INFORMATION TO USERS

This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted.

The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction.

1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page{s)''. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity.

2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a targe round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame.

3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.

4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced.

5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received.

University Microfilms International300 North Zeeb RoadAnn Arbor. Michigan 48106 USASt John's Road, Ty'er s GreenHigh Wycombe. Bucks. England HP10 8HR

78-12,375OGUNBIYI, Daniel Qgungbenjo, 1939- THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SPORT OCMPETITICN AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE NATION.The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1978 Education, physical

University Microfilms Intemationat , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA’S

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SPORT

COMPETITION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE NATION

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate

School of The Ohio State University

By

Daniel Ogungbenjo Ogunbiyi, B.A., M.A.

* * * * *

The Ohio State University

1978

Reading Committee;

Dr. Bruce L. Bennett Dr. Donald D . Harper Dr. James M. Sweeney

Approved By

Adviser School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author expresses his profound appreciation to the following individuals and group of people for their assistance, cooperation and advisement throughout the preparation and completion of the disserta­tion.

To Dr. Bruce L. Bennett who served as my advisor and also as the chairman of the author’s doctoral committee whose continued help, patience, encouragement and unlimited self-sacrifice made the comple­tion of the dissertation possible.

The author wishes to express gratitude to his committee mem­bers, Dr. Donald D. Harper and Dr, James M. Sweeney for their guidance and encouragement in the development, execution and evaluation of the study.

The author is indebted to Chief E. 0. Ashamu (The Maye of Oyo) for his deep understanding and his practical solution to my financial commitments both while at The Ohio State University and while on a short visit to Nigeria for a field trip, without whom this project would have not been undertaken.

Sincere thanks are also extended to all the members of the National Sports Commission (NSC), States Sports Councils (SSC),Nigeria Universities Games Association (NUGA), Sports Clubs and Associ­

ations and to the Nigerian Association of Physical, Health Education andii

Recreation (NAPHER) for their cooperation during the author's field

trip to Nigeria.Among the many others who have aided the author in work con­

nected with this dissertation that need special thanks are Mr, Isaac A.

Akioye, Director of National Sports Commission; Dr. Awoture Eleyae,

Deputy Director, National Sport Commission; Dr. John A. Adedeji, Acting Head, Department of Health and Physical Education, University of Ibadan; Mr. J. A. Oyewusi, Acting Director, Institute of Physical Education,

University of Ife; Mr. Toso Omolabi, Chief Coach, Liberty Stadium, Ibadan; C. 0. Udoh, University of Ibadan and B. S. Adeyemi of College of

Education, Ondo,The part played by coaches, athletes, organizations, ministries

and the respondents to the questionnaires and personal tape recorded

interviews is gratefully acknowledged.The information and cooperation given by the libraries Is grate­

fully acknowledged: The Ohio State University library, the University

of Ibadan library, the University of Ife library, and the Federal Ministry of Education Research and Information library in Lagos,Nigeria.

The author, on a more personal side, wishes to express his appreciation and gratitude to his wife for her understanding and care for the children. But for her patience, cooperation, and inspiration,

this venture would not have been possible.Finally, the author happily and faithfully dedicates this dis­

sertation to his aged mother Sangodahunsi Asake, his wife Adewumi Asabi, and his children Ogunmola Aderemi, Ogunyomade Adenrele, Adenike

H i

Ogunyemisi, and Olufisayo Ogunbadejo who sacrificed a son’s, a hus­band's and father's love, warmth and presence in the three years that the author spent away from home leading to the completion of this dis­sertation.

iv

VITA

September 11, 1939 Born - Igbeti (Oyo) Nigeria

1959 ............ Higher Elementary Teachers’ Certificate,St. John’s College, Owo, Nigeria

1964-1966 ........ NCE (Nigeria Certificate in Education) InPhysical Education, Education and Geography, University of Ife, Ondo Campus, Nigeria

1967-1969 ........ Physical Education Teacher, The ApostolicTeacher Training College, Ilesa, and Ife Anglican Grammar School, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

1972............... Bachelor of Arts (B.A. Hons.) degree inPhysical and Health Education, Education and Geography, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

1972-1975 ........ Education Officer, Federal Ministry of Educa­tion, Research and Information Section, Lagos, Nigeria; Tutor of Physical and Health Educa­tion, University of Ife, Ondo Campus

1976 . .......... M.A. Physical Education, The Ohio StateUniversity, Columbus, Ohio

1977 ............ Library Assistant, Department of Physical andHealth Education, The Ohio State University

PUBLICATIONS"Enrich Physical Education Through Good Grading System." The Journal of the Nigerian Association for Physical Health Education and Recrea­tion I, March 1977, pp. 110-123.

FIELD OF STUDYMajor Field: Physical Education

Education Curriculum

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PageACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................... iiV I T A ................................................................. vLIST OF T A B L E S .................................................... xi

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................... xiv

CHAPTER

I INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1Statement of the Problem .............................. 3Significance of the Study .............................. 4The Scope of the S t u d y ................................ 6H y p o t h e s e s ................. 7Theoretical Framework .................................. 7Methods and Procedures ................................ 9

Preliminary Procedures .............................. 10Library Research ..................................... 11I n t e r v i e w s ........................................... 12Letters............................................... 13Questionnaire ......................................... 13Collection of Materials and Data Analysis ........... 14

Limitation of the S t u d y ................................ 14Definition of Terms U s e d .............................. 15

II NIGERIA AS A N A T I O N ....................................... 18Geographical Factors; Environmental Settings; Position,Size and General F e a t u r e s ............................ 18

Geology and M i n e r a l s .................................. 20Climate...............................................* . 21Temperatures ........................................... 23H u m i d i t y ............................................... 26D r a i n a g e ............................................... 26

Historical Factors ....................................... 28The Pre-Colonial Period . . . . * ..................... 28The Colonial P e r i o d.................................... 29The Post-Colonial Period .............................. 32Significance of the P e r i o d ............................ 33The People of Nigeria.................................. 37

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)CHAPTER Page

III EARLY PERIODS OF SPORTS INITIATION ..................... 41The Empire Day Celebrations......................... 42Inter-School Athletic Competitions ................... 46The Grier Cup Competition........................... 48The Hussey Shield Competition ....................... 51The Ross Shield Competition......................... 52The Butler-Cooke Cup Competition ..................... 52The Inter-Club Competitions ............... . . . . . 56The Provincial Club Competitions ..................... 60The Friendly and Inter-Colonial Competitions ........ 62Organizational Structure of Early Sports ............ 64

IV EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AMATEUR SPORTS IN NIGERIA . 67The Formation of Amateur Athletic Association (AAA)of N i g e r i a .......................................... 68

The Development of Football Association ............. 73Nigeria Challenge C u p ............ 76The Formation of Boxing Association................. 79The Formation of Other Associations ................. 80The Early Structure of Central Organization forAmateur Sports in Nigeria ........................... 81

The Concept of Amateur S p o r t s ....................... 84V NIGERIA'S INVOLVEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN

INTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITION ....................... 89Nigeria's Participation in Commonwealth Games,1950-74 .............................................. 92Nigeria's First Participation in the Commonwealth Games, Auckland, New Zealand, February 4-11, 1950 . 96

Nigeria's Second Participation in the Commonwealth Games, Vancouver, Canada, July 30-August 7, 1954 . 99

Nigeria's Third Participation in the Sixth Common­wealth Games, Cardiff, Wales, July 18-26, 1958 . . 104Nigeria's Participation in the Commonwealth Games,Kingston, Jamaica, August 4-13, 1966 106

Nigeria's Fifth Participation In the Ninth Common­wealth Games, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 16 to25, 1970 Ill

Nigeria's Sixth Participation at the Commonwealth Games, New Zealand, January 24-February 2, 1974 . ♦ 117

The Summary of Nigeria's Participation in the Commonwealth Games: From 1950-1974 ............... 122

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)CHAPTER Page

VI NIGERIA PARTICIPATION IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES, 1952 - 1976 . 124The XVth Olympiad, Helsinki, 1952 126The XVIth Melbourne, Australia, Olympiad, 1956 . . . . 130The XVIIth Olympiad in Rome, 1960 133The XVIIIth Olympiad, Tokyo, 1964 135The XlXth Olympiad, Mexico City, 1968 138The XXth Olympiad, Munich, 1972 140The XXIth Olympiad, Montreal, 1976 ................... 144

VII THE ALL-AFRICA G A M E S.................................... 153Historical Background of All-Africa Games .......... 154Nigeria's Participation in First All-Africa Games,Congo Brazzaville, July 18-25, 1965 ................. 158

The Cancelled 1969 All-Africa Games, Bamako, Mali . . 1641973 Second All-Africa Games In Lagos, Nigeria,January 7 - 1 8 ........................................ 165

Nigeria's Participation in West Africa Games .......... 172The First Ghana-Nigeria Sports Festival ............. 173The Second Ghana-Nigeria Sports Festival ............. 179The Birth of First West Africa (ECOWAS) Games . . . . 181

VIII NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SOCCERCHAMPIONSHIP SERIES .................................... 188The Kartoum Tournament, 1957 ......................... 190The Cairo Tournament, 1959............................ 190The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1 9 6 1 ...................... 191The Accra Tournament, 1963............................ 191The Tunis Tournament, 1965 ........................... 192The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1967 ...................... 192The Kartoum Tournament, 1970 ..................... .. . 193The Yaounde Tournament, 1 9 7 2 .................... 193The Cairo Tournament, 1974 ................... 194The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1976 ...................... 194

The World Cup Elimination Series....................... 195The African-Cup Winners' Cup, 1970-77 197The Africa Cup of Champion Clubs Competition.......... 201

IX NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION IN UNIVERSITY G A M E S ........... 203Nigeria's Participation in West Africa UniversityG a m e s ................................................ 204

The Second West Africa University Games in 1967 . . . 207The Third West Africa University Games, 1969 ........ 207The Fourth West Africa University Games, 1971 . . . . 208The Fifth West Africa University Games, Ghana, 1973 . 209The Sixth West Africa University Games, Ile-Ife,Nigeria, 1977 ......................... 209

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

CHAPTER Page

Nigeria's Participation in Federation of AfricanUniversity Sports (FASU) ............................. 214The Lagos Conference .................................. 216The First All-Africa University Gaines, Ghana,December 27, 1974 - January 4, 1975 ........ . . . . 219

Nigeria's Participation in the World University Gaines . 221The 1970 World University Gaines in T u r i n ....... 225The 1973 World University Games in M o s c o w ..... 226The 1975 World University Games in Rome, Italy . . . . 228The 1977 World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria . . 230

X THE CENTRAL ORGANIZATIONS CONTROLLING INTERNATIONALSPORT COMPETITIONS.................................... 233The National Sports Commission (NSC) ................. 234

The Organizational Structure of N S C ............... 237The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) ................. 241

The Organizational Structure of NOC . . 244The States Sports Councils (SSC) ..................... 247

The Organizational Structure of S S C ............... 248The Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) . . . 250Other National Associations and the Sporting Interest Groups ...................................... 253

XI THE EFFECTS OF NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION ININTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITION ....................... 255That some recognized and identifiable factors led Nigeria to Involve and participate in internationalsport competitions.................................. 256International Understanding and Goodwill .......... 257E d u c a t i o n .......................................... 258Propaganda.......................................... 265Health.............................................. 266Politics............................................ 267Cultures............................................ 269E c o n o m y ............................................ 270Patriotism.......................................... 271Militarism.......................................... 271Festivals and Ceremonies ........................... 272D e m o c r a c y..................................... 273Prestige........................... 274Amateurism.......................................... 276Winning of M e d a l s .................................. 277

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

CHAPTER Page

That the development of Nigeria's participation in international sport competitions has significant contributions on the emerging nation of Nigeria . . . 278That international sport participation buildscharacter of Nigerian youth ........................ 280

That international sport participation is con- dusive to the development of the physical fitnessof the nation................................ 283

That international sport participation promotesnational unity... ................................. 283

That international sport competition providesstimulus to the Government of Nigeria............. 287

That international sport competition has positive effects on Nigeria's prestige and image at homeand a b r o a d ...................... . ............... 290Other e f f e c t s ..................................... 293

That some problems facing international sport compe­tition in Nigeria could be identified and solved . . 295The shortage of adequate and modern sportfacilities....................................... 296

Lack of enough qualified and competent sport administrators, coaches, and applied personnelof all categories................................. 299Shortage of modern and adequate sport equipment . . 302The lack of research into Nigeria's Sports program . 304Insufficient budget to run sport programs inNigeria........................................... 306Lack of sound philosophy about the modern sports programs................................... 308

XII SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION............................. 311

APPENDIXA SAMPLE LETTERS.......................................... 323

B ITINERARY FOR THE FIELD T R I P ........................... 328

C SPECIMEN OF PERSONAL INTERVIEW......................... 331

D SPECIMEN COPY OF QUESTIONNAIRE......................... 335E NIGERIA’S SPORTS AMBASSADORS TO THE COMMONWEALTH

GAMES, 1950-1974 339

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

APPENDIX Page

F NIGERIA’S MEDAL TABLES IN THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES,1950-1974.............................................. 347

G THE SUMMARY OF GOLD MEDALS IN THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES,1930-1974 .............................................. 350

H ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL ENTRIES BY SPORTS TO SECONDALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973 352

I PARTICIPANTS BY COUNTRIES IN DIFFERENT SPORTS AT THESECOND ALL-AFRICA G A M E S ............................... 354

J COMPOSITION OF CONTINGENTS TO SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES . 356

K MEDAL WINNERS ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973 ................... 358L RECORDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES,

LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1973 362

M SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973 MEDALS TABLES ........... 364N MEMBERS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEES FOR THE ECONOMIC OF

WEST AFRICA COMMUNITY STATES (ECOWAS) GAMES, LAGOS,NIGERIA, 1977 .......................................... 366

0 NIGERIA UNIVERSITY GAMES ASSOCIATION (NUGA) ADMITTEDTO FISU, 1970 .......................................... 370

P RECORDS ESTABLISHED BY NIGERIAN ATHLETES ININTERNATIONAL SPORTS COMPETITIONS ..................... 372

Q OFFICERS OF THE NIGERIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE............. 376BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................... 379

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page1 Early Trophies That Initiated Nigerian Youth to

Participate in Track and Field Events ................. 49

2 Outstanding Schools and Colleges that Participatedin Early Sports Initiations in Nigeria ................. 50

3 Army League Table, 1942 59

4 The First All-Nigerian AAA Championship Meeting atIbadan, April 3, 1947 Showing List of OutstandingAthletes in the M e e t i n g ................................ 71

5 Athletes Who Went to the First Tour of Britain in1948 under AAA of N i g e r i a ............ ................. 72

6 The Winners of Nigeria Challenge Cup Competitions,1945-1976 78

7 Nigeria Contingent That Toured United Kingdom With OneOfficial and Watched 1948 Olympic Games in London . . . 91

8 Nigeria at Vancouver Games, 1954 1009 Table of Medals at 1958 Cardiff, Wales G a m e s ....... 106

10 Table of Medals for 1966, Kingston, Jamaica Games . . . . 110

11 Table of Medals for 1970, Edinburgh, Scotland Games . . . 11512 Table of Medals for 1974, Christchurch, New Zealand Games. 121

13 Nigeria’s Performances in Commonwealth Games, 1930-1974 . 123

14 First Nigerian Team to 1952 Olympic G a m e s ................ 127

15 African Medalists in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games . . . . 14216 Medal Winners of 1965 All-Africa Games, Congo

Br a z z a v i l l e ............................................. 162

xii

LIST OF TABLES (Continued)

Table Page17 The Technical Committee for 1973 All-Africa Games,

Lagos, Nigeria .......................................... 171

18 Records of Friendly Athletic Contests Between Ghanaand Nigeria 1947-1972 174

19 Analysis of Results of Ghana-Nigeria First ShortFestival held in Lagos, Nigeria ....................... 178

20 Table of Medals for the First ECOWAS Games in Lagos,Nigeria between August 27 to September 3rd, 1977 . . . . 185

21 Programme for the Closing Ceremony of the First WestAfrica Games, Lagos, September 4th, 1977 ............... 186

22 The 1976 Africa Cup of Nations’ R e s u l t s .................. 19623 How I1CC Won the African Winners Cup . . . . . . . . . . . 20024 Successes of IICC of Ibadan, 1971-1977 .................... 201

25 Current Member Institutions of West Africa UniversityGames (WAUG)............................................ 205

26 Medals Table for the Fourth WAUG, Lagos, Nigeria,April 8-10, 1971 ........................................ 208

27 Medal3 Table for the Sixth WAUG, Ife, Nigeria,March 19-28, 1977 212

28 Medals Analysis According to Sports ...................... 213

29 Respondents to First Africa Universities Sports LeadersConference, Lagos, Nigeria, 1971 ....................... 217

30 Summary of Medals, First FASU Games, 1975 22231 I he 1975 FASU R e c o r d s ................................. . . 223

32 FISU Summer Games 1959-77 22533 Athletes Selected for Camping in Preparation for 1975

World University Games in Rome, Italy .......... 229

xiii

LIST OF TABLES (Continued)

Table Page34 FISU Qualifying Standards Compared with Nigerian

Universities Best Performances ......................... 231

35 The Responses of Athletes and Coaches/Administratorsby Frequencies . . . . . ............................... 259

36 The Responses of Athletes and Coaches/Administratorsby Frequency and Per c e n t a g e........................... 260

37 The Comparison of Athletes' and Coaches'/Administrators'Responses by Frequency ................................. 261

38 The Positive Responses Compared with NegativeResponses by Frequency and Percentage ................. 262

39 The Comparison of Athletes' and Coaches'/Administrators'Positive Responses by Frequency and Percentage ........ 263

40 The Comparison of Athletes' and Coaches'/Administrators'Negative Responses by Frequency and Percentage ........ 264

41 Nigeria's Sports Ambassadors to the CommonwealthGames, 1950 - 1974 ...................................... 340

42 Nigeria’s Medal Tables in the Commonwealth Games,1950 - 1974 348

43 The Commonwealth Summary of Gold Medals 1950 - 1974 . . . 351

44 Analysis of National Entries to Second All-AfricaGames, 1973 353

45 Participants by Countries in Different Sports at theSecond All-Africa G a m e s ............................... 355

46 Composition of Contingents to Second All-Africa Games . . 357

47 Medal Winners All-Africa Games, 1973 ..................... 35948 Records Established During the Second All-Africa Games,

Lagos, Nigeria 1973 363

49 Second All-Africa Games, 1973 Medals Tables ............. 365

xiv

LIST OF TABLES (Continued)

Table Page50 Members of the Sub-Committees for the ECOWAS

Games, Lagos, Nigeria 1977 .............................. 36751 Records Established by Nigerian Athletes in

International Sports Competitions ..................... 373

52 Officers of the Nigerian Olympic Committee ................ 37753 List of Personages Interviewed............................ 388

xv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1 Nigeria, Pressure and Winds (a) January; (b) July . . . . 22

2 Rainfall Haps of Nigeria.................................. 24

3 Nigeria Climatic Types .................................... 25

4 Physical Features of Nigeria .............................. 27

5 Map of Modern N i g e r i a .................................... 34

6 Maps of Nigeria Showing the Major Ethnic Groups andRegional Belts .......................................... 38

7 Organizational Structure of Early Sport Initiations . . . 65

8 The Early Structure of Central Organization forAmateur Sport in Nigeria................................ 83

9 The Structure of Central Organizations ControllingInternational Sports in Nigeria ....................... 235

10 Organizational Structure of National SportsCommission (NSC)........................................ 238

11 Organizational Structure of Nigeria OlympicCommittee ( N O C ) ........................................ 246

12 Organizational Structure of States Sports Council (SSC) . 249

13 Organizational Structure of Nigeria UniversitiesGames Association (NUGA)......................... 252

xv i

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The growth of sports in any nation is reflected by some related

historical facts. The development of Nigeria’s participation in inter- . national sport competition has a correlation of historical significance

which could be traced back to the written and unwritten record of events of the nation.

Sport In Nigeria is as old as the nation itself, but, unlike modern sports, it has not been widely organized and data are not avail­able to support any claims that could be made. The concept of modern sports came to the country through missionary schools and European clubs. These clubs and schools initiated the nation into modern sports

participation. According to the views of Laguda:Sports were able to gain enough grounds in our country

because we like them for as much as the society has no choice to compete with them . . . These sports serve as a socializing factor and we as Nigerians would like to be socialized with the contemporary world through sports. By tradition most of the foreigners who introduced these sports into our society were not ambivalent in their approach toward sports and other disciplines within our society. They did not allow either cultural inertia or cultural lag to strangle sports to death.

The true concept of amateur sports in Nigeria, however, did not begin until early 1940's after the World War II when most of the African

^Abiola Laguda, "Revolutionizing Sports In Nigeria," Nigeria Morning Post (Lagos), October 9, 1972, p. 31.

1

2

countries showed momentous impact in their awakening in the modern world. The exposure of Nigerians to the Western concept of freedom during the war years, the return of a few educated Nigerians from over­seas universities, the growth of modern markets, schools and colleges in the 1940's all called the attention of the nation to a real necessity of

organizing sports to international level. This view is fully endorsed by Laguda in his article, "Revolutionizing Sports in Nigeria."

. . . High standard of sports performance goes hand in hand with high standard of sports organization. The history of sports in Nigeria dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The foundation stone of organized sports in the country was not laid until early 1940's when the football, athletics, and boxing associations were formed in Lagos by a group of Europeans, Nigerians and other African indi­viduals either in the Civil Service or in the private life . . . 2

The rise and formations of many sports organizations between1944 and 1950 motivated Nigeria to enter the world of international

3 4 Ssports. Adedeji, Newham and Perkins pointed out that it was in 1950that Nigeria for the first time took part in the Empire and Common­wealth Gaines. Ever since that year, sports in Nigeria have been a national concern. Nigerian athletes have represented the country in Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, All African Games, West African Gaines, West Africa University Games, Africa Championship Soccer Series,

2Ibid., p. 31,3John Ademola Adedeji, "The Role of Physical Education in the

Nation Building of Nigeria," (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1972), p. 134.

AC. E. Newham, "Sports Review," Nigeria Year Book. 1952, pp.107-115.

"*W. A, Perkins, "Sports Review," Nigeria Year Book, 1953, p p . 70- 74. — ---------------

Federation Africa University Games (FASU) and Federation Internationale du Sports Universitaire (FLSU). The Federal Government of Nigeria has

realized the international importance of sports as a socializing factor

and as an avenue to promote Nigerian cultural heritage to other nations. An inference could be made from the large sum of money which the Federal Government spent in 1972 to complete the multipurpose Olympic standard

national stadium with the estimated cost of over 19.5 million dollars.

With developing nations like Nigeria seeking to employ their outstanding sport as a ticket to the international arena, the need is immediate for

a closer examination of this phenomena that motivated the country to participate in international sport competitions and the effects of

involvement and participation of the competitions on the nation.

Statement of the Problem

The main purpose of the study is to search, collect and examine

available and reliable information both verbal and written about the

development of Nigeria's participation in international sports competi­tion and its effects on the nation, with special reference to the period

from 1940 to 1977. It is the intention of the study to find suitable answers to the following questions that arise from the problem under study:

1. Has the transitional period of Nigeria from Britain any significant effect on international sport competitions on the country?

2. What main factors led the country to become Involved and participate in international sports competitions?

3. Do these competitions have any significant effects on the nation, and if any, what are they and to what dimensions?

4

4. How are the athletes Initiated and selected for these international sports competitions?

5. How does the country finance athletes for these interna­tional sports competitions?

6. What are the roles of clubs, associations, universities, and businessmen in these international sports competitions?

7. What were the major strengths and weaknesses in these

sports competitions, and how can we further improve our performances?8. To make recommendations where necessary for further

development and participation of Nigeria in international sport competitions.

Significance of the Study

Innumerable factors shape the life, structure, and policies of a young nation like Nigeria. Undoubtedly, the development and parti­cipation of Nigeria in international sports added to the factors that make Nigeria a nation both physically, socially, and internationally.

International sport competition has a long history, and it is an accepted fact that various factors motivated nations to participate In international sports competitions. Some of these factors have been asserted and carefully listed by Vendien and Nixon as politics, propa­ganda, International understanding and goodwill, education, health, economics, militarism, crime, recreation, rituals and ceremonies.^

6C. Lynn Vendien and John E. Nixon, The World Today in Health, Physical Education and Recreation (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1968), pp. 47-48.

5

Which of these factors and others led Nigeria into international sport

competitions? What are the effects of these competitions on the nation? Who are these athletes, and how are they selected and trained? These

and other related questions need answers. There has been no effort by

anyone to assemble the needed facts of the references on this problem despite Nigeria's twenty-seven years of experience in active partici­

pation and involvement in many international sports competitions.

It is the hope of the investigator that the understanding of

Nigeria's past involvement and participation in international sports competition and its effects on the nation will contribute to the pride of Nigerian athletes and coaches and through which they can come to

recognize their contributions to Nigeria's unity, progress, and interests in modern sports. It is through the careful study and exami­nation of the historical facts of Nigeria in International sports that

the people of the country can appreciate and understand the forces,

factors, and events that have shapened their destiny and self-image in the realm of sports. Thus the study surrounding the development of

Nigeria's participation in international sports competition and its

effects on the nation is highly essential and overdue.

The investigator also believes that it is through historical

facts that Insight is gained into the mistakes of the past, so that the greater sense of purpose may be identified and developed against the future. This concept agrees with Nevins’ opinion when he wrote:

6

Although when we use the word history we instinctively think of the past, this is an error, for history is actually a bridge connecting the past with the present and pointing the road to the future.^

Hopefully, the results of this study will be a sense of pride

for those who have contributed and participated in Nigeria's interna­

tional sports competition, and also be a stimulating factor for future studies in many other areas of international sports.

The Scope of the Study

The documentation of the study will be limited by the accounts of the development of Nigeria's participation in some outstanding and

popular international sports competitions. This study will only cover briefly the periods of initiating Nigerians into modern sports compe­

tition and more specifically the periods between 1940 and 1977. The

study will exclude national sports competitions or festivals during

these periods that have no bearing directly to the study. The study

will however cover Nigeria's involvement and participation in the

Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games, Fan African Games, Vest Africa Games, International football championships, and university games. Other

sports competitions between some few clubs, associations, and indi­viduals that are outside the realm of National Sports Commission,Nigeria Olympic Committee, and Nigeria University Games Association will be excluded.

^Allan Nevins, The Gateway to History (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1962), p. 14.

7

Hypotheses

With the above delimitations, the study will be based on the following hypotheses:

1. That some recognized and identifiable factors led Nigeria to involve and participate in international sport competitions.

2. That the development, involvement, and participation of

Nigeria in international sports competition have significant contri­butions to the emerging nation of Nigeria.

3. That Nigeria is no longer following the objectives and fac­

tors that initially led her to participate in these modern sports at the international levels.

4. That some problems facing international sports competition

could be identified and solved through adequate planning.

The Theoretical Framework

In taking full cognizance of various authors, scholars and writers on sports and games and more specially, physical education his­torical researchers, among whom are Bruce Bennett, Maxwell Howell, and

Uriel Simri,^ Charles A. Bucher,^ E. N. Gardiner,^ McIntosh,^

8Bruce L. Bennett et al., Comparative Physical Education and Sport, (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1975).

9Charles A. Bucher, A Foundation of Physical Education, (St. Louis: The C. V. Mosby Company, 1972).

N. Gardiner, Athletics of the Ancient World. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955).

“ P. D. McIntosh, Sport in Society, (London: C. A. Watts andCompany, Ltd., 1963).

12Deobold B. Van Dalen and Bruce L. Bennett, Lynn C. Vendien and John Nixon,^ John Ademola Adedeji,^ and Sydney Hall.'*''* The investiga­

tor has successfully utilized their various ideas in classifying,

analysing and comparing data collected from textbooks, documents from

private and public libraries, personal observations, interviews, ques­tionnaires and from daily papers to develop a theoretical framework for this study. The framework for analysing the development of Nigeria's

participation in international sport competition' and its effect on the nation is as follows:1, Nigeria as a nation

(a) A general background information on Nigeria for the purpose of providing the readers with a better understanding of the

country. Such information included the geography, climate,

geology and minerals.

(b) Historical setting of Nigeria that provided significant inter­

related information on events of the paBt from pre-colonial era

through colonial era to post-colonial era.

12DeoboldB. Van Dalen and Bruce L. Bennett, A World History of Physical Education and Recreation, (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1(*71).

13Lynn C. Vendien and John E. Nixon, The World Today in Health. Physical Education and Recreation, (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968).

14John A. Adedeji, "The Role of Physical Education in the Nation Building of Nigeria," (unpublished doctoral dissertation), Ohio State University, 1972.

^Hall, Owen Sydney, "The Role of Physical Education and Sport in the Nation Building Process in Kenya," (unpublished doctoral dis­sertation, Ohio State University), 1973.

9

2. Overview of modern sports initiation through the use of Empire Day

Celebrations, inter-school competitions, and club systems between 1930's to 1940's.

3. The development of amateur sports through the formation of sports

associations as they were in Britain between 1940's to 1950's.4. An overview of Nigeria's participation in international sports

competitions as from 1950-1977.(a) Participation in multi-racial international sports of the

Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.

(b) Participation in international sports within Africa continent—

All-Africa Games, West-Africa Games and soccer championship series.

(c) Participation in university games in West Africa, Africa and

world university sports.5. Overview of the central organization controlling Nigeria's partici­

pation in international sport competition.

6. Overall effects of these competitions on Nigeria based on the analy­sis of data collected.

7. Based on a synthesis of facts collected recommendations were made for further improvement of Nigeria's participation in international sports.

Methods and Procedures

The historical method of research was used to gather and analyse

materials related to the topic under investigation. History as viewed

in this study is as defined by Nevins, "History is any integrated

1016narrative or description of past events or facts written in truth.

Therefore in writing about the development of Nigeria's participation

in international sport competitions, it would be necessary to tell the truth as presented by history. Thus, primary and secondary information

were used to develop the study by collecting facts and informations from the sportsmen and women, coaches, teachers, sports councils and com­

missions, libraries, archives, files, and records and other possible sources connected with the problem.

The methods and procedures which were established and followed

to develop the study were grouped under six categories. These cate­gories included preliminary procedures, library research, interviews,

questionnaires, letters, and collection of materials and analysis of materials collected. The objective was to collect data on these inde­pendent variables identified from the problem by the investigator. The

independent variables definitely formed the theoretical framework for the study which had been earlier stated.

Preliminary Procedure

The preliminary procedures which were followed in the develop­

ment of the study revolved around (1) notification about the study;

and (2) formation of interview questions and theoretical framework for the study.

The field trip was made for this study to Nigeria. In order to prepare for the trip, the investigator wrote letters to some key people

in Nigeria ahead of the trip informing them about the studies and

^ Allan Nevins, op. cit., pp. 22-23.

11intentions of collecting information from them. The Secretary of

Nigeria Olympic Committee and President of Supreme Council for Sports

in Africa (Mr. Abraham Ordia), the Director of the National Sports Com­

mission (Mr. I. A. Akioye), his assistant (Dr. A. Eleyae), the Prema- nent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, the Secretary for the

University Games, university libraries and others were informed by writing about the study and about the investigator's field trip to Nigeria.

As a part of the preliminary procedures, the investigator did extensive library work at The Ohio State University libraries, Profes­

sor Bruce L. Bennett's office library, Nigerian university libraries, and Nigeria National Archives. Nigerian newspapers were also examined

to develop the needed theoretical framework for the study.

Library Research

Scanty historical facts are available on the problem under sur­

vey. In order to collect the few available up-to-date records, exten­

sive library research was done as one of the main primary sources. Many library services at The Ohio State University and in Nigeria were

utilized. In Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, Ife, Federal Govern­

ment libraries and national archives were used. The resource centers

at Nigeria Research Council, Sports Councils, Sports Commission, universities, colleges and other available sources In Nigeria were used. The major materials and informations in these primary sources

included books, periodicals, public documents, reports, microfilms,

newspapers, news releases, journals and previous studies. The selected

Nigerian newspapers, journals and periodicals that were used were:

12

Daily Times. Sunday Times. Morning Post, West African Pilot, and

Nigeria Year-book all from Lagos; Daily Sketch, Sunday Sketch, Nigeria

Tribune and Irohin Yoruba from Ibadan; Champion and Echo from Benin;New Nigeria from Kaduna; Punch from Ilorin; Drum, Spear and The Nigeria Teacher.

Under the library research, available records, documents and

files of many sport bodies were utilized. These sports organizations

included Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria (AAAN) for men and

women; Nigeria Football Association (NFA); National Boxing Association of Nigeria (NBA); Nigeria Lawn Tennis Association; Nigeria Table Tennis

Association; Nigeria Hockey Association; Nigerian Cricket, Badminton,

Netball, Swimming and Golf Associations; and the Nigeria Olympic Games Committee.

Further still, additional information was extracted from

files and records of sports councils and University Games Association.

1. InterviewVan Dalen indicated that "Institutions, movements, men and

women, associated with the development of play, sport and physical

education are waiting for an historical interview/'^ The bulk of the data collected came from personal interviews through sets of questions and tape recorder. The field trip to Nigeria was very successful.Many people were interviewed that were mostly connected with the problem under survey. Most of these people were important sport lovers,

17 D. B. Van Dalen, "The Historical Method." Research Methods in Health. Physical Education and Recreation, 2nd ed. Edited by M. Gladys Scott, (Washington, D.C.: Research Council, American Association forHealth, Physical Education and Recreation, 1959), pp. 465-481.

13

retired coaches, chairmen and secretaries of clubs, associations,

sports councils and sports commissions, university lecturers and few

members of Nigerian Association for Physical Health Education Recrea­tion (NAPHER). Most of the names were collected through sports

councils and commission and from coaches and athletes who showed keen interest in the study.

A set of carefully constructed questions were designed for this

purpose according to individual areas of expertise. One part of the

questions covered the factors that led Nigeria to participate in inter­

national sport competition. The second part was based on experience of

the athletes and opinions of Nigerians about these international sports.

The third part was historical in nature In order to collect informa­

tion about Nigeria's successes and failures in the games, also about Nigeria’s strengths and weaknesses, finance, problems, names of other top athletes that had taken part in these sports.

2. Letters

Additional information was collected through letters from sport

pioneers in Nigeria who could not be reached by either personal inter­

views or questionnaire forms. Some of the letters directed the

attention of the investigator to the national archives at Ibadan or to

the previous publications already done where enough information could be extracted.

3. QuestionnairePew selected individuals supplied Information to supplement

other sources through the use of questionnaire forms. All the questions

14

were to the issue and were based on the factors that led to the develop­

ment of Nigeria's participation in international sport competition and its effects on the nation.

Collection of Materials and Data Analysis

The information collected were carefully kept. For example,

the Information from the interviews were kept in a separate file along

with the tapes, films, and photographs collected during the trips.Books, cuttings, files, records and periodicals were neatly organized and filed. These were carefully studied and further used to develop

the framework of the study.

Questionnaire forms collected or returned were also kept and

studied closely. Data collected were analysed into frequencies and

percentages. These are used to develop the major factors that led

Nigeria to participate in international sports and effects on the nation.

Limitations of the Study

The study was limited with these conditions:

1. The study was limited by few written materials on theproblem.

2. The study was limited by the fact that most of the materials

were extracted from incomplete records of many clubs, associations and recreational centers that are either existing or no longer exist.

15

3. While trying to reach as many Nigerian athletes, coaches, sports bodies and sports organizers as possible, the investigator could not meet many people for interview due to poor means of communication and transportation.

Definition of Terms Used

In this study, the writer has used such terms as:

Academicals - refers to junior soccer teams from the secondaryschools.

Athletics - refers to track and field events.Anglophone - a term used to describe countries which had been

under the British rule. In these countries, English language is widely used.

College - refers to secondary schools and teacher trainingcolleges excluding higher Institutions.

European clubs - refer to clubs that were composed of mostly by whitemembership.

Empire Day - a popular festival celebrated on May 24 of every yearthroughout the then British Empire as Victoria Day.The festival was mostly for the youths at the primary schools. The festival was always accompanied by feasts, athletics and parades after reading the Queen's message from the throne.

Ethnic groups - the same as tribes.Francophone - a term used to describe countries which had been

governed by French government. In these countries, Franch is used more by the majority of the natives.

Foreign sports - all activities that are not indigenous but are aliento the African societies, and which are of European descent, such as soccer, basketball, golf, cricket.

Football - refers to soccer.

