by Simon Utsu

There’s something called patriotism- it’s not every time we must allow our country to be ridiculed on the international stage.

What am I even talking about? Well, I’m actually reacting to the ugly scenario that played out earlier today, where #teamNigeria athletes donned tracksuits instead of the usual native attires during their Olympic opening ceremony entrance lap.

I don’t have the details of the ministry of sports budget but since we’re in a recession, I would assume that budget is quite lean.

My Point: How much does a pair of native Nigerian attire cost that someone like superstar footballer, John Mikel Obi who is part of the Olympics contingent, can’t take it upon himself to sponsor that aspect of Nigeria’s Olympics outing? Is that by any standard a luxury for someone who earns close to 60,000 GBP every week after tax which is now equivalent to N30million in our local currency?

It’s not by any stroke of coincidence that Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba are the most blessed African footballers in recent times- it’s not by luck that everything they touch turns to gold and blessings follow them wherever they go. On several occasions, Eto’o sponsored his Cameroonian team-mates (which he was part of) to CAF and FIFA organised tournaments. A Cameroonian friend recently told me why Eto’o is worshipped on the streets of Cameroon due to his kindheartedness.

He cited an instance which he witnessed. Eto’o came for an occasion and was dressed to kill. Out of the blues, someone begged for his watch, Eto’o didn’t hesitate. Before you could say Jack, people started begging for everything on him. It got to a point his dad who was with him tried to stop him but Eto’o kept giving his stuff that day till he ended up getting into his car with only his briefs on.

Drogba on the other hand is known at home for his endless charitable gestures- notable amongst them was when he sponsored the feeding of Ivorian fans throughout the duration of an AFCON tournament a few years back. Drogba also used the $5 million he got from an endorsement deal to build a world class hospital in his native country.

Both countries where these soccerstars (Drogba and Eto’o) hail from have governments that are even more dysfunctional than Nigeria’s but this never stopped them from being patriotic. Does anyone still wonder why Drogba singlehandedly delivered the 2012 UEFA Champions league for Chelsea shortly after sinking $5 million of his money into charity or how Samuel Eto’o star has refused to fade after investing tens of millions of dollars to bring affordable telecoms services and the corresponding employment to the people of his native Cameroon viz Set’ Mobile?

The narrative shouldn’t always be how the government has failed us; like John F. Kennedy famously said, “…it’s about what we do for our country”.

On our part as Nigerians, I think we should also ask ourselves, what we have done as individuals to ensure the failing government succeeds- asides complaining every other day about their flaws? I think if we can answer this question, we would be able to understand why a previously good guy suddenly becomes very bad and corrupt when he’s appointed into government or a political office in a country like Nigeria.

Finally, I’ll like to state that this write-up isn’t in anyway absolving the government of blame, it’s basically serves to address the issues at hand from another perspective- that which supports the question “is it only the Nigerian government that bears the moral burden of a failing system?”. That being said, I’m of the opinion that the sports minister, Mr Solomon Dalung should either resign with alacrity or be sacked.

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