TO the glory of God, Africa’s Olympics, the All Africa Games has taken off in Accra, Ghana. This is the 13th edition of the Games whose inaugural edition was held in Congo, Brazaville in 1965. It is significant to note that Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, has had the honour and privilege of hosting it in 1973 in Lagos and Abuja, 2003.
The All Africa Games is a multi-sports event organised under the auspices of the African Union for the promotion of sports excellence in terms of performance, cultural exchanges, international relations and diplomacy. The Games provides perfect ground to demonstrate the athletes’ octane athleticism and preparedness to face the best in the world in their various events. Furthermore, it facilitates the upgrade of sports infrastructure in Africa, amongst others.
As the Games unfold, experts in sports in their various specialities are also making notes of their observations and learning experiences. These are ultimately all very helpful for sports development in Africa. It should be added that the Games phenomenon and phenomenology provide research data for various purposes. All hail the African Games of great value to humanity.
Nigeria has featured prominently in the Africa Games showing illuminious performances as expected of the giant of Africa. The games provide an opportunity for Nigeria to clearly assert itself as the giant amongst African nations. The question that remains is whether indeed Nigeria has proven its giant status in the games. To be the giant of the continent means that it must tower-over all African countries in performance at the games. Has that been the case? What is the overview of the African games placement of countries on the medals table. Here it is;
Table 1: ABRIDGED OVERVIEW OF ALL AFRICA GAMES MEDALS TABLE
YEAR
HOST COUNTRY
OVERALL MEDALS TABLE POSITION
1965
Brazaville, Congo
1st United Arab Republic (Egypt)
2nd Nigeria
3rd Kenya
1973
Lagos, Nigeria
1st Egypt
2nd Nigeria
3rd Kenya
1978
Algiers, Algeria
1st Tunisia
2nd Nigeria
3rd Algeria
1987
Nairobi, Kenya
1st Egypt
2nd Tunisia
3rd Nigeria
1991
Cairo, Egypt
1st Egypt
2nd Algeria
3rd Nigeria
1995
Harare, Zimbabwe
1st South Africa
2nd Egypt
3rd Nigeria
1999
Johannesburg, South Africa
1st South Africa
2nd Nigeria
3rd Egypt
2003
Abuja, Nigeria
1st Nigeria
2nd Egypt
3rd South Africa
2007
Algiers, Algeria
1st Egypt
2nd Algeria
3rd South Africa
2011
Maputo, Mozambique
1st South Africa
2nd Egypt
3rd Nigeria
2015
Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
1st Egypt
2nd Nigeria
3rd South Africa
2019
Rabat, Morocco
1st Egypt
2nd Nigeria
3rd Algeria
2023
Accra, Ghana
1st Egypt
2nd South Africa
3rd Nigeria
The medals table shows clearly that while Nigeria has only topped the games medals table once, Egypt has remained the giant of all Africa games. It is pertinent to also note that in the African continent, Egypt and mostly North African countries, and South Africa since the 1990’s have a tendency to dominate performances in social indices.
The foregoing trend is unacceptable. Nigeria, our beloved country, the giant of Africa is doing fine and is competitive. It is also an inevitable expectation that Nigeria as the giant of Africa must pull its weight and muscle to lead while others follow. In the view of this writer and perhaps other citizens, this is the expectation of Nigeria in the All Africa Games. The status of being a giant must be proven in the nation’s actions and achievements in sports, education, economy, industrial development and leadership competence etc. The All Africa Games sports competition amongst African nations is once again a wakeup call to Nigerian leaders to rise to the challenge of living upto the status of the nation as the giant of Africa. It is doable and possible as Nigeria has all that it takes to lead Africa in sports and national development indices. This article is a clarion call for reforms in sports development strategies to catalyse Nigeria to its expected leadership position of sports in Africa. Part two of this article would subsequently attempt to explore strategic reforms needed to lift Nigeria to its position in sports in Africa as a true giant in the continent.
Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta!
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