16

Games

Hockey

Indigenous clubs

League

Regions

States

SportsTraditional sports

Tribe

Sporting clubs

Abbreviations

AAANAFCBCGF

pasttime governed by temporary or permanent rules which take place in situation of fixed boundaries of time and space and exhibit characteristics of competition by which winners and loosers may be determined.

refers to field hockey.

refer to clubs that were exclusively of Nigerian membership like Yoruba Club.

single elimination tournament.Before 1967, Nigeria had four regions (East, North, West and Midwest). In 1967, the four regions were broken up into 12 states, and in February 1976, the present 19 states structure within the Federal Republic Came into being.refer to the present 19 states in Nigeria.

organized competitive sports and games.

refer to African indigenous activities such as wrestling, archery and dambe.

a social group comprising series of families, clans or generations.

grouping together of individuals with a common interest in a particular sport or activity in order to organize regular competition under established rules.

Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria. African Football Confederation.British Commonwealth Games Federation.

ECOWASFASU

- Economic Community of West Africa States.

- Federation of African University Sports.

17NOBEGA - Nigeria Olympic British Empire Games Association,NOC - Nigeria Olympic Committee.NSC - National Sports Commission.NUGA - Nigeria University Games Association.OAU - Organization of African Unity.SCSA - Supreme Council for Sports in Africa,WAUG - West Africa University Games.

CHAPTER II

NIGERIA AS A NATION

Various events and recent development in all aspects of life in

Nigeria have demonstrated convincingly the crucial importance of a full understanding of various elements and factors that make Nigeria a

nation. Extensive geographical, political, economic, historical and social changes have occurred in recent years over wide areas of

Nigerian life that an understanding of the existing pattern of develop­ment and of Nigeria’s potentialities call for a brief discussion of

physical environment and historical factors.

The objective of this chapter is to provide a background for a better understanding of subsequent materials in the study.

Geographic Factors; Environmental Settings:Position, Size and General Features

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is the largest single geo­

graphic unit along the West Coast of Africa. It occupies a position where the western parts of the African continent meet equatorial

Africa. Its area of over 913,072 square kilometres lies between parallels 4° and 14° north of the equator so that It is entirely within

18

19the tropical zone, extending northward from the coastline for over

1,040 kilometres.^

From the western border to the east, there is a distance of about 1,120 kilometres at the widest part. On the west is the Republic of Benin, to the north is the Niger Republic and the Sahara

Desert and along the eastern border lies the Federal Republic of Cameroun. The Atlantic Ocean washes the sandy coastline, known vari­ously along the western coast as the Gulf of Guinea, Bight of Benin and

Bight of Bonny for some 800 kilometres.

The mouths of the rivers which break through the coastline are

masked by walls of green mangrove trees. But behind this barrier, calm

lagoons extended from the western border into the great Niger Delta where they break up into a network of creeks and waterways that provide

valuable means of communication through this part of the country.

Beyond this, there is a zone of tropical forest with undulating country

and with scattered hills. Here, the country becomes more open and park-like with some hilly ranges. Further inland still, it developsinto an undulating plateau with some hilly granites and sandstone at a

2general elevation of 606 metres at the highest points.A conspicuous feature of the northern part of the country is the

great plateau which rises as a steep escarpment from the river bed plains of the Niger and Benue Rivers to an average height of 600 metres with ranges of hills between 1,515 and 1,818 metres in the Shere Hills

^"George E. Delury, The World Almanac and Book of Facts, (New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1977), p. 250.

2Nigeria Handbook 1973,(Lagos. Federal Ministry of Information, Academy Press Ltd. 1973), p. 9.

20

around Jos. To the north of that, the plateau descends gently in the

direction of Lake Chad in the northeast and more sharply to Zaria in the north central state.

Geology and Minerals

Nigeria is potentially rich in mineral resources among whichare tin, columbite, coal, gold, lead, zinc, gypsum, glass sands, clay,asbestos, iron ore, and crude oil for which Nigeria ranks as the sixth

largest producer in the world. "A mining corporation has been estab-3lished to engage in the mining of the solid minerals.”

These mineral deposits are connected with the country's geology which can be broadly divided into three categories. These categories

are, "the basement complex, the cretaceous sediments and the tertiary4sediments."

The basement complex covers about half of the nation. They lay

at great depths in the earth's crust and were altered by heat and pres­

sure, so that they are now represented by granites, gneisses, migna- tites, amphibalites and meta-sediments. Minerals like gold in dif­

ferent parts of the country are closely associated with amphibolites and schists, while meta-sediments are associated with marble and graphite.3

3"Federal Ministry of Information," Federal Republic of Nigeria (Lagos: Nigerian National Press, 1977), p. 8.

4George E. Delury, op. cit., p. 11.

3lbid.

21

Cretaceous sediments lie within the valleys of rivers Niger, Benne and Gongola. These areas are full of minerals like sandstones,

limestone, lead, and zinc ores.

The tertiary sediments are of recent formation around the Chad Basin and Niger Delta area* The country's petroleum deposit is asso­

ciated with this type of geology. These minerals which are associated with the geological features of the country make Nigeria a wealthy

nation, and the country used the wealth to sponsor many athletes to many international sports and improve sports facilities in major cities of the country.

Climate

Although Nigeria is wholly within the tropics, the climate varies from the typical tropical climate at the coast to sub-tropical further inland. Differences exist because of the two principal air

masses that affect the country during different periods of the year.

These air masses are the north-east air mass which blows across the Sahara Desert to Nigeria and the south-west Tropical Maritime air mass

which blows over the Gulf of Guinea to Nigeria. The north-east air

mass blows over the country from October to February. It is hot, dry

and dust-laden. The Tropical Maritime which comes from the south-west

is monsoonal in character and is composed of moist and relatively cool air. (See Figure 1 for monthly air masses direct-ions.)

LOW PRESSURE L.CtfAhH IG H

// / ///

/ /t AO jo v ~ jA M U M ir

* V * N AS ~ WtNJ>S

Sources W. A. Peckings and J. H. Stembridge, Nigeria, pp. 3 and 46.

Figure 1. Nigeria, Pressure and Winds; (a) January, (b) July

soK>

23These two air masses cause Nigeria to have two distinct seasons.

These seasons are the wet or rainy season and the dry season. The wet season lasts from March to October with rains almost every day. The

dry season lasts from November to February with little rain. Usually, rainfall decreases from the south northwards. In parts of Niger Delta

and south-east of the country, rainfall is about 140 inches a year. Further inland, the rainfall decreases to about 80 inches annually.

Further north rainfall decreases to about 30 inches annually. The dry season is the harvest season and is associated with many harvest festi­

vals while the wet or rainy season is the period of rainfall when

farmers plant crops. (See Figure 2 for rainfall distributions.)

TemperaturesTemperature throughout the country is comparatively high all the

year round with the mean maximum increasing northwards from the coastal

area. The mean annual maximums recorded over a period of years at dif­

ferent points in the southern Nigeria showed a range of 86°F-88°F. The mean annual temperature is 82°F.^

In the south, the highest temperatures occur in February to

March during the dry season while in the north, the highest temperatures occur between March to May.7 This type of temperature does not encour­

age active sports participation in the afternoons between the hours of 1:00 to 4:00 throughout the year. (See Figure 3.)

Harold D. Nelson et al., Area Handbook for Nigeria (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1972), p. 22.

7Ibid.

PLEASE NOTE:

Print on some pages is smalland indistinct. Filmed in t best possible way.

UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS,

SoLolo

/*c Arrt*ck*i

C*w *Qf

Wet Season, May to October Dry Season, November to AprilSource. W. A, Peckings and J. H. Stembrldge, Nigeria, pp. 40—41,

Figure 2. Rainfall Maps of Nigeria

N O R T H - S U D A NS O K O T O

160 ISO 140 13 O 120 110 10O 90 SO 70 60 SO 40 30 20 10

12

C O A S T A L PLAI N B E N I N Jn

ISO ISO 140 130 120 ,110 \fOO I CO BO 70 60 so403020io\

;o

M I DDL E BELT LOKOJA

! > >- -

1

r r H -

i i

i ■

V• t :

i ! ~- -

- — -

1

I 3 ^J f M A M J J A j O .'i D

COAST PORT HARCOURT

80 - 7C t 60 (-40 r

3C ■

20'*■

Source: W. A. Peckings and J. H. Stembridge,Nigeria, p. 45*

Figure 3. Nigeria: Climatic Thpes

26Humidity

The humidity varies considerably in different parts of the country at varying times of the year. During the rainy season midday, humidities are about 70% but during the dry season the humidities range from 60-65%. In the north, the humidity during the rainy season rises above 90% at night and declines to 60-70% at midday. During the har- maltan period (December to February) both day and night times, humidi­ties are quite low. During these periods sports and games are very difficult to organize because of the dryness of the weather plus the cracking of the skin and lips.

Drainage

The country’s overall drainage pattern is somewhat complex. In

the southwest, a drainage-divide runs from Republic of Benin border eastwards through the western high plains to the lower Niger valley.In the north, the water-shed pattern centres on the Jos plateau where some rivers flow to the Niger and Benue Rivers, and others to the direc­tion of Lake Chad. However, the dominant feature of the drainage is the Niger River and its principal tributary, the Benue River. The Niger River enters the Gulf of Guinea after a total traverse within the country for approximately 900 kilometres. (See Figure 4.)

In 1960, a dam was built on the river at Kainji town forming a fresh water lake. This lake was developed as a combined hydroelectric power and a river navigation project. This lake extends to about

Elevation In Feet !T_J Below 1,000 C~J 1,000-2,000 tTD Above 2,000

Figure 4. Physical Features of Algeria

28

100 milometres along the Niger valley from Kainji and over 25 kilo-J J , 8 metres in width.

Historical FactorsThe name "Nigeria" is derived from an African word "Niger,"

meaning great river. "Nigeria" therefore means "land of the mighty9river or the country of the great waters." It is therefore appro­

priate that the country should be named after 'River Niger' which is the biggest river in West Africa, with its most striking physical features and a very useful means of communication even before the advent of white men.

The borders shared with neighbouring countries have little con­nection with natural features. They are the results largely of agree­ments between expanding colonial powers made in the Berlin conference of 1885. This conference led to the scramble for land possessions in Africa.

The Pre-Colonial PeriodAcross the desert came many of the people now in Nigeria. From

the dawn of history to the nineteenth century, the history of the interior of West Africa was the history of the movement of different peoples and the constant process of fusion between them. Often these movements are impossible to follow in detail, and legend has to come to the help of history; but there is no doubt that new peoples and dynamic

O "Niger Dams, Kainji Hydro-Electric Development," The Nigeria Trade Journal XVII, (Jan./March, 1969), p. 14.

q Federal Republic of Nigeria, op. cit., p. 8.

29contacts between old and new were constantly enriching the life of the Nigerian peoples from the early times. In the ninth and tenth cen­turies, these movements of peoples formed part of the vast upheaval because of the rise of Islam in Arabia. This speeded up migration through Egypt into north and west Africa and combined with the scat­tering of older north African peoples in the desert and the Sudan. These people later settled in kingdoms with a high level of civiliza­tion along the coast.

Writing about this early history of Nigeria, Nelson wrote:Documentary sources and archaeological evidences revealed

the evolution of various dynamic interacting kingdoms several hundred years before the arrival of Arabs and Europeans in Nigeria . . .

Historical background evolves from numerous histories of large number of ethnic groups that populate the country. It is possible to trace the emergence of the various northern and southern ethnic clusters on the basis of their interac­tion within each other and with more distant peoples. The people in the north were culturally and economically tied to Islamic centers of north Africa by a complex series of trade routes several hundred years before the arrival of the Europeans.

In the south before the half of the nineteenth century, there existed strong forest kingdoms which had once been the most pwoerful of the states of the Guinea Coast.^0

This period ended with the coming of the missionaries and British government who colonized the country from 1914 to 1960.

The Colonial PeriodThe first set of Anglican and Methodist Christian missionaries

from Britain came to Nigeria in 1842 and they settled in Badagry, Calabar, Abeokuta and Lagos environments, and gradually they extended

^Harold D. Nelson, op. cit., pp. 48-50.

30their influences farther into the hinterland within the southern pro­

vinces.^ These Christian missionaries came with the purpose of spreading the gospel. While spreading their gospel, they made their

influence felt greatly by converting many listeners into Christianity. By and large, people congregated around the churchyards which later developed into early Christian schools.

Around 1885 individual European traders came and traded freely

with the natives. By 1893 the British interests and influences started

to gain ground through the aid of the various missionaries, traders,

and native obas and chiefs. Originally, British interests were focused

on the activities of Royal Niger Company (RNC) whose interests were

commercial. It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that

the British presence began to have an impact on the traditional pat­terns of the nation. Eventually, the Royal Niger Company transferred

the majority of its non-trading responsibilities to the British crown

and Nigeria was amalgamated as three separate administrative units— the northern Nigeria protectorate, the southern Nigeria protectorate and the Colony of Lagos. By 1906 the Colony of Lagos and Protectorate of

Southern Nigeria was merged into one administrative unit under Baron Frederick Lugard who was then the British Officer. And as from 1914,

in order to protect its commercial interests and the desire to elimi­

nate slavery, British government assumed the political administration

of the country by the unification of the northern protectorate with

^Okechukwu Ikejiani: Nigeria Education, (Lagos: LongmanNigeria Ltd. 1971), p. 43.

31the south. Thus Nigeria became a nation under the British crown from 1914 until the country’s independence in 1960.

The history of Nigeria from the early 1920’s is the history ofthe rise of modern nationalism and of the advance towards independence. Progress was at first slow but became more rapid after the Second World

War. Between 1946 to 1951 different constitutions were introduced which gave Nigerians first representative and then responsible govern­ment. Under the 1946 constitution, a federal form of government was introduced when the country was divided into three regions and a cen­tral legislature was set up to administer the whole country.

Education developed very rapidly during these years. Hundredsof Nigerians went abroad to study and many returned to Nigeria to help.Nelson described early Nigerian education like this:

. . . In the period between the two world wars public interest in education was heightened in the south by a gradually developing intellectual elite and by a growing national con­sciousness. Kingship and travil unions which sprang up in the main urban centres played a dynamic role in the improve­ment of education . . . Small local unions built a few primary schools, large federal unions financed the construc­tion of secondary schools and sent a promising young men abroad for higher education. A substantial number of educated members of the elite were supported through all or part of their university training by their local unions.^

Increased education and nationalism brought about the modifica­

tions of the constitutions in 1951, 1954, and 1957 respectively. Each one took the country a step nearer independence. Regional self- government was achieved by the former Eastern and Western Regions in 1957, while the former Northern Region attained the same status in 1959.

12Harold D. Nelson, op. cit., pp. 177-178.

32The federation as a whole became fully independent and sovereign on October 1, 1960 and achieved republican status on October 1, 1963.

The contribution of this period to international sports aware­ness and development was tremendous. Firstly, it was the period of establishing simple basic skills for sports and games in newly estab­

lished schools and colleges. Secondly, it was the period of initiating Nigerians into scientific ways of playing soccer, lawn tennis, hockey, cricket, basketball, volleyball, boxing, netball and conducting athletic meetings. Thirdly, it was the period of sports growth and development through inter-school and inter-club competitions in various sports. Fourthly, this period marked the birth and rise of clubs and sports associations in major towns and cities in the country. Lastly, this period was the birth of true amateur sports competitions in Nigeria when Nigerian athletes competed in major international competitions of the British Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

Post-Colonial Period

For Nigerians, the first of October 1960 was the date of destiny. On that day the Federation of Nigeria became politically independent from

the British colonial regime. Nigerians enjoyed its early independent years because there was no bloodshed before winning the independence.The enjoyment was however, short-lived when in May 1962 the major poli­tical crisis of post-independence erupted under certain political dif­ferences. Other chains of events followed in succession until a coup

detat by the Nigerian Army on January 15, 1966. Even since, there have been counter-coups and change of powers from one military ruler

to another. The country is now preparing to return to its former

civilian rule with its 19 states structure. Nineteen seventy-nine isa probable target. (See Figure 5.)

In actual fact, as from 1960 education at all levels has taken

a giant stride toward progress. A visitor from Europe, after a stay

in the country for few weeks remarked:

"I do not think that there is anywhere I have witnessedsuch a consuming thirst for education as I have seen in thiscountry."13

Today, Nigeria has introduced free primary education (Universal

Free Primary Education) throughout the nation. There are over 2,000secondary schools with over 200,000 students, over 400 teacher training

colleges with over 40,000 students, and eleven universities with over

20,000 undergraduates. In addition there are over 20,000 students inoverseas institutions. The Illiteracy rate under the British rule

14which used to be as high as 90% has now dropped below 30%.

Significance of the PeriodSports generally have witnessed the same rapid development both

at National and at international levels. During this period, Nigeria

took a greater role in the formation of All-African Games and even

hosted these Games in Lagos, 1973. She Increased her sports festivals

by forming national sports festivals for the Nigerian youth, partici­

pated actively In African Soccer Championship Series, West African

13"Information about Nigeria," Republic of Nigeria, (Washington Embassy of Nigeria publication, 1975), p. li.

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIAt t w l n t H « ■ * I M i > C t t f U i l

NIGER REPUBLIC

■IMurrurt

Figure 5. Map of M o d e m Nigeria

35University Games, Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Games, and World University Games.

Secondly, it was during this period that Nigeria built its

first modern multipurpose National Stadium which was valued 12.2

million Naira ($12.5 million). This stadium as at present, is the

most complex, most modern and most attractive of all stadia in Africa. At the opening of this stadium in Lagos on December 4, 1972, the head

of state, General Yakubu Gowon was quoted as saying:

Nigeria should no longer be counted among those who also run but should take its proper place among the great sporting nations of the w o r l d . 15

Thirdly, it was during this period that the Federal Government of Nigeria came openly to support sports. For example in 1971, the

Federal Government with decree 34 established National Sports Commis­sion (NSC) in order to make international sports competition a national

concern. Since the formation of this National Sports Commission (NSC)

in 1971, the head of state, state governors, state and national com­missioners have openly registered their full support to promote inter­

national sports at all levels. For example, the Daily Times of Nigeria

quoted the former commissioner in charge of sports while addressing the coaches, athletes a:d sport lovers during the first National Sports Festival which took place in Lagos in 1973 as saying:

Go get these hidden talents from everywhere in the country.The discovering of the potential stars must be a continuous process, and should not confine to the national sports

^Charles L. Heilman, "A Look at Physical Education in Nigeria," Physical Educator. XXXIII (1976), p. 43.

36festivals and big events alone but in every sport-day, inter-secondary schools, inter-unit soccer series, basket­ball championships, table tennis, inter-unit military units and grouping, every swimming struggle between boys and girls . . . All these are venues for detecting potentials and they must be constantly explored. Go, get all hidden talents everywhere in Nigeria, the Federal Government, directly or indirectly with his twelve states (now nine­teen states) set-up would bear the cost of seeking, grooming and keeping.^

Furthermore, it was at this time that women's sport attained a

high currency in Nigeria. Before that, most Nigerian writers and athletes were men and little was written about women's sports in inter­

national scene. Tayo Adebola, a lady sport writer is one of the first

to cover Dupe Oshikoya who is an outstanding athlete in track and field events in many international sports competitions. In writing about

this athlete, Tayo Adebola commented:

For some time now, Dupe Oshikoya's name has become a house­hold word in the field of sports. She has done so well that both at home and abroad, we can't but notice her impor­tance in this field. More recently at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, she set up another record by being the only African woman competitor to win a gold medal, and the only one from the continent to win a total of three gold medals . . . Her scholarship award for further studies abroad is justified . . .

Finally, it was during this period that Nigerian universities

intensified their efforts in international sports competition. Eleyae

once pointed out that the programs of physical education and sporting activities have been least successful in the institutions of higher

learning. No coaches or sports coordinators were employed in Nigerian

160. Esbee, "History of the Challenge Cup," Daily Times, Lagos, August 31, 1973, pp. 28-31.

^Tayo Adebola, "Women's Angle," Nigeria Tribune Ibadan,March 10, 1973, p. 9.

37universities to take care of sports programs. The British club systemworked well but with inter-university competitions at national and

international levels becoming increasingly popular, all the higher18institutions have changed. Though the institutions of higher

learning have not contributed significantly to Nigeria’s interna­

tional teams, the University of Nsukka and University of Ife in 1965

and 1968 respectively included physical education in their programs,

and other institutions of higher learning are taking long strides for­

ward in that direction and international sports competitions are gaining prominence.

The People

Nigerians that live within this environmental setting are esti­mated as a little over 55 millions. The 1963 Nigerian census recog-

19nized the existence of more than 250 ethnic groups. Physical

variations of the people in Nigeria are generally not sufficient to permit individuals to be identified as a member of a specific ethnic

group; the primary distinctions are however based on language, religion, custom and history. (See Figure 6.)

The country’s ethnic groups could be classified generally into five broad cultural types. These consist of (a) the Muslim Sudanic

cultures centred on northern city states, (b) the diversified forest and coastal cultures of the south-east, based on independent

18Awoture Eleyae, "Physical Education in Nigeria," op. cit.,p. 38.

19Federal Republic of Nigeria, pamphlet publication by the Federal Ministry of Information, Lagos, Nigeria.

s oV/£T SlASOfJ ti

— — — Jftow**/

Figure 6. Maps of Nigeria Showing the Major Ethnic Groups and Regional Belts

w00

39communities, (c) the forest kingdoms in the south-west, (d) the nomadic

pastoralists scattered throughout the northern states, and (e) num­

erous small less-developed groups in the middle belt areas along the20Niger and Bennue River valleys.

Each of the first three cultural varieties is represented by one of the major ethnic groups. These groups are Mausa and Fulani in the north, the Ibo or Igbo in the south-east, and Yoruba in the south­

west. About 90% of the ethnic groups in the north understand Hausa and

Fulani; about 99% of those in the south-west understand Yoruba while about 80% understand Ibo at the south-east of the country. These three

ethnic groups form about three-quarters of the total population of the 21country. (See Figure 6 for major ethnic groups.)

In the past, Nigerian ethnic groups distinguished themselves to

some degree by dress, distinguish scar patterns (at faces or bodies)

cut during childhood, speech and other distinctive traits of behavior.

Today, the practice of scar patterns has died down. Though no single

Nigerian language is understood by a majority of the population, but English, the imported language of the colonial power, is understood and commonly used by majority of the country inhabitants.

Despite the fact that these ethnic groups exerted a discon­

certing, and at times an almost disintegrating influence on the Federal

Government and on political matters, yet this diversity has never been

Nelson, op. cit., p. 103.21K. M. Buchanan and J. C. Rugh, Land and People in Nigeria.

(London: Warwick Square: University of London Press, 1962), p. 22.

40a major factor affecting the poor performances of Nigeria's participa­tion in international sports.

Broadly, this chapter showed that due to the country's position

and climatic factors, winter sports cannot be organised. Whatever the case, the success of Nigeria in some international sport competitions

actually rest upon geographical and historical antecedents already described in the chapter and which will be briefly discussed in the proceeding chapters.

CHAPTER III

EARLY PERIODS OF SPORTS INITIATION

The British to whose lot fell the onus of colonizing Nigeria

after the partition of Africa in 1884 endeavored to create an environ­

ment which would reflect the British ideology. This meant that they

had to make deliberate efforts to transplant British norms and mores

into their dependencies of which Nigeria happened to be one. Sport was one of the Instruments used. These early administrators and teachers

who championed these sports initiations were essentially products of British public school system or officials of the British army; so, they

carried with them the British middle class life and philosophy into

sports. "The concept of introducing Western sports competition into Nigeria was therefore very deliberate because sport was not introduced

to cope with the pressing need of the people*'^ such as education and

means to combat deadly diseases common among the people to which no

solution were envisaged, but rather, the concept was gradually intro­duced to replace the indigenous sport festivals.

The periods of initiation of Nigerians into modern sports could

be broadly divided into four distinct but merging periods. These

^Otonti Nduka, Western Education and the Nigerian Cultural Back­ground , (Ibadan: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 1.

41

42

periods are (X) the introduction of Empire Day celebrations; (2) the inter-school athletic competitions; (3) the emergence of club competi­

tions and (4) the friendly competitions between colonies.

The objective of this chapter will be to briefly describe each period and to show how Nigerians were gradually initiated into Western

sport concept.

The Empire Day Celebrations

Nigerians had their own traditional sports and festivals before

the British influence. Traditional sports and physical exercises were fundamental to the social and the vocational life of the people of

Nigeria. Indeed, during this era, work and leisure were so decisively physical that fitness and competitiveness, the twin pillars of sports,

were easily achieved. However, the range of sport and physical acti­

vities known to traditional Africa were very limited. These were swimming, walking, hunting, archery, jumping and running events. These traditional pursuits dwindled generally with the advent of the colo­

nial master, followed by the introduction of new form of education.

Then arose the problem of which culture should be transmitted to infuse the British philosophy over the whole nation.

The British pioneers of Western education had no doubt as to which culture should be transmitted. They laboured under certain pre­

conceived ideas which severely affected their mind. Of these precon­ceptions, the most potent, which eventually dug the grave of the

colonial regime was the introduction of a special festival, Empire

A3Day Celebrations into new schools to replace some of the scattered tribal festivals and celebrations.

The introduction of the Empire Day Celebrations was the begin­

ning of new era in the sporting life of Nigerians. Empire Day Celebra­

tion was a popular primary school competition which took place on May 2A of every year. "This celebration started In 1903 as a Victoria Day. It

was not until 1909 that the activities marking the festival wereincreased to include sports for school children in Nigeria apart from

2parade and feasting." That year a total of 39 schools, including

Quranic schools in the northern parts of Nigeria participated. The

early celebrations were full of athletic sports like ethnic dances,

acrobatic displays and running and jumping events apart from parading

and feasting. These were gradually replaced with organized track and

field events.

From 1927-1950, various mission and public schools started to

take an active part in the celebrations. Recalling his early school days, Chief Anthony Enahoro, one time the commissioner in charge of

labour and sports in Nigeria, wrote:

Empire Day in May was always made a great day, it provided an opportunity for Nigerian school children in mission and public schools to demonstrate their loyalty to imperial Britain. The Empire Day messages sent by the Governors and read to the children often stressed this. For instance in 19A9, the Governor said, among other things that the children should think about the British Empire and about Nigeria's place in it. He enjoined them to learn about Nigeria— its

J. A. Douglas, "Programme of Amusement," Lagos Standard, August 17, 190A, p. 8.

44history, geography, how it is governed and how Nigeria fits with the British Commonwealth and about its place in the world

The above shows clearly the anatomy of later years of the cele­

brations before they were replaced with Youth Day celebrations after

self-government in 1957, The preparations of the youths for these

celebrations were nearly the same as the preparations for the National4Sports Festivals today. The school children practiced for weeks for

athletics while the school bands, police and armed forces practiced for

the march past. On the day of the festival, classrooms were deserted

for the playing field. After saluting the Union Jack, the bands from the leading schools in each zone played "Rule Britannica" and ’God

Save the King.' This was followed by reading the Empire Day message,

then march past of schools and finally athletic competitions. The day

was often ended with children’s feast.

Facts collected from various personal interviews indicated that

athletic events of the Empire Days were not taken seriously. Most of the events were for fun but some of them especially the track and field events eventually initiated Nigerian youths to sports and British con­

cept. Furthermore, Nigeria being a large country with scores of group­

ings of people, each having a different environment, language,

3Chief Anthony Enahoro, Fugitive Offender, An Autobiography, (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. 1905), p. 44.

4National Sports Festival is celebrated every two years by all the states in the Federation of Nigeria. It replaces the youth cele­brations as from 1973. The main objective of the National Sports Festi­val is to promote national unity and inter-states sports participations.

45

tradition, religion and outlook and with each group producing something

different from the other, the Empire Day Celebrations on May 4 of every year had helped to set up a sense of unified sport celebrations, a sense

of oneness and a sense of initiation to new sports upon which interna­

tional sports competitions rest.

Further still, the open spaces which were cleared during the

Empire Day Celebrations for the purpose of the celebrations and initi­

ating the Nigerian youths to modern sports concept later formed sport­

ing venues for many clubs, associations and States Sports Councils.Many top athletes who represented the country in many international sports contests especially in soccer, track and field, golf, and

cricket up to 1950's used these spaces profitably to improve their

talents.

Writing briefly and concisely on Empire Day, Oladipo Soilewrote:

In schools, the prominent sports competition that introduced the youths to international sports was the 'Empire Day Celebra­tions' which was to mark and show loyalty to the British Crown . . . This Empire Day was a felicious Interaction amongst dif­ferent groups of people from different communities. The cele­bration was preceded by the national anthem, followed by the reading of the Empire Day Message from the throne, march-past and then sports competitions. Presents of little values such as singlets, exercise books, pencils, erasers, and badges were distributed to winners of the competitions.

Events in which the school children participated included 100 yards, 200 yards (for boys and girls), sack race, three- legged race, lime and spoon race, threading the needle, catching the train, long jump, high jump and pole vault. Traditional sports were sometimes used during these celebrations . . .

The fields used for these competitions were not smooth and spherical. They were rectangular in structure. There were pot-holes, stumps and all what not. These fields were later improved in later years as race courses and sport fields.

46The early pioneers of sports in this region and Nigeria as a whole such as Late Archdeacon John Mackay, Late Bishop Oyebode, Late Mr. Aboderin (a fast runner as far back as 1920fs), Mr. H. G. Ramshaw, and Mr. V.B.V. Powell of the Ministry of Western Nigeria (V.B.V. Powell was the most vociferous of all the pioneers of modern sports in Nigeria) built upon contributions of Empire Day and its influences to introduce sports to national and international standards . . . 5

There is no doubt that sporting activities during these Empire Day Celebrations which were used either purposefully or non-purposefully Initiated and opened the eyes of many Nigerians to the existence and importance of international sports competitions.

Inter-School Athletic CompetitionsThere is no doubt that the introduction of various shields and

cups into Nigerian secondary schools and teacher training colleges asfar back as 1930*6 had done much to initiate and inspire Nigerian

youths to participate in amateur sport competitions.Perhaps It is appropriate here to mention different categories

of schools in Nigeria that involve themselves seriously In these modernsports initiations. These schools are In three categories: governmentsponsored schools, government assisted schools and unaided schools and

6colleges. The government sponsored schools and colleges usually have the best equipment and facilities, because they are set up as model

institutions. The government assisted schools and colleges receive

Oladipo Soile, "An Analysis and Evaluation of the Organiza­tional Structure and Policy of the Western State Sports Council," (unpub­lished Field Report for Certificate in Management, January, 1971), pp. iO-11.

A. Babs Fafunwa, History of Education in Nigeria (London: George Allen Unwin, Ltd., 1974), pp. 92-165.

47

financial assistance from the government to supplement their incomes from fees charged. These schools and colleges are owned largely by

missionary voluntary agencies and communities. They are able to pro­vide some sport facilities and equipment for their students but not on

the same scope as in the government owned schools. The third category which is called unaided schools are the proprietary schools and col­leges that receive nothing from the government. They are private schools and colleges owned by individuals or organizations. Most of these schools have poor equipment and facilities.

These schools and colleges have two things in common. Firstly,

all of them have to register with the Ministry of Education, and secondly, they all take part in sports competitions at different levels.

Regardless of their sub-standard conditions, most of the schools and colleges took part in early inter-school athletic competitions.The majority of these schools took part in the competitions shown in Table 1, page 49.

All these shields and cups were donated by British administra­tors and educators who had deep interest in promoting athletics in such events like sprinting, middle distances and throwing events. Some of

the outstanding schools and colleges that were actively involved in these competitions are shown in Table 2, page 50.

Out of these inter-school competitions, the outstanding of them

all were the Grier Cup and the Hussey Shield inter-school athletic com­petitions. For example, V.B.V. Powell wrote:

48

. . . Before 1930, the main strength of Nigerian athletics lay in the Army, the teacher training colleges and the Empire Day Sports meetings for primary schools. Then with the advent of the Grier Cup and the Hussey Shield competi­tions in the secondary schools really began, though three teacher training colleges took part in the first Grier Cup contest. And this was probably one of the most exciting contests in the whole eventful series . . .

There can be no doubt that these two competitions— the Grier Cup in the ’West', and the Hussey Shield throughout the country have done much to develop school athletics and the Grier Cup has inspired the establishment of similar competi­tion in the then East and the North . . . ®

The Grier Cup Competitions

The cup was donated in 1933 by Selwyn Grier, the Commander of St. Michaels and St. George (C.M.G.), who was the Director of Education of the Southern provinces of Nigeria, This cup was donated mainly for

inter-school athletic competitions among all the secondary schools and

teacher training colleges in the Colony of Lagos and the Western Pro­vinces. Hundreds of boys participated in the competition. The col­leges and schools that participated in the annual contests were St. Andrews College, Oyo; Wesley College, Ibadan, Baptist College,Ogbomosho (now at Iwo); King's College and St. Gregory's College, Lagos. The Grier Cup Competition became tougher when Aionian group^ of high schools joined. Later, the teacher training colleges withdrew from the competition for the Ross Shield.

^V.B.V. Powell, "The Development of Athletics in Nigeria,"The Nigerian Sportsman. I (January, 1971), p. 12

lO^ionian group of schools are made up of Anglican secondary schools. Formerly, Aionian Shield competition was restricted to Ibadan Grammar School, Ondo Grammar School and Ijebu-Ode Grammar School from where the name came from, but it was now expanded to most Anglican (C.M.S.) grammar schools in the former Western Region of Nigeria.

TABLE 1EARLY TROPHIES THAT INITIATED NIGERIAN YOUTH

PARTICIPATION IN TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS

Trophy Years Presented

The Rowden Shield (1st shield) 1910 — 1925The Peace Challenge Shield 1919 - 1934The Governor's Shield 1921 - 1927

The Urling Smith Shield 1925 - 1934

The First Ross Shield (2nd shield) 1926 - 1954The Aionian Shield 1931 - PresentThe Fisher Shield 1932 - 1934The Grier Cup 1933 - Present

The Hussey Shield 1933 - 1934The Pernaby Shield 1933 - PresentThe Schilling Ford Trophy 1933The Second Ross Shield (3rd shield) 1955 - 1966The Third Ross Shield (4th shield) 1967 - Present

The Butler-Cooke Cup 1950 - 19717

John Ademola Adedeji, op. cit., p. 109.

50TABLE 2

OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES THAT PARTICIPATED IN EARLY SPORTS INITIATIONS IN NIGERIA8

Schools Location Date AgencyC.M.S. Grammar School Lagos 1859 Church Missionary SocietySt. Gregory's College Lagos 1876 Roman Catholic MissionMethodist Boys High School Lagos 1878 MethodistMethodist Girls High School Lagos 1879 MethodistBaptist Boys High School Lagos 1885 BaptistHope Waddell Tr. Inst. Calabar 1895 Church of Scotland MissionSt. Andrews College Oyo 1896 Church Missionary SocietyBaptist Teacher College Ogbomoso 1897 BaptistSt. Paul's Tr. College Awfca 1904 C.M.S.Oron Tr. Tr. Institution Oron 1905 Primitive MethodistWesleyan Tr. Tr. College Ibadan 1903 MethodistAbeokuta Grammer School Abeokuta 1908 C.M.S.King's College Lagos 1909 GovernmentEko Boys High School Lagos 1913 PrivateIbadan Grammar School Ibadan 1913 C.M.S.Ijebu-Ode Grammar School Ij ebu-Ode 1919 Church of Scotland MissionOndo Boys High School Ondo 1919 C.M.S.Ibo Boys Institute Uzuakoli 1923 Primitive MethodistBaptist Boys High School Abeokuta 1923 BaptistDennis Mem. Gram. School Onitsha 1928 C.M.S.United Missionary College Ibadan 1928 MethodistSt. Thomas' College Asabo 1928 Roman Catholic MissionSt. Charles' Tr. College Onitsha 1929 Roman Catholic MissionGovernment College Ibadan 1929 GovernmentGovernment College Umuahia 1929 Government

gA. Babs Fafunwa, op. p. 284.

cit., p. 99 , and J. A. AdedeH, op. cit.,

51

The Hussey Shield

The second popular trophy was the Hussey Shield which was

donated in 1933 by Mr. E.R.J. Hussey, the Director of Education in Nigeria. Hussey was a sport lover and a top athlete in Britain before

he was appointed the Director of Education in Nigeria. When he resumed

duty in Nigeria, Hussey observed that there were many independent and provincial athletic competitions. These mushroom inter-school compe­

titions were good but they did not influence national unity and under­

standing that were very essential for the young nation. Hussey then

donated a giant shield for all schools in the then northern and southern provinces of the country. The first competition on May 1,

1933 was in track and field events by representatives from both areas.

