The Supreme Super Falcons’ dollars brouhaha

The chewing stick is a brush for the teeth. No, it is a mouth cleanser whether you brush or floss with it or not. These first two sentences of mine appear baseless because they are from virtually nowhere.  It would even be more so for the generation of Nigerians who do not have an idea what a chewing stick is. Many of them might not have been briefed that we use some kinds of twigs for oral hygiene. Those of us who know what átú (Átú ílu) or pákò (Orín) or fasakwa (dankali) is also know that there are varieties of the traditional mouthwash; and that there are peculiar languages unique to each people when describing its usage.

But today is not about the burgeoning debate on the health benefits of the átú or pákò or fasakwa versus the toothpaste/toothbrush. This is not about who does it better between the traditional mouthwash and the modern one. It is also not about the fast-returning chewing stick and charcoal toothpaste and so on… It is about that handsome donation made on our behalf by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made to our dear, victorious Supreme Super Falcons of Nigeria.

The Super Falcons, last Saturday, made history when they sought for and won the African women title for the tenth time. They created a record that would surely live for a very long time in the annals of African soccer when they accomplished what they said was the “La Decima”. Football stories and folklore will not be complete without the feat of the Nigerian Super Falcons. Of course the record of nine wins was already a tall one while their tenth win of the Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is like an icing on the cake of their already existing records in the competition.

 The feat achieved by Nigeria’s Super Falcons also temporarily shifted attention to what a giant Nigeria could have been if the country’s immense potentials were properly harnessed. The discussions however soon moved from our dominance in female football in Africa to the reception of the victorious squad by President Bola Tinubu in Aso Rock, on Monday. Again, the reception was not the point. In fact, the promptness of the reception of the ladies and their handlers is not just commendable, it is also exemplary. It blended seamlessly with the delightful cheers of the victory which party had started just about 48 hours earlier in Rabat.

President Tinubu seemed to have listened to the Reverend Jesse Jackson who once noted that being present for your children was way better than just showing up in a whiff while and then showering them with presents. “Your children need your presence more than your presents” he says and thereby leaves the simple but indelible instruction in the minds of the discerning parent. In the moment of delight, President Tinubu said in his speech that he saw the final match against Morocco and lived through the gravities of that beautiful game. His wife, Senator Remi, from the photos that were in public domain, also saw the game. That is presence. There were no reports of the president calling the team before or during the tournament, but he did after they had emerged victorious.

Then, there were the presents. It was this that sparked the current debate. Among other things, the president announced the conferment of national honours on the ladies, gave them homes at the “Renewed Hope Estate” in Abuja. These are regular. The first Nigerian team to win the African Cup of Nations in 1980 got national honours. That is the reason why the legendary Felix Owolabi is commonly referred to as MON by many of his admirers. He was a member of that team that defeated Algeria in the final in Lagos in 1980, and was honoured by the then President Shehu Shagari. President Tinubu thus followed an already existing pattern and aligns with “Always do the right, this will gratify some people and astonish the rest,” an advice handed down by Mark Twain.

However, the announcement of the cash gift of $100,000 to each member of the victorious Super Falcons by President Tinubu changed the hue of the celebrations. Since the return of the ladies from WAFCON 2024 on Monday and the presidential reception in Abuja, the contentions on the propriety or otherwise of the volume of the cash gift is still raging. It is worthy to note that the debate is not that a great section of Nigerians are cross that the ladies were rewarded. No, Nigerians are not angry that the ladies were hosted by the president or that he rewarded the team for doing well. The arguments stemmed from the donation of $100,000 to each of the ladies in addition to all the other gifts. Their contention is that the country should not overreach itself through what looked like a show-off with the declaration of a $100,000 cash reward to each of the girls. They hold that this is not a proper thing to do in an economy that is obviously tensed and has been on tenterhooks.

The reception therefore is not the issue, the cash donation is. And that singular item on the list of gifts has been pealing in a ding-dong between teams “chewing stick is for cleaning the mouth” and “chewing stick is a brush”. Team “chewing stick is a cleanser” and Team “chewing stick is a brush” are both right. The underlying fact is that there is a chewing stick that is useful in the arguments of both teams. There has to be a chewing stick which is good enough in its calling before both teams arguing on its level of usefulness can have a standpoint.

The government, through the presidential spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga said the $100,000 donation is justified. He holds that it is a reward for “excellence, creativity, hardwork, soccer artistry and the undying Nigerian spirit.” resilience on the part of the Nigerian ladies. He also says it is a veritable way of inspiring the girl-child to pursue virtuous means of making a living and attracting fame. Onanuga, however ruined his statement by bringing a reality show I don’t want to dignify with a mention into the mix. He said if Multichoice was rewarding the winner of that show with N150million, he wondered “why some Nigerians are unappreciative of President Tinubu’s reward to the Super Falcons.”

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Well, Nigerians are not unappreciative of the president’s gesture. They are only speaking against an aspect of the reward that has made it look profligate. They contend that Nigeria cannot be borrowing to run its economy while at the same time be in a show-off. If $100,000 to the 23 players is not profligacy, why were the police retirees on the streets? Why are the health workers out on a warpath against the government? Imagine what that kind of monetary intervention would do to each of the federal teaching hospitals in the country. The UCH in Ibadan and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) have been watching each other like fowls poised for a fight. There have been complaints by soldiers of inadequate compensation and reward for just about the same things the Super Falcons were rewarded for.

If it is argued that the protesting retired police officers and complaining soldiers knew their reward system beforehand, Nigerian national team members too know their remuneration when they are invited to the national teams. The sum total of 33 per cent of the prize money for winning the WAFCON is for the players, including those who played the qualifiers but could not make the cut to the tournament. The worth of the houses in Abuja, match bonuses, camp allowances, winning bonus; N150million donated to the team by a telecommunications company, Nigerian Breweries’ N50million gift to the team among others would have complemented a modest cash reward by the Federal Government. The national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger is in perfect order.

With this precedence, can this be sustained? What if we win it again next year? What would be the reward for the CHAN Eagles should they win in their tournament that has just started in Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda? What should we expect if the D’Tigress wins the Afro Basketball tournament for the fifth time in a row? What about using the inspiring Super Falcons’ victory to trigger a revolution in sports infrastructure around the country by galvanizing the private sector into developing the sport? Where is the infrastructure to develop replacements for these talents? 

Well, on the divergent opinions on the monetary gift, everybody is right. Those who said the chewing stick is for brushing of the teeth are right; those who said the chewing stick is for the cleaning of the teeth are also right. I rest my case.