Ex-international athlete, Enefiok Udo-Obong and former soccer star, Chief Patrick Segun Odegbami have shared their respective fond memories of the past glory days of the National Sports Festival.
Speaking against the backdrop of Thursday’s opening ceremony for the 19th edition of the festival in Abuja, Udo-Obong and Odegbami said on national television that its ideals have changed over the years.
Odegbami, who went on to become captain of Nigeria’s senior football national team, Green Eagles, recalled how he shot to limelight at the very first edition of the festival in 1973.
He starred for a rookie in the Western Region team that lost the final against Lagos State, who had several super stars in their arsenal, but national team observers were astonished with his performance.
“I am a proud product of the National Sports Festival, as it was back then, when they had junior, intermediate, and senior categories.
“There was not ministry for sports, but the National Sports Commission was under the ministry of youth, which organised the festival.
“Sadly, over the years, after Isaac Akioye, people who were not sports inclined started taking over from 1992, and everything changed from what we used to know about the sports festival,” Odegbami lamented.
In same vein, Udo-Obong recalled that he won four gold medals at the 1998 National Sports Festival, which he said was then about discovering talents and a means of unifying the country after the civil war.
Udo-Obong, who went on to win silver at Sydney 2000 Olympics, then had it upgraded to gold after USA were disqualified years later, said the festival has changed from discovering talents to showcasing stars.
“I am not comfortable with how the festival is being organised nowadays,” Udo-Obong confessed, “because I don’t think they are serious about using it to discover hidden talents.
“Not it’s about bringing together the best of the country’s already made athletes, to parade them on the national front like a showcase, instead of keeping it as an avenue whereby future stars are made.”