This competition was held at the Government College, Ibadan. The

second meeting in 1934 was held in Kano, The south won both of these meetings.

Commenting on the importance of this competition to Nigeria, V.B.V. Powell wrote:

In these meetings lie tremendous possibilities for future closer associations of, and understanding between, the people of Nigeria . . . Other benefits derived from this competitions were that boys were brought together from all over the country for the first time to share good qualities, to know one another in the happy atmosphere of an athletic competition . . . Compe­tition must be a factor in developing the understanding that will eventually make Nigeria a united country.H

“ v.B.V. Powell, op. cit., pp. 12-13.

The Ross Shield

In 1926, Captain W. A. Ross (CMG), President of Oyo Province, donated a shield for a triangular competition between the three old

teacher training colleges in the province. These colleges were St.

Andrews College, Oyo; Wesley College, Ibadan; and Baptist College,

Ogbomoso (now Iwo). The meetings were held in rotation between the three colleges from 1926 to 1954 except for the period from 1941 to

1947 due to the effects of the Second World War. In 1955 W. T.

Mackell, Deputy Director of Education of Western Nigeria replaced the

trophy donated by Captain Ross with another shield which was also

named the Second Ross Shield. That shield was also competed for between 1955 to 1966 when another shield was donated in 1967 and re-named, Third Ross Shield. This competition is still popular between

the three teacher training colleges.

The Butler-Cooke Cup

Perhaps the fourth popular competition was the Butler-Cooke

Competition. The origin of this competition dated back to 1949 when

the Inspector of Education for Western Provinces visited St. John Bosco's College, Ubiaja. A student teacher representative who had

heard of the successes of the Grier Cup competitions for Nigerian

secondary schools and Ross Shield for the triangular teacher training

colleges asked the Chief inspector of Education whether it could be

possible to have an annual athletic competition in line with the Grier

Cup and Ross Shield competitions.

53

On getting to Ibadan, the Chief Inspector wrote to all princi­

pals of the teacher training colleges to seek their views on the sub­

ject. Below was one of the contributions made to the debate by the representative of the principals:

St. Augustine’s Elementary Teacher Training College, Akure.15th August, 1949.

The Chief Inspector of Education,Western Provinces,Ibadan.

Sir,

Athletic Competition for Teacher Training Colleges:

Reference your No. C./W.3670/71 of the 15th August 1949,we are highly in favour of the idea of having an athleticcompetition for teacher training colleges. It seems an eminently practical way of getting students in training actively interested in athletics.

We are prepared to cooperate in every way possible asto the organization.

Signed,

Fintan P. Nelly SMAPrincipal.12

Many principals of the teacher training colleges were in favour

of such a competition. The competition started fully In 1950 and was

first called Teacher Training Colleges Sport. In 1950, Hunt Cooke

12Sports and Games, Ibadan, National Archies, 1949.

54succeeded F. K. Butler as the Chief Inspector of Education. Hence, the

competition was renamed after the names of the two educators, Mr. F. K.

Butler and Hunt Cooke as Butler-Cooke Athletic Competition.

Soon after the creation of the Mid-West Region (now Bendel

State) out of the former Western Region in 1963, the colleges in that

area ceased to take part in the competition. Most of the cups they

won were retained. Since that time performances started to fall until 1965 when the colleges in the former Western Region were divided into

zones, namely, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Egba, Ibadan and Colony. Soon, in

1967, Lagos State was created and Ifako African Teacher Training College

in Lagos area retained all the cups they had won. In 1970, the competi­

tion became known as Butler-Cooke Principals' Cups because the princi­pals in the teacher training colleges added more cups to the competition.

Finally, in 1971, the name of the competition was changed to Fagbulu-13Oredugba-Principals' Cups competition.

These competitions sought to do more than to raise the standard

of athletic performances in Nigerian schools and colleges. They helped

to establish high standards of track and field lay-out, officiating,

running of sports programme to time and provision of sports facilities

and equipment. For example, the pole vault box was first intro­duced in the 1933 Grier Cup competition. Up to that time, pole vaultcompetitors had to dig a hole with the end of their poles and this led

14to many accidents. Secondly, the biggest transformation came among

•^Butler-Cooke Cup Competition Record Book, 1954-1976.

•^V.B.V. Powell, "The Development of Athletics in Nigeria," op. cit., p. 12.

55officials at sports meetings. The lesson which was learnt was how to

organize sports meetings and. officiate adequately without expecting any

reward. Lastly, better equipment were gradually introduced into these meetings to broaden the athletic programme in order to bring it into

line with the events generally accepted for international competitions.

For example, in the Grier-Cup Competition organized in 1933, cricket ball was used for the throwing of discus, and ordinary pointed sticks

were used for javelin. V.B.V. Powell remembered vividly when he wrote, "It took time to replace them with metal discus and metal shaft javelin."15

Hundreds of athletes were produced in these competitions. It is

probably Invidious to mention names as they came from the memories of many people and not from records. However, a few names that were fre­

quently and constantly mentioned deserve distinction* Some of these

names are J. K. Oye in 1936 from St. Andrews College Oyo, whose polevault record stood until It was broken by Isaac Ekpeti of St. Gregory’sCollege ten years later in 1946; J. D. Odebunmi of Baptist College,

Ogbomosho who was very outstanding in half-mile race together with G. 0.

Ojutalayo of Government College, Ibadan; I. S. Adewale of King’s Col­

lege, Lagos, and I. T. John Bull of the same college who performedexcellently in a mile race during the Hussey shield competitions.

16Others were Harding Ekperigin of Government College, Ibadan who first

15Ibid.16h . Ekperigin is the first Nigerian to be trained as physical

education specialist in Britain, who later became Inspector of Educa­tion (P. E.) in the former Western Region and later Senior Inspector of Education CP* E.) at the Bendel State before he retired.

56established a national record in long jump with 22 feet, 2-1/2 inches

during the Grier-Cup Competition before Babs Olowu, Tunde Williams and

Tunde West broke the record in 1937 with a jump of 22 feet, 3 inches.

Some other prominent names that should not be omitted in this

list are S. I. Fawehinmi, J. B. Lafimihan, Y. S. Tafa, G. A. Deko,A.A.E. Sagey, T. Ejiwumi, H.T.W, Briggs, K.A.B. Olowu, F. A. Ajado,

M. A. Arogundade, T. A. Erinle, S. Bature, G. Umoro, A. Musa, A.Aboyade, K. Agbabiaka, S. Igun, R. Ojo, S. 0. Williams, and Isaac

Ekpeti who in 1946 first jumped 12 feet, 0-1/2 inch to set a national record in pole vault. That record stood for five years, until 1951 at

the same Grier Cup Competition where Josiah Olotu broke the record with

12 feet, 7 inches.

The Inter-Club Competition

Competitive sports started to gain impetus in Nigeria in the

1940’s when it began to create spectator interest. Some major fac­tors that contributed to this impetus were the growth of cities and

industrialization which made it possible for more people to earn more money and to have more leisure hours in the rapid growing cities. This

was not so before 1940fs when the concept of amateur sports was just germinating between clubs.

Before 1940's the main strength of Nigerian athletics lay in

the army, the police force, the railway company, the Marine United,

United African Company (U.A.C.) and the prisons. These bodies estab­

lished various sports and games clubs, which eventually spread track and field events, soccer, lawn tennis and other games to all the corners of

Nigeria. However, most early clubs were commonly found in cities

57especially Lagos where existed the Lagos European Cricket Club, European

Recreational Club, Lagos Cricket and Recreational Club, the Lagos Club,

the Christmas Sports Club, Muslim Athletic Club, Young Men's Athletic Club and the Polo Club.^ Most of these clubs ran athletic and other games meetings for their members.

In writing about the programme and general features of these clubs, the Sport Editor of Lagos Weekly Record wrote:

The first European club to be formed in Lagos ran an athletic meeting for its members on the 22nd and 26th of December, 1900 in Lagos. Other clubs too held their meet­ings . The programme of events were flat races which included 100 yards, 220 yards and 440 yards. The jumps included long jump, high jump and hop-step and jump. Throwing events included throwing the hammer and throwing the cricket ball.There were other events like costume race and old members race. Valuable prizes were distributed at the end of each competition. Other clubs like the Muslim Athletic Club,The Christmas Club and Youth Clubs had some athletic events in their programmes during the festivals . . .

Soon after the successes of these clubs, inter-club sports and games followed with inter-colonial contests . . .

The first inter-club sport meetings held by the clubs outside Lagos was in 1921. That inter-club competition was held in Kaduna by inter-battalion Nigerian Regiment but other clubs were invited from Lagos to take part. "This inter-club competition continued as inter­battalion championships up to early 1930's when reorganization was

^"The Lagos Club," Lagos Standard, January 24, 1906,p. 10.

18The Sport Editor, The Lagos Weekly Record, December 2, 1900, p. 3, and Lagos Standard, August 13, 1902, pp. 4-5.

58introduced into the Nigerian Army which eventually affected the organi-

19zation of the competition."

Other similar championships were introduced around this time in the south by the British officials on active service in the Royal West African Frontier Force. Others in the competition were the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), British veterans serving in the Protectorate of Nigeria as administrators, educators of British origin and a few British and American missionaries. Many native clubs were invited into the championship meetings. The organizers of these meetings did not waste time, despite poor facilities, equipment, officiating and trans­portation to initiate Nigerians into modern sport competitions.

20"Nigerians too were very keen indeed to learn more about sports."

With the Second World War still raging on, Lagos became a strongcentre for army personnel and for inter-club competitions. The armyfound time to organize weekly and monthly sports among themselves.

Football league was well organized between them apart from athletics,cricket, golf, polo and horse racing. Sixteen teams represented thefirst inter-club football competitions in Lagos. Windsor Barracks in

211942 won the league and Cumberland Barracks was the runners-up. (See table of league below.)

19Samuel Akpabot, "40 Years of Nigerian Athletics," Nigeria Daily Times , October 13, 1972, p. 7.

20V.B.V. Powell, "The Development of Athletics in Nigeria 1933-1954." Nigerian Sportsman, I (January, 1971), p. 13.

^"Vigilant," Daily Times, October 31, 1942, p. 8.

ARMY LEAGUETABLE

TABLE,323RD MAY, 1942

59

Team Played Won Lost DrewGoalsFor

GoalsAgainst Points

Windsor Barracks 3 3 0 0 13 1 6Cumberland Barracks 3 3 0 0 24 2 6RAP 3 2 0 1 15 3 5Royal Navy 3 2 0 1 25 6 5

Records 3 2 1 0 12 4 4

Command Pay I 3 2 1 0 18 8 4Signals European 3 1 0 2 6 5 4

RAF Botonlans 3 2 1 0 13 13 4Camp Africans 3 1 1 1 11 10 3Coast Defense European 3 0 1 2 6 9 2Burnley Barracks 3 1 2 0 9 15 2

A.H.Q. Europeans 3 1 2 0 5 14 2

Ikoyi Barracks 3 0 2 1 5 14 1

Coast Defense African 3 0 3 0 4 18 0

Command Pay II 3 0 3 0 3 23 0

Signals Africans 3 0 3 0 2 26 0

Source: Nigeria Daily Times 23rd May, 1942 Vol. XVI, No. 5905,

The police too organized separate inter-club competitions for soccer and athletics. Major fields that were used in Lagos for these competitions were Association grounds, Apapa Marine Grounds, Ebute Meta Grounds and Yaba Stadium. Football between clubs was organized and

60

played from mid-January to early April and from early September to late22November to avoid rains.

Various trophies were donated to promote inter-club competi­

tions. One of these trophies was the Inspector General's cup donated by Inspector General of Police, C. W. Duncan, for the Colony Police Clubs. This cup was competed for once in every two years at Obalende Police grounds. Other trophies were Sr. Kitoyi Ajasa's Cup for a mile race, Muslim Jamat Cup for football, A. B. Bailey Cup for 880 yards, and F. B. Mulford Cup for the relay-race.

Similar inter-club competitions existed in hockey, cricket, regatta (boat race), wrestling, boxing and lawn tennis in different parts of the country. Some major clubs in these inter-club competitions

were Army Athletic Club, Marine Amateur Athletic Club, the Methodist High School Amateur Athletic Club, the Police Club, the Railway Club,St. Gregory's College Club, Zlk's Amateur Athletic Club, Zac Bombers

Football Club of Lagos, Hercules Football Club of Ibadan, Africa Foot­ball Club and others.

Provincial Club CompetitionsAlong with inter-club competitions were the Regional and Pro­

vincial club competitions. These clubs helped to promote amateur sports in athletics, football, boxing, basketball, volleyball, swimming, lawn tennis, netball, and hockey through inter-provincial competitions.

The provincial concept came into being after the amalgamation of

the country in 1914 in order to involve many people in the administration

22 Sports Editor, Nigerian Daily Times> No. 7,056, November 29, 1943, p. 8.

61of the country. So, within each region were provinces and districts. Within these districts and provinces were various sport clubs. The initiation of youths both in the villages, towns and districts into

modern sports came through these provinces and through their provincial clubs. Competitions on club basis at this level were controlled by elected and experienced sportsmen from various spheres of life. These sportsmen were the representatives of clubs and interpreters of instruc­tions and orders from the regional sports headquarters.

The most important duty of these sportsmen who were sports organizers was to organize district and divisional competitions among the clubs in the provinces. During these different provincial inter­

club competitions, talented and skillful players from different clubs would be screened out for further competitions in the regions. This method worked very well during the colonial era, and during sports initiation years because many youths in the remotest villages were

given the opportunities to participate in sports, meet competitors of other ethnic groups and clubs on the field of sports.

Out of these provincial contests organized on inter-club basiswas the "senior athletic competitions for Sir Clifford Shield as from

231931 and the juniors for Colonel Mair's Shield." These two competi­tions did not attract crowds until 1932 when Sir Donald Cameron donated a

23C. E. Newham, "The Olympic Games and Nigeria," The Nigerian Teacherj XX (April 1951), p. 24.

62big bell instead of a trophy to be competed for in a ten-mile cross

24country race. The Fourth Battalion won the bell first.

As the Colonel Hair's shield was being competed for by the juniors, Mr. R. G. Henderson's cup donated mainly for the Nigerian

police in the provinces was drawing the police crowds to the police athletic meetings. In these early years, these shields, cups and bell

yielded good results by producing top athletes for Nigeria. Mr. J. A.

Adeola who was once a triple jumper both at Nigeria national and inter­national champion was tapped out through these provincial inter-club

competitions.

The Friendly and Inter-Colonial Competitions

Friendly competitions between European clubs and African clubs were prominent in Lagos before the turn of the century. The

first recorded inter-colonial friendly competition was in 1903 when

the cricket club and Regional club took the initiative to invite their Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) counterparts for cricket, tennis, billiard and golf competitions. This friendly competition took place on April

10, 1903 in Lagos at the race course. Ghana colonial teams won most of 25the events.

24Sir Donald Cameron was the fourth Governor of Nigeria. He had great interest in long distant events but the Governor's objective of donating a bell instead of a shield or cup like other colonial masters and army officers to initiate youths to modern sports was not clear.

^Sports Editor, Lagos Weekly Record> No, 30, April 11, 1903,p. 8.

63Shortly after the visitors left, other cricket and recreational

clubs sprang up. Prominent among them were the Unity Cricket Club led

by M. L. Goyea, Derby Cricket and Recreational Club of which Late26Herbert Macaulay was a member. By 1905, Lagos and Southern Provinces

had many clubs and players from which to select good players to match

Ghana team. In order to achieve victory in the next match, the clubsarranged, "All versus All" competition in January 1905 to select teams.

After the tournaments, the following names were selected for the cricket

return match: Kijoyi, Ajasa, S. B. Reffell, J. B. Paris, T. Jackson,

Evelyn Williams, Hudson Cole, Dahl, Daniel, I. Wey, Herbert Macaulay,27E. 0. King, and Victor Campbell. The return match took place on

28May 1905 and the Lagos selected team won by 9 wickets and three rune.

The 1905 successful handling of the return match between the Ghana and Nigeria teams gave rise to the formation of a selected com­

mittee drawn from officers of the existing clubs. Before 1930, the

friendly matches that started as a club affairs had become a Lagos

colony affairs and had broadened out to embrace the whole of what was called the Southern Provinces. Teams were no more drawn from Lagos alone but also from Southern Nigeria for the inter-colonial friendly

competitions.

From 1917 to 1930, various inter-colonial friendly competitions

continued to take place mostlv between Ghana and Nigeria in cricket,

26Sports Editor, Lagos Standard, January 11, 1905, p. 10.27Sports Editor, Lagos Standard, April 26, 1905, p. 10.28Sports Editor, Lagos Standard, May 3, 1905, p. 10.

64

football, lawn tennis, horse racing and later athletics. Unfortunately,most of these competitors were mostly elites except in football. The

first soccer selected Lagos team played against Ghana team on 20thApril 1918 and then against the whole of Nigeria selected team that

29year. Between 1920 and 1940, various clubs sprang up and intensive competitions started between clubs. One club that did a lot to promote inter-colonial sports competition more than others was Zik's Athletic Club. Zik’s Club was founded in 1938 by Dr. Azikwe after his return from America. This club had seven sporting activities. These included

athletics, boxing, cricket, crosscountry, football, swimming and tennis. Undoubtedly, soccer ranked high among them. ZAC (Zik Athletic Club) had three outstanding teams that helped to promote friendly competi­tions between clubs and between Ghana and Nigeria. These teams were (a) Bombers that played in division one, (b) Spitfire that played in division two, and (c) Hurricane that played in division three. These three divisions up-graded the standard of soccer throughout Nigeria.

Between 1940 and 1950, athletic and soccer competitions were grouped under two categories— the senior and the junior divisions.(The junior division was for boys under 18 years of age and seniors above 18 years.) These two divisions still continue today for both men and women.

Organizational Structure of Early Sports InitiationOrganizational structure of early sports initiation in Nigeria

before the formation of amateur associations and Nigeria Olympic Com­mittee (formerly called Nigeria Olympic British Empire Games Association)

^Sports Editor, Nigeria Pioneer, May 3, 1918, p. 10.

65in early 1940's and 1950’s respectively was very simple. (See Figure 7 below.)

1 »

DivisionalCompetition

ProvincialCompetition

Inter-ClubCompetition

RegionalCompetition

InterschoolCompetition

Friendly Inter­colonial Competition

Figure 7. Organizational Structure of Early Sport Initiation.

The structure followed the political set-up of the nation into districts, provinces and regions by the colonial regime. At district levels were various sport clubs. These clubs organized inter-club and divisional competitions through the leadership control of secretaries and chairmen of the clubs.

Competitions at the provincial levels were controlled by

elected members from the clubs. These elected members were mostly chairmen and secretaries of clubs from the districts. These elected members controlled sports at district and divisional levels from the

district headquarters.

66The inter-school competitions were many and differed according

to the status of schools and colleges. Most of the competitions were however, controlled by either the Ministry of Education or voluntary agencies (mostly missionaries) and assisted by interested colonial and native educators.

The friendly inter-colonial and regional competitions were mostly controlled and organized by the colonial masters together with few elites in the country through their clubs.

The above organizational structure made the club-system concept popular in Nigeria till today. Facts collected from related litera­tures and people who took part in these early sports initiations showed that considerable attention was given to athletics (track and field

events), followed by soccer, boxing, cricket, netball, and tennis before basketball and volleyball came into the club system in the early 1960's when associations in the games were formed. Some of the main outstanding indigenous clubs at these periods were: Zik's Athletic

Club, Yoruba Club, Baptist Academy Club, Ibadan Athletic Club, Lagos Athletic Club, Police Athletic Club, Delta Club, Yola Club, Marine

Club, Mapara Boys Club, Paramount Boys Club, Youth Boys Club, Costain Boys Club, University College Ibadan Club, King's College Lagos Club and Government College Ibadan Athletic Club.

CHAPTER IV

EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF

AMATEUR SPORTS IN NIGERIA

Different competitive sports existed in towns, villages and with­in tribal groups before the first schools were established in what is now Nigeria between 1840 and 1850.^ Prominent among these contestswere wrestling, sword fighting, dancing, pole vaulting, various forms

2of running, standing broad-jump, and aquatic activities. These acti­vities however, varied from village to village and from one ethnic group to another. The rules of these activities were simple and some­times agreed upon on the spot by the participants. A successful youth who reigned high in his competition above his age-groups or over thoseolder was held high and well honored by elders.

With the coming of schools and colleges came more organized running, jumping, throwing and catching with variety of ball activities. These sports and games which came through the missionaries, merchants, soldiers and British administrators were however patterned after the sports and games in the 19th Century England.

^Ikejiani Okechukwu, Nigeria Education. London: W. H. Allen,1968, p. 40.

2V.B.V. Powell, op. cit.. p. 13.67

68

Between 1900 and 1940, major changes took place. A num­ber of Government schools were established, the army and police were

properly organized, and the teacher training colleges were taking pro­

per shape. This means that sports and games were well initiated into

the country and by 1944 to 1950 many sport Associations were already

formed. These Associations initiated Nigeria’s participation in inter­national sports competitions.

The Formation of Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) of Nigeria

The Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) which was formed in 1944

controls athletic participation throughout the country. The setting up of the Association for Nigeria proved far more difficult than the initi­

ation of Nigerians into modern sports. "The first move to have a draft3constitution for the inauguration of AAA of Nigeria was in 1936." The

move died a natural death from the lack of support from various athletic

clubs in the country.4Again, in 1938, a group of sports enthusiasts gathered together

in Lagos to form AAA in Lagos with the hope to interest school leavers

in track and field and to form an amateur association body. The meeting was not successful until 1942 when organized athletic competitions were

held between the following clubs: Army Amateur Athletic Club, MarineAmateur Athletic Club, Zik’s Amateur Athletic Club, the Police Amateur Athletic Club and St. Gregory’s College Amateur Athletic Club.

3Abiola Laguda, "Revolutionising Sports in Nigeria," Morning Post (Nigeria), October 9, 1972, p. 18.

4Ibid.

69

The success of the competition led to the formation of AAA of Nigeria

by a group of Europeans, Nigerians and other African individuals

either in the civil service or in private life. Those in attendance at

the 1942 inaugural meeting were: The late Captains D. H. Holley, S. 0.Jolaoso, Late L. J. Lewis, Captain E. A. Miller, Late Justice Luke Emejulu, T. E, Archibong, Late F. K. Butler (former Chief Inspector of

Education Western Provinces), Late H. A. Clift (former Principal of

Kings College, Lagos), V.B.V. Powell, R. H. Henderson (Head of the Nigeria Police Force), H. J. Ekperigin, P. W. Price, N. S. Clouston,S. M. Oduba, T. B. Welch, and C. Wilson. The first elected officers

were D. H. Holley, as the President, V.B.V. Powell as the Secretary,

and S. 0. Jolaoso as the Assistant Secretary.'*

V.B.V. Powell in commenting on the foundation stone of AAA of Nigeria wrote:

The setting up a controlling body for athletics throughout Nigeria proved far more difficult than the establishment of various bodies to organize school athletics. The first draft constitution for an Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria died from lack of support and interests. Perhaps, the need for such a body was not fully appreciated at that time. Some years elapsed before the combined efforts of E. A. Miller and S. 0. Jolaoso rescued that skeleton from Nigeria's athletic cupboard and succeeded in bringing it to life and the AAA of Nigeria came into being.6

In that same year, 1944, when AAA of Nigeria was formed, Lagos

branch of AAA was formed with Captain D. H. Holley as the Chairman and S. 0. Jolaoso as the First Secretary. "The Western branch of AAA of

Nigeria was not formed until 1948 through the enthusiastic efforts of

5C. E. Newham, Nigeria Year Book 1952, pp. 107-115.^V.B.V. Powell, op. cit., pp. 12-13.

70British Administrators, Military officers and Missionaries from Europe

and America."^ Top officials of Western branch were F. K. Butler,

Mr. W.T.C. Mackell, Mr. V.B.V. Powell and H. J. Savory between 1948- 1953, 1953-1955, 1955-1957 and 1957-1960 respectively.

Other regions in the country also formed AAA branches and were run by elected committees whose power were autonomous. Generally, the

purposes and objectives of AAA of Nigeria were:

1. To encourage and promote amateur sports throughout Nigeria.

2. To improve the management of athletic meetings by the estab­

lishment of uniform regulations throughout Nigeria.

3. To promote whenever possible championship meetings or othercompetitions, and to be responsible for the preparation of the ground

selected for such meetings and for everything necessary for their pro-0

per administration.

The first test facing the new administration of AAA of Nigeria

was how to conduct a broad athletic meeting with poor facilities and a

poor transportation system outside Lagos. Several athletic meetings were held in Lagos but on April 3, 1947, the Government college ground in Ibadan was found suitable for the first All-Nigeria championship. The meeting was held under the patronage of Chief Commissioner for Western Provinces, Sir T. Chandos HoskynB Abrahall. The meeting was very suc­

cessful. Hundreds of athletes and officials came to Ibadan for the com­

petition. Some of the outstanding athletes were put in the table below:

^Soile Oladipo, "An Analysis and Evaluation of the Organizational Structure and Policy of Western State Sports Council," unpublished field report for a Certificate Management, January 1971, p. 12.

8Ibid.

71TABLE 4

THE FIRST ALL-NIGERIAN AAA CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING AT IBADAN, APRIL 3, 1947 SHOWING LIST OF

OUTSTANDING ATHLETICS IN THE MEETING9

Name Events

J. A. Adeola 100 yards

A. A. Adelotan 220 yardsJ . Mumis 440 yardsD. Martins 880 yardsM. A. Kaunike 1760 yardsP. Sho-slte 2 milesE. D. Omoregie Long jumpA. F. Obitayo High jumpM. Taiwo Pole vaultE. Okogwu Weight-shotputH. Ekperigin 120 yard hurdles

Various other championship meetings were held in Lagos organized by the leaders of AAA of Nigeria at Police Grounds, Obalende, Lagos. These early meetings captured the interest of Nigeria daily papers. In one of its writings, the sports-writer of the Nigeria Daily Times wrote: "Send Nigerian athletes to England . . . we have their equals on this

9Ibid.^Sports writer, Nigerian Daily Times, April 29, 1948, p. 15.

72The publication drew attention to standards achieved by the

athletes in spite of poor facilities. In that year, 1948, the newly established AAA of Nigeria sent a small team of seven athletes together with Mr. V.B.V. Powell to London to watch 1948 London Olympic Games and

to gain experience. They competed with few top British amateur clubs before they returned to Nigeria. The table below shows the names of the athletes who went to England.

TABLE 5ATHLETES WHO WENT TO THE FIRST TOUR OF BRITAIN IN 1948 UNDER AAA OF NIGERIA

Names Events

J. A. Adeola 100 and 200 yards

I. C. Ekpeti Pole vaultC. A. Ibisi HurdlesS. 0. Kadiri HurdlesT. Majekodunmi High jumpS. V. Tarfa 3 milesA. Towesho Long jump

In 1950, again for the first time, a small team of athletes officially took part in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in

New Zealand.Generally, athletics gathered great momentum during these years

of sports development, and enthusiasts began to realize for the first time that Nigeria might take part in the 1952 Olympic Games, certainly in athletics and possibly In other sports.

73

Great men who contributed to the development of athletes during the formative years were V.B.V. Powell* Charles Newham, R. G. Henderson, L. J. Lewis* F. K. Butler, H. J. Ekperigin, G. A. Miller, and S. 0. Jolaoso.

Commenting on the activities of Mr. S. 0. Jolaoso, V.B.V. Powellwrote:

Mr. Jolaoso has served athletics administration with integrity, dedication and the sweat of his brow. A great debt is owed to him by future generations of athletics administrators.̂

The Development of Football Association of Nigeria

The game of football has been the largest crowd pulling game since it was introduced into Nigeria early this century by the mis­sionaries, sailors, traders and educators from the Western countries.The game has since spread to the hinterlands like a barn on fire.Today, football is the premier sport in Nigeria. It is highly controlled and organized at local, national and international levels. Football how­ever was not all that popular in Nigeria until after 1914. Major Cugglsberg gave the brief development of the game in Lagos like this:

Football game did not start in Lagos until 1916. In spite of the war that started in 1914 and still raged on, European government officials played a game of football against European merchants in Lagos on the 27th of May, 1916. The match was played on King's College grounds. The European Merchants won that match with 2-0. A second match, which was to raise funds for the Red Cross, followed in October of the same year. The matches were watched by many people. This was the

“ v .b .v . Powell, op. cit., p . 13.

74

beginning of football growth in Lagos, whereas this game had been introduced into Calabar earlier by the Scottish mis­sionaries.^

In spite of the impact of football and the drift of the crowds from the cricket pitches to watch football, it was not until 1930 that

reasonable of accounts about soccer activities came to be kept along­side with athletics. Though, "a challenge cup, known as War MemorialCup was donated by Mr. B. Mulford of the Lagos Stores on the 23rd of

13August, 1919 for Lagos clubs," this competition was not nationaluntil Captain D. Holley, Union Marshall, Quist and Courtney organizedsoccer tournaments between various clubs of the Army, Marine, Policeand Railways. Players for the tournaments came to Lagos from differentparts of the country. "These people were referred to as the pioneers

14of the Nigerian football Association (NFA)."In 1931, Mr. 0. Union, an Engineer for the Railway Company

donated a shield for League soccer matches between these clubs'* Public Works club, Marine club, Lagos Soccer Council club (formerly called the

Corinthians), the Police Force Football club, and the Calabar Provincial club. The game had a strong appeal to the natives and the game spread

quickly throughout Nigeria but It was not well organized like athletics in schools and clubs until 1945^"* when Nigerian Football Association (NFA) was formed by clubs representatives, soccer fans and educators.

12Major Cuggisberg, "Native and English Games" Lagos Standard, June 3, 1914, p. 10.

13Sports Editor, Nigerian Pioneer, May 3, 1918 p. 7.14G, Onigbogi, "History of the Challenge Cup," Daily Times,

October 13, 1972 , p. 7.

75In that year (1945) that NFA was formed, Sir Arthur Richard

(later Lord Milverton) the Governor of Nigeria then donated a giant cup for soccer competitions among clubs throughout the country. This trophy which was originally called the Governor's Cup was later called the Challenge Cup.

During the early days of the competition, only the Lagos clubs competed for the cup before it spread throughout the country. The first provincial teams to enter for this Governor's Cup Competition were Ibadan, Warri, and Port Harcourt. The first team to enter the cup competition from the north was the Plateau Club from Jos. The early officials of the Association were A. G. Marshall (Chairman), P. A. Courtney, Pius Anthony, and E. E. Eflok (Vice-Chairman), R. B. Allen (Hon. Secretary and Treasurer) and Rev. Father D. J. Staltery (Asst. Secretary and Treasurer). The council consisted of one representative of each of the member associations.

Originally, the main function of the NFA was the organization of the Governor's Cup Competition which began with a meagre entry of the few teams that could find the necessary finances to get to Lagos.Its functions and aims later expanded and so did the objectives which were:

1. To foster love and friendship among Nigerian footballplayers and promote social and literary activities such as picnics,lectures and so on.

2. To turn efficient referees from retired players.

3. To bring grievances of the Nigerian football players tothe notice of committees and district Amateur Football Association.

764. To sponsor national and international competitions within

the jurisdiction of the Association.16

Nigeria Challenge Cup CompetitionsThe evolution and development of NFA would not be complete

without writing a short account of this popular competition which brought the people of Nigeria close together with good intentions through national championship contests. Challenge Cup started in 1945 as a

Governor's Cup Competition which was later to become Nigeria Challenge Cup competition. The cup is competed for by popular clubs throughout Nigeria.

A few clubs in Lagos started the competition and by 1947 other provincial clubs joined from Ibadan, Warri, Port Harcourt and Plateau.

After 1949, the competition emerged into a truly national affair and by 1950, there were 32 entries. These were composed of nine clubs from Lagos, seven from East, six from the North and ten from the West.^ By 1953, membership increased to 44. They were organized for competition as stated below:

Northern Zone: Maidugun, Plateau Province, Minna, Zaria,Katsina, Kaduna, Kafachan, Guzau, and Gwandu.

Eastern Zone: Cameroons, Plantations, Victoria Division,Calabar, Abak, Benue, Ogoja, Bende, Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Aba, and Eket

Divisions.

^Newham, "Sports Review," op. cit., p. 108.*^A. Onigbogi, "History of the Challenge Cup," op. cit., p. 7.

77West Zone: Warri, Ijebu, Owo, Ijesa Osogbo, Akure, Kabba,

Ogbomoshio, Ilorin, Oyo, Abeokusa, Ijebuode,Remo, Benin, Sapele Ibadan, Ijebu-Igbo, and Ishan Divisions.

Lagos Zone: Army Garrison, Lagos District, Badagry Division,18and Nigeria Players Welfare.

Over 200 clubs compete annually for this cup competition today. Top clubs In recent years are Ibadan Lions, Industrial Investment Credit Corporation (IICC) Shooting Stars, Electric Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), Stationary Stores, Railways, Rangers International, Water Corporations, Bendel Insurance, Plateau Club, and United African Company (UAC).

In between these cup competitions were zonal attractions at

local levels as these teams had to compete for regional trophies before the emerging champions meet for the Nigerian Challenge Trophy in Lagos. Some of the notable regional cup competitions were Comet Cup for the North, Unafrica for the East, Pilot for Lagos, and Thermogene for the West and also the Guinness Cup. These cups no longer exist.

The turning point of the challenge cup came when in February, 1976 the country was broken up into 19 states from the former existing Regions. More clubs ever since have been formed and they compete for the annual challenge cup.

The significance of this annual competition Is that, through the years the 'challenge cup competition* has produced stars and talents that have made Nigeria proud in international soccer competitions.

18"Sport Review, Nigeria Football Association," Nigeria Year Book, (1954) p. 128.

78

Records of the Challenge Cup Competitions winners that have produced the Nigerian stars and talents is shown below:

TABLE 6THE WINNERS OF NIGERIA CHALLENGE CUP

COMPETITIONS, FROM 1945 - 1976

Name of Club Year Won Name of Club Year Won

Marine 1945 No competition 1962

Railway 1946 Port Harcourt 1963

Railway 1947 Railway 1964

Marine 1948 Electric Corporationof Nigeria 1965

Railway 1949Ibadan 1966

United African Company 1950Stationery Stores 1967

Railway 1951Stationery Stores 1968

Pan Bank 1952Ibadan 1969

Kano 1953Electric Corporation

Calabar 1954 of Nigeria 1970

Port Harcourt 1955 Western NigeriaDevelopment Corporation 1971

Railway 1956Ibadan 1972

Railway 1957Bendal Insurance 1973

Port Harcourt 1958Rangers of Enugu 1974

Ibadan 1959Rangers of Enugu 1975

Electric Corporationof Nigeria 1960 Rangers of Enugu 1976

Ibadan 1961

Sources: Nigeria Year Books, 1950-1976; A. Onigbogi, "History of theChallenge Cup," Nigeria Dally Times. October 13, 1972, p. 7.

79The Formation of the Boxing Association of Nigeria

This is one of the most popular sports in Nigeria and it is the

only professional sport which has placed the nation on the world map of

eminence and importance. Nigeria has produced world-rated boxers and

champions amongst whom are Hogan Kid Bassey, former world feather-weight

champion, and at present the Chief National Boxing coach for Nigeria; the late Dick Tiger, former world middle-weight champion, and later light-

heavy weight boxer champion of the world; RafiuKing, Joe Sugar Ray,

Adigun, Orizu Obilasu, Victor Paul, and Santos Martins to mention a few of them.

Boxing became a new addition to the ever increasing variety of

sporting activities in Lagos in 1927. Before that year there had been19off and on practices of the sport at the Federal capital. 1924 was

more noticeable as the starting point for organized boxing because of

the interest enlisted by Messrs. Allen Woodprice and Trumble. Both of

them were members of staff of King's College, Lagos and were willing

instructors in sport of boxing. Through their activities, on February

19, 1927, they organized the first "Novices Boxing Competition" at the

King's College Hall. There were forty-nine entries under seven 20divisions. At the departure of Mr. Trumble from the King's College,

Lagos, boxing declined to a standstill until 1944 when Mr. D. J.

Collister established a boxing club with its headquarters at2132 Bankole Street, Lagos. Mr. L. T. Simmons of the British Army

^Sports Editor, Nigerian Pioneer, Vol. XVI, No. 817, September 6, 1929, p. 12.

^Sports Editor, Nigerian Pioneer, February 20, 1927, p. 8 .^Sports Editor, Nigerian Daily Times, No. 7613, September 22,

1944» p. 12, and West African Pilot, April 4, 1944, p. 6 .

80

Lagos was the chairman while Mr. N. H. Peregrino was the secretary. Other clubs were formed in Lagos and other parts of the country. In1949, the Boxing Board of Control for Nigeria came into being, and in

221950, the Nigeria Amateur Boxing Association was formed with the aim to

promote and popularize boxing in Nigeria. In 1953, the Internationale De Boxe Amateur (A.I.B.A.) permitted Nigerian amateur boxers to take

part in the Fifth British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, in August 1954.

The officials who worked hard before Nigeria was admitted tointernational amateur boxing competition were, W. H. Moore (President),J. W. Farusworth (Chairman), W. M. O'Dwyer (Vice-Chairman), J. G.

23Doxey (Hon. Treasurer), and T. W. NIblett (Horn. Secretary).The premier competition for boxing in Nigeria was the Bill Moore

Cup donated by Bill Moore. From this annual competitions, top boxers were selected for boxing contests between Ghana and Nigeria for Azikwe Gold Cup and for international competition.

Formation of Other AssociationsSince the foundation stone of organized sports in Nigeria was

laid in 1940’s and early 1950's by the formations of AAA of Nigeria, NFA, and NBA, other associations followed. These associations were:

Nigeria Cricket Assocation (NCA)Nigeria Table Tennis Association (NTTA)

22"Sports in Nigeria," Nigeria Year Book, 1967 op. cit., pp. 294-295.

23"Amateur Boxing," Nigeria Year Book, (1955), p. 182.

81

Nigeria Amateur Volleyball Association (NAVA)Nigeria Amateur Swimming Association (NASA)Nigeria Amateur Hockey Association (NAHA)Nigeria Amateur Netball Association (NANA)Nigeria Amateur Basketball Association (NABA)Nigeria Amateur Lawn Tennis Association (NALA)Nigeria Amateur Wrestling Association (NAWA)

Nigeria Amateur Cycling Association (NACA)Nigeria Amateur Judo Association (NAJA)

These associations through the joint efforts of NOC and NSC, have sponsored athletes to different international sports competitions.

The Early Structure of Central Organization For Amateur Sports in Nigeria

The early structure of Central Organization for Amateur Sports in Nigeria was not well documented despite unparallelled history of

modern sports enthusiasm in Nigeria compared to any British colony in Africa. However, the growth and interest in athletics, football, boxing and other sports within the framework of international sport competi­tions in Nigeria called for a controlling body to oversee amateur code and conduct. Data collected from the limited literature and interviews revealed that the structure of the early Central Organization for Ama­teur Sports (COAS) reflected the socio-economic, educational, historical and political emphasis of the nation already explained in the previous

chapters.

82The major objectives of the COAS were the development of broad

based competitions in different sports between clubs, provinces andregions and to prepare the nation for future participation in inter-

24national sports competitions.

In order to make the objectives workable, the COAS was composed of National Board of Control, Regional Committees, and Provincial Committees.

The National Board of Control: was composed of representativesfrom the regions (East, North, West and Lagos Colony). Every regional representative has equal power to vote. The Executive Committee of the Associations was duly pre-elected from a "General House" which met

at least once a year, and which was made up of equal numbers of repre­sentatives from the provinces.

The Regional Committees: were composed of elected provincial

representatives. They came from the Associations of different sport clubs in the provinces. Most of these Regional Committees were made up of chairmen and secretaries or secretary/treasurers of different clubs.

The Provincial Committees: were as many as there were pro­vinces in a region. Each provincial committee was a replica of the National Association. The National Association had a 'General House' composed of representatives of clubs and very rarely, unattached member.

24C. E. Newham, op. cit., pp. 107-115.

83Nigeria Olympic British Empire Games Association (NOBEGA): The

formation of COAS led to the establishment of the Nigeria Olympic British

Empire Games Association with its affiliation to the InternationalOlympic Committee (I.O.C.) and British Commonwealth Federation (BCF)

25which brought Nigeria into the international field in 1950.

RegionalCommittees

ProvincesProvinces Provinces Provinces

RegionalCommittees

RegionalCommittees

Regional Committees

NationalAssociation

(N.O.B.E.G.A.) Nigeria Olympic British Empire

Games Association

Adopted from AAA Hand Book, 1952

Figure 8. The Early Structure of Central Organization for Amateur Sports in Nigeria.

Sources of Finance to COAS

Finance was dues paid by the clubs which were channelled in a proportional rate through each provincial and regional association to

the center.

The second main source of monetary aids were from voluntary contributions from sport lovers and firms. "The National Associations

^V.B.V. Powell, op. cit., pp. 12-13.

8426ran s-orts without grants from the Federal Government" until

recently.

The Concept of Amateur Sports at This Era

Some writers have suggested that the highly developed amateur

concept had its beginnings in the British "gentleman" class system that existed there in the 19th century. This fact is supported by Bruce Bennett and others when they wrote:

The present concept of an amateur in sport is a by-product of the activities of the gentlemanly upper classes of Great Britain and Europe in the nineteenth century and was based on social distinctions. To them, some sports were "polite" and were pursued by the upper classes whereas others were "impolite" and were participated in the masses. Because of the "gentlemen" of society participated in their "polite" sports for the love of the activity, they were referred to as gentlemen*amateurs and during the nineteenth century the two words, gentlemen and amateurs, became synonymous . . .

The modern international implications of the word amateur

gathered momentum with the thrust of Baron de Coubertin to internation­alize competitive sports after the revival of the modern Olympic Games of the second half of the nineteenth century. As far as Nigeria is con­cerned, since education and sports are British oriented, and in fact the concept of amateur adopted by the AAA of Nigeria and other sporting bodies came directly from Britain, the original definition of an amateur adopted by the AAA of Nigeria in 1944 and accepted by the National Associa­

tion of Nigeria later, was modeled after the definition given in the British

^"Sports," Nigeria Year Book 1960, p. 215.27Bruce L, Bennett, et al., Comparative Physical Education and

Sport, (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1975) p. 154.

8529Amateur Athletic Association Handbook. Neither the early officials,

athletes, nor the Nigerian sports fans of the forties bothered aboutthe deep meaning and implications of the amateur sports definitionimported to a young nation like Nigeria. The definition reads:

An amateur is one who has never contested in any athletic sport or game, who has never engaged in, assisted in or taught any athletic exercise for precuniary consideration; and who has never taken part in any athletic competition with any one who is not an amateur.

While the main purpose of the amateur code established by thefirst Executive Committee of AAA of Nigeria and adopted by NationalAssociation was to make for a healthy nationalism and internationalismthrough youths' involvement and participation in competitive sports, theabove definition of amateur and its implications have generated some

31reactions. Tarfa in 1950 for example, was the first top athlete to show hostile reaction to the definition which was too over burdened by financial considerations. Tarfa was a young runner who set -up a new West African record in three miles with a record time of 14 minutes, 57.5 seconds. After the race, Tarfa was awarded a medal for his bril­liant performance, but he refused to accept it. Tarfa was expecting another substantial materialistic reward bigger than a medal. In anger, Tarfa returned to hie home and never participated in track and field any more.

29British Amateur Athletic Association, Official Handbook, (London: 26 Park Crescent, 4 B.O. 1940), pp. 1-10.

30Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria Official Hand Book, op. cit.. p . 9.

31Awoture Eleyae, op. cit., p. 34.

86However, apart from Tarfa's incident, there was no strong reac­

tions recorded in literatures against the amateur code until the sixties when various associations and government showed interest in results of international sports competitions. As the result, various associations and top Nigerians started to secure top appointments and aids for top athletes in the country so that they could get more time to train.

In 1963 Dr. Mnamdi Azikiwe awarded track scholarships to S. Osiodu, V. Ojutalayo, and Giwa Osagie {the Director of Federal Prisons) . . . to recruit top trackmen such as Folu Erinle, David Ejoke and Ben Majekodunmi . . . 32

In 1968, Hr. A. A. Ordia, the Secretary of the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the President of SCSA refused to allow Awoture Eleyae (now the Deputy Director of NSC) to attent IAAF meeting prior to 1968

Maxico Olympic Games. Mr. Ordia regarded Eleyae a professional. Since there is no track and field professional in Nigeria, Ordia's action caused a lot of resentment among Nigerians. The Nigerian Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (NAPHER) with a flurry of criti­

cism warned the National Body Controlling Amateur Sports of "ruiningNigeria's image in international meetings by a wrong interpretation of

33the foreign amateur convention." Eleyae was not allowed to attend the meeting. Eleyae was regarded as a professional, whereas Edward Nyako of Ghana and Charles Mokura from Kenya who were professional coaches respectively were allowed to attend series of the IAAF meetings.

Another incident of April 24, 1970 also attracted attention when some top Nigerian University students were excluded from the athletic

32Idib., p. 35.

87championships organized by the AAA of Nigeria to select national teamagainst Ghana. According to a spokesman of AAA, the students violatedthe rules of AAA of Nigeria. In the morning of the first day of thecompetition, a popular Daily Times writer, Mr. Fasogbon wrote:

AAA of Nigeria sacrifices Nigeria's image at the altar of foreign amateur idealism . . . The AAA of Nigeria this afternoon is fielding a team of ill-prepared second rate athletes aginst a crack smart Ghanaian side. Jimmy Onofowokan who is the best high jumper this season has ^been excluded because of unsettled amateur controversy . . .

There was a sad case of a young girl from Hussey College inBendel State of Nigeria who performed so well in her school athleticevents that the then Military Governor of that state was impressed andhe presented certain amount of money to the girl for "what the Governor

35considered a brilliant effort." The Executive Committee and the NOC not only queried the Governor but also threatened to suspend the inno­cent girl from amateur sports. It was after the Governor had written to confirm that the money was intended for the sports programme

development of the school before the girl's amateur right was restored. Yet there were records of athletes in United States and other countries who receive grants in aids, illegal compensations such as money and automobiles without penalty and intervention from their country's ama­teur associations. For example about such aids in American colleges, Bennett and others wrote:

34Fasogbon, "AAA of Nigeria Sacrifices Nigeria's Image at the Altar of Foreign Amateur Idealism," Daily Times. August 24, 1970, pp. 29-30.

35"Ogbemudia Presents Ten Guineas to Hussey College," Sunday Times, February 26, 1961, p. 15,

The third step was to eliminate the need factor altogether and simply give the scholarships or grant-in-aid to all athletes. The maximum amount of this aid, as defined by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, is money to pay for college tuition fees, room, room and board, books and 15 dollars a month. However, it is hardly a secret any longer that a num­ber of choice athletes also receive extra illegal compensations such as automobile, money to go home periodically, outright cash gifts, and game tickets which will be purchased from him by eager alumni at exorbitant prices . . . Athletes also may be given well-paying summer jobs by alumni boosters or businessmen to improve their financial status.36

The problem of giving illegal payment ot money to amateur athletes is not confined to United States' colleges alone.Great Britain (football and rugby union), Israel (football and basketball), Finland (football, track and field, hockey and skiing), Uruguay (cycling, basketball and volleyball) do the same. This custom prevails too in the Soviet Union, Eastern Germany and Western G e r m a n y . 37

With the modern trends in sports and games all over the world

it is hoped that the NSC and NOC will examine critically modern inter

pretations of amateur code and apply the same to Nigerian amateur sports.

36Bruce Bennett et al., op. cit., pp. 157-158.

CHAPTER V

NIGERIA'S INVOLVEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITION

The Olympic Games and some other popular inter-continental

games such as the Commonwealth and Pan-American Games have had a far

reaching Influence on the organization of international sports through­out the world. They have encouraged the organization of many regional

and sub-regional sport competitions among many nations of the world.

Some of these international sports competitions that Nigeria

have involved itself seriously since 1950 when it entered the world of

sport competitions are the British Commonwealth Games; the Olympic

Games; All*Africa Games; West Africa Games, Soccer Championship Series;

and lastly, the University Games. These major international sport con­tests have exposed the nation to many individuals, clubs, associations

and friendly contests.For the purpose of this study and the subsequent chapters, more

detailed emphasis will be laid on:(a) the major international sports competitions mentioned

above and that are organized by the National Sports Com­

mission (NSC), Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Nigeria

Universities Games Association (NUGA) and other sporting

bodies in the country, and89

90

(b) the far reaching effects which these competitions have had on the nation.

The formation of the Nigeria Olympic and British Empire and Commonwealth Games Association (NOBEGA) n0w Nigeria Olympic Committee

(NOC) with its affiliation to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the British Commonwealth Games Federation (BCGF) brought Nigeria into the International field. The idea of NOBEGA which was formed in 1949 was motivated by C. E. Newham, a British administrator who brought to Nigeria a wealth of experience of international sport gained with India's winning Olympic hockey teams while he was in India. His enthusiasm and administrative ability sparked a new fire in Nigerian sport.^

Before the formation of NOBEGA, the first attempt of a Nigerian

to take part In International athletics was abortive. In 1934, a youngNigerian who had just graduated from America by name Dr. Nnamdi

2Azikiwe travelled to London just before the Second Commonwealth Games in 1934. Azikiwe requested the authorities of the Games if he could represent Nigeria in the 400 metres. Regretfully, his entry could not be accepted, as Nigeria was not then affiliated with the Commonwealth Games Federation, and there was no time to have the entry endorsed by the Nigerian Government, which was the alternative procedure.

^Powell, op. cit., p . 13.2Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first Nigerian to obtain Ph.D. in

America. He is a keen sportman. He was the founder of Nigeria Pilot, NCNC, and Zik's Athletic Club in Nigeria. After Nigeria's independence, he became the first President of the Republic of Nigeria.

91It was not until fourteen years later (1948) that a Nigerian

athletic team, captained by Adeola, travelled to United Kingdom, andeven then they did not take part in the 1948 Olympic Games. This wasmainly because of the uncertainty as to "whether, in completely unknownconditions, they would be able to produce performances that would be

3presentable in world competition." The 1948 team was made up of seven men and one official as shown in the table below.

TABLE 7NIGERIA CONTINGENT THAT TOURED UNITED KINGDOM

AND WATCHED 1948 OLYMPIC GAMES IN LONDON

Names Events

J. A. Adeola (captain) 100 and 200 metres

I. C. Ekpeti Pole vault

G. A. Ibisi Hurdles

S. 0. Kadiri Hurdles

T . Maj ekodunmi High jumpS. Y. Tarfa Three miles

E. 0. Towesho Long jumpV.B.V. Powell Team manager

These young athletes performed brilliantly In their indi­vidual events. They also watched the 1948 Olympic Games held In London.

3C. E. Newham, "Sports Review," Nigeria Year Book, (Lagos: Daily Times Office, 1952), p. 117.

92

In the Games, the team saw "Dr. A. F. Adedoyin, then a medical student4in Ireland, who placed fifth in long jump for Great Britain."

In further preparation for Nigeria's participation in inter­

national sport competitions, the Nigeria Football Association in August, 1949 accepted the invitation of the English Football Associa­tion to sponsor some Nigerian top footballers to Britain. Eighteen

Nigerian footballers were selected from the then existing clubs in the country. While in Britain, they played nine matches, won two, drew two, and lost five. Among the players were Tesilimi Balogun (Thunder Bolt), Dan Anyian, Hensaw (captain), I, A. Akioye, Peter Anieke,Titus Okeke, Sokari Dokubo, Anosike, Sunday Dankaro, Baba Shittu, Sam Ibiam, Agbo Onwudiwe, Salamo Ebenezer, Mesembe Otu, Hope Lawson, Chukura, Kano, and A.T.B. Otun.^ For example, Williams pointed out:

Exposures of Nigerians to these tours showed their true talents, abilities and their readiness to participate in bigger international competitions.6

Nigeria's Participation in Commonwealth Games, 1950-74

The international sports engagement in which Nigeria first earned its true honors in the form of medals through competitions involving multiracial countries is the British Commonwealth Games.The remarkable achievements of Nigerian sportsmen and sportswomen at

4Powell, op. cit., p. 14.^Horatio Agedah, "Nigerian Football Yesterday and Today,"

op. cit., pp. 10-12.^Statement by 0. Williams (National Sports Commission), per-

conal interview, July 6-7, 1977.

93

the Games have helped to establish Nigeria's name in the history of

international sports.

The competition which was formerly known as the British Empire

Games has remained largely games of all peoples with common British

heritage and who were either once ruled or still ruled by Britain.

But the name, British Empire Games, had undergone series of changes

because of political developments within what was once the British Empire. On July 20, 1952 the name was changed to the British Empire

and Commonwealth Games.^ Later, the title was again changed to Theg

British Commonwealth Games on August 7, 1966. Again, on the 28thJanuary, 1974 at the meeting of the General Assembly of the Games

Federation, in Christchurch, New Zealand, as a result of a motion by

Nigeria, it was decided to adopt The Commonwealth Games as the new 9name. These changes were necessary because of the changes of status

of many British commonwealth countries who had obtained independence

from Britain.

The term British Empire and Commonwealth Games was used to convey its historic connotation. It was a transformation from the for­mer title British Empire. As a collective entity, the British Common­wealth deriving its political relevance not so much so from the diplo­matic and military power it wields in International life, but from the symbol it represents, the co-existence of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures united by the accident of history, a common faith in liberal democracy and a recognition of the British Crown as the non-orific head of the collective nations.

g British Commonwealth Games, Constitution of the British Commonwealth Games, (London: British Commonwealth Games Federation1969), pp. 2-3.gJ. B. Agbogun, Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games, (Ilorin, Nigeria: Kwara State Sports Council, 1975), p. 1.

94The Commonwealth Games today are the second largest sports compe­

tition to the Olympic Games. The Games bring together representative athletes from countries whose total population and area are equal to one-quarter of the world.^ The games are celebrated with pomp and pagentary as may be evidenced by the raising of the national flags, the reciting of the oath and the releasing of pigeons. World records in some events have been equalled or established in some games. Some of the great names documented in the world of sporting history of the

competitions include Marjorie Jackson, and Herbert Elliott of Australia, Percy Williams, Harry Jerome and Elaine Tanner of Canada, Mary Rand and Roger Bannister of England, Klpchoge Keino of Kenya, F. Bayi of Tanzania, Yvette Williams and Peter Snell of New Zealand, Thelma Hopkin of North Ireland, Michael Agostini of Trinidad, Stan Allotey of

Ghana, J. 0. Majekodunmi, K.A.B. Olowu, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, A. K. Amu,S. 0. Williams, M, A. Arogundade, J. Omogbemi, E. Ndukwu, Fatai Ayinla, Violet Odogwu, Modupe Oshikoya, Jumoke Bodunrin^ all of Nigeria, were among the top athletes who either won a gold medal or established or equalled world records in the Games.

The concept of the Games may be traced to 1891 when an Englishman, from Yorkshire, Mr. J. Astley Cooper, wrote an article pub­lished in the magazine, Greater Britain, followed by a letter in

■^M. 0. Awoylnfa, "Nigeria and the British Empire and Common­wealth Games," The Nigerian Teacher I (June, 1958), pp. 2-4.

^H/illiam Carmichael and M. McIntyre Hood, Official History of the IXth British Commonwealth Games, (Edinburg, Scotland, 16-18 July1970), pp. 340-400.

95

The Times (London) of 30 October, 1891, by suggesting among other things12"athletics" as a means of drawing together members of the Empire.

In 1911, the coronation of His Majesty, King George the Fifth warranted a "Festival of Empire" which was celebrated at the Crystal

Palace Grounds in London. Among the series of entertainment was an

Inter-Empire sports meeting, in which representative teams from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa competed with a team from Great Britain in track and field, boxing, swimming and wrestling. The Canadian team emerged the over-all winner.

The above sports meeting for His Majesty motivated many sports lovers to call for a British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It was in

1930 that Mr, M. M. Robinson, a Canadian, and a member of the interna­

tional Olympic Games Federation, succeeded in organizing what truly was

the first British Empire and Commonwealth Games, from August 16-23, 1930

in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Eleven countries were represented during this13inaugural meeting. The second Games were held at the White City

Stadium, London, England from August 4-11, 1934, with sixteen countries in attendance. In 1938, from February 5-12, Sydney in Australia played host to the Third Games. The Fourth Games were not held until 1950 due

to the involvement of British and the Commonwealth countries in

World War II. It was during this year, 1950, that Nigeria for the first time participated officially in international sports competition and in the British Commonwealth Games. The entry of a Nigerian team in the

^J. B. Agbogun, op. cit., p. 2.13M. 0. Awoyinfa, op. cit., p. 2.

96

Gaines represented "the first all indigenous African team in the history

of the Games."

Nigeria's second participation at the Fifth Commonwealth Games took place at Vancouver, Canada on July 30 to August 7, 1954. Nigeria

also participated in 1958 Sixth Games at Cardiff, Wales; Eighth Games in 1966 at Kingston, Scotland in 1970; and the Tenth Commonwealth

Games between January 24 and February 2, 1974 at Christchurch, New Zealand.̂

Nigeria’s First Participation in the Commonwealth Games, Auckland. New Zealand, February 4-11, 1950

Nigeria's first international competition experience as a team

took place while still a British colony in the Fourth Commonwealth

Games, held at Auckland, New Zealand on February 4-11, 1950. Nigeria

was the first indigenous African nation to compete at the Games. The

other countries that contested for titles in the Auckland, New ZealandGames were Australia, Ceylon, Canada, England, Fiji, Malaya,

Rhodesia, Scotland, South Africa, Wales and New Zealand, the host 16country.The pioneer Nigerian team to the historic 1950 Games was made

up of four track and field athletes, namely: K.A.B. Olowu for sprints

and long jump, who also acted as the team captain; J. 0. Majekodunmi,

^Powell, op. cit., p. 14.^Sports writer, "Sport Review," Nigeria Year Book, op. cit.,

p. 340.16J. B. Agbogun, "A Study of the British Commonwealth Games,"

unpublished Master of Arts thesis, The University of Alberta,Edmonton, 1970, pp. 68-69.

97high jump; B.A.A. Guobadia, high jump; and J* S. Olotu for pole vault.

17Mr. E. A. Miller acted as the team manager.

The team set out on the first stage of their journey on

December 12, 1949 by air from Lagos to London. They were lodged at Hans Cresent for some days before they travelled by boat from Southampton to Auckland. J. 0. Majekodunmi, the captain of the team

described part of the impressions of the boat trip like this:The real journey started off at Southampton on board

SS TAMAROA with about 976 passengers, four Nigerians and the rest whites. The sea was terribly rough for the first 9 days and almost every passenger on board fell sick . . . We had a nice Christinas night. Later on, we had some show andI put in the human skeleton that won me a first prize. Wegot to Panama the New Year. We moved on through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. It was very exciting to watch the Albert Gates in this canal . . . We moved freely among the whites and they so much admired us. There was no sign of discrimination. We moved on slowly and steadily on the open sea until we got to the International Dateline which when one crosses, gains a day. A certain ceremony was issued . . . We got to Auckland on the 21st January, 1950, thus completing five weeks tour on the open s e a . 18

The official opening of the Games took place at Eden Park,Auckland. It was conducted by Sir Benard Freyberg, V. C. Governor

General of New Zealand in the presence of a capacity crowd of AO,000,19many In shirt sleeves and wearing Panama hats.

Sports that featured at the competition were athletics, bowls,

boxing, cycling, fencing, rowing, swimming, weight-lifting and wrestling.

"^Adedeji, op. cit., and J. B. Agbogun, ibid.18Abstract from the record of the first Nigeria’s participa­

tion in British Commonwealth Games, Auckland, New Zealand 1950, quoted by J. B. Agbogun, op. cit., p. 4.

19A Pictorial Record of the Vllth British Empire and Common­wealth Games. (Perth, Australia, 1962), p. 10.

98

Nigeria entered competitors for only the athletics. J. 0. Majekodunmi was the only one who won a silver medal by placing second in the high jump at 6 feet, 5 inches. He tied with A. Paterson of Scotland for the second place. The event went to J. Winter of Australia, the 1948 Olympic gold medalist. K.A.B. Olowu, the team captain and sprinter,

made a good impression during the final heat of the 100 metres by placing third with a personal record time of 10 seconds. In the pole vault, Olotu was handicapped by the lack of suitable jumping poles as his favorite Nigeria light-weight wood poles were split by tempera­ture change. B. Guobadia had pains in his legs throughout the compe- tion periods.^

The Games were declared closed by the Prime Minister of New

Zealand. After staying for a few more days after the Games, the athletes returned back home satisfied with the experiences and techni­cal knowledge gained from the Games.

Mr. Miller, who was the team manager for the trip in his

report wrote:

I am proud to have been manager of such a team. These are not idle words . . . the team have given their best in the Games both in participation and in competition . . .They have proven themselves popular with all and sundry and have been received openheartedly by all with whom they have been associated . . . they are handsom polite boys who speak faultless English. The best boys in the world to travel with . . . 21

20Mr. Miller's Report of the First Nigeria's Commonwealth Games participation, Nigeria Year Book 1952, p. 117, also The Times (London) February 7, 1950, pp. 10-16.

99The return journey to Nigeria was equally exciting to the team.

These impressions can be vividly illustrated in the words of J. 0.

Majekodunmi, the first Nigerian to win a silver medal in the history of the Games:

The tour as I see i t is about the first and best a Nigerian can ever undertake. It was full of enjoyment and full of opportunities. It gives one the history of the world, the wonders of God, and so many undoubtable sights . . . I doubt much if such opportunities can ever come up again for any Nigerian, for the order of the day is flying, flying all over, which I can say can never give account of a n y t h i n g . 2 2

Nigeria's Second Participation at the Commonwealth Gaines, Vancouver, Canada, July 30-August 7, 1954

Canada was awarded the privilege of staging the 1954 Games at a

meeting of the board of the 'British Empire Games Federation’, on

February 3rd, 1950, before the competition of the Auckland, New Zealand

Games. Twenty-four countries sent a total of (seven hundred and23eighty-nine athletes) 789 athletes and officials to the Games.

Nigeria was one of these countries with a contingent of eleven sports­

men with two officials. The sportsmen included nine athletes and two boxers: S. 0. Williams (captain), K.A.B. Olowu (vice captain),T. Erinle, N. A. Arogundade, Peter Esiri, M. B. Osagie, E. Ifeajuna,

A. K. Amu, E. A. Ajado; all in athletics. The boxers were Ado Garuba

and Garuba Ido. Jack Farnsworth was the Team Manager, and Harding24Jalegbeyi Ekperegin as the Assistant Team Manager and Coach.

22Agbogun, op. cit., p. 7,23"Vancouver Victory," West African Review XXV (October, 1954),

pp. 10-12.24Ibid.

100

They arrived at the Games village on July 21, 1954 and they25were housed on the campus of the University of British Columbia.

The official opening ceremony was conducted by Field Marshall, the Rt. Honorable, The Earl Alexander of Tunis who read the Queen's

message. More than 25,000 spectators watched the opening ceremonies which took place at the Empire stadium, a new stadium specially con­

structed for the Games. The sports competed in were exactly the nine as in the Auckland, New Zealand Games in 1950.

Nigeria featured prominently in the Games more than any

British Colony by gaining seven medals which were made up of one gold,

three silver and three bronze medals, as shown in the table below:

TABLE 8. NIGERIA AT VANCOUVER GAMES, 1954

Names of Winners Medals Events

E. Ifeajuna Gold High jump

P. Esiri Silver Triple jumpM. A. Arogundade

E. A. Ajado

K.A.B. OlowuSilver

4 x 100 yards relay

A.K.0. AmuS. 0. Williams Bronze Long Jump

N. B. Osagie Bronze High jump

Garuba Ide Bronze Boxing (bantam weight)

25Ibid.

101

The first Nigeria gold in the Commonwealth Games came through Emmanuel Ifeajuna who created a sensation by going over a height of

6 feet, 8 inches to set both the Gaines and the British Empire2 6record, and "by clearing the height with only one shoe on his left

27foot, with his right foot bare." An official correspondence reported the jump with these words:

The men’s high jump event will be long remembered . . .Nafiu Osagie and Emmanuel Ifeajuna [both] of Nigeria, and Patrick Elolu of Uganda, fought it out, inch by inch, for the final placings . . . The three beat the old record of 6 ft. 6 ins. . . . at 6 ft. 7 ins. Ifeajuna brushed the cross bar, but it stayed on. It was then hoisted to 6 ft.8 ins. for a new British Empire record. Ifeajuna, age 19, who was only 5 ft. 6-1/2 in. tall, was thus attempting to jump 13-1/2 Inches above his own height. Something never before achieved in athletic history. This Nigerian made his cat-like approach from the left hand side. In his take-off stride, his leading leg was flexed to an angle quite beyond anything ever seen but he retrieved position with a fantas­tic spring and soared upwards as it plucked by some external agency. He cleared the bar at his second attempt . . . 28

In the triple jump, Peter Esiri one of the Nigeria’s big hopes

for a medal at the Games did not disappoint. Esiri was placed secondwhen he jumped 50 feet, 0-1/2 inch with only one inch behind Kenneth

29Wilms of England who won the gold medal. Similarly, in the long jump event, K.A.B. Olowu, the vice captain of the team finished second to win a silver medal with a jump of 24 feet, 3 inches.

26Carmichael et al., op. cit., p. 344.27"Vancouver Victory." West African Review XXV (October 1954)

pp. 10-12.28The Official History of the Vth British Empire and Common­

wealth Games, (Vancouver, Canada, 1954) p. 238. Also J. B. Agbogun, op. cit., p. 63.

29 Ibid.

102

Another historical event was created for Nigeria in the Games

when K.A.B. Olowu, A. K. Amu, E. Ajado and M. A. Arogundade returned in

the 4 x 110 yards relay with the time of 41.3 seconds to win a silver medal.

The other three bronze medals were won in the long jump by

S. 0. Williams, the team captain, who jumped 23 feet, 8-1/2 inches toplace third behind another Nigerian, in the high jump by N. B. Osagiewith a jump of 6 feet, 6-1/4 inches, and in boxing under the bantam

31weight division by Garuba Ide.

Apart from the events in which Nigerian athletes won medals,

there were other events where the athletes created Nigeria and WestAfrica national records. For example, in 220 yards A. K. Amu reached

the semi-finals where he placed sixth in the record time of 22.7

seconds. In the 100 yards, Edward Ajado created a sensation by beating

H. Hogan of Australia, and Mcfarlane of Canada who were top sprinterswith a record time of 9.7 seconds to reach the finals. Ajado finished

32fourth in the events.

The closing ceremony of the Games was conducted in the tradi­tional way of the Games. After Major Hume of Vancouver had received the

Games Federation Flag for safe-keeping, and to be dispatched to the33Mayor of the next city holding the Games, Sir Arthur Porritt, the

30Abiola Laguda, op. cit., p. 15.

31Ibid.32Agbogun, op. cit., pp. 14-17.33"Canada at the Fifth British Empire and the Commonwealth Games

1954," The Times (London), August 9, 1954, p. 2.

103Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation declared the Gaines closed with the following words:

In the names of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games Federation, I proclaim the Fifth, British Empire and Common­wealth Games, Vancouver, 1956, closed, and in accordance with the tradition, I call upon the Youth of the Commonwealth to assemble in four years time in Wales, there to celebrate the Sixth British Empire and Commonwealth Games. May they display cheerfulness and concord, so that the spirit of our family of nations may be carried on with honour for the good of humanity and the peace of the world.34

The Nigerian team left immediately after the Games were

declared closed and arrived back to Nigeria on September 8, 1956. Two

of the athletes who did not sail back with others were S. 0 . Williams

(Captain) who left for United States to study Soil Mechanics at Purdue University, and the vice-captain K.A.B. Olowu, who returned to coo-

35plete his physical education course at Loughborough College, England.At the end of the Games, the Times of London commented:

The Games were indeed a huge success from the point of view of organization and performance. They achieved the objective of promoting friendly competitions among the youths of the British Commonwealth. They attracted spectators from places outside the borders of the British C o m m o n w e a l t h . 36

In Nigeria, thousands of Nigerians welcomed the athletes back

home with jubilations. Emmanuel Ifeajuna and those that won medals were highly honoured by the sports lovers and AAA of Nigeria.

Commenting about the performances of Nigeria in international

sport competition, Dr. Awoture Eleyae, the Deputy Director of NSC

35"Report of the 1956 Vancouver Games," Nigeria Year Book 1958, quoted by Agbogun, op. cit., pp. 16-17.

36The Times (London), op. cit., p. 2.

104indicated that "perhaps, one can boldly say that, Nigeria’s participa­

tion in the Commonwealth Games at Vancouver, was one of the most suf-cessful international competitions ever participated by Nigerians in

37the Commonwealth Games."

Nigeria's Third Participation at the Sixth Commonwealth Games, Cardiff, Wales, July 18-26, 1958

Nigeria's contingent to the Sixth Commonwealth Games numbered forty-four. This was the largest team since Nigeria entered a team for

the Games in New Zealand in 1950. Secondly, besides the largest number

of Nigeria's team, two other features were new, namely: Nigeria

entered female athletes for the first time into the Commonwealth Games,

and also two swimmers, Horace Kantu and J. Ofongo were included in

Nigeria's team for the first time in the history of Nigeria's involve­ment and participation in the Games.

Nigeria's forty-four athletes were made up of track and field

athletes, boxers, and swimmers. The team officials were V.B.V. Powell, team manager; S. 0. Jolaoso, team secretary and treasurer; 0. A.

Omololu, team patron; Col. Willis as the boxing team manager; K.A.B.

Olowu, the team captain; and Floritta Iyo, captain for women's team.At Cardiff, the contingent was housed at St. Athans in Cardiff which

38was the Games village for the athletes.

Awoture Eleyae, personal interview, National Sports Com­mission, Lagos, Nigeria, July 18, 1977.

38"The Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales Opened," The Times (London) July 19, 1958, p. 8, col. 7.

105

At the impressive and colourful opening ceremony, part of the Queen’s message read:

To all athletes assembled at Cardiff. 1 send a warm welcome and my best wishes. I hope that many lasting friend­ships will come from this great meeting of athletes and specta­tors, and that you will go home with a better understanding of the value of our Commonwealth of Nations . . . ^

Nigerian athletes did not do well as expected in boxing and swimming. However, in the heavy weight class, D. Bekker of South Africa received some hard punishment from Gbadegesin Salavu of Nigeria before he got a deep eye-cut. Salawu eventually won a bronze medal. Others did poorly. The swimmers did not perform well in their pre­liminary heats either. They were inexperienced in international com-

J -r 40 petitions.

The athletes whose individual performances at the Games made impressions included J. Omegbemi who reached the semi-final of the 100 metres which was won by Gardener of Jamaica in 9.4 seconds; J. Chigbolu in high jump who narrowly missed a bronze medal by taking a fourth

place at a height of 6 feet, 6 inches; V. Odofin also competed in the finals of the long jump event but failed to win a medal. Other athletes that performed better in their events were R. A. Arogundade in 440 metres, B. A. Agbebiyl in 880 yards, L. I. Ogbogu and F.O.C. Ozieh in shotput and javelin respectively.

In the women events, V. Odogu, A. Okoli (Mrs. A. Okpaloka) and F. Iyo made good attempts in the high jump event which was won by an

^^Eleport of the Cardiff, Commonwealth Games," The Nigeria YearBook, 1958, p. 110.

10618 year-old Donaghy of New Zealand. (See list of the contingent under

41the Appendix E, and table of medals of Cardiff Games below.)

TABLE 9TABLE OF MEDALS AT 1958 CARDIFF, WALES GAMES

Names of Winners Medals Events

1. T. ObiJ. Omogbemi

V. OdofinSilver 4 x 100 m. relay

S. Akraka

2. Abadegesin Salawu Bronze Boxing (heavy weight)

Commenting on the overall performance of the contingent, especi­

ally the swimmers and female athletes, the official report stated:Not to deceive ourselves, we must be frank, our women

athletes were young in international sports, they were learning. We did not expect medals from them . . . And to our swimmers, the two of them, went to learn and improve on their past performances and this they have done, not with less alacrity . . . We are satisfied they have both done their best and what they need now is huge encouragement to prepare them for the greater future . . . ^2

Nigeria^ Participation at the Commonwealth Games, Kingston, Jamaica, August 4-13, 1966

Nigeria did not participate in the 1962 Perth, West Australia

Games due to some administrative and financial problems. She however,

41"Report of Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, 1958," NSC Lagos, Nigeria, pp. 1-3.

42Official Report of Commonwealth Games, Cardiff, Wales, 1958, quoted by J. B. Agbogun, op. cit., p. 24.

107entered a strong team for the Kingston, Jamaica Games betweenAugust 4-13, 1966.

The Jamaica Games took place under the good atmosphere of theCarribean Islands. Thirty-four countries participated in the usualnine sports which were track and field, swimming, boxing cycling,

43fencing, shooting, weight lifting, badminton and wrestling.

Nigeria's contingent to the Games was made up of nineteenstrong and well prepared athletes of thirteen men and six women, sixboxers, and two swimmers. Top Nigerian athletes were, Sam Igun,

Jaiye Abldoye, Ronke Akindele, Fatal Ayinla, Augustine Utti, VioletOdogwu, 0. Adekunle, David Ejoke, S. Asiodu, K. Agbabokha, E. Ndukwu

44and N. Maiyegun (see the names of atheltes under Apprndix E).The team officers for the contingent were, Chinwuba as the team

officers, Messers Awoture Eleyae and Jimmy Oraogbemi as the track and field coaches, Hogan Bassey as boxing coach, R. Watts as swimming coach, Dr. A. A. Efunkoya as the team physician, and Lt. Col. M. Okwechime who represented the National Sports Council in the Games.

The traditional opening ceremony took place in the evening at 6 o'clock due to the hot afternoon weather. It was celebrated in the

presence of more than 30,000 spectators, during which H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh read the Queen's message. As usual with the Commonwealth Games, the opening ceremony was colourful and impressive. At the march

43"Commonwealth Games opened in Kingston, Jamaica with Thirty- four Countries," The Times (London) August 4 and 5, 1966, pp. 4-8.

44"The Sports," Nigeria Year Book, 1968, pp. 271-272.

108past, the Nigerian contingent who dressed in traditional robes, cream

45with green hats were loudly cheered.

The Nigerian team did better in Jamaica Games by winning ten medals. The medals were made up of three gold, four silver and three

bronze medals.In track and field events, Nigeria won one title, a new Games

record being set In the triple jump by Sam Igun (a police officer andcaptain of the team) with a distance of 53 feet, 9-3/4 inches. AnotherNigerian George Ogan (a medical doctor) placed second with 52 feet,9-1/2 inches in the same event. Sam Igun, again clinched a silvermedal in a high jump by jumping over a height of 6 feet, 8 inches to adda second medal to his collection at the Games. Another silver medal wasalso won in 440 yards hurdles by K. Agbabokha with a time of 51.5seconds with only .5 second behind K. Roche of Australia who won the

46title in the event.

The 100 yards race was a meeting point for seme of the greatest rivals in the world of athletics. Forty-eight athletes competed in the first round of eight heats. David Ejoke, one of the fastest runners Nigeria has ever produced in that event, drew in heat 3 which he won in 9.9 seconds. 0. Adekunle ran well in heat 4 in which he placed third In 10 seconds; 0. Peters ran in heat 7, and placed fourth in 10.4 seconds, S. 0. Asiodu ran in heat 8 and also placed third in 9.9

seconds.

45Agbogun, op. cit., p. 26.46Nigerian MorninR Post, August 28, 1970, p. 11.

109During the second round heats, David Ejoke ran in heat 2 placing

third with 9.8 seconds, while Asiodu in heat 3 was third with 9.8seconds. Others did not qualify. In the semi-final, Ejoke returned afast time of 9.5 seconds to place third behind H. Jerome of Canada,

and R. Robinson of Ball. S. Asiodu returned 9.7 seconds in his heat 2.

Only Ejoke thereby qualified for the final race of the controversial

100 yards in which all the runners finished at a record time of 9.5 47seconds. David Ejoke was awarded a silver medal. E, Roberts of

Trinidad received the bronze and H. Jerome of Canada won the gold. "It

took the judges about 40 minutes studying photo-finishing before the48race could be awarded to Canada's Harry Jerome.

In the 220 yards, fifty-three runners participated in the pre­

liminary heats. David Ejoke won his first heat in 21.7 seconds;

Asiodu placed second in 21.9 seconds to qualify. Both 0. Adekunle and Peters did not make it. In the final race, the eight ethletes on the

49starting line were from six countries and Nigeria had two among them, and when the race was completed, David Ejoke of Nigeria took a bronze

medal as he was placed third in 21.0 seconds. This time equalled the previous Games record set in 1958 by Robinson of the B a h a m a s . S a m Allotey of Ghana won the race in 20.7 seconds.

47Carmichael et al., op. cit., pp. 344-360.48The Times (London) August 10, 1966, p. 4,49Carmichael et al., op. cit., pp. 344-360.

^Official Report of Commonwealth Games, Kingston, Jamaica,1966, National Sports Council (now National Sports Commission), pp. 3-4.

110

In the women’s events, a Nigerian girl Violet Odogwu (now

Mrs. Nwajei) made history in the long jump when she did 20 feet,2-1/2 inches to place third for a bronze medal. Odogwu's performances in her events were well covered because it was the first medal to be won

by any African woman in the history of the Games.In boxing, Nigeria won two gold medals under the bantam weight

and light weight. E. Ndukwu battered Australia’s Darry Norwood to the

canvas to win the gold, A. Andeh and Fatai Ayinla won gold and silver

respectively in the light weight division. In the same division,Nojim Maiyegun, the boxing captain won a bronze medal. (See the table

of medals below.)

TABLE 10TABLE OF MEDALS FOR 1966, KINGSTON, JAMAICA GAMES

No. Names Medals Events

1. S. Igun Gold Triple jump2. E . Ndukwu Gold Boxing - bantam weight3. A. Andeh Gold Boxing - light weight4. K. Agbabokha Silver 400 m. hurdles (men)5. G. Ogan Silver Triple jump

6. F. Ayinla Silver Boxing - heavy weight

7. D . Ej oke Bronze 220 yards8. V. Odogwu Bronze Long jump (women)

9. N, Maiyegun Bronze Boxing - middle weight

^'Sports in Nigeria," Nigeria Year Book 1968, pp. 271-274.

IllThe success of the Nigeria team at the Kingston, Jamaica Common­

wealth Games was highly praised by every Nigerian at home and abroad.

Elaborate arrangement was made to receive these sportsmen and women ambassadors in sports on their arrival to Lagos, Nigeria.

On Wednesday, August 17, 1966 at 7:10 a.m. about two hours behind the scheduled time, the contingent arrived. They were received outside the V.I.P. Challet by Major Mobolaji Johnson (then Military Administrator of Lagos), and some numbers of the National Sports Council

such as Mr. S. 0. Williams, Chairman, AAA of Nigeria, T. Erinle and 52Dan. Enajakpo.

From the airport, the contingent was enthusiastically cheered ontheir way to the Nigerian Police Officers Mess at Onikan. The athleteswere driven in a procession through the main streets of Lagos led bypolice outriders to show Nigerians* appreciation and happiness at theirperformances in the Nigeria’s fourth participation at the CommonwealthGames at Kingston, Jamaica. "This big welcome was the first reactionof Nigerians to the country's involvement and participation in interna-

53tional sports." They involved themselves in cash and kind.

Nigeria’s Fifth Participation at the Ninth Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh,Scotland, July 16 to 25, 1970

The Ninth Commonwealth Games of July 16-25, 1970 took place inEdinburgh, Scotland with forty-two countries including eleven African

52Official Report of Commonwealth Games, Kingston, Jamaica 1966, op. cit., p. 4.

53Titi Adeleke and Ronke Akindele, personal interview, Ibadan, Nigeria, August 18, 1977.

1X2

nations participating. The Commonwealth Games were awarded to Scotland at the General Assembly of the Games Federation in Kingston, Jamaica in 1966.54

Scotland being one of the eleven founder countries of Common­

wealth nations that participated at the historic Hamilton, Canada, Games

in 1930 spent a sum of over four-million British pounds (8 million Nigeria naria) to provide modern facilities for the G a m e s . T h e

Meadowbank Sports Centre constructed at a cost of 2.A million pounds

(A.8 million naira) was the venue for the opening and closing cere­

monies, and also venues for athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing andwrestling.^ The Royal Commonwealth pool, a project of an Edinburgh

57Corporation at a cost of over 1.6 million pounds (3.2 million naira)was the venue for swimming and diving events. Among other facilities

prepared for the Games were Murray Field Ice Rink for boxing, weightlifting in the Leith Town Hall, and a highly sophisticated electronic

timing equipment provided by Omega at a cost of thirty thousand pounds(60 thousand naira), together with electronic equipment capable of

58separating competitors only 1 ,000th of a second apart.

A contingent of A5 Nigerian athletes and officials were sent to

the Games. They were made up of 23 athletes (17 men and 6 women for

pp. A1-A6, 55

54"Edinburgh '70 Games Results," World Sports, (August 1970)

Ibid., p. A6 .56Ibid.

^William Carmichael et al., op. cit., p. 20.

113

the track and field events); 11 boxers, and 11 officials. The eleven officials were Col. H.E.O. Adefope, the commandant; S. 0. Jolaoso,

general team manager; A. A. Ordia, secretary-treasurer;Dr. A. A. Efunkoya, team doctor; Dr. Awoture Eleyae and George Dibia as the athletic coaches; Miss Tonis Ahabue, chaperon; E. L. Jegede, boxing team manager, and Hogan Bassey M.B.E., boxing team coach.(Full names of the athletes are under Appendix E.)

The contingent left the country on June 20, 1970 with very lit­tle preparation because of the thirty months Nigerian Civil War which had just ended on January 21, 1970. It takes a number of things such as money, training, coaching, planning and organization to assemble good sportsmen and women as a team ready for participation in a compe­tition of the calibre of the Commonwealth Games. In the farewell mes­sage delivered by Chief Anthony Enahoro, the Federal Commissioner forInformation and Labour, who was in charge of sports, he was quoted assaying:

This year, we are sending to the Games a modest contin­gent— modest in terms both of their number and of our expecta­tions. In the present circumstances of our country and of sport6 development in Nigeria, the situation could not be otherwise . . . Most of you have to make your private arrange­ments for training . . . 59

At Edinburgh, the contingent was met at Edinburgh airport by

the top officials of the Games Council with three Scottish bag-pipers

58World Sports, op. cit., pp. 44-46.59J. B. Agbogun, op. cit., p. 37.

114playing the traditional musical welcome. They were then directed to

Before the official opening of the Games, Nigerian team coachesmade maximum use of time to train the athletes and boxers with the

available modern facilities and equipment. Arrangements were made for

the athletes to compete in local competitions.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. In attendance were Her Majesty, the

Queen, Prince Charles, and Princess Anne. A total of 1,744 competi­

tors and officials with thousands of spectators watched the opening ceremonies. ^

very poor when compared with 1966 Games. Only two gold medals were won in boxing. No athlete won a single medal while Kenya athletes did far

better by winning twelve medals made of five gold, three silver and

improved personal standards were evidence in their performances.

In the 100 metres, 57 competitors faced the start of the race

under eight heats. B. Majekodunmi ran in heat five and placed second

in 10.6 seconds, and K. Abdulla! ran in heat seven and won in 10.3

seconds. The two sprinters reached the semi-finals with 10.2 and 10.363seconds respectively before they were eliminated.

their Games village at the University of Edinburgh. 60

The official opening of the Games was performed by Prince

The achievements of the Nigerian team in terms of medals were

four bronze. Though, no medals were won by the athletes, but

Ibid

Edinburgh '70 Games Results

115In 200 metres, 0. Odelusi ran in heat 1 with 21.6 seconds and

0. Peters in heat 8 with 22.7 seconds did well. Only Odelusi's time qualified him to the second round heat. He also got to the semi­finals of the race.

There were improvements in individual performances in 400 metres (men) where M. Makama did 47.0 seconds, Egwunyang did 47.4 seconds, and Dongo-Yaro ran his in 47.6 seconds.

In the women's event, M. Oshikoya competed in the pentathlon as one of her events. She did 1.69 metres (5 feet, 6 inches) in the pentathlon high jump, to place her fourth at the final placing. This

was an impressive performance.^In boxing, Nigeria won two gold medals out of eleven gold

medals awarded in boxing events in the Games through Fatayi Ayinla and

Abayomi Adeyemi under light-heavy weight and light weight divisions

respectively. (See the Table of Medals below.)

TABLE 11

TABLE OF MEDALS FOR 1970, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND GAMES

No. Names Medals Events

1. A. Adeyemi Gold Boxing (light weight)2. F . Ayinla Gold Boxing (light-heavy weight)

64Olu Makinde, "Implications of Dupe Oshikoya's Success for Career Guidance," Daily Times, March 15, 1974, p. 7.

116Before Fatal Ayinla won the gold medal, he earlier fought and

defeated P. Parker (Jersey) and G. Espie of North Ireland. In the semi-final Fatai Ayinla met V. AttIvor of Ghana whom he defeated through a deep cut in V. Attivor’s left eye. In the final, he fought and defeated D. 0. Wright of Jamaica to win the gold medal.

Abayomi Adeyemi who also won a gold medal fought and defeated W. Kniyogali of Tanzania, Nwansa of Zambia and K, N. Nbogwa of Kenya

to go into the final where he successfully defeated Jonah Gillau of Scotland for the light weight title.

The boxing team upheld the confidence reposed on Nigeria as acountry of boxing sportsmen. Their good discipline earned them aspecial invitation to North Ireland immediately after the Games for aspecial contest. In Ireland, Nigerian boxers won four out of the six

bouts contested for on the special programme. Abayomi was declared the65best boxer of the night.

By 1970, Nigeria^ status in the Commonwealth Games was so high and respected by the other participating nations that, at the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation on July 19, 1970, the Commandant of the Nigerian contingent to the Games, H.E.O. Adefope, Chairman of NSC was appointed the Vice-President of the British Common­wealth Games Federation.^ This by itself was a big achievement for

Nigeria and Africa as that was the first time an African had been so highly elevated in the executive set-up of any Games federation outside Africa.

^Agbogun, op. cit., pp. AO-41.66Ibid.

117

The 1970 Commonwealth Gaines at Edinburgh, Scotland ended suc­

cessfully with Her Majesty, the Queen of England declaring the IXth

Games closed after eight days of wonderful competition and spectacle in an atmosphere which emphasized the basic purpose of the Games, that of getting together of the youths of the Commonwealth countries. At the end of the Games, the technical committee of the Games report ended thus:

Just as the First Games held 40 years ago, the intention of the organizers of the IXth British Commonwealth Games— was truly fulfilled— "They shall be merrier and less stem and will substitute the stimulus of a novel experience for the pressure of international rivalry."67

Nigeria's Sixth Participation at the Commonwealth Games, New Zealand.January 24 to February 2, 1974

The Tenth Commonwealth Games of January 24 to February 2, 1974

in Christchurch, New Zealand was staged just one year after Nigeria

had played host to international visitors during the Second All-Africa

Games of January, 1973 in Lagos at which time there was tremendous pub­

lic and government interest and support for sports. It would appear that this general interest and performances of Nigerian athletes generally in the Second All-Africa Games influenced the large size of

Nigeria's contingent of 78 people to the Tenth Commonwealth Games. The contingent were made up of 12 National Sports Commission staff headed by

Brigadier H.E.O. Adefope as Commandant; 11 observers from the NSC and SSC; and 44 competitors— 33 athletes, 10 boxers and 1 swimmer; five

Cermichael et al., op. cit., p. 406.

118athletic officials and 3 boxing officials. (See Appendix E for details.)

The 44 Nigerian competitors were among more than 1,700 men and women athletes from 39 Commonwealth countries who vied for sports

honors in the nine different sports.

Nigeria prepared very hard for the Games. The Pre-Games were

tough and serious at the National Sports Stadium in Lagos, between

October 29, 1973 and December 22, 1973 under a team of ten foreign and

Nigerian athletic coaches who worked in their areas of specilizations. These coaches were J. 0. Ogunmakinde, A. A. Olubo, 0. 0. Omolabi,C. Mazi, G. Putcha, Bob Rad, G. Fatunwase, P. Anukwa, Ronke Akindele,

and Regina Okafor. The boxers were trained by Hogan Bassey, assisted by Santos Martins.

The contingent left Lagos to Christchurch, New Zealand on January 12, 1974. They were received at the Christchurch airport by

Games organizers attached to Nigerian contingent led by Brigadier Campbell. ^

Nigerian athletes did better in the Games than that of 1970

Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh, Scotland.

In women's long jump event, nineteen-year-old Modupe Oshikoya made a history for Nigeria and herself by jumping 6.46 metres (21 feet,

2-1/2 inches) to win the coveted gold medal and thereby caused

'Nigeria's National Anthem' to be sung for the first ever to celebrate the victory of a female Nigerian athlete in the history of the Games.

Oshikoya also won a silver medal in the challenging women five-events

68Agbogun, op. cit., p. 44.

119

pentathlon which were made up of 100 metres hurdles, shotput, highjump, long jump, and 200 metres. Oshikoya scored a total of A,423

69points in the events. Also in the 100 metres hurdles, Oshikoya who

was declared the best all-round African female athlete at the Games, captured a bronze medal as she finished third with a time of 13.7 seconds.7^

Writing about Oshikoya's performances in the Games, Tayo Adetola, a popular women's angle writer in Nigeria Daily Times wrote:

For some time now, Dupe Oshikoya's name has become a household word in the field of sports. She has done so well, both at home and abroad, that we can’t but notice her impor­tance in this field. More recently at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, she set another record by being the only African woman competitor to win a gold medal, and the only one from the continent of Africa to win a total of three medals .71

Another bronze medal came from A x 100 metres relay (men) where

F. Oyebami, B. Majekodunmi, K. Abdullai and A. Olakunle ran beauti­

fully. By the achievement of the A x 100 metres (men) relay team at

the Games, Nigeria featured at that distance's relay medals table in

three of the six times she competed at the Commonwealth Games. Theother two occasions were in 195A Cardiff Games and 1958 Vancouver

72Games.

^Tayo Adetola (Women Angle), "Dupe Oshikoya: A Pride toNigeria," Daily Times, 15th February, 1974, p. 29.

70Ibid.

71Ibid.72NSC Commonwealth Games Christchurch New Zealand Report, 1974,

p. A.

120

In boxing, Nigeria's team lived up to expectations as they 73bagged six medals. These medals were made up of two gold, two silver

and two bronze medals. The two gold medals were gained by E. Molukwu,

feather weight, and 0. Nwakpa, light weight. It could be recalled that E. Molukwu won a gold medal at the Jamaica 1966 Games in the bantam

weight class. The two silver medals came from K. Amah in light weight

and F. Ayinla in heavy weight. F. Ayinla won silver and gold medals at

1966 and 1970 Games respectively. The two bronze medals were won by S. Ishola in fly weight and I. Ikhnoria in light weight divisions. Due to the performances of I. Ikhnoria in the ring, he was selected on

merit at the Games to join the Commonwealth boxing team of ten for an

international boxing competition against the United States of America in that year.

In boxing, out of the four boxers who did not win medals at the

Games, one of them named Christopher Emenogu in bantam weight did very

well by getting to the quarter finals.

In athletics, K. Abdullal who returned 10.6 seconds in 100

metres reached semi-finals before he dropped out of the race, also thus Aboyade Cole in 110 metres hurdles. J. Okoro did 7.50 metres (24 feet,10-1/2 inches) in long jump to better his former record of 7.49 metres. 0. Oyakhire in javelin threw 74.42 metres (237 feet, 7 inches) to set a Nigerian record.

In women's events, two national records were set. The first was set in 4 x 100 metres relay quartet which comprised of U, Ufom,

73 Ibid.

121

B. Uwuzie, A. Obi and M. Oshikoya with a record time of 45.2 seconds. The second was set in 100 metre hurdles.

Nigeria also achieved a mark when two boxing referee judges

made history. Mr. 0. Oguntokun t.ook the oath for all the Common­wealth Games referee judges and Mr. Adeoye was nominally on the jury.

(See the table below.)

TABLE 12TABLE OF MEDALS FOR 1974, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND GAMES

No. Names Medals Events

1. Modupe Oshikoya Gold Long j ump (women)2. Edet Ndukwu Gold Feather weight3. Oblsia Nwakpa Gold Light-welter weight4. Modupe Oshikoya Silver Pentathlon5. Kajin Armah Silver Light weight6. Fatal Ayinla Silver Heavy weight7. Modupe Oshikoya Bronze 100 m. hurdles8. S. Ishola Bronze Fly weight

9, I. Ikhuorla Bronze Boxing heavy weight10. R. S. Oyebami

K. Abdullai

0. AlamiBronze 4 x 100 m. relay

B . Maj ekodurani

122The Summary of Nigeria’s Participation in Commonwealth Games: From 1950 to 1974

Nigeria’s performances in the Commonwealth Gaines fluctuates greatly from year to year. In 1950, for example Nigeria won only one

silver medal in high jump; in 1954, six medals made up of one gold, two silver and three bronze; 1958, two medals made of one silver and one bronze; 1966 nine medals were won of which three were gold, three sil­ver and three bronze; 1972, two gold medals only, and in 1974, ten

medals were won, three gold, three silver and four bronze medals.Nigeria’s best performances in the Games were in 1954, 1966

and 1974 when she won six medals, nine and ten medals respectively. In

order to measure the achievement of Nigeria in the Games against that of other participating countries, an analysis of the results has been

presented in Appendix D. A total of 920 gold medals in eleven various sports were awarded since the Inception of the Games in Hamilton,Canada in 1930 until the close of the Christchurch, New Zealand Games in 1974. Out of these medals, Nigeria won nine gold medals made up of

three in athletics and six in boxing to tie for 13th place on the list ofcountries that have won gold medals in the history of the Common­wealth Games.

In the track and field gold medals table, Nigeria placing 10th tied with Wales and Trinidad/Tobago among 21 countries that competed for athletics. In boxing, she was placed 5th tying with Australia and Uganda among seventeen countries that participated in boxing events.

It is gratifying to note that Nigeria did not participate In four of the ten Games from where the researcher calculated the gold medals. (Table 13 shows the years Nigeria participated with medals won.)

123TABLE 13

NIGERIA’S PERFORMANCES IN COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1930 - 1974

MedalsNo. Year Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

1. 1930* Canada — — — —

2. 1934* England - - - -

3. 1938* Australia - - - -

4. 1950 New Zealand - 1 - 1

5. 1954 Canada 1 2 3 6

6 . 1958 Wales - 1 1 2

7. 1962* Australia - - - -

8. 1966 Jamaica 3 3 3 99. 1960 Scotland 2 - - 2

10. 1974 New Zealand 3 3 4 10

Total 9 10 11 30

*Years Nigeria did not participate in the Games.

CHAPTER VI

NIGERIA PARTICIPATION IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES, 1952 - 1976

The Olympic Games undoubtedly have a tremendous appeal to all nations of the world* Their stories were full of big names of kings, queens, presidents, diplomats, artists, poets, sport figures and edu­cators. The Olympic movement involves as many countries as the United Nations. The appeal is universal in spite of political differences, religions, jealousies and wars. This idea is supported by Henry when he remarked:

Writers by the thousands have skimmed around the edges, listing the names of the champions in some Olympic contests, but seldom all. They have painted portraits of the vic­tories In stirring prose. They have spewed invective over the controversies. They have spectacularly described the recurring celebrations. But always they have skirted the heart of the whole business and have avoided probing the source of the astonishing vitality of the games . . . The fact about the Olympic games is, their appeal is univer­sal . . . 1

In Africa, the first nation to participate in the Olympic arena was Egypt in 1912, at the Stockholm Games. Despite Egypt's pioneering efforts in the Olympic Movement, Africa's presence was not much felt until more African nations entered the Olympic Games 56 years after

^Bill Henry, An Approved History of the Olympic Games, (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1976), p. 3.

124

125Baron de Coubertin had revived the Olympic movement. In 1952, the

experienced Egyptian athletes in the Games were joined by contingents from Nigeria and Ghana at the Helsinki Games. The number of African participants widened four years later in Melbourne, Australia where

nations like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Liberia participated. Since then African nations have been challenging the previous supremacy of the developed nations in the Games. Perhaps, it is appropriate to sup­port the above with what Bennett and others wrote:

Sport following World War II was revolutionized because the whole world entered Into it. The Olympic Games are no longer solely for the more industrial and so-called sophisti­cated nations . . . The most significant event was the entry of the USSR into the Olympic Games in 1952 . . . A second development was the entry of the African nations into the Games.The previous supremacy of the traditional participants was over, and the new methods of national organization became apparent.2

As far as Nigeria Is concerned, she entered the Olympic com­munity in 1952 like the USSR before her independence in 1960 through

the influence of the Nigeria Olympic British Empire Games Association (NOBEGA). Earlier in 1951 she applied for admission for acceptance as an Olympic country. At the Olympic Congress held in May, 1951 in Vienna, Austria, Nigeria was recognized and accepted as the 69th Olympic country of the Olympic family of nations.

Ever since Nigeria*s admission, the country has been repre­sented at the Olympic Games in 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972, but not in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games due to the mass boycott of

the Games by African nations as a protest against apartheid in sports.

2Bennett et al., op. cit., p. 110.

126

The XVth Olympiad, Helsinki, 1952

The year 1952 marked a definite stage in the progress of inter national sport participation in Nigeria when for the first time in the history of the nation, a Nigerian team competed in the Olympic Games which was held at Helsinki, Finland.

situation and suspicions caused by the tremendous World War II whose damages could still be seen during the 1948 London Games had dis­

appeared except for the Communist aggressors of the Red China, Korea, and Indochina. There were no new problems in sight because of the ever-increasing popularity of the Olympic idea. More people partici­pated in each edition of the Games. In all, 5,867 athletes partlci-

3pated— 5,294 men and 573 women— representing 69 countries. Nigeria was one of the countries that participated in the games with ten of her best jumpers and sprinters under the able leadership of V.B.V. Powell and S. 0. Jolaoso. (See Table 14.)

The Olympic team embarked upon a European tour before the XVth Olympiad for two months during which time they competed in a number of international meetings, running and jumping against the cream of the world's best athletes.

The objective of the tour before the Helsinki Games was to pro­vide enough experience, receive better advanced coaching and training

from foreign experts and also to adjust themselves to European food and

The XVth Olympiad was extremely successful. The political

1274climatic conditions. The experience was made possible by the work of

the AAA of Nigeria that provided facilities for the training, coaching,

and generally organized the preparation of the team at local and

national levels, and also through the efforts of the NOBEGA which

raised over N815,000 through donations and public support for the journey.^

The Nigerian team which participated first in the Olympic Games

was made up of most of the athletes who went to 1950 Commonwealth Games

at Auckland, New Zealand. These athletes are listed under the table

below.

TABLE 14

FIRST NIGERIAN TEAM TO 1952 OLYMPIC GAMES

No. Names Events

1. S. 0. Williams (captain) Long jump2. K.A.B. Olowu (vice) Long jump3. T. A. Erinle Sprints4 . J. 0. Majekodunmi Sprints, high jump5. B. A. Guobadia High jump6. 0. Odorbo High jump7. R . Oluwa Sprints8. M. A. Arogundade Sprints9. B. A. Ajado Sprints10. N. B. Osagie High jump

Sports writer, ’’The dream came true, Nigeria goes to the Olympics," Daily Times, July 21, 1952, pp. 27-28.

^W. A. Perkins, "Sports Review," Nigeria Year Book 1953, Published by the Daily Times of Nigeria (1953), p. 71.

128The results of their European tour were encouraging. The fol­

lowing represents the results of Nigerian team during their European 6tour:

AAA Championships, White-City , 21st July, 1952Long jump - S. 0 . Williams, 1st, 24 feet, 0-1/4 inchHigh jump - N. B. Osagie, 3rd, 6 feet, 2 inchesHigh jump - J. 0. Majekodunmi, 3rd, 6 feet, 2 Inches

Copenhagen, June 30th, 1952100 yards - T. A. Erinle, 1st, 10.6 seconds440 yard relay - Nigeria, 1st, 43 secondsHigh jump - N. B. Osagie, 1st, 6 feet, 3-1/4 inches

Copenhagen, July 5th, 1952100 yards - T. A. Erinle, 1st, 10.8 seconds440 yard relay - Nigeria, 1st, 42.8 secondsLong jump - S. 0. Williams, 1st, 23 feet, 4 inchesHigh jump - J. 0. Majekodunmi, 1st, 6 feet, 2 inchesHigh jump - N. B. Osagie, 2nd, 6 feet, 1 inch

Copenhagen, July 9th, 1952

100 yards - T. A. Erinle, 1st, 10.5 seconds220 yards - R. A . Oluwa, i3rd, 22.4 seconds220 yards - R. A. Arogundade, 4th, 22.4 seconds Long jump - S. 0. Williams, 1st, 24 feet, 7 inches Long jump - K.A.B. Olowu, 2nd, 23 feet, 8-1/4 inches. High jump - J. 0. Majekodunmi, 1st, 6 feet, 1 inch

440 yards - Nigeria, 2nd, 42.8 seconds

6Ibld., pp. 71-73.

129After the European tour, the Nigerian team left Copenhagen for the

Helsinki Olympic Village. For the first time in history, Nigeria took

part in the Olympic opening ceremonies with Nigeria's flag hoisted along with those of Norway, Egypt, Finland and other nations.^

On the whole, none of the Nigerian team found his best form in Europe, largely because of the strange food, climate and track condi-

gtions. However, the officials were satisfied with some performances of the team because five members of the team, S, 0. Williams, J. 0*

Majekodunmi, R. Oluwa, N. B. Osagie and B.A.A. Guobadia were invited to join the British Empire team for Post-Olympic competition against the United States of America on August 4, 1952.

W. A. Perkins, commenting on the first Nigeria's participation in the XVth Olympics wrote:

No fair-minded critic can complain about the performances of the Nigerian athletes, although they failed to bring back any Olympic medals. In a first appearance there are other things more important than records. Sportsmanship, courage and ability to mix on level terms with other nations count more in the eyes of the world, and these attributes the Nigerian first Olympic showed in no small measure. From their contact with great and famous athletes they learned lessons that cannot be gathered from books or teachers and therein lies the real value of the tour. If the experience gained is used to raise the level of athletics in Nigeria and to produce a bigger and better Olympic team in 1956, then the time, effort, and money used will have been well worthwhile.9

The above statement agrees with the statement attributed to

Baron de Coubertin, the father of modern Olympics , that "the important

^Adedeji, op. cit., p. 140.gPowell, op. cit., p. 13.9Perkins, op. cit., p. 71.

130thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but in taking part."^

Also, participation in that Olympic Games in 1952 was more important

to Nigeria than winning medals and breaking records. It was a golden opportunity to show the world convincingly of its existence as

a nation. So, when the athletes returned to Nigeria at the end of the Games, they were well received by the general public and the press.

The XVIth Melbourne, Australia.Olympiad, 1956

The XVI Olympic Games took place in Melbourne, Australia in

November, 1956 through the generous donations of over N820,000 from the

Nigerian public, and through the activities of NOBEGA (now NOC).

Nigeria was represented in the Games by a team of ten athletes

and three officials headed by Chief J. K. Randle, the Chief de Mission, Mr. A. A, Ordia, the team manager, and J. Enyeazu, the team coach. The

captain of the team was a veteran long jumper, K.A.B. Olovu, plus J.

Chigbolu, V. Gabriel all in the long jump; P. Esiri and P. Engo in triple jump; R. A. Oluwa, T. Obi, E. A. Agado and T. Erinle in the sprints and relays; while K. A. Amu was for 400 metres and relay.

Of the ten athletes, K.A.B. Olowu, R. Oluwa, Edward Ajado and

T. Erinle had competed in the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki. Again, all the athletes except R. Oluwa had competed in the Commonwealth Games

in Vancouver, Canada in 1954. Julius Chigbolu, one of the high jumpers

in the team was the current holder of the Commonwealth Games high jump record at 6 feet, 9 Inches. Other athletes in the team came into

^John A. Lucas, "The Modern Olympic Games; Fanfare and Philosophy, 1896-1972," Quest XXII. (June. 1974), pp. 6-17.

131prominence in the annual inter-colonial meets betveen Gold Coast (now

Ghana) and Nigeria.^ Nigeria therefore had strong hopes to win medalsand perhaps create records in the Gaines.

The team participated in the Games but did not win any medals

but their efforts were richly recorded in black and white because they

performed better on the whole than many young African nations in the

Gaines. In the long jump, K.A.B. Olowu came fifth with a jump of

24 feet, 1-3/4 inches to reach the semi-finals. He however failedto qualify for the final round which was 23 feet, 11 inches when he

1 2jumped only 23 feet, 5-1/2 inches at his best trials.

In the 100 metres heats, Ajado qualified to pass on to the next round when he tied for first place with Sandtrom of Great Britain in 10.8 seconds. Unfortunately, T. Erinle and Thomas Obi were eliminated

in their first heats. In spite of Ajado*s good performances in his

heats, he failed to qualify for the final. His best time was 10.6 seconds.

Great things were expected of Chigbolu in the high jump where he

had few rivals. His styles of jumping pulled great crowds to thejumping pit but with the bar at 6 feet, 8 inches, the height he normally

jumped with little effort, he failed to clear it, for his right hand13brought the bar down and robbed him of a medal. Other Nigerian

jumpers did not do well either. Vincent Gabriel could only sail over

6 feet, 3 inches.

^"The Olympic Games," Nigeria Year Book. (1957), p. 187.^"Melbourne Olympic Games Report," Nigeria Year Book, (1957),

pp. 186-189.!3 Ibid.

132

In the 400 metres, A. K. Amu ran very well at the start, but

flagged towards the end of the race not to qualify for the next round.In the triple jump, Esiri and Engo performed better but they

too failed to obtain a place. Esiri, in the final placing took 17th position with a leap of 49 feet, 3-1/2 inches. Engo, at the final

placing was 14th out of 34 competitors by Jumping 49 feet,11-3/4 inches.

Nigeria's hope remained only in the 4 x 100 metres relay.R. A. Oluwa, T. Obi, E. A. AJado and T. Erinle practiced very con­scientiously but their efforts were not rewarded. "They ran beauti­fully through their heats to get to the final round but they were

disqualified at the finals for passing the baton outside the handing over area."^ Thus, Nigeria failed again to win any medals in its second appearance at the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

The end of the Olympic Games was not the end of athletics in Australia for Chigbolu, Engo and Olowu. A challenge meeting between a

representative Commonwealth team and United States of America was arranged. The three Nigerians were chosen to represent the Common­wealth In high jump, triple jump and long jump respectively.

During the post-Olympic competition, Paul Engo tied with George Shaw of the United States for first place in the triple jump.Olowu finished sixth in the long jump, and Chigbolu finished fifth inthe high jump.^

14"Melbourne Olympic Games Report," Nigeria Year Book, 1957,pp. 186-189.

133Though the athletes did not win medals, thousands of Nigerian

youths welcomed them hack home. Chief J. K. Randle, who was the Chief of the Mission told the gathering crowds who came to welcome them:

Our athletes did not do badly. The image of Nigeria created by our representatives to the 1956 Olympic Games and the determination they showed at the Games justified all the work and amount of money spent to make the trip p o s s i b l e . ^

The XVIIth Olympiad in Rome, 1960Since Nigeria obtained its independence from Britain in 1960,

its performances in the Olympic Games up to date have not shown thetype of improvement that had been expected. Prior to independence, itsperformances in the Olympics were encouraging, though limited to track

and field events and for men’s only. However, progress was made, by adding boxing and including women in the contingent to the Games.

The Italian Olympic Organizing Committee led by President Giulio Onesti had the opportunity to stage the XXIIth Olympiad in Rome from August 25 through September 11, 1960.

About 7,000 athletes from eighty-four nations participated in the Rome Olympiad. Many newly emergent Independent African countries participated and they began to make their Olympic debuts. Membership in the United Nations and the Olympic Games were both treasured by the world's new arrivers from Africa. Tremendous progress was made by African athletes. Abebe Bikila who ran barefooted established a record in the 1960 Olympic marathon. Bikila, a twenty-eight-year old from Ethiopia was the first man who gave Africa south of the Sahara Its

^Sports writer, "Welcome Home from Melbourne," Nigeria Tribune, Dec. 2, 1956 , p. 12.

134

first gold medal in the Olympics. He was also responsible for making

the Olympic marathon virtually the property of Black Africa for 12

years, until Frank Shorter of the United States took the title from Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia in Munich.

But Bikila had not come, seen and conquered Rome Olympics

singlehandedly. More than 100 African athletes from the North, East, and West of the continent had journeyed to Rome for the Games. Fol­

lowing closely behind Bikila throughout the full distance of the mara­

thon was the Moroccan Abdesiam Rhadi, who won the silver medal in that

event and narrowly missed the bronze in the 10,000 metres by finishing fourth. Another outstanding runner was the Senegalese sprinter Abdul Seye who won a bronze in the 200 metres dash. That year Nigeria was represented by a contingent of thirty men and women athletes in track

and field and also in boxing. Most of the athletes were made up of

athletes who went to the 1958 Commonwealth Games at Cardiff, Wales.(See Appendix E.) Few of these athletes did well in their events even

though J. Omogbemi and M. A. Arogundade narrowly missed to qualify for the finals in the 200 metres race where Abdul Seye a Seganese sprinter

won a bronze medal. K.A.B. Olowu, Peter Esiri, V. I. Gabriel and J.

