Tobi Amusan’s world record

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IN what has been a rarity for a long time, Nigeria was recently in the news for the right reason. This pleasant change happened on account of the success of Tobi Amusan, a Nigerian female athlete, at the just concluded World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States. She won gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles in spectacular fashion, breaking the world record twice within 24 hours. She shattered the world record in the semi-final, then went ahead to break her own record in the finals of the competition. It was great news that made headlines both locally and internationally and it projected the image of the country positively, even if transiently. Indeed, Amusan’s performance and the positive news it generated was a breath of fresh air and an elixir for a country that was suffocating from the stench of bad news from virtually all sectors on a daily basis. Hers was the first gold medal won by any Nigerian in any of the World Athletics championships. And as is customary in the few cases of success in sporting competitions, Nigerians rallied together and jettisoned politics, religious and ethnic fault lines to celebrate the success of the athlete and relish the honour she brought to her fatherland.

It is gratifying to note that though the odds were stacked against her, she beat all odds. Amusan’s success is quite instructive and significant as it questions the official characterisation of Nigerian youth as lazy and unproductive even when there is no provision of an enabling environment for their talents to develop and flourish. She is an ambassador of young Nigerians, exemplifying their resilience and limitless capacity to excel against all odds. She, indeed, is a role model to Nigerian youth, including the frustrated ones, having demonstrated that they need not be ‘slay queens’ and ‘Yahoo boys’ to eke out a living. By virtue of her success, she has been exemplary in showing the need for young persons to develop their talents and hone their skills in their different areas of endeavour in order to earn an honest living. It is hoped that Amusan’s success at the world stage and the salutary effect it has on Nigeria and Nigerians will ginger the government to go back to the drawing board to retool its talent discovery and development schemes, if any.

It is regrettable that key institutions that are supposed to discover and nurture talents have been rendered ineffective. In the past, schools were not just established for academics; there were great facilities for sports and youth sporting events actually thrived. But these days, the few young people who have been able to discover and recognise their talents have had to struggle to develop same without state support. With the deep solidarity and unity among Nigerians on account of Amusan’s superlative performance, it is evident that the success did not come out of the internal organisational capacity of the country. Put more succinctly, the athlete would probably not have been able to perform her current feat without the benefit of the good training fields and equipment she was exposed to where she resides outside the country.

Again, it is worthy of mention that while Amusan’s performance got everyone ecstatic globally, and deservedly so, some of her compatriots at the event also put up their best. For instance, Ese Brume, who competed in the long jump event, claimed silver medal for the country. Even the female 4×100 metres relay quartet, which didn’t make it to the podium, put up a great performance that broke the African record that had existed for 30 years. And there are other young Nigerians in other fields of endeavour that are working hard amid personal struggles in order to excel. It bears stressing that there is incredible potential inherent in Nigerians that could be realised to achieve one of the most virile,

prosperous and progressive democracies under the sun if only the country were to have a visionary and forward looking leadership.

We salute Amusan for her accomplishment and commend her grit and determination to other young Nigerians who are in constant pursuit of excellence in their various callings. Perhaps the most important takehome from Amusan’s superlative achievement, judging by the characteristic pan-Nigerian solidarity and boisterous enthusiasm that attended her success, is the realisation that all that Nigerians need is the right leadership and platform for excellent performances to bridge most of the divides and fissures in the country.

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The PDP spokesman recalled how the opposition party had on various occasions alerted that the APC government had ceded sovereignty over a large portion of our country to terrorists, “many of whom were imported into our country by the APC.”

He further stated: “From the video, in a brazen manner, terrorists as non-state actors boldly showed their faces, boasting, admitting and confirming their participation in the Kuje Prison break, some of whom were former prison inmates who were either jailed or awaiting trial for their previous terrorism act against our country.

“Nigerians can equally recall the confession by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the APC government knows the plans and whereabouts of the terrorists but failed to act.

According to Ologunagba, about 18,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists between 2020 and 2022 “as the criminals continue to be emboldened by the failures and obvious complicity of the APC and to which the PDP had always drawn attention.”

“This is not politics; this is about humanity and leadership, which leadership sadly and unfortunately is missing in our country at this time,” he said.

The PDP added that it is appalled by “the lame response by the apparently helpless, clueless and deflated Buhari Presidency, wherein it told an agonizing nation that President Buhari “has done all and even more than what was expected of him as Commander in Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military…”

“This is a direct admission of incapacity and failure by the Buhari Presidency and the APC. At such a time, in other climes, the President directly leads the charge and takes drastic measures to rescue and protect his citizens.

“In time of adversity, the President transmutes into Consoler-in-Chief to give hope and succour to the citizens. Painfully, Nigeria does not have a President who cares and can stand as Consoler-in-Chief to the citizens.

“It has now become very imperative for Nigerians to take note and realize that the only solution to this unfortunate situation is to hold the APC government accountable. We must come together as a people, irrespective of our political, ethnic and religious affiliations to resist the fascist-leaning tendencies of the APC administration.

Ologunagba called for an urgent meeting of the National Council of State to advise on the way to go over the nation’s worsening insecurity.

“Our nation must not fall. The resilient Nigerian spirit and ‘can-do- attitude’ must be rekindled by all to prevail on the President to immediately and without further delay, accede to the demand by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians to convene a special session of the National Council of State to find a lasting solution since the President has, in his own admission, come to his wit’s end,” the PDP spokesman declared.

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