kg and winning a gold medal in the process.

Para-badminton player Bolaji Eniola also became the first African player to win a badminton medal at either the Olympics or the Paralympics. Nigeria won two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals.

Oshoba’s Boxing World Title

UK-based Nigerian boxer Elizabeth Oshoba became the first female Nigerian boxer to win a world title, a feat she achieved by knocking out Italy’s Michela Braga (6-0-1) in round 10 of their bout at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Saturday, January 13 to become the new WBC silver featherweight champion.

It was Oshoba’s fourth career knockout victory as she handed Braga her first-ever pro defeat, while she extended her perfect record in the pros to seven straight wins.

Ademola Lookman’s Europa League heroics

Dubbed the incoming African Player of the Year, Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman warmed his way into the hearts of Nigerians with his performance at the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast earlier this year, where he scored three goals to power Nigeria to a second-place finish. His individual brilliance also earned Atalanta their first European title, as he scored a historic hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final. The 26-year-old ended the season with 16 goals plus nine assists in all competitions.

Osimhen, Oshoala APOTY awards

For the first time since Kanu Nwankwo and Mercy Akide 1999, Nigeria produced the men’s and women’s African Player of the Year award winners in December 2023, as Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala were crowned in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Oshoala’s award was a record-extending sixth crown, while Osimhen ended Nigeria’s 24-year wait for the men’s prize. It’s safe to say it was a night that reawakened Nigeria’s dominance in Africa, even as the men’s crown is most likely going to be handed to another Nigerian soon. That could as well reenact the handover from Rashidi Yekini (1993) to Emmanuel Amuneke in 1994. Other Nigerians to have won the crown since independence are Victor Ikpeba (1997) and Kanu (1996 and 1999). Akide (1999 and 2001), Perpetua Nkwocha (2004, 2005, 2010, and 2011), and Cynthia Uwak (2006 and 2007) are the women to have won it as well.

2023 AFCON silver

Nigeria’s first AFCON was in 1963, three years after independence. Earlier this year, the Super Eagles, led by Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro, finished second at the tournament in Ivory Coast, being the fifth time the country will emerge as runners-up. They were beaten by hosts Ivory Coast 2-1 in the final after a turgid run through the tournament. Vice-captain and defender William Troost-Ekong was also named the Player of the Tournament after scoring three goals, including one in the final.

 LOWS

Paris Olympics no-show

Tales of woes about Nigerian sports resurfaced after the country’s 88-man contingent to the Paris 2024 Olympics failed to win any medals.  It was the eighth time in the country’s Olympic history, which began in Helsinki in 1952 (before independence). Although Nigeria started competing at the Games before independence in 1960, the country didn’t win its first medal until Tokyo in 1964, thanks to the late boxer, Nojeem Maiyegun, who won a bronze.

Ofili saga

Nigerian sports also hit a new low at the 2024 Olympics in Paris when sprinter Favour Ofili cried out over being omitted from the women’s 100m event despite qualifying. It was a second blow the country was dealing on the sprinter, having previously been denied the opportunity to compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo due to missing out on pre-competition tests.

Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has set up an investigative panel to unravel the cause of Ofili’s omission in Paris, among other issues that rocked the country’s N9bn participation in the Games.

Lost glory of facilities

At 64, there is only one approved stadium that can host CAF matches in Nigeria, despite the presence of gigantic stadiums in almost every city in Nigeria. The Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, which serves as the home of the Super Eagles, is the only approved stadium by CAF to host matches, while other facilities, including the National Stadium in Surulere, rot away. The country hosted two FIFA tournaments in 1999 and 2009, with the stadiums merely serving as venues for clubs.

U-17 AFCON/World Cup miss

With five FIFA U-17 World Cups, Nigeria is the most successful country at that level, but has failed to make any impact in the competition since 2017, when they failed to qualify.

Different generations of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have dominated the world five times (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015), showing the country’s prowess in churning out talent. But they will miss back-to-back editions (2023 and 2025) after their woeful outing at the WAFU B tournament earlier this year.

The Nigeria Football Federation even made more mess of their situation, announcing that they had qualified for the preceding tournament in Ivory Coast next year before they later announced their 3-2 win over Ghana in a third-place match wasn’t enough to secure them a spot.

Doping bans

Since 1960, there has been a long list of Nigerian athletes who have been banned for one doping violation or another, and that number increased in late 2023 and earlier this year. Nigerian sprinter Divine Oduduru and boxer Cynthia Ogunseilore came under the hammer of different bodies for being involved with performance enhancers.

Oduduru was banned for six years for committing two anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) as the Athletics Integrity Unit announced that there was “overwhelming evidence” against him. The case arose when U.S. prosecutors charged therapist Eric Lira with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.

Oduduru’s teammate Blessing Okagbare was banned for 11 years for doping in the lead-up to Tokyo and refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

At the Paris Olympics, lightweight boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore was provisionally suspended after she tested positive for a banned substance ahead of her opening fight at the Olympics, the International Testing Agency said.

Ogunsemilore tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic on WADA’s prohibited list, in an out-of-competition doping control.