Chigbolu all in high jump and long jump events respectively did very well during their first round heats. They all jumped over the quali­

fying height and distance expected in their events. Nigeria relay teams

also ended seventh in that Olympic Games.Nigerian boxers were disappointed. Many medals were expected

from them because they did very well at home and also during the

135Pre-Olympic games. They did not win any medals at the games. They were eliminated in most of their preliminary rounds.

As a result of Nigeria's poor performances in that Olympic Games, the Federal Minister of Labour, Chief J. M. Johnson, who was also

the overall minister in charge of sports in the Federation of Nigeria, appointed a Nigerian Sports Council under the chairmanship of Chief

Akin-Deko in 1962. Chief Akin-Deko is another Nigerian keen sportsman.

The objective of the council was to improve sports inside and outside the Federation of Nigeria. The successful contributions of the council

from 1962 to 1971 eventually led to the formation of the National

Sports Commission (NSC) with the decree number 34, in August, 1971.

The XVTIIth Olympiad, Tokyo, 1964

Nigeria independence brought many changes to the country espec­

ially by providing modern stadia for the training of Nigerian athletes

in their preparations for international competitions. An example was

the building of the Olympic standard Liberty Stadium at Ibadan with a

cost of over three million dollars. Other regional capitals that built similar stadia were Kaduna and Enugu.

Similarly, Chief J, M. Johnson, the Federal Minister of Labour,

was also appointed the Minister with overall responsibility for sports

in the Federation. This led to the establishment of a council to

improve sports administration. "This approach eventually led to the

formation of National, Eastern, Mid-Western, Western and Lagos sports

councils purposely to look after sports.

"^"Sports Review," Nigeria Year Book 1967, pp. 294-295.

136Through the help of these councils and the NOC, Nigeria sent a

contingent of 35 athletes and officials to the Olympic Games at Tokyo. The contingent was made up of 23 men and women athletes, 8 boxers and

four officials. These athletes were made up of the majority of athletes

who later went to Kingston, Jamaica Commonwealth Games in 1966. (See Appendix £.)

Originally, Tokyo had been awarded the Xllth Olympiad to be

held in 1940 but the World War II caused the plans to be dropped. In

1959, the IOC at a session in Munich selected Tokyo to be the host city of the XVIIIth Olympiad.

Tokyo, the world’s largest city with its already crowded

streets, transportation problems, and limited accommodations for foreign

visitors seemed to face a long, hard road to host the Games. Above all, a great deal of national pride, which had suffered badly in the havoc of

the World War II was at stake, but the efforts of Daigoro Yasakawa,

President of the Games Organizing Committee, supported by Shingoro Takalshl and also Ryotaro Azuma, and members of the IOC joined with the

citizens of Tokyo brought grace and happiness as well as intense effi­

ciency, organization, and planning to the Games. Commenting about the Tokyo Games, Henry wrote:

The choice of Tokyo to host the 1964 games was greated with great celebration throughout Japan; but as the initial excite­ment over the successful bid began to wear off, many skeptics wondered if the city was capable of facing the challenge of hosting such a costly and demanding event. Officials questioned whether the country had recovered from the war to the point where it could accept such responsibilities . . .

The skeptics were silenced as Tokyo put one of the most impressive, most successful Olympic Games ever staged . . .

137The games of 1964 will always be remembered as a glowing success for the Japanese hosts and also as the scene of some ^g of the greatest personal achievements in Olympic history . . .

The opening ceremonies were held on October 10, 1964 in Meiji

Stadium in front of over 75,000 spectators, including Emperor

Hirohito. A nineteen-year-old Japanese student named Yoshlnoti Sakaiof Weseda University carried the torch into the stadium. Five thousandcompetitors representing 94 nations marched into the stadium led by

19their flag bearers.

In athletics, four Olympic champions were able to defend

titles won in the Rome Olympic Games. Although most of the Nigerian

track and field athletes performed close to their own capacities, and some turned in performances better than ever before, the training and coaching efforts of both the foreign and indigenous coaches yielded no

medals. Some athletes that performed better in their events were Sam

Igun in high jump, K. Abdullai in 100 meters, J. Abidoye in 800 meters,

G. Agbamu in 400 meters, 0. Peters and B. Majekodunmi in sprints.

Ronke Akindele and Titi Adeleke also did well in 100 and 400 meters in

women events but lack of sufficient international experiences in the

Olympics robbed them of medals.In boxing, all the eight boxers presented by Nigeria did very

well. Most of them went through easily over their preliminary and

qualifying rounds. Only Maiyegun eventually came up with a bronze

medal. Maiyegun therefore established a record by being the first

Nigerian to win a medal in the Olympics.

^®Henry, op. clt., pp. 301-302.

138The efforts of these athletes and coaches were later rewarded

in the 1966 Commonwealth Games when the same contingent won nine medals of which three were gold.

The Nigerian athletes returned home happily after the closing ceremonies which perhaps provided a magnificient finish and experience for Nigerian athletes in one of the best organized and most impressive

summer Olympics.

The XlXth Olympiad, Mexico City, 1968Following the precedent set in 1956 at Melbourne and 1964 at

Tokyo, the Olympic family moved into another part of the world in 1968. This time, the Games moved to Mexico City, the capital and ancient Aztec city with the height of about 2,250 metres or 7,349 feet above sea level. This was the first Olympic Games held in a developing nation of the world.

The Tokyo Olympics brought African athletes into international respect, but their breakthrough as a power to be reckoned with came in the high altitude arena of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Men and women from 25 independent African nations participated in the Games. The new arrivals in the Games were Libya, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Central African Republic.

The opening ceremonies of the XlXth Olympiad as usual was wit­nessed by a large crowd of people including 6,082 athletes from 109

nations. The host nation presented the third largest contingent with 300 athletes. The United States of America had the largest with 387

athletes, followed by USSR with 324 athletes. Nigeria sent only 31

139athletes and officials to the Games. The delegation of 31 was made up

of 18 men and women athletes, nine boxers and four officials. Included

in the track and field teams were Sam Igun, Nigeria leading athlete inhigh jump, Jaiye Abidoye, Ronke Akindele, Titi Adeleke, and VioletOdogwu. Among the top boxers were Fatal Ayinla and Augustine Utti whowas a new discovery in boxing.

The altitude factor had been a matter of controversy since the

announcement of Mexico City as the 1968 Olympic venue. But all nations

had equal time to prepare. The United States officials for instance,

sent their Olympic team to the State of Colorado where the altitudematches that of Mexico City to train in advance. Nigeria unfortunately

did not do this; instead the athletes were who finally selected for theGames were invited for training when the Olympic Games were few weeks

away. No wonder the athletes did very poorly in the Games.However, before the actual Olympics at the Mexico City, the

Little Olympics in Mexico City were organized in October, 1968.

Nigeria's athletes participated in the Little Olympics actively. Themain objectives of Nigeria's participation in the Games were to givethe athletes more training and coaching opportunities, and to acclima-

20tize them with the high altitudes of the Mexico City.All the athletes performed very well in the Little Olympics

winning two medals. Violet Odogwu was the only Nigerian lady from

Africa who won a medal at the Little Olympics. Fatai Ayinla, Nigeria's light-heavy weight boxer, was the second who captured a silver medal.

20"Little Olympics in Mexico City," Nigeria Year Book 1975,pp. 270-271.

140Other athletes who performed well were, 0. Akindele, J. Bodunrin,T. Adeleke, G. Ogan, D. Ejoke, K. Abdullai and B. Majekodunral.

In the actual Olympics, 109 nations participated. Only half ofthese nations who took part in various events won medals. Nigeria wasone of the nations that did not win medals. "Only Kenya emerged from

the Mexico Olympic Games from Africa with three gold, four silver and21two bronze medals." United States of America dominated the sprint

events, while Kenya clearly swept the distant events by winning gold,silver, and bronze in almost every event from 1,500 m. to 10,000

22metres.Most Nigerian athletes made great impressions on the world of

sports by winning most of their qualifying rounds. They failed to win medals due to climatic and technical problems. The results of personal interviews showed that though Mexico altitude contributed to the failures of Nigerian athletes, other factors lacking in Nigeria's team were lack of determination and dedication to sports.

The XXth Olympiad, Munich, 1972

In the summer of 1972 exactly 36 years after the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Germany was to host its second and the XXth Olympic Games.The heavily bombarded Munich town during the World War II had been

rebuilt. Here the Olympic park was erected as the Olympic village, communication center, competition arena and the main stadium for the competitions.

21Ibid.22W. Hezekiah, "Nation Races into the Lead," Inside Kenya

Today, (September, 1968), pp. 30-31.

141The opening ceremony of the Munich Games was one of the best and

perhaps the greatest of all great opening ceremonies ever recorded in the Olympiads. Henry described the Munich opening ceremony briefly:

The games began in splendid fashion, this being perhaps the greatest of all great opening ceremonies. Some 8,000 athletes from 121 nations inarched into the stadium. After short speeches from the German Olympic Committee President Willi Daume and the outgoing IOC President Avery Brundage,German President Or. Gustav Keinemann declared the games open. The Olympic flag was carried in by West Germany's eight-oared gold medalist crew from 1968 and raised to the playing of the Olympic Hymn. The Mayor of Mexico City brought in the traditional Olympic flag for presentation to the Mayor of Munich for safe-keeping. Then young Germans performed a traditional Bavarian dance, and brightly costumed members of Mexico's Ballet Folklorico joyously danced around the track to guitar music. Handcannons boomed from the overlooking hill, 5,000 doves of peace were released, and the Olympic torch arrived accompanied from runners from each continent . . .Torch bearer Guenter Zahn lit the flame, long jumper Heidi Scheller took the athletes’ oath, and Heinz Pollay, double 23winner in dressage at Berlin, took the oath for the judges . . .

At the 1972 Olympic Games, African athletes and boxers collectedmore medals than they did in Mexico Games. The African medalists in theMunich Games are shown in the Table 15,

Nigeria was represented in the Games with over 30 athletes and officials. Most athletes in these Games captured medals during 1970 and 1974 Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh and Christchurch respectively.

(See Appendix E.) Having gained experience from the previous Olympics

and Commonwealth Games respectively, these athletes went into the training camp earlier in March 1972 under the newly formed National Sports Commission (NSC) in 1971, and jointly executed by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) of Nigeria, the Amateur Boxing Association

(ABA), and States Sports Councils (SSC). The main training camps were

23Henry, op. cit., p. 361.

142

TABLE 15AFRICAN MEDALISTS IN THE 1972 MUNICH OLYMPIC GAMES

Name Country Event Medal

Kipchoge Keino Kenya 3,000 m. steeplechase GoldJohn. Akii-bua Uganda 400 m. hurdles Gold

Charles AsatiHezekiah Nyamau Robert Ouko

Kenya 1,600 m. relay Gold

Julius SangBenjamin Jlpcho Kenya 3,000 m. steeplechase Silver

Kipchoge Keino Kenya 1,500 m. steeplechase Silver

Philip Waruinge Kenya boxing Silver

Leo Rwabvogo Uganda boxing Silver

Julius Snag Kenya 400 m. Bronze

Mike Bolt Kenya 800 m. Bronze

Miruz Yifter Ethiopia 10,000 m. Bronze

Mamo Wolde Ethiopia Marathon Bronze

Samuel Murunga Kenya boxing Bronze

Dick Tiger Murunga Kenya boxing Bronze

Issaka Daborg Niger boxing Bronze

Prince Amartcy Ghana boxing BronzeIsaac Ikhouria Nigeria boxing Bronze

Source: Ramadhan All, Africa at the Olympics (London Wl, England:Africa Books Division, 1976), p. 153.

143at Ibadan Liberty Stadium, University of Ife and the National stadium in Lagos where training facilities but little modern equipment were available. Most of the athletes in the training camp later represented the nation during All Africa Games which took place in Lagos, Nigeria in 1973.

Veteran organizers and coaches of these athletes were S. 0.

Jolaoso MBE, A. A. Ordia, Dr. J. A. Omoruan, Dr. Awoture Eleyae,Dr. J. A. Adedeji, J. A. Oyewusi, I. A. Akioye, Toso Omolabi, Titi

Adeleke, K. 0. Williams, and Hogan Bassey MBE.In the traditional Pre-Olympic international competition held

before the opening of the actual Olympic Games in Munich, the Nigerian track and field team was very impressive. They showed tremendous improvement in their respective events. There was hope that Nigeria

would win many medals in the actual Olympics. In the actual Olympics, the athletes performed even below expectations of them. They did not win any medals. Only Modupe Oshikoya, a 19-year-old lady who had very little experience in international competitions, did very well in the pentathalon and the long jump event, though she too did not win any medals.

Commenting on African women generally in international sport

competitions, Ali wrote:African women have yet to establish themselves on the inter­

national athletic scene. The big names so far have been the Ghananian and Ugandan aces, Alice Annum and Judith Ayaa. In Munich, Alice Annum, the fastest woman In Africa over 100 and 200 meters finished among the top six sprinters, but won no medal. Judith Ayaa had her work cut out for her competing against much more experienced runners in the women’s 400 meters.

144

One of the new discoveries among the women in Munich was the Nigerian Modupe Oshikoya, who competed in the pentathalon and the long jump. Although the pretty 19-year-old made no real international impact in Munich, the experience she got there has served her well since. At the All Africa games in Lagos (1973), she won three gold medals, setting three African records.2^

In boxing, Nigerian boxers did well at the beginning of their preliminary bouts but they failed to carry their efforts to the end.

They too failed to win medals except Ikhouria who won a bronze medal

in the light weight division.Despite the athletes' poor performances in the Games, and the

drama of Arab terrorists and Israeli hostages during the Munich Games,

some Nigerian athletes that were interviewed indicated that they were

satisfied with what they saw and also experienced, and that it would be

a grievious mistake if there were no more Olympics because of these troubles.

The athletes were well received by Nigerians despite their poor

showing in the Games. They were given a few weeks break before they returned for training camp in preparation for All Africa games which took place in Lagos, 1973.

The XXIst Olympiad, Montreal, 1976

Avery Brundage stepped down as the President of IOC during the XXth Olympiad at Munich. His solid defense of pure amateurism and no

politics in sport in the twenty years of his office since 1952 left an

indelible impression in the history of the Olympic movement.

Ramadham, op. cit., p. 73.

145Lord Killanin of Ireland was elected to succeed him, and he

immediately set about trying to solve problems facing the Olympic move­ment. He was particularly anxious to ensure the right of individuals

to try out for the Games regardless of race, color or creed and to keep the Games from being used as a tool for political purpose. In an

attempt to solve the problems of politics in sport, Lord Killanin made trips to Rhodesia and some parts of Africa to be sure all athletes

might try out for their sports. He also visited the People's Republic

of China and Taiwan Nationalist China to study the situations in these

countries.

Today, the problems associated with politics in sports or

apartheid in sport are more complex than the problems associated with

amateurism. The international opposition to apartheid sport led the majority of African nations including Nigeria to boycott the XXIst

Montreal Olympics in 1976, About the problem in the Olympics, Douglass Looney wrote:

The Montreal Olympics went off as scheduled, despite the absence of athletes from 25 nations, it was a spellbinding feast of extraordinary sporting performances.

Many of the problems exposed in the Montreal remain to be overcome before the 1980’s Games in Moscow. We have— all of us— four long years to solve those problems. If we do not waste time in recriminations, there is no reason to fret that they cannot be solved. Let's get to work on them.25

The real struggle of African nations against apartheid in

international sport began long before the Montreal Olympic Games. It dated back to November 15, 1965, four days after Ian Smith unilaterally

declared the independence of Rhodesia from the British crown when the

25"The Games," Sports Illustrated XLV, (August 9, 1976), p. 10.

146African Football Confederation (AFC), the main body controlling inter­

national football competition, expelled Rhodesia from the list of its

member organization. This was the starting signal for waves of pro­

tests and calls for action against Rhodesia, both politically and athletically.

In 1968 the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) unani­

mously voted against Rhodesia’s participation in the Mexico City

Olympics. This made the IOC members step into the matter for the first

time. As the result of IOC intervention, on June 7, 1968, the IOC

spokesman told African nations that according to the regulations Rhodesia had to be Invited to the Mexico Games as a recognized IOC

member. The IOC resolution of accepting Rhodesia's participation in the 1968 Games led to some bad reactions from many African nations.

In October, 1969, the Permanent Conference of the National

Olympic Committee met in Dubrovnik to decide the reactions of African

nations and Rhodesia's apartheid sports. In that meeting, an inde­pendent commission of inquiry was appointed to investigate whether the racial segregation policies of the Ian Smith regime also affected

sports. About this problem All wrote:

As the question of Rhodesian participation began to crowd more and more into sports headlines, the IOC found itself forced to take a clear stand on the issue. On May 9, 1971, in a television interview, Avery Brundage said, Rhodesia observes the Olympic rules, there is no racial segregation in that country's sports. Any one who is against the Rhodesian government would also have to pit himself against every government in the w o r l d . ^6

26Ramadhan, op. cit., p. 59.

147

Avery Brundage’s words embarrassed many Commonwealth and African

nations. The pressure from the SCSA and Organization of African Unity

(OAU) to expell Rhodesia from the Munich Olympiad became tougher. The series of IOC meetings followed in 1971. With the agreement of the

African nations, the IOC established the following conditions for Rhodesia's participation in Munich Olympic Games:

1. Rhodesia would compete In Munich under the British flag.

2. Rhodesia would accept the British national anthem at

awards ceremonies.3. Rhodesia would compete under the name 'Southern Rhodesia’—

its colonial name.

4. On official Identity papers, the nationality of Rhodesia27participants would be entered as 'British subject.'

The African nations celebrated this agreement as a victory.

The conditions seemed to ensure that Rhodesia would decline to compete

in the 1972 Games. But Rhodesia accepted to satisfy the conditions.She sent her athletes to the Munich Games but only to discover that

the athletes were holding ordinary identification cards issued by the Organizing Committee of the XXth Olympiad instead of British passports. All the African nations in the XXth Olympiad protested strongly to the

IOC that Rhodesia did not fulfil the agreement hammered out at

Luxemburg. As the result of IOC meeting that followed on August 22,

1972, Rhodesia was expelled. On the same event, All wrote:

27Ibid., p. 61.

148In the event of Rhodesia's participation in Olympic Games,

a vote was taken: 36 went against Rhodesia, 31 were for, andthere were three absententions, Ian Smith’s regime had lost an important battle for international recognition through the arena of the Olympic Games. On the evening of August 22, 1972,Avery Brundage came before the assembled press in Munich's Maximilianeum. He had just suffered the most bitter defeat of his 20 years tenure as the head of IOC. The 84-year-old American left no doubt in anyone's mind that he did not share the majority v i e w . 28

The final chapter was written on May 22, 1975, the date on which

Rhodesia was finally expelled from the International Olympic movement.

Before that decision was taken in Lausanne, Switzerland, delegations

representing Rhodesia and the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa led

by Abraham Ordia of Nigeria, addressed the IOC assembly. Election was held on the issue. Votes were counted. Rhodesia was expelled by a margin of 41 to 26.

About South Africa, she also faced the same tough oppositions

from African nations about her apartheid in sports. She too was

expelled from the Olympic Games and other international competitions

like Rhodesia, South Africa was expelled on October 1, 1969 at thePermanent Conference of the National Olympic Committee at Dubrovnik.

29She was expelled by a vote of 49 to 43.

The success of African nations in fighting against apartheid in

sports motivated the opposition to New Zealand's rugby tour of South

Africa and its participation in Montreal Olympic Games in 1976. Facts

collected indicated that, though rugby is not an Olympic sport, African nations will not want any nation to take part in international sports

^ I b i d ., p. 64. 29Ibid.. p. 65.

149competition with either South Africa or Rhodesia unless the two

countries follow the footstep of United States of America where the

blacks are treated equally in international sports.

It could be recalled that the New Zealand rubgy team made up

of all whites in 1974 toured South Africa despite all the protests at home and abroad. In 1975 before the Montreal Olympic Games, the

same all-white rugby team toured South Africa and South African players visited and played in New Zealand. All these exchanges of sporting

events of New Zealand with South Africa together with the South African

police massive killing of Sowetos motivated actions against New Zealand and the government of Muldoom who is the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Putman for example wrote on the African mass boycott of Montreal Games:

Some of the pomp was dampened by politics, but the XXI Olympiad opened last Saturday in Montreal. For more than a year there had been doubts that the Games would take place.But on a gloriously beautiful afternoon, with England’s Queen Elizabeth presiding, speaking first in French, then in English, the Polypics began . . .

In quick order the Taiwanese were joined by 24 nations, the majority of them Africans, all electing to boycott the Games for another political reason. Their wrath was aimed at New Zealand but their real target was South Africa. Thus, the rainbow march of athletes seemed only slightly longer than the lineup of those missing. Not that the African exodus from Montreal's $1.5 billion playground was any less expected than that of Taiwan— the African nations have been poised for just such a move ever since New Zealand sent a rugby team to play in South Africa following the recent Soweto riots in which an estimated 176 persons died.30

African nations prepared very hard for the Montreal Olympic

Games. Various international competitions were organized within

Africa in preparation for the Games with the hope that the IOC would

30Pat Putman, "It was a Call to Color," Sports Illustrated, XLV, July 26, 1976, pp. 14-17.

150solve the matter of New Zealand with the SCSA that is in charge of

sports throughout Africa. Nigeria sent about 40 athletes and officials

to the Games. A majority of these athletes participated in track and

field events and boxing during the 1973 All Africa Games in Lagos, and 1974 Commonwealth Games which were held in Christchurch, New Zealand.

(See Appendix F.) Some outstanding athletes who went to Montreal Olympic Games were T. Ogunjobi, Aboyade Cole, C. Ehizuelen, K. Abdulai

and Modupe Oshikoya.Nigerian athletes were coached and prepared for the Games by

Lee Evans, twice a U.S. Olympian and new sprint coach for Nigeria.

The Nigerian athletes arrived at Montreal early enough to practice with modem facilities and equipment. They were set for the Games before

they received the order from the Nigerian government to leave the Games

for Nigeria because New Zealand was not sent out of the Games as

requested by African nations. Other nations that left at the same time were Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Chad, Ghana, Upper Volta, Togo, Mali,

Morocco, Senegal, Niger, Zambia, and Congo. Egypt waited behind to take part in the march past before she finally pulled out of the Games.Ivory Coast was the only country in West Africa that participated in

the Games. Only 90 nations finally took part in Montreal Olympic Games after the departure of 25 black nations plus Taiwan.

The feelings collected from Nigerians showed that the nation

supported the boycott. To all, the decision was reasonable because

sport is so important for Africans that it could be used like a trade boycott or economic sanctions. To many the Montreal Olympic boycott

151truly showed African nations1 solidarity, and opposition to apartheid sport.

One of the Nigerian top athletes and now a coach said:

The African nations have taken a very strong and idealist stand in order to keep racial politics out of sport. If the IOC had the fortunate and sincerity to uphold its own lofty ideals, actions by some governments that appear political would not be necessary. Since the IOC has not done this, it has forced the African nations to take their stands. They have lived up to the resolutions of the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and other international bodies that have called for total isolation of South Africa.

Furthermore, in the case of the Olympic boycott, it was the African nations that had made sacrifices of the time and training of athletes, the expense of doing so, and of the inter­national prestige that accompanied the sportlight of the Olympic Games.

When the athletes returned to Nigeria after the mass boycott of

the Montreal Olympic Games, various competitions were organized for them. The training they received later yielded good results during the

Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) games which were held

in Lagos for all the countries in West Africa in August, 1977.An analysis of Nigeria's performances in these Games from 1960-

1976 shows that no gold medal had been won. Results of different inter­

views of the athletes, sports administrators, and sports lovers by the

researcher showed that the poor performances of the athletes in the Olympic Games and consequently inability to win many medals are due to

many problems. Among these problems are poor sports organization, lack of sufficient and trained personnel, poor facilities and equipment, and

lack of research into Nigeria's sports programs. These problems are

Personal interview, Olu Juba, University of Ife, Nigeria, August 20, 1977.

152discussed more fully in Chapter XI. The Nigeria civil war between

1967-70 was also cited as being a factor. The civil war was caused mainly by the political differences in the country. Its remote cause

might be attributed to tribalism, injustice, nepotism and exploitation

of the masses of some Nigerian leaders. During the civil war serious training was suspended and also during the periods of reconstruction.

Furthermore, some potential athletes were injured and some were killed

during the war periods. These events undoubtedly had some effects on

Nigeria's performances in the Olympics and in other international sports.

CHAPTER VII

THE ALL-AFRICA GAMES AND WEST AFRICA GAMES

The nations of the world deliberate together in the United Nations and compete in sports in the Olympics, the member countries in the British Commonwealth have the Commonwealth Games, the Pan-American nations also have the Pan-American Games; it is therefore, fitting and perhaps natural that the All-Africa Games came into existence.

All-Africa Games are held and conducted in the same spirit of unity like that of Olympic and Commonwealth Games but as provided in the continent's political body— the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

In Chapters V and VI, Nigeria's readiness and participation in the Commonwealth and the Olympic Games were discussed. It is appropri­ate at this juncture to briefly discuss the Nigeria's involvement and participation in its own continental Pan-African Games which undoubtedly has increased the popularity of Nigeria and its image in the realm of international sports competition. Therefore, the main emphasis of this chapter is on Nigeria's participation in All-Africa Games and the Economic Community of West Africa Society (ECOWAS) Games.

153

154

Historical Background of the All-Africa Games

The history of the continental games in Africa is much older

and more complex than what most people can imagine. The concept of continental sport in Africa was born at the beginning of 1920's. It was the era when the Olympic Games of modern times were held In Athens, Paris, St. Louis, London and Stockholm, beginning in 1896.^

The idea of an All-Africa Games came originally from the immor­tal Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modem

2Olympics. After the revival of the modern Olympics Coubertin took aninterest in matters of African sportsmen as early as 1920. He in collaboration with the Egyptian IOC member, Angelo Balanaki supported theidea, and proposed to organize All-Africa Games at two year Intervals.Participants in the Games would be Africans. Abraham Ordia's accounton this is noteworthy of reading:

Pierre de Coubertin attached such great Importance to the establishment and organization of the All-Africa Games that he commented upon it in Rome on 27th April, 1923, during the IOC session there. Addressing the August World Assembly, he said,"As the end of my Olympic career draws nearer, I should like to refer once again to the conquest of Africa in the field of sports which to my mind is one of the most topical subjects of the colonial era." The world renowned Frenchman and many years President of the IOC passionately advocated a world sponsorship for sports in Africa leading to the All-Africa Games, His plans, notable though they were, did not meet the great success In his lifetime.^

Abraham A. Ordia, History of the All-Africa Games, Pamphlet produced 1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos, National Sports Commission (NSC) of Nigeria publication 1973, p. 5.

2Ibid.3Ibid., p. 6.

155Several other attempts were made by Africans and friends of

Africans to organize All-Africa Games but colonization and colonial influence were a great obstacle to the development of sports at the con­tinental level. Many of the African nations which now engage in mutual regular sports exchanges on home and away basis, were more geographical expressions of colonial days.^ Each colonial power kept its colonies

in water-tight compartments. Hence, the average Nigerian sportsmen knew very little about sport in either Togo, Niger, Republic of Benin, or Cameroun, its nearest French speaking neighbours. Instead, Nigerian

athletes were allowed only to go to Gold Coast (now Ghana), the nearest British Colony for sports. Politics, differences in language, communi­cation and economic difficulties played their parts in the obstacle towards the early organization of Africa continental games. Each

colonial power took its traditional sports to its colony so that games of netball, polo, cricket, field hockey, football and athletics were played extensively in the Anglophone countries rather than in Franco­phone countries.

In an effort to use sports as a unifying force throughout Africa after several attempts to introduce All-Africa Games failed, a decision was later reached by the IOC to hold the first All-Africa Games in Algiers in 1925."’ This decision got an enthusiastic response from the African sportsmen of the time. But the organizational prob­lems were so complex and the financial difficulties so insurmountable

"Ghana Amateur Athletic Association (GAAA)" Program of Track and Field Events between Nigeria/Ghana (GAA Publication 1974), pp. 16-18.

^Ordia, op. cit., pp. 6-7.

156that the initiators were forced to postpone the date to 1929, and to transfer the games to Alexandria in Egypt.^ But the games were not held in 1929 either. Abraham Ordia again wrote:

The Egyptians enthusiastically and generously supported the idea of Alexandria games. This was to be expected . . . (Egypt did very well in 1928 Olympic Games by winning two gold medals, one silver and one bronze in weight lifting, wrestling, high and spring board diving respectively.) Stimulated by this sen­sational success, the Egyptians were prepared to organize the first All-Africa Games in Alexandria in the month of April,1929. Angelo Bolanaki was in charge of the large scale pre­parations. The Egyptian government made considerable funds available for the building of a modem stadium and other facili­ties. King Fuad was ready, so were the flags and anthems.Officials had their stop watches ready and services, and their measuring tapes ready. Yes, the birthday of a continental sport in Africa was to be real public festivals. But, alas! a few weeks prior to the opening ceremony, the holding of the Games was vetoed by the English and French— of all peoples— the two greatest colonial powers in Africa who had done so much for sport in their respective territories . . . The heavy blow y retarded the development of sport in Africa for several years.

Several attempts were made again and again to have the games started but some of the African leaders were faced with difficulties. However, various other games were organized between nations in Africa

between 1929-1957. In 1957 the All-African Football Championships for national teams in Africa was formed with the headquarters in Egypt.West Africa Games were also held on October, 1960 in Nigeria to mark its Independence Day. Many nations in French and English speaking countries

participated in the Games. Similar games were organized in East Africa, East African Games, and at Tananariv, capital of Madagascar as Community Games from April 13 to 19, 1960 where over 800 competitors from sixteen

6Ibid. 7Ibid.

157Q

African countries participated. Other friendship games were held in

which sportsmen and women from Anglophone and Francophone countries inAfrica participated. These games eventually turned to be the decisiveturning point as the fore-runners of the All-Africa Games.

From 1960-65, the wind of change was truly blowing over the

continent as many nations gained their freedom from their colonialmasters. Nationalistic spirit of African unity burnt high. So, at ameeting in Dakar on April 12th, 1963 of many ministers of youth andsports of the French and English speaking African nations, the trueconcept of the First All-Africa Games was born when the CongoBrazzaville was directed to study the new changes and rules necessary

9for the Games.In February, 1964,^ a preparatory conference to the First

All-Africa Games was held in Congo Brazzaville to consider all matters relating to the Games. Invitations were issued by the President of Congo Brazzaville to the head of state and governments of all the inde­pendent countries of Africa. The High Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Congo Brazzaville, Andrew Hombassa, was elected president and Abraham Ordia of Nigeria, the secretary of National Sports Council was elected the vice-secretary, and Jean Claude Ganga, Director of Sports of Congo Brazzaville, as the secretary general. General F. Chesson of Liberia, Lucien Sollo of Cameroun, Badara Sow of Mali,

g"They Say It's a Revolution," (African Trackmen redefined the

Art of Distance Running), Ebony, Special Issue (August, 1976), pp. 100- 101.

9Ordia, op. cit., p. 9.10Ibid.

158

and T. Tequame of Ethiopia were elected members of the Executive Committee.

A secretariat was established for the Games to be held in Congo Brazzaville between July 18 to 25, 1965, Various committees were set up for the Games. Thus, the spirit of African unity and brother­hood made all arrangements for the First Games possible.

Nigeria's Participation in First All-Africa Games, Congo Brazzaville, July 18-25, 1965

The cream of Africa's sportsmen and women competing for the first time in an atmosphere of friendship, cheerfulness and African unity met at last in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo for the First All-Africa Games between July 18 to 25, 1965. For many of the newly independent African countries, the participation in these Games was a symbol of nationhood; for the government and people of Congo Brazzaville, the first All-Africa Games was an honor; and for the heads of thirty independent African nations who took part in theGames, it was a blessing of unity for the black race all over theworld.

Prior to the historic festival, the Permanent Committee selected purposely for All-Africa Games with delegates from twenty-seven African nations met at Congo Brazzaville town hall on 13th to 15th July, 1965 to consider among other things, the future Games. Major decisions were:

1. That this and all future Games with Immediate effect, are known and called ALL AFRICA GAMES.

159

2. Participants arc to be citizens of Africa by birth or

naturalization and where naturalized, this must have been done at

least six months prior to the Games. "This means that France, a

European country, would be precluded from the All-Africa Games.

3. That there shall be preliminary elimination contests in

seven zones on the continent in all the group sports and that only the zonal champions need come to the host city. The host country shall be exempted from the preliminary elimination contests.

4. That the All-Africa Games shall be held every four years, in the year preceding the Olympic Games.

125. That the Second Games be held in Mali . . .

At the same meeting, Mali's specific request was granted to

hold the Second All-Africa Games in the city of Bamako in October, 1969

in order to give Mali government sufficient time to prepare for the Games. Thus the Third All-Africa Games should be held in the year

1971, a year before the Munich Olympic Games of 1972.

Following the discussions which ensued, a lecture was delivered

to the Committee by Dr. Jones, then secretary-general of the Interna­

tional Council for Sports and Physical Education (an organ of UNESCO) on "The Role of Sport and Training from the African Point of View."

The Committee decided to explore the possibility of establishing an

^France from inception of colonization in Africa, had recog­nized and accepted all Africans under her as a part of France. Many Africans had thus represented France in many international competitions, not as an African, but as French.

12Ordia, op. cit., p. 10.

160

African Supernational Organization for the Coordination of all sporting

activities throughout Africa, and set up an ad hoc committee for the purpose.

On July 18, 1965, the First All-Africa Games were declared

opened by Alphouse Massamba Debart, President of the Congo Republic inthe presence of IOC President, Avery Brundage, and a host of the world

13dignitaries. More than 3,000 sportsmen and women from these thirty

independent African nations took part in the Games. These countrieswere Algeria, Ethiopia, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Congo

Republic (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo (now Zaire), IvoryCoast, Dahomey (now Republic of Benin), Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,

Upper Volta, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mall,Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, U.A.R. (now Egypt), Senegal, Sierra Leone,

14Tanzania, Chad Republic, Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia.

The opening ceremony of the Games was very impressive. One of

the several guests of honor at the Games was Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia,^Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino, Wilson Kiprugut, Benjamin Kogo, and Naftali

16Temu "for their athletic excellence."

^"News in Brief," Africa Report (August, 1965), p. 25. Also Abraham Ordia, op. clt., pp. 10-11.

14Ibid.15Abebe Bikila was a double Olympic marathon champion in 1960

Rome, and 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. This idol of all African sportsmen is now paralysed following a motor accident and can only move around In a wheel chair. He is the first in the world to achieve this double vic­tory at two consecutive Olympics. Kipchoge Keino, Wilson Kiprugut,B. Kogo and Tenue are still active in international competitions. They are all Olympic and Commonwealth medalists.

^They Say It's Revolution, Ebony, Special Issue, op. cit.,pp. 100-101.

161Immediately after the opening ceremony, events started In the

Brazzaville’s new national stadium costing about 2 million dollars with30.000 seating capacity. The Nigerian contingent of both men and women was made up of 44 men, 16 women and 5 officials. Most of the athletes who were to represent Nigeria in the 1966 Commonwealth Games took part in

the Games. Some of the top athletes were S. Igun, D. Ejoke, Adeniyi, B. Majekodunmi, E. Erinle, X. Adeleke, 0. Akindele, V. Odogwu, A. Okoli,S. Obayemi, A. Oyakhire, T. Erinle, Okwara, A. Akika.

At the end of the Games, United Arab Republic (now Egypt) was the overall winner with 18 gold, 10 silver and 3 bronze medals.Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal followed respectively. In athletics,

Nigeria gold medalists who set records in the Games were A. Okoli in

high jump (women) 1.62 metres, S. Igun high jump 2.07 metres and triple jump of 16.27 metres, Okwara (Miss) javelin of 40.30 metres.A. Oyakhire in javelin of 71.52 metres, 4 je 100 m. relay (women) in48.00 seconds. Others who also won medals were J. Bodunrin, T.Adeleke, R. Akindele and Majekodunmi, T. Erinle and Akika (see results of the 1965 All-Africa Games in Table 16).

In spite of the political overtones which marred diplomatic

relations with some of the African nations, the First All-Africa Games was a giant step forwards for sports on the African continent. It is appropriate to end this historic account in the words of Abraham Ordia:

"The old order changeth yielding place to the new and God fulfills Himself in many ways lest one good custom should cor­rupt the world." The All-Africa Games has at long last become a reality after 40 years of struggle and frustration, of hopes and despairs; and despairs that yet hoped. Yes, it has come and has come to stay.17

^Ordia, op. cit., p. 11.

162TABLE 16

MEDAL WINNERS OF 1965 ALL-AFRICA GAMES, CONGO BRAZZAVILLE18

Sport (men) Medal Winners Time/Distance Country100 m. Kone

Owita F. Erinle

10.3 secs.10.5 secs.10.6 secs.

Ivory CoastKenyaNigeria

200 tn. KoneEjokeRave1omanan t s o a

21.1 secs. 21.4 secs. 21.7 secs.

Ivory CoastNigeriaMadagascar

400 m. Kiprugut J. A. Addy Gakou

46.9 secs. 47.4 secs. 47.7 secs.

KenyaGhanaIvory Coast

800 m. Kiprugut M. N'diaye P . Francis

1:47.4 mins. 1:48.6 mins. 1:49.1 mins.

KenyaSenegalKenya

3,000 m. steeplechase

B. Kogo N. Chirchir Okadapan

8:44.4 mins. 8:53.1 mins. 9:05.8 mins.

KenyaKenyaUganda

5,000 m. KeinoTemuM. Wolde

13:44.4 mins. 13:58,4 mins. 14:18.6 mins.

KenyaKenyaEthiopia

110 m. hurdles E. Erinle Akika S. Maki

14.6 secs.14.6 secs.14.7 secs.

Nigeria Nigeria Ivory Coast

400 m. hurdles Songok M. Sarr Sam. Sang

51.7 secs. 51.9 secs. 52.5 secs.

KenyaSenegalKenya

Long jump E. Akika AhmedMansour Dia

7.49 m, 7.48 m. 7.29 m.

NigeriaEgyptSenegal

High jump S. Igun H. Elende A. Senoussi

2.07 m. 2.03 m. 1.99 m.

NigeriaCongoChad

Triple jump S. Igun Mansour Dia L. Sarr

16.27 m. 15.93 m. 15.36 m.

NigeriaSenegalSenegal

Source: Ramadham All, Africa at the Olympics (London: AfricaBooks Publishers Ltd., 1976), pp. 150-152.

TABLE 16 (Continued)

163

Sport (men) Medal Winners Time/Distance Country

Shot put S. Kragbe 16.32 m. Ivory CoastH . Mahrous 14.87 m. Egypt0. Yovan 14.84 m. Uganda

Discus N. Naire 51.20 m. MaliS. Kragbe 50.84 m. Ivory CoastAnukwa 45.16 m. Nigeria

Javelin Oyakhire 71.52 m. NigeriaCh. Kiptalam 70.46 m, KenyaE. Yanyambal 68,54 m. Chad

Pole vault B. Elloe 4.15 m. Ivory CoastA. Ghita 4.05 m. EgyptGneplou 4.05 m. Ivory Coast

4 x 100 m. relay Senegal 40.5 secs. SenegalNigeria 40.8 secs. NigeriaGhana 40.9 secs. Ghana

4 x 400 m. relay Senegal 3:11.5 mins. SenegalKenya 3:12.2 mins. KenyaGhana 3:12.2 mins. Ghana

100 metres J. Bodunrin 12.4 secs. Nigeria(women) R. Okafor 12.5 secs. Nigeria

Rose Hart 12.5 secs. Ghana

80 metres Rose Hart 11.7 secs. Ghanahurdles Diana Monke 11.8 secs. Kenya(women) M. Obayemi 11.9 secs. Nigeria

Long jump Alice Ahnum 5.63 m. GhanaOsuagvu 5.34m. NigeriaTh. Nakisuyi 5.22 m. Uganda

High jump Okoli 1.62 m. NigeriaAdisa Atta 1.59m. GhanaAwori 1.56 m. Uganda

TABLE 16 (Continued)

164

Sport (men) Medal Winners Time/Distance Country

Javelin Okwara 40.30 m. NigeriaDismas 40.24 m. TanzaniaAnyikwu 39.48 m. Nigeria

4 x 100 m. relay Nigeria 48.00 secs. NigeriaGhana 49.1 secs. GhanaCameroun 49.2 secs. Cameroun

The Cancelled 1969 All-Africa Games, Bamako, Mali

The All-Africa Games, Mali scheduled to be held in the city of Bamako, Capital of Mali on October, 1969 met with some political and

administrative problems.

Firstly, in July, 1966 at Bamako, the report of the ad hoc committee for the games was approved. In that year, the General Assembly of all sport leaders in the continent was summoned, and one outcome of the deliberations was the formation of a new organization to be known as the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) for the coordination of all sporting activities throughout Africa. The consti­tution of all future Games was approved, and elections held under th^ chairmanship of the Rt. Hon. Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the Federal Chief Justice of Nigeria and also a member of IOC. As the result of the elec­

tion, Andre Hombassa of Congo Brazzaville was elected the president of newly formed SCSA. Abraham Ordia of Nigeria was elected the first vice-

president, Badar Sow of Mali, second vice-president, and Jean Claude Gange as the full-time secretary-general for a term of four years.

165The new headquarters of the SCSA was put at Yaounde, Capital of the Republic of Cameroun.

The president became incapacitated with ill health to such an extent that he was unable to perform his official functions; thus the first vice-president, Abraham Ordia in 1968 was appointed to act and later elected as the president of the SCSA. Ever since, SCSA has been the main agent promoting sports in Africa.

After the Games of XlXth Olympiad in Mexico City in 1968, there was a change of government in Mali. Although all installations and arrangements about the second All-Africa Games were completed, the new

government of Mali felt unable to proceed with the organization of the Games. The Executive Committee of the SCSA was in a dilemma. Attempts to get another African state to take up the challenge failed because of the amount of preparation and organization involved. Thus, the second

All-Africa Games in Mali failed to materialize.Abraham Ordia, the president of SCSA remembered vividly about

this incident, when he wrote:

The Executive Committee of the SCSA did everything possible to save the Games. All appeals to several African governments to take up the Games did not meet with success as every one considered the time left too short to do justice to their organization. Arising from this predicament, the SCSA decided to call off the Bamako Games and renamed the Lagos Games,"Second All-Africa Games.

1973 Second All-Africa Games in Lagos, Nigeria. January 7-8

The Second All-Africa Games which took place in Lagos, Nigeria between January 7-8, 1973 had a long history behind it. The idea of the

19Ibid.. p. 12.

166Games, started in July at Bamako in 1966 during the Permanent Committee meeting. In that meeting, the SCSA was granted recognition to entrust the city of Lagos with the responsibility of organizing the Third (which was changed later to second) All-Africa Games in October, 1971.

Due to the unfortunate national crisis and political instability in Nigeria, the work on the preparation for the Games was inevitably delayed. Nevertheless, Nigeria was determined to host the Games. The Nigeria Government therefore requested the SCSA to extend the period of

the Games from 1971 to 1972 so as to give a little more time to com­plete the Installations and other facilities required. By this time,

20Nigeria was busy with the construction of its "sports city."At another SCSA General Assembly meeting in Cairo in 1970, the

SCSA decided that Nigeria should host the Games in 1973 even though outof calendar of the Games. The main reason for the change of the Games

from 1972 as previously requested by Nigeria was that 1972 was an

Olympic year and the IOC regulations forbid the holding of any regional21games in an Olympic year. This was acceptable to Nigeria and the

Games were scheduled for January 7-18, 1973.The Second All-Africa Games was very successful both in adminis­

tration and standard of performances. All the 41 independent countries

20Sports City refers to facility complex provided in Lagos for 1973 All-Africa Games. It is the National Sports Stadium located at Sarulere, Lagos. The estimated cost of the complex was $30 million. It was the first stadium in Africa with eight lanes and with all weather synthetic track. The Sports City* also has Olympic standard swimming pool, seven tennis all weather courts, a squash center, and outdoor courts for volleyball, handball, and basketball. It is the largest facility complex in Africa today.

21IOC Olympism, A booklet of the International Olympic Committee (first published in 1972), pp. 5-11.

167on the continent entered the Gaines and more than 4,500 athletes, 1,500officials and some 1,000 other visitors both from Africa and overseasparticipated in the opening ceremony. This was the largest gathering

22of athletes ever assembled on the African continent. The Games tookplace in the new National Stadium in Lagos.

The opening ceremony of the Games showed a close resemblance to Olympic and Commonwealth Games. The Games festival started well with Black and Arab nations marching behind their national colours across

the main field to salute the grand patron, General Yakubu Gowon, the

Nigerian Head of State. Congo Brazzaville, the last nation to host the

Games in 1965, led the grand procession. That nation also delivered

the Games torch after the release of 1,000 pigeons.

The New York Times reporter who covered the opening ceremoniesof the Games wrote:

. . . the marching units seem for the first time here as a group, provided a study in modem African fashions.

Upper Voltan youths, wearing conical straw hats and the striped pajama-like cotton suits of Fulani cattle herders, con­trasted both with the Tanzanians in their plain Maoist suits and with the bell-bottomed trendy pants— suits— reminiscent of Paris boulevarols— worn by women athletes from the Ivory Coast.

Business suits were worn by the Algerians, desert robes by the Sudanese, blazers by the Kenyan men and mini-skirts by the Kenyan women. The Camerouns delegates came in flowing white boubas with white caps.

There was great ethnic variety also. Among the most Black and Arab delegates were sprinklings of Europeans and East Indians. The athletes from Mauritius reflected that island's African, East Indian and Chinese population, and the Malagasy Republic athletes were mostly descendants of the Indonesian peoples who migrated to the East Indian island many centuries ago.

About seven hours of pomp and pageantry followed the parade, Including traditional dances, the releasing of

22"Afrlca Games Start Today In Nigeria," Washington Post, January 7, 1973, p. 10.

168thousands of doves of peace and the lighting of a flame with a torch brought from Congo Brazzaville . . . 23

During the opening address, General Gowon told the athletes that they should serve the "dual function to promote the unity of the people

of Africa and to groom youths for achievements of honorable positions in the world of sports." He continued that you are all citizens of a new

and free Africa with a common destiny. Therefore, you must always seek

the unity of the continent. He then urged the athletes to feel at home, pointing to the new stadium. General Gowon declared that "the new stadium was not just another prestige project, but rather an essential product of our development efforts and a symbol of our aspirations in the field of sports.

A reporter for the Washington Post wrote:But most observers here believe that image conscious

Nigeria, black Africa's most populous nation, certainly hopes the Gaines will reap political prestige and underline the major role this humid, sprawling capital plays in African affairs.

Sporting events in the African context, play a political role of their own as suggested by the Games Anthem, "Mighty Africa." The song, written by a Nigerian composer, Ayo Bankole, stresses African unity and brotherhood and declares,"Africa will triumph over her foes."25

Eleven sports were competed for without any political problem. These sports were track and field, soccer, boxing, tennis, volleyball, basketball, swimming, cycling, table tennis, handball and judo.

23"All Africa Games in Lagos," The New York Times, January 8, 1973, p. 36.

24General Gowon's opening address to declare the Second All- Africa Games opened," Nigeria Daily Times, January 8, 1973, pp. 29-30, also Washington Post, op. cit., p. 10.

25Washington Post, January 7, 1973, p. 10.

169Nigeria was the only nation that participated in all of the

sports. Senegal and Arab Republic of Egypt participated in eleven and

ten respectively. (See Appendix I for participation in different sports.)

In all, Nigeria entered 196 athletes. They were made of 140 men and 47 women with 19 team officials. Senegal came next with 111 men and 29 women with 20 officials, followed by Egypt with a total of 117 athletes made up of 95 men, 22 women. (See Appendix J for the composition of contingents.)

In athletics, Nigeria entered 59 strong competitors, 24 in basketball, 11 in boxing, 6 cycling, 20 soccer, 14 handball, 8 judo,6 lawn tennis, 16 swimming, 20 table tennis, 12 in volleyball. Women entered only in track and field, basketball, swimming, table tennis, and volleyball. (See Appendix H for analysis of national entries.)

In the athletics alone, 31 African records were set or estab­lished of which 18 events were established by men and 13 events by

women. Nigeria alone established five African records in 4 x 100 metres relay (men), with a new record of 39.84 seconds, to erase the

previous record of 40.5 seconds; high jump, shotput, long jump and 100 metres hurdles. Modupe Oshikoya established three records in 100 m. hurdles, high jump and long jump to become the most outstanding athlete in the Games. The last record was established in shot-put by Evelyn Okeke with a throw of 13.58 metres. Other nations who also established records were Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Arab Republic of Egypt,

Senegal, Mall and Ivory Coast. (See Appendix L for records established

during 1973 Nigeria, Lagos Games.)

170Top Nigerians who won medals in athletics were M. Oshikoya,

Evelyn Okeke, A. Okoli, G. Agbagba, N. Mnena, E. Edet, R. Joshua,B. Ewuzie, J. Okoro, Aboyade Cole, A. 0. Ufon, and F. Mgbakwe. (SeeAppendix K for medal winners.)

The gold medal that made Nigeria proud came from soccer where it emerged the strongest nation in that sport after silencing Egypt, Ghana,

Guinea, and Uganda national teams. At the end of the largest sportsspectacular ever held in Africa, Egypt emerged with most medals with 25gold, 16 silver and 15 bronze. Nigeria took the second place with 18 gold, 25 silver and 20 bronze medals. Kenya came third with 9 gold, 9 silver and 10 bronze medals. (See medal tables under Appendix M sum­mary of medals.)

Nigeria received medals in athletics, boxing, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis and volleyball. She had no medals in basketball for men and women. She captured the largest number of medals in athletics where she had 19 medals made up of 5 gold, 12 silver, and 2 bronze. This was followed with 5 gold, U silver and 8 bronze in swim­ming. (See Appendix M for medal tables of each sport.)

The Lagos Second All-Africa Games was the second in the series. Tremendous success was achieved in many respects. The increase in the number of competitors, men and women, as well as officials who partici­pated in the Games, was remarkably large. Several Games records were broken and new ones set, on both men and women events. Benjamin Jipcho of Kenya, Akii-Bua John of Uganda, Bayi Philbert of Tanzania, and Modupe

Oshikoya of Nigeria were the world rated athletes who performed at their top forms in the Games. They not only set the new African records but also did not disappoint their sports admirers.

171TABLE 17

THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE FOR THE GAMES

Names PositionHeld Names Position

HeldMr. S. 0. Jolaoso MBE Chairman Mr. M. A. Arogundade MemberMr. J. Admin Elueze Secretary Mr. Olu Oguntokun II

Mr. S. 0. Williams Athletics Mr. Titus Erinle If

Mr. S.O.U. Igbe Basketball Mr. S. A. Ogungbire ir

Dr. H. E. Innis-Palmer Boxing Mr. Bayo Adesope IT

Lt. Col. Abba Abdulkadin Cycling Mr. S . A . Giwa ir

Capt. E. 0. Kentebe Football Mr. R. A. Odele 'I

Lt. Col. Moh Isa-Ahmed Handball Mrs .A. I. Olapalaoka IT

Mr. S. 0. Barrow Judo Mr. A. A. Imo II

Mr. E. 0. Bayagbona Lawn tennis Mr. P.O.C. Achebe H

Mr. 0. A. Ladende Swimming Mr. M. Ojomo 11

Dr. A. A. Efunkoya Table tennis Mr. Babs Layemi IT

Mr. J. C. Omoruan Volleyball Mr. J. A. Onifade ri

Mrs . Mabel Segun Member Mr. M. A. Alabi H

Mr. D. 0. Ena j ekpo M Mr. V. 0. Iloeje IT

Source: NSC, Lagos.

The Games will be remembered in African sports history as one in which the number of participants was large, the speed of the runners was faster, and the level of competition was higher.

172Nigeria's Participation in West Africa Gaines

Various sporting activities existed in West Africa sub-regionsbefore the birth of West Africa Games but these games were organized onfriendly and individual basis. The origin and foundation of West AfricaGames can be traced back to Ghana and Nigerian friendly contests whichwere started by the "colonial masters as far back as 1900, when thecolonial administrators and Africans in the two English speaking WestAfrican countries established modest competitions confined at first to

26cricket." Over the years, other sporting events like football, lawntennis, table tennis, polo, hockey, boxing and athletics were included

in the competitions which were known as "Inter-Colonials" or for short, 27"Inter-Colo." These competitions were organized on the basis of indi­

vidual sporting events which were spread throughout the year. The mainobjective of the various competitions was "to improve sporting standard

28and forge harmony and understanding between the two sister countries."The detailed results of various sporting events were not well

documented until 1947. In athletics, the top athletes who started the sporting contests under the Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria were Augustus Labode, Eugene Llpede in sprints, Adeola, Akeoku, Jack Awasere, Nawuchi, Boniface Quobadia all in sprints and jumps, K.A.B. Olowu, Ekpeti and Clement Ibisi in long jump and middle distant events.

26First Ghana/Nigeria Sports Festival 1974, Bulletin Address by the President of the Organizing Committee of the Festival (August 10-17, 1974), p. 4.

27ihid.28Ibid.

17329The results of the contests is shown in Table 18. There was no compe­

tition in 1948 because Ghana could not host the contest and none in 1965 and 1966 because of the Nigeria Civil War.

The annual contests due to unhealthy rivalry and leadership

declined greatly in standards and administration. On August 17th, 1973, the two Heads of State of Ghana and Nigeria met and agreed to replace the existing individual and friendly sports contests between the two nations with an Annual Sports Festival, embracing as many sports and games as possible, instead of individual sport competitions, which unfor­tunately have come to generate unnecessary heat and have been punctuated with unsavoury incidents. It was the belief that the Annual Sports

Festivals would:1. Make a greater impact on the sports loving fans of both

countries.2. Foster friendship and understanding between the two nations.3. The historic competitions would augur well for the future

West Africa Sporting Cavalcade such as exists in East Africa, Central30Africa, and the Carribeans.

First Ghana-Nigeria Sports FestivalArising from the agreement of the August 17th, 1973 of the two

Heads of State, a meeting of Ghana-Nigeria Sports Festival Joint Commit­tee was held in Accra on December 17th, 1973 to determine ways of imple­menting the historic decision.

^Nigeria Year Book, 1947-1974; Nigeria Daily Times August issues, 1974; and History of West Africa Games (Lagos) August 27 - 4th Sept. 1977, p. 24.

30"First Ghana/Nigeria Sports Festival," Programme of Events, 1974, p. 4.

Year

19471948194919501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972

TABLE 18

RECORDS OF FRIENDLY ATHLETIC CONTESTS BETWEEN GHANA AND NIGERIA, 1947-1972

Country Venue

Lagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeNo contest - - -

Lagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumIbadan , Nigeria University College, IbadanAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria Police Grounds, ObalendeAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria National StadiumAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumIbadan , Nigeria Liberty StadiumAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumNo contest - - -

No contest _ _ _

Accra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria National StadiumAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria National StadiumAccra, Ghana Accra StadiumLagos, Nigeria no record

175Representing the Nigerian side in the meeting were:1. Chief Antony Enahoro (Federal Commissioner for Labour and

Information responsible for sports and the leader of the delegation)

2. Brigadier H.E.O. Adefope (Chairman NSC)3. S. 0. Koku (Federal Ministry of Labour)4. Mr. G. 0. Ijemere (High Commissioner for Nigeria in Ghana)

5. Mr. S. M. Adewale (Chairman Lagos State Sports Council and

Executive Member of the NSC)6. Mr. J. A. Enyeazu (Director of Sports NSC)

Representing Ghana side were:1. Col. L. A. Okai (Chairman)

2. Lt. Col. M. P. Simpe-Asante (Commissioner for Sports)3. Mr. Kofi Badu (Chairman Ghana Sports Council)4. Mr. Sam Nelson (Ministry of Education)5. Captain E. Asare (Ghana Chairman Cricket Association)6. Mr. H. P. Nyamitie (Vice President Ghana Olympic and

31Overseas Games Committee.The following decisions were taken in the meeting:

1. The Sports Festival should be an annual event between the two nations. The first would be held in Lagos from 10th to 17th August, 1974.

2. The list of events for 1974 Festival should be:(a) Lawn tennis (men and women)(b) Cricket (men)

31Ibid., p. 4.

176(c) Hockey (men)(d) Basketball (men and women)(e) Athletics (men and women)(f) Boxing (men)(g) Football (men, senior and academicals)(h) Swimming (men and women)(i) Table tennis (men and women)(j) Squash racket (non scoring)(k) Golf (men, non scoring due to poor entries)

3. During the Festival, medals should be awarded to winners of

events in place of team trophies.

4. The Festival would develop into a Festival of Sports32embracing all the countries of West Africa.

In order to make the Games standardized, a Technical Committee was appointed by the Council. The members of the Technical Committee

met several times in Lagos to examine the technical rules and regula­

tions submitted by various national associations whose sports were

included in the Games.On the 10th of August, 197A under the bright tropical sun in

Nigeria the Festival was declared opened by His Excellency, the Head of33State of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon. The grand march-past of all

the competitors, officials, members of organizing committee, the cere­monial arrangement for hoisting the flags of Ghana and Nigeria, the oath-taking ceremonies, and the lighting of the festival flame were

Indeed poignant and splendid spectacles of the festival.

32Ibid.

^Nigeria Year Book, 1975, p. 225.

177In his speech to declare the festival open, General Gowon empha­

sized that the festival was not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The festival was also intended to strengthen the bonds of friendship between Ghana and Nigeria and to lead to the future West Africa Games.

At the end of the festival, 31 individual events were contested

for In the men's and women's category. In the men's events, Nigeria won

ten first places to Ghana's three, but In the women events, Ghana won eight out of 13 events. Ghana also dominated the sprints (100 - 400

metres), while Nigeria in turn dominated the field events with the

exception of the high jump and pole vault which over the years have

been the traditional stronghold of Ghana. Nigeria also made significant

incurcions in the middle and long distant events. On the whole, Nigeria

won 15 gold, 17 silver and 14 bronze medals to Ghana's 16 gold, 14 sil­

ver and 17 bronze medals.34The basketball for men and women was spread over two days and

35was run on a league system. All the games were played at the Nigeria National Stadium in Lagos. Nigeria won both men's and women's matches.

As usual, boxing tournaments covered the eleven weight cate­gories— light-fly, fly-weight, bantam, feather, light, light-welter, welter, light-middle, middle, light-heavy, and heavy. All the bouts took

place in the Sport-Hall complex of the National Stadium. At the end of tournament, Nigeria won six gold to Ghana five gold medals.

34Ibid.35League system means a round robin system where teams play each

other before the winner Is finally determined, 'Home and away' matches are usually organized in the league system with points awarded for each team playing at 'home' or 'away'. A team with more points wins the league.

178The most exciting of all the events was the football which was also

played on home and away basis with two in the senior divisions and two in the academicals (junior team made of students from secondary schools).On the aggregate points, Nigeria won 5-2. (See analysis of medals below.)

TABLE 19ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF GHANA/NIGERIA FIRST

SPORT FESTIVAL HELD IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Events Nigeria GhanaGold Silver Bronze Gold Silver Bronze

Athletics 15 17 14 16 14 17Basketball (men) 1 - - - 1 -Basketball (women) 1 - - - 1 -Cricket - 1 1 - -Football (senior) - 1 1 - -Football (academical) 1 - - - 1 -Hockey (men) 4 - - - 1 -Lawn tennis (men) 4 3 3 1 2Table tennis 7 5 4 2 3Boxing 6 5 5 6 -Swimming (men) 13 11 — — 2 11Total 50 43 21 23 29 33

Source: (a) Programme of (b) Nigeria Year

Events, NSC, Lagos, Nigeria. Book, op. cit., p. 225.

The closing ceremony which was watched by a capacity crown was per­

formed by the Nigerian Head of State. It was a solemn occasion. In the closing address, the Ghananian Head of State, Colonel I. K. Acheampong,

said:

179... On the whole, the results of the competition were gratifying not only because of the level of competency and standard of per­formances of the competitors, but also because they revealed the need for both countries to direct attention to those areas where the results showed that the standards were still very low . . .

Competitions in athletics, boxing, football, and cricket, however provided the greatest thrills and excitement. The con­duct of the sports festival was satisfactory and except for minor adjustments to the time table, the competitions ran to t i m e . 36

The Second Ghana-Nigeria Sports FestivalThe second Festival took place at Accra, Ghana National Stadium

on August 23rd to 31st, 1975. Col. I. K. Acheampong, the Ghana Head of State and Chairman of the National Redemption Council declared the Games opened.

The Organizing Committee for this second Festival concerned were Col. I. K. Acheampong (Ghana Head of State and Chairman of the NRC),

Lt. Col. M. P. Simpe Asante, Mr. V.O.D. Twumbarma, Mr. R. T. Orleans- Pobee, and Col. M. B. Sanmi Thomas. Members from Nigeria were Mr. A. A.

Ordia MBE, and President of SCSA, Mr. J. A. Nyeasu, Alhaji M. S.Adewale, and Lt. Col. B. S. Dimka.

Declaring the Games opened, the Ghana Head of State reminded the athletes, officials, and sports lovers of the purpose of the friendship Games as a way to further mutual desire for brotherhood, cooperation, and healing of old wounds. He also emphasized that the true spirit of theGames, in the near future, will give birth to a truly West Africa Sports

37Federation.^^First Ghana/Nigeria Sports Festival,1974, (part of message

from the Head of State of Ghana) , NSC Publication, Lagos, Nigeria, p. 6.37part of the message from the Head of Ghana and Chairman of the

National Redemption Council of Ghana, Col. I.K. Acheampong while declaring the Second Ghana-Nigeria Sports Festival in Ghana, August 23-31, 1975 opened. Emphasis in the Games was on the formation of West Africa Games, 2nd Ghana-Nigeria Official Program, GNRC, 1975, p. 8.

180Like the first Festival in Nigeria, the second Games were well

organized and records again were set mostly in athletics and swimming by Ghana and Nigerian athletes. Some outstanding Nigerian athletes in the Festival were M. Oshikoya, S. Bature, T. Ogunjobi, R. Ojo,T, Orungbemi, Aboyade Cole, E. Okeke, J. Abldoye, Odelusi andK. Abdullai.38

Football was the most exciting and crowd pleasing event. Many Nigerian soccer lovers travelled from Nigeria to Ghana (about 800 kilos.) to watch the Game in Accra played by the seniors and the acade­micals. Nigerian team dominated the Games throughout the ninety minutes but they missed many scoring chances. They eventually defeated the opponent with a lone goal. The seniors team was made up of these

top national players: Emmanne Okala, Benjamin Duamlong, Patrick Ekeyi,Ovura Agyei, Francis Emodi, Nwanbueze, Christian Chukwu, Idowu

390tubusin, Kelechl Emeteche, and Samuel Ojebode.The academical team was also represented by these Nigerian

school players: Baruba Bello, Buba Bulas, Seidu Ado, David Willy,Andrew Larry, Thompson Vsigan, Silvanus Oriokhi, Wunml Isege, Muktaru Shehu, and Lawal Garba.

Some coaches who helped and contributed to the success of •Nigerian teams to the festival were S. Dankoro, Dan Anyian, Rocky (Mrosiar Milhailovic), Carol 0. Duiyer, Father Tiko Jelisuveie (now Nigeria National team coach) and Pat Okpomo.

38Ibid.

39Ibid.

The Birth of First West Africa (ECOWAS) GamesThe birth of the Economic Community of West Africa Society

(ECOWAS) Games or West Africa Games occurred in Nigeria between August 27th and Sept. 3rd, 1977 and was based on the rules and regulations laid

down for the Games by the West Africa Sports Organizing Committee,ECOWAS was formed in 1975 by English and French speaking countries of West Africa to promote economic stability of West Africa. During their

meetings in Lagos, emphasis was laid on West Africa sport festival to close ties with Anglophone and Francophone countries of West Africa

sub-region community. Ten out of fifteen West African countries parti­cipated. These countries were Republic of Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Countries

that were absent were Liberia, Gambia, Upper Volta, Mauritania and Camerouns.

The formations of Annual Sports Festivals of Ghana and Nigeria

1974 and 1975 respectively and formation of Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in 1975 motivated the formation of the Games federation by both the English and French speaking countries of West Africa. During the 1975 meeting of ECOWAS great emphasis was laid on the formation of a sport festival for the community. It was believed that such a festival would promote unity, understanding and cooperation between youths of West Africa. (The list of names of the members of ECOWAS that met several times before the Games came to reality are in

Appendix N.)On August 27, 1977 the ECOWAS Games were declared opened in

Lagos, Nigeria by the Head of State Lt. General Obasanjo at the National Sports Stadium Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria.

182

Before the Nigeria Head of State declared the historic Games opened before 6,000 enthusiastic sportsmen, women, officials and spec­

tators from different nations inside and outside Africa, the athletes

from the Republic of Benin followed by Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast,

Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria marched past in that

order. This was followed by speeches by Dr. Lateef Adegbite, the

Chairman of the Organizing Committee and other prominent members of NSC.

In the opening ceremony of the Games, the Nigeria Head of State

noted with satisfaction that the various ministers responsible for sports In West Africa had at their recent meeting recommended that the

title of the current games should be changed to ECOWAS Games (Economic Community of West African State Games). This name was accepted because

all the countries which are involved in the games are members of ECOWAS,

and the treaty provides for cooperation and understanding between mem­ber countries in order to break down the artificial barriers which the

accident of history created. He continued that, if West African

countries were to succeed in their legitimate and common aspirations

towards greater understanding and unity among Its people, despite these

barriers, they must have maximum cooperation, not only in the economic

and political fields, but in the social, scientific and cultural spheres as well. He further commended the vision of the initiators of

the games and expressed belief that the games would live up to the

expectation of all the peoples of West Africa in particular, and all

Africa in general.

183In his charge to all sportmen and women taking part in the

games, General Obasanjo requested them to exhibit all that is best in sportsmanship during the competition.^

Following the opening ceremonies was the game of soccer between the Nigerian Green Eagles and Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in their encounter which climaxed the opening ceremony of the week-long fiesta at the National Stadium. The Nigerian Green Eagles of Nigeria dominated the game throughout but to end the scores with 2-0 victory only. Goalkeeper, E. Okala, and Ojebode and Odegbami were the stars in the

Nigerian team. Other players included Ekeji, Lawal, Chukwu, Odije, Ogu, Atuegbu, Iwelumo and Adokiye. The top players among the Sierra Leonian team were Williams, Kamora, Sesay, Kamora, Terry, Sellah, Jalleh,Kamara, Dylan and Lawson.

Nigeria dominated both sports and games throughout the compe­

titions. In athletics, the Nigerian squad won gold medals in almost

all the events except in 100 metres which went to Ghana, and 1,500 metres which was won by an Ivory Coast athlete. Many Nigerian records were broken or equalled. Among these were in discus (men) where Harrison Salami threw a distance of 53.34 metres to create a new national record over the previous record of 52.93 metres set by himpreviously. "African record in the event was 62.48 metres set by

41Nataniel Naire of Mali at Guadalajara, Mexico in 1973 . " In the long jump

40Kayode Ojo, "Sports is Unity, Obasanjo opens ECOWAS Games," Sunday Sketch, August 28, 1977, p. 1.

41. A Strong Nigerian squad made a clean sweep of the athletic events at the ECOWAS Games," Nigerian Observer, Sept. 3, 1977, pp. 22-23.

184

(men) Chriton Ehizalen set a new record of 7.92 metres. The silver went

to Mifetuk of Ghana with a leap of 7.63 metres. The African record still stood at 8.18 metres. Nigerian men also won javelin, shot-put, and triple jump apart from other races.

Nigerian women athletes also dominated the field led by Modupe Oshikoya who created records in high j ump, long jump and 100 metres hurdles. The most keenly contested of women events was in 100 metres which was

won by a new discovery Uti Uko of Nigeria in 11.7 seconds while Ahamdon Miata of Ivory Coast took the silver medal. Nigeria women also won gold in javelin, 400 metres, 800 metres and 4 x 100 metres relay.

As usual, Nigeria controlled almost all the boxing weight divisions by winning six gold and five silver medals at the end of thegames. Top boxers in Nigeria team were Andeh (captain) Adewumi Ola,Ajani Aremu, Ossal Christopher, Abdukarimu Haruna and Paul Onwuachi.

At the close of ECOWAS Games, Nigeria made its greatest impres­sion ever in the world of sports. She showed improved standards in almost all the sports and games by winning 63 gold, 45 silver, and 28 bronze medals. Ghana took only 13 gold, 19 silver and 29 bronze medals for the second place. Ivory Coast came third. (See Table 20.)

The ECOWAS Games came to an end on 4th of September, 1977 by aclosing speech from Nigeria's Chief of Staff, Supreme Head Quarters,Brigadier Shehu Yar Adua. Part of his speech read:

. . . The ideals of the Games had been achieved which testified comradeship, friendship, cooperation and the pursuit of higher standard . . . However, it was now up to all the governments and people in this sub-region to provide more training, facili­ties and encouragements, so that standards could fastest rise to the highest heights . . . I finally wish everybody good-luck till we meet again in the Republic of Benin in 1979.

185TABLE 20

TABLE OF MEDALS FOR THE FIRST ECOWAS GAMES IN LAGOS, NIGERIA BETWEEN AUGUST 27 TO SEPTEMBER 3rd, 1977^2

Countries MedalsGold Silver Bronze Total Position

Nigeria 63 45 28 136 1stGhana 13 19 29 61 2ndIvory Coast 9 18 10 37 3rdSenegal 6 6 23 35 4 thTogo 2 3 18 23 5 th

Sierra Leone - 5 4 9 6thNiger 1 1 5 7 7 thGuinea 1 1 3 5 8th

Republic of Benin 2 - 2 4 9 th

Mali - - - - 10th

With the coming of ECOWAS Games, Nigeria has increased thenumbers of its international sports competitions. The results of the Games showed great improvements in Nigeria’s involvement and participa­tions in international sports competitions. (See the table below for the program of the closing ceremony.)

42Tunde Oshuntolu, "The Gaines Live, Nigeria win Soccer Gold, Dally Times, September 5, 1977, p. 24.

186TABLE 21

PROGRAMME FOR THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE FIRST WEST AFRICA GAMES, LAGOS, SEPTEMBER 4th, 1977

Time Event

1. 11:00 a.m. - Gates Open.- Spectators arrive at the Nigeria National Stadium,

Surulere.2. 1:15 p.m. - Entry of the Massed Bands of the Disciplined Ser­

vices, and display on the Arena.3. 1:45 p.m. - Guests and V.I,P.'s including members of the

Diplomatic Corps arrive.4. 2:00 p.m. - Members of the Federal Executive Council, Visiting

Ministers, and Members of the Organising Committee arrive.

5. 2:10 p.m. - Lagos State Military Governor and other Members ofthe National Council of States arrive.

6. 2:20 p.m. - Chief Justice of the Federation arrive.7. 2:25 p.m. - Members of the Supreme Military Council arrive.8. 2:30 p.m. - Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Brigadier

S. M. Yar’Adua arrives and is received by the President of the Games, the Chairman of the Execu­tive Committee, the Chairman of the Organising Committee and escorted to the State Box.

- THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM.9. 2:45 p.m. - Presentation of the Football Teams and Official to

the Chief of Staff (SHQ), along with the Chairman of the Organising Committee, the Chairman of the Executive Committee, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association.

10. 2:55 p.m. - Kickoff.11. 3:45 p.m. - Half-time.

- Display by the Massed Bands12. 3:55 p.m. - Second Half-Time begins.13. 4:45 p.m. - Match Ends.

TABLE 21 (Continued)187

Time Event

14. 4:55 p.m. - Parade of the Participants in Alphabetical Orderwith the host Country Nigeria bringing up the rear.

- Teams now line up in horse-shoe formation for the presentation of Medals to the winners and runner-ups of the competitions in the Football Programme of the Games.

15. 5:05 p.m. - Chief of Staff (SHQ) Brigadier S. M. Yar’Adua isinvited to present Medals.

16. 5:35 p.m. - The Ceremonial Flag is struck and the Games Flameextinguished.

17. 5:45 p.m. - Chief of Staff (SHQ) is invited by the President ofthe Games to deliver his address and declare the Games closed.

- FANFARE- THE NIGERIA NATIONAL ANTHEM- FAREWELL SONG "GOD BE WITH YOU TILL WE MEET AGAIN."

18. 6:05 p.m. - Departure of the Chief of Staff (SHQ) along withhis retinue, Members of the Supreme Military Council, the Chief Justice of the Federation, the Military Governor of Lagos State and other members of the National Council of States, the President of the Games, Members of the Federal Executive Council, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee,V.I.P.'s, and the spectators.

Source: NSC, Lagos, Sept., 1977; National Sports Commission, Lagos,September, 1977.

CHAPTER VIII

NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL

SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The top major international soccer championship series in which Nigeria has involved itself in recent years are the Africa Cup of

Nations, the World Cup Elimination Series, The African Cup Winners Cup,

and the Africa-Cup of Champion Clubs Competition. These competitions are controlled and governed by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA),

National Sports Commission (NSC) in Nigeria and African Football Con­

federations (AFC) with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.The first two competitions, the Africa Cup of Nations and the

World Cup Elimination Series, are played by African national teams,

while the other two, the Africa-Cup of Champion Clubs Competition and the African Cup Winners Cup, are competed for by the leading soccer

clubs throughout Africa.The very history of the Africa Cup of Nations speaks for the

inconsistency of Africa’s soccer kings. The champions come and go quickly. The Egyptians ruled the continental soccer scene first, and

then disappeared. Ethiopia picked up the pace, held it up for a time and then faded off. Thereafter rose the Black Stars of Ghana, the team

that dominated West Africa soccer for many years. But the Black Stars too gave way to the Green Eagles of Nigeria who in turn were overwhelmed

188

189

a short time later by the magnificant Zambian side. That defeat led the former Nigeria Head of State, General Yakubu Govon to disband the Green Eagles and ordered it to be rebuilt from the scratch. That rebuilding led to mass recruitment of new blood into the national team and also the appointment of Father Tiko from Yugoslavia as the national coach for the Green Eagles. The reform is now yielding good dividends. The Zaire national team, the Leopards was the latest to rise to the top of the African soccer ladder. Though that team too faded away from the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations for better teams from Nigeria, Egypt and Tunis.

Commenting on Nigeria's performances in these competitions within Africa, the Daily Times wrote:

Nigerian teams both national and clubs have been doing very well in various international football competitions in recent years through the help of foreign coaches who were once out­standing world soccer players. Three Nigerian clubs are the quarter-finals of the two African Confederation (AFC) compe­titions . . . an outright record IICC Shooting Stars Interna­tional of Ibadan, who made history by snatching the African Cup Winners Cup in December, 1976, is already in the quarter finals again. And so are the top contenders, Enugu Rangers International, and the Water Corporation who are in the Cup of Champion Clubs . . . they compete the trio, thus making Nigeria the first nation on the continent of Africa to achieve such success.̂

The main purpose of the chapter is to present briefly Nigeria’s participation in Africa's premier sport which is soccer, and how the nation rose gradually from the bottom to the top of the ladder in the

tournament.

^"Sports Writer, "More Backing for Sports," Dally Times, June A, 1977, p. 30.

190The Africa Cup of Nations

The Khartoum Tournament, 1957Historically, the first Africa Cup of Nations tournament started

in 1957 at Khartoum, making it the oldest of the continental sporting2competitions in Africa. The competition is held every two years under

the auspices of AFC.

The best national soccer team out of 37 nations who entered from the competition came from Egypt. Egypt undoubtedly had more experiences in international competitions than any nation in Africa. "The Egyptian team participated in the 1920 Olympic tournaments in Antwerp, 1936 in

3Berlin and 1948 in London." On the basis of this international expe­rience, the Egyptians were naturally favored to win the first Africa Cup of Nations in Khartoum. The Egyptian national team dominated the tour­nament and won with more points. Nigeria Green Eagles were eliminated earlier in the competition.

The Cairo Tournament, 1959The second Africa Cup of Nations took place in Cairo, Egypt.

Egypt enjoyed the additional advantage of playing before home crowds.Thus, Egypt repeated its Khartoum triumph by "crushing Ethiopia in the

4final match by 4 goals to nothing, and Sudan by two goals to one."This is a narrow margin of victory for the host, and a portent of theend of the Egyptian's domination of Africa soccer series. Nigerian

national team was defeated earlier in the competition.

^Ramadham All, Africa at the Olympics. (Bridge House London: Africa Books Publishers, 54A Tottenham Court Road, 1976), p. 123.

3Ibid., p. 124.4Ibid.

191The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1961

The Third Africa Cup finals of 1961 took place at Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia the country's capital and the headquarters for the Organiza­tion of African Unity (OAU). That finals was one of the hottest of the

series because the late Emperor Haile Selassie was determined to put an end to the hegemony of the Egyptians, The Emperor himself worked hard

with his soccer coaches and exhorted the players to victory.Five national teams from Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and

Tunisia qualified for the finals. Egypt made it to the finals after beating Uganda by two goals to one during one of the semi-finals.

Ethiopia too, defeated Sudan to get to the finals. With the Emperor on the chair, the two teams met on 21st January, 1961 to decide which was

the better soccer side in Africa. Ethiopia finally defeated Egypt by four goals to two. Nigerian team did poorly again that year in competition.

The Africa Cup resided in Ethiopia for the first time, ushering

in a new era of African soccer. North Africa Zone had now transferred

the soccer power to the East Africa Zone but the West Africa Zone where

we have the Black Stars of Ghana, Elephant of Ivory Coast, and Green Eagles of Nigeria were not sleeping. They too, were working hard to

dethrone the East African Zone soccer king in the Fourth Africa Cup

finals.

The Accra Tournament, 1963

The Fourth Africa Cup finals took place at Accra, Ghana in 1963.

Six national teams got to the finals. These teams were from Ethiopia, Tunisia, Sudan, Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana. In that tournament, the Black Stars of Ghana that ruled West Africa soccer for many years proved

192to be the strongest, followed by Nigeria Green Eagles and Ethiopia the holder of the cup.

During the finals, the Ghana team defeated Ethiopia and Sudanese

teams respectively. Nigeria too defeated the Tunisia team but the Green

Eagles were defeated by Egypt. Egypt eventually lost to Ghana at the finals. Ghana therefore retained the cup. That ended Ethiopia’s supremacy and the Africa soccer power was transferred to West Africa Zone.

The Tunis Tournament, 1965The Fifth Africa Cup finals took place at Tunis in 1965 in the

North Africa Zone division. Nigeria Green Eagles failed to qualify for

the finals. The teams that got to the finals were Ghana, the defending

champion, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Congo. The Tunisian team

and the defending champion, Ghana Black Stars managed to get to the

final. Tunisian team's hope to end the Black African dominance failed.

"Ghana retained the Africa Cup of Nation's cup for the second time.

Senegal took the third place.

The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1967The Sixth Africa Cup of Nation's finals took place again at

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia capital in 1967. In that tournament, the Leopards of Zaire brought down the Black Stars of Ghana to become the

new champion by beating the Stars with a lone goal. The Nigeria Green Eagles did not qualify for the finals that year. It only managed to

^Timesport, "That Super-Club Contest," Daily Times, June 1,1977, p. 30.

193

take seventh position out of over thirty-seven national teams that entered for the tournament.

The Khartoum Tournament, 1970February 6th to 16th, 1970 was the finals of Seventh Africa Cup

of Nations finals at Khartoum, Eight African national teams entered

.Khartoum Stadium for the finals. Unfortunately, the Leopards of Zaire

proved to be "paper Leopards." It failed to provide a single win in Khartoum. Nigeria took place in the tournament under group B, but she did not win the cup. The Black Stars of Ghana managed to play the

final match against Sudan but lost. Sudan then became the new Africa Cup winner for the second time.

The Yaounde Tournament, 1972

The Eighth Africa Cup of Nations finals took place in Yaounde and Douala in Camerouns 1972. Once again, the reigning champion, Sudan

national team was unable to retain the cup and it was yet anotherunexpected team which emerged African football champion. That team was

Congo-Brazzaville.

Sudan and Morocco that represented Africa at the Mexico World Cup two years earlier were the two teams considered favorites to take the

1972 Africa Cup. Neither team lived up to expectations. Congo-

Brazzaville emerged the champion by defeating the 'dark horse* team of Mali with three goals to two. Nigeria did not qualify for the finals

that year.

6Ibid.

194

The Cairo Tournament, 1974

The Ninth Africa Cup which took place in 1974 in Cairo coin­

cided with the year of the tenth World Cup which was held in West

Germany. The African Cup tournament began on March 1, 1974 in Cairo,

Egypt. Nigeria took part in the tournament but it did not get to the

finals. Zaire eventually emerged the winner and also represented Africa in 1974 World Cup tournament.

Ramadham commented on the efforts of Zaire team in the 1974 World Cup, thus:

Zaire team represented Africa in 1974 World Cup tourna­ment. In spite of their disappointing performance in the World Cup in Germany, the team proved to be a worthy repre­sentative of Africa, not only because Leopards national team played well despite poor training, facilities, and technically inexperienced like their first class Scotland, but because that country was the first African nation from the south of Sahara to have qualified for the World Cup finals.̂

The Addis Ababa Tournament, 1976The Tenth Africa Cup of Nations tournament, the continent's

premier sport, was held in Ethiopia from 29th February to 14th March,

1976. A total of 32 nations registered for the qualifying rounds of

the tournament. Eight countries that got to the finals were Zaire, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, Morocco, Guinea and Nigeria. Zaire, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria were rated the favorites prior to the open­ing of the final rounds.

This was the keenly contested event of the Africa Cup of Nations

tournament. Nigeria team played at the top form throughout and it

Ramadham, pp. clt., pp. 124-125.

195defeated the Egyptian team with three goals to two. It also defeated

other teams but unfortunately lost its last match to Morocco with a lone

goal. The Morocco team eventually won the cup for the first time.

Nigeria was placed third in the tournament and Guinea second. Ramadham

Ali commented on the efforts of the Green Eagles of Nigeria by saying:. . . Nigeria's third place finish was its best ever in

this tournament, and positive proof that the country’s efforts to improve the quality of its national team by bringing in experienced outsiders (as the national coach) have not been in vain. Nigeria is now very serious for the next 1978 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.®

Ghana is hosting the 1978 tournament. Already Nigeria Green

Eagles had defeated all teams under its zone to emerge champion.

Table 22 shows 1976 Africa Cup of Nations results.

The World Cup Elimination SeriesAs to the World Cup Elimination Series, only one national team

is now accepted by African nations to represent the continent in the

competition. Egypt in the past had been representing the continent except in 1970 when Sudan and Morocco went for the tournament because

Egypt was eliminated in Africa Cup tournaments earlier in the series.As from 1974, the Africa Football Confederation (AFC) which is the con­trolling body for soccer In Africa accepted the recognition of only the

winner of Africa Cup of Nations as the true team to represent the con­tinent. As the result of the AFC decision, Zaire who had won the tour­

nament in 1974 represented the continent in the 1974 World Cup tourna­ment in West Germany. Zaire national team, therefore became "the first

8Ibid.

TABLE 22THE 1976 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS' RESULTS

National Teams Results

Ethiopia vs. UgandaGroup A

2 goals to zeroUganda vs. Egypt 1 goal to twoGuinea vs. Uganda 2 goals to oneEgypt vs. Guinea 1 goal to oneGuinea vs. Ethiopia 2 goals to oneEthiopia vs. Egypt 1 goal to one

Zaire vs. NigeriaGroup B

2 goals to fourNigeria vs. Sudan 1 goal to zeroZaire vs. Morocco 0 goal to oneSudan vs. Morocco 2 goals to twoMorocco vs. Nigeria 3 goals to oneZaire vs. Sudan 1 goal to one

Guinea vs. NigeriaFinals

1 goal to oneMorocco vs. Nigeria 2 goals to oneEgypt vs. Nigeria 2 goals to threeMorocco vs. Egypt 2 goals to oneEgypt vs. Guinea 2 goals to fourMorocco vs. Guinea 1 goal to one

Winner - Morocco, Africa’s representative in the 1970 World Cup series in Mexico City.9

2nd - Guinea national team.

3rd - Nigeria national team.

9Ibid., p. 129.

197

African country from the South of Sahara to have qualified for the

World Finals."10At the end of the tournament, Zaire finished at the bottom of

the ladder, behind Scotland and Yugovlavia.11 The next World Cup

finals billed for Argentina in 1978 is in progress throughout Africa to

determine the country's national team to represent Africa. Nigeria,

Egypt and Tunisia are now the three nations that have qualified for

the finals of Africa Cup of Nations. The three countries will fight itout in a three cornered league to be played in Cairo headquarters of

the African Football Confederation (AFC) later this year to decide theteam which will represent Africa in the World Cup finals at BuenosAires, Argentina, Egypt qualified on July 31, 1977 by defeating Zambia

on goals point at Lusaka. Nigeria was qualified in the same competition12by defeating Ivorian Elephants of Ivory Coast with four goals victory.

The African-Cup Winners Cup 1970-77 Most sports in Africa are organized under club systems. These

clubs participate in national and international contests among them­selves . From these clubs, national teams are drawn out. Soccer however,

has more clubs than other sports in the continent and it is highly

organized. In order to give these clubs opportunities for international competitions, AFC decided to have African-Cup Winners Cup to be com­

peted for by clubs. The best club in Africa will then win the cup.

10Sports writer, Nigeria Evening Times, August 2, 1977, p. 8.11Ibid.

12Ibid,

198

The first cup was donated in 1970 and was won by the Great Accra Hearts of Ghana.

Nigeria has many big soccer clubs, top among them are the

Investment and Industrial Credit Corporation (IICC) Shooting Stars

of Ibadan; the Water Corporation Football Club of Ibadan, the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin, the Railway Football Club, the Electric Corporation of

Nigeria (ECN) Football Club and others.Among these clubs, the IICC 'Shooting Stars' of Ibadan, Water

Corporation of Ibadan, and Rangers International of Enugu have done much to popularize the Image of Nigeria in international football con­tests especially by winning the African Cup Winners' trophy, and con­testing for the finals of the Africa Cup of Champion Clubs.

The IICC Shooting Stars' Football Club of Ibadan was the first

club to win the African Cup Winners' Cup for Nigeria by defeating the13popular Cameroun Tonnerre Kalara Football Club in 1976. The IICC

Shooting Stars were formerly known as the Western Nigeria Development Football Club (WNDC). The corporation was one of the then Western Region government Quasi-Corporation to coordinate the industrial activities of farm products of the region, and to process other farm products of the region that are mostly fruits to soft drinks. With time however, the corporation widened its scope to involve all forms of financial concerns in terms of investments and credit facilities. In

the hierarchy of the management of the corporation was the formation of

13Esbee, "Talking about Sport," Daily Times, June 10, 1977,p. 30.

199a recreation club in 1961 which eventually led to the formation of a

football club, named WNDC. "After the creation of Ogun and Ondo Statesrespectively from the former Western State, the name of the club was

14changed to IICC Shooting Stars."

This club first involved itself in international football con­test in 1970 for the African-Cup Winners' Cup. Inexperience in inter­national competitions, bad organization and administration with low standard of coaching robbed the team of success in the first contest.The team was knocked out by the more mature 'Great Accra Hearts' of Ghana. The 1970 contest opened their eyes to standards expected of a champion club.

In their continuous search for honour as from 1970, the club participated seriously in a number of competitions such as Ibadan Foot­ball Association (IFA) League, Chief 'Lekan Salami Cup, the Olubadan Cup, the Governor’s Cup, the State National League, Challenge Cup, the National League Series, the African-Cup Winners' Cup, and African Champion Clubs Cup Competitions.^

From these competitions, the club gained experiences in national and international football contests. In 1976, the team's efforts were rewarded when it had the opportunity to represent Nigeria in the conti­nental African Winners' Cup. The IICC Shooting Stars gave a good account of themselves by defeating many great African clubs before clinching the

^Tope Akerele, "IICC Crisis," Nigeria Tribune, June 10, 1977, pp. 15-16.

^Sketch Sport, "IICC, The True African Champion," Sunday Sketch, April 17, 1977, p. 15.

200cup from the defending champion, Tonnerre Kalara of Cameroun. (See table below on hov IICC won the African Winners Cup.)

TABLE 23HOW IICC WON THE AFRICAN WINNERS CUP

Round Opposing Teams ScoresFor Against

1st Round Drew bye Into round two2nd Round Kenyan Breweries 1st leg, Lagos 3 -

2nd leg at Nairobi, Kenya 2 -

Goal Aggregate 5

3rd Round Rokana United of Zambia Quarter-Finals1st leg, Lagos 5 2

2nd leg, Ndola, Zambia 1 1Goal Aggregate 6 3

4th Round Zammalek Football Club of Egypt, 1stleg at Cairo 0 2

Semi Final, 2nd leg 2 0Penalty kicks 5 3Goal Aggregate 7 5

3th Round Tonnerre Kalara of Cameroun 1stleg, Lagos 4 1

2nd leg, Younde 0 1Goal Aggregate 4 2

Source: Daily Times, Nov, 27, 1976, p. 30,

This was the first international laurel of such magnitude won by the country in the field of soccer. "In appreciation of the honour

bestowed on Nigeria by these 'astronauts,' the Head of State General Olusegun Obasanjo through his Chief of Staff Supreme Head Quarters, presented the club with a check of N450,000." This paved the way for free donations from the noble sons and daughters of Nigeria, A total

201amount collected by the club through donations was a little over N100,000 (about $160,000).

Prominent players of the club that won the trophy for the nation were Segun Odegbami, Idowu Otubusin, Folorunso Gambus, B. Ogedengbe,

P. Boamah, Joe Appiah, S. Ojebode, M. Otolorin, Nat. Adewole, K. Amesu, Muda Lawal, Anthony Osho, and Ashante.

Table 24 shows the major successes of the IICC from 1971-1976.

TABLE 24 SUCCESSES OF IICC 1971-1977

Year Competition Results

1971 Winner of the National Challenge Cup. First on IFA League table. Winner of the Western State Governor *s Cup.

1972 First on IFA League table. Winner of Olubadan Cup.1973 Winner of Olubadan Cup.1974 Runners-up of National League Series. First on IFA

League table.1975 Runners-up of National League Series. Represented

Nigeria in the African's Cup Winners Competition.1976 Winner of the National League Cup. Quarter finalist

Nigeria Challenge Cup. Winner of the African Cup Winners' Cup.

1977 Defeating Simba Club of Tanzania. Defeating Great Olym­pics of Ghana. Semi-final of African Cup Winners' Cup.

The Africa Cup of Champion Clubs Competition

This is a new cup donated in 1976 to promote many clubs parti-cipation in international soccer series in Africa. The competition is

202also controlled by AFC with the headquarters in Cairo. For 1977,Nigeria is only sponsoring Water Corporation Club of Ibadan that emerged the champion of all clubs in Nigeria after some series of national con­tests .

At present, Water Corporation Football club had qualified forthe first leg. Other clubs that qualified for the finals were Hatia ofGuinea, Accra Hearts of Oaks, Ghana, and Mauloudia Cnalia of Algeria,

Commenting generally on achievements of Nigerian clubs in thesefootball contests, Dum wrote:

. . , Since after those "ignorant" days of 1955 when Ghana national team thrashed Nigeria national team 7-0, Nigeria soccer has arisen meteorically and like everybody with his or her past, those were the cradle days, and now-a-days we can knock on our bare chests confidently and look on with credit and pride towards glorious days to come.

At the international club level, the chart is rising phenominally. Africa is beginning to feat Nigeria, soccer- wise, and it did not take the African Football Confederation (AFC) thinking twice before congratulating us on our con­tinental pseudo-achievements.16

^Robert Dum, Lagos Week End, February 25, 1977, p. 14.

CHAPTER IX

NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION IN UNIVERSITY GAMES

Introduction

The Nigeria University Gaines Association (NUGA) and National Sports Commission (NSC) of Nigeria are the two controlling bodies over Nigerian university students who participate in international sports competitions.

NUGA is an association of all the universities in Nigeria which took over the function of organizing universities games previously organized by the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) prior to 1965.

NUGA became involved in international sports competition out­side Africa when it was admitted as a member of the International

Federation of University Sports (FISU) at the Assembly in Turin, Italy in August, 1969. Other nations admitted during the meeting were Congo Kinshasa, East Germany and Nicaragua.^ This association ever since has sponsored Nigerian university students to West African University Games (WAUG), Federation of African University Sports (FASU), and Interna­tional Federation for University Sports.

^Adedeji, op. cit., p. 183 and FISU Closed File Volume I, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, 1970-1977.

203

204

Nigeria’s Participation in West Africa University Games

Up until 1963, there was no single sport organization to

bring together the universities in Nigeria or the universities in the West Africa sub-region together. It was in October 8, 1963 that the late Sir Samuel Manuwa of Nigeria donated a gold cup for inter­university athletic competitions for all the universities in West Africa. During the presentation of the historic cup, Sir Samuel Manuwa said:

1 have donated this trophy to all the West African uni­versities as a small contribution to the source of African unity and, of course, to promote healthy rivalry among the men and women of other universities in the field of athletic sports.̂

Before the first competition of the First West Africa UniversityGames, there was a preparatory conference at Ibadan from March 17-23,1964. That meeting was attended by nine West African universities whichincluded Cape Coast, Cuttington College, Ghana Legon, Ibadan, Ife,Kumasi Science and Technology, Liberia, Sierra Leone and University of

3Nigeria, Nsukka. Since that preparatory conference, many other West African universities have joined the Conference Association. The cur­rent memberships is shown in Table 25.

Other West African institutions of higher learning that have just applied for memberships and are eligible to compete in the WAUG are Universities of Xlorin, Kano, Jos, Calabar all in Nigeria and the

Teacher's College Wenneba in Ghana.2 "Sixth West African Univeristy Games," Programme of Events,

University of Ife, Nigeria, March 19-28, 1977, p. 18.3Ibid.

205TABLE 25

CURRENT MEMBER INSTITUTIONS OF WAUG

No. Institution Country

1. Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria

2. University of Benin Nigeria

3. University of Ibadan Nigeria

4. University of Ife Nigeria

5. University of Lagos Nigeria

6. University of Nigeria Nigeria

7. University of Cape Coast Ghana

8. University of Ghana Ghana

9. University of Science and Technology Ghana10. University of Liberia Liberia

11. Cuttington University College Liberia

12. University of Benin Benin

13. University of Abidjan Ivory Coast14. University of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone

15. Federal University of Cameroun Cameroun

16. University of Benin Togo

17. Polyterbingue Institute of Conakry Guinea

18. University of Dakar Senegal

Source: Sixth West African University Games, March 19-28, 1977.

Programme of Events,

Later, Sir Samuel donated a second trophy for soccer. Many

distinguished sons and organizations in the sub-region of West Africa

also donated trophies for other sports. The range of sports has since

206

increased tremendously from the first inception of sports to its cur­rent strength of 17 team and individual sports for men and women. The

sports in which competitions are now held include:soccer (men), badminton (men and women), lawn tennis (men and women), table tennis (men and women), hockey

(men and women), basketball (men and women), swimming (men and women), athletics (men and women) and cricket (men).

The main objectives of WAUG Association are:(i) To promote healthy games competitions amongst its

members.

(ii) To affiliate with any governing sportsbody withinand outside West Africa in fulfillment of the aimof the Association.

(iii) To foster international understanding amongst thepeople of West Africa with a view to strengthening

4African unity and promoting world peace.With the above, the constitution of WAUG was drafted and the

elected council for the first Games which took place in 1965 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria was set up. The two cups donated by Sir Samuel Manuwa respectively were used for soccer and athletics.

Participating universities in the first WAUG were Universities of Ghana, Ibadan, Ife, Ahmadu Bello Zarla and Nigeria, Nsukka. The Uni­versity of Ibadan was the overall winner of the competitions.

West African University Games Association, Constitution,Closed File, University of Ife (1964), p. 2.

207The Second West Africa University Games. 1967

In 1967, the second WAUG was held at the University of Ghana, Legon. The University of Sierra Leone participated for the first time in

the Games along with other universities from two West African countriesthat participated in 1965 Games. University of Ibadan emerged overallwinner.

The Third West Africa University Games, 1969

Sierra Leone played host to universities from Ghana, Dohomey,

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Senegal, Thirteen universities in

West Africa participated in the Games. University of Ibadan emerged the

overall winner. List of universities that took part in 1969 Games were:^

Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

University of Ife, Ile-Ife

University of Ibadan, Ibadan University of Lagos, Lagos

Ghana: Cape Coast University

Legon UniversityUniversity of Science and Technology Kumasi

Liberia: Cuttington CollegeUniversity of Liberia

Republic of Benin: University du Benin

Ivory Coast: University of AbidjanSenegal: University of Dakar

Sierra Leone: University of Sierra Leone

~*WAUG Open File Records, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeira; 1977 (Vol. I and II).

208

The Fourth West Africa University Games. 1971

The University of Lagos was host to the Fourth Games from April 8-10, 1971. Fifteen universities took part in the Games. Ife

University dominated most of the athletic events winning 16 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals. Ibadan that had been dominating the Games

came second with 12 gold, 3 silver and 9 bronze medals. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka which could not take part in 1969 because of the

Civil War participated and was third with 8 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze

medals. Universities of Lagos, Abidjan, Legon, Cape Coast and Sierra Leone followed respectively.

The University of Ife won the track and field trophies for both men and women events and captured the overall trophy with 82 points for

the men and 91-

below.)

MEDALS TABLE

-1/2 points for

FOR THE FOURTH

the women

TABLE 26 WAUG, LAGOS,

(See the

NIGERIA,

table o

APRIL 8-

f medals

-10, 1971

Universities Country Gold Silver Bronze PositionIfe Nigeria 16 6 2 1stIbadan Nigeria 12 3 9 2ndNsukka Nigeria 6 6 6 3rdLagos Nigeria 3 3 2 4 thAb id j an Ivory Coast 2 1 - 5 thLegon Ghana - 3 - 6 thKumasi Ghana - 3 2 7 thCape Coast Ghana - - 3 8thSierra Leone Sierra Leone - - 1 9 th

6Jhld.

209The Fifth West Africa University Games, Ghana, 1973

The Fifth WAUG took place at University of Science and Techno­

logy in Kumasi in 1973. The standard of the Gaines improved over pre­

vious years especially in athletics. University of Ife dominated the

athletic events and also retained the overall trophy. Some of the top

Ife athletes who created new records were F. Okoli in high jump (5 feet, 0 inch), M. Bifarin 200 metres (25.0 seconds), 0. Odelusi (men) 200

metres (21.5 seconds), T. Ogunjobi 800 metres men (1 minute, 53.2

seconds), B. E. Egbuchua 800 metres women (2 minutes, 34.5 seconds),A. Okoli, discus women (39.93 metres), M. Bifarin, 100 metres hurdles

(15.9 seconds), B. Asagba, pole vault (3.81 metres), B. Kpologen 400 metres women (61.2 seconds), and T. Orungbemi 400 metres men (47.6 seconds).^

The Sixth West Africa University Games. Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1977

The Sixth WAUG was not held until 1977 at the University of Ife,

Nigeria. The University of Liberia, Monrovia, who had agreed to host the Sixth Games in 1975 could not do so due to lack of facilities.

Therefore, the 1975 Games were cancelled and fresh applications were invited from member universities to host the Games. The University of Ife rescued the situation by hosting the Games in 1977.

The Sixth Games held between March 20-27, 1977 were the best of all these competitions since 1965. It was well documented and

widely covered by the press and the radio. In all a total of sixteen

^Sixth West Africa University Games, Programme, University of Ife, 1977, pp. 28-36.

210

actively competing and two observing universities participated with a

total of 1,291 competitors and 230 contingent officials.®Competitions started on March 20, 1977 and ended on Saturday,

March 28, 1977. Competitions were run on a knock-out basis in the team games, and there were trials and heats, semi-finals and finals in track and field events. Swimming had only heats and finals for both sexes.

The Games were declared opened by the Nigeria Head of State,

Brigadier Olufemi Obasanjo, who wished the athletes good luck and with

the aim of African unity at the top of their minds throughout the com­petitions.

In the good-will message from the Vice Chancellor, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, he noted:

The growing membership of WAUG Association is ample testimony to the popularity of the Games, and of the fact that they are successfully fulfilling the noble objectives and ideals of their originators— namely, to promote true sportsmenship, comradeship, cooperation and goodwill among g the members of the academic community throughout West Africa.

In another message by the Vice Chancellor of Lagos University, he pointed out that:

By participating in the WAUG, you are contributing your quota to the promotion of West African unity as well as encouraging better international understanding. The experi­ence of recent years has demonstrated that sports is an important element in the political and economic life of any country, and an essential factor in promoting foreign policy . . . While you are striving hard to win medals to your

gSketch Sport, "West Africa University Games," Daily Sketch, March 20, 1977, p. 16.

q"Goodwill Message," Vice Chancellor, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, to the Sixth West Africa University Games, Programme of Events, 1977, pp. 28-36,

211

universities and respective countries, you should do this with a sense of mission, discipline, friendliness, honesty, fair play and the desire to ensure that the games achieve the goals of their founders.

The standard of the competition was very high. The University

of Abijan staging its first debut in the WAUG, came in in an impressive way and swept most of the medals, winning 20 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals. The host of the keenly contested Games, the University

of Ife which dominated the previous Games came second with 12 gold, 11

silver and 8 bronze medals, while the University of Cameroun, Yaounde

came third with 8 gold, 9 silver and 4 bronze medals. The University

of Ibadan, that hosted the Games at its inception in 1965 earned the

fourth position with 7 gold, 8 silver and 1 bronze medals. (See Table 27.)

The University of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, who won the athletic trophy, dominated the track and field events. The same university won

13 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals in athletics alone, and also had

the strongest team in swimming. The University of Ife showed its usual strength in both athletics and swimming. On the other hand, the

Universities of Ibadan and Nsukka had the best team squads by winning more gold medals each in team games. (See Table 28 showing medals analysis according to sports.^)

“̂ Ibid., pp. 8-9.

"^Sixth West Africa University Games, op. cit., p. 52.

8A

517

6.0113131

TABLE 27

MEDALS TABLE FOR THE SIXTH WAUG. IFE, NIGERIA, MARCH 19-28, 197712

Institutions Country Gold Silver

Abidjan Ivory Coast 20 13

Ife Nigeria 12 11Cameroun Cameroun 8 9

Ibadan Nigeria 7 8

Nsukka Nigeria 6 5

U.S.T. Ghana 2 A

Benin Togo 2 3

Ahmadu Bello Nigeria 2 1Legon Ghana 1 3

Lagos Nigeria 1 3Benin Nigeria 1 -

Du Benin Benin - 1Sierra Leone Sierra Leone - 1

Cape Coast Ghana - -

Liberia Liberia - -

Cuttington Liberia - -

12Albert Owuru, Daily Sketch. March 29, 1977, p. 22.

2X3

TABLE 28

MEDALS ANALYSIS ACCORDING TO SPORTS

InstitutionsAthletics Games Swimming TotalG S B G S B G S B G S B

Abijan 13 6 5 1 3 4 6 4 1 20 13 10

Ife 6 5 5 4 4 1 2 2 2 12 10 8

Cameroun 3 9 4 5 - - - - - 8 9 4

Ibadan 1 2 1 6 4 3 - 2 1 7 8 5

Nsukka - 1 - 6 4 - - - 1 6 5 1

U.S.T. 2 2 2 - 2 2 - - 3 2 4 7

Benin, Togo 1 1 - 1 2 - - - - 2 3 -

A.B.U. Zaria 1 - 6 1 1 - - - - 2 1 6

Legon 1 2 2 - 1 8 - - - 1 3 10

Lagos - - 1 1 3 - - - 1 3 1

Benin, Nigeria - - - 1 - 1 - - - 1 - 1Du Benin - - 1 - 1 2 - - - - 1 3

Sierra Leone - - _ - 1 1 - - - - 1 1

U.C.C. Ghana - - 1 - - 2 - - - - - 3U. L. Liberia - - - - - 1 - - - - - 1

Cuttington

214

Nigeria's Participation In Federation of African University Sports (FASU)

General Introduction

The controlling body of the Federation of African University

Sports (FASU) is a Council of the Federation of African University Sports composed of representatives of African national universities with

the exclusion of universities in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Facts collected from NUGA, WAUG, and FASU officials in Nigeria

showed that the true idea of Pan-African University Gaines (now FASU) came through the friendly sport competitions between the universities in West Africa as far back as 1965. This fact was also supported below

by the opening message of the Vice-Chancellor of the University College

of Science Education, Cape Coast during the First WAUG in 1965.I send you felicitous greetings on this momentous occasion

of the First West African Inter-University Games, and wish youevery success in this epoch-making enterprise. It is our earnest hope that these Games will help foster real friendship, cordiality and cooperation among participating institutions;What is more, "it is our great desire that in due course, the scope of the Games, will be widened to embrace all university institutions in the whole of Africa" to make for the periodic coming together of all university students in Africa for the benefit not only of the students but also of Africa . . . 13

At the closing session of this First WAUG competition, delegates

were informed that the Osagyefo, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, President of the

Republic of Ghana, intended to donate a trophy for All-Africa University

Games as soon as it was formed. Delegates were very happy.

13part of the Goodwill Message by the Vice-Chancellor University College of Science Education, Cape Coast, Professor N. G. Bakhoom, read on his behalf on the occasion of the First West Africa University Games, Ibadan, March, 1965. Closed WAUG File, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1977.

215

They unanimously agreed that, "if and when the trophy was presented, necessary arrangements would be made to hold All-Africa University Games.

No serious efforts were made to assemble all African univer­sities to a meeting with the hope of forming a Pan-African University Games Association until 1970 before the World University Games of Turin, Italy. However, before that Turin Games, at the 1970 West Africa University Games (WAUG) committee meeting held at the Lagos University, "the chairman of the meeting, Dr. L. 0. Adegbite informedmembers that there was a request from Zaire to participate in the

15WAUG." Geographically, Zaire was not qualified to compete. The committee for the WAUG then requested Dr. Adegbite to explore the pos­sibility of inviting all African universities sports authorities to Lagos. The idea was to discuss the issue of FASU. The meeting was not

possible until after the World University Games in Turin, Italy in 1970 during which the whole of Africa had one medal. And it was "a bronze medal In 100 metres (men) where Ravelomanan Tsoa of Madagascar was placed third.

Dismayed by the poor performances of African athletes at Turin Games, Dr. Adegbite who was the leader of the Nigerian contingent,

called a meeting of all heads of the African delegations in Turin.

^G. Benneh, History of All-Africa University Games (University of Ghana Publication, 1975), p. 9.

15Ibid,

^"Africa in Fisu Games in Italy, 1970," Open File of Fisu, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1977.

216Delegates from the following countries attended the meeting: Algeria,Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Kenya, and Zaire.17

In the meeting, Dr. Adegbite informed members present of the decision taken by the WAUG committee in Lagos, Nigeria in March, 1970

giving him the mandate to Invite leaders of African universities sports authorities to Lagos in April, 1971 to consider the possibility of forming an All-African University Games Organization. There was a long silence, followed by some serious discussions, after which all members

gave an overwhelming support to the idea of a conference of All-African University Sports Leaders in Lagos during the 1971 WAUG competitions.

The Lagos ConferenceWhen Dr. Adegbite got to Lagos after the Turin University

Games, he wrote official letters of invitations to all universities in Africa for a meeting in Lagos, during the West Africa University Games. The responding universities to Dr. Adegbite1 s letter are shown in Table 29.

African universities, only two universities outside the West African sub-region were in attendance. Despite the poor attendance, the meeting was held. Col. Adefope, the Commissioner of Sports in Nigeria, and Mr. Ordia, the President of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, were present at the opening ceremony of the meeting.

Although the invitation to the conference was sent to all

10.18,Ibid.

217TABLE 29

RESPONDENTS TO FIRST AFRICA UNIVERSITIES SPORTS LEADERS CONFERENCE, LAGOS, NIGERIA, 197119

Universities Country African Sub-region

Ahmadu Bello Zaria Nigeria West AfricaBenin Nigeria West AfricaIfe Nigeria West AfricaIbadan Nigeria West AfricaLagos Nigeria West AfricaNigeria, Nsukka Nigeria West AfricaGhana Ghana West AfricaScience and Technology Ghana West AfricaCape Coast Ghana West AfricaAbidjan Ghana West AfricaLiberia Liberia West AfricaSierra Leone Sierra Leone West AfricaDakar Guinea West AfricaCameroun Cameroun West AfricaAlgiers Algiers North AfricaUAR Egypt North Africa

In his speech, Mr. Ordia urged delegates to come together as one entity to be able to raise the standard of sports In Africa. He pledged the full support of SCSA to the envisaged university sports

19 Ibid.

21820organization. After the opening speech by Mr. Ordia, an election was

held and Dr. Adegbite was elected as the chairman and E. T. Kodzi from

the University of Cape Coast, Ghana was elected secretary. Thus on

Aptil 12, 1971, the Federation of African University Sports Federation or Federation Africaine du Sports Universitaire (FASU) was formed.

The major decisions taken at the conference were:

(a) That the new Africa university sports body founded on April 12, 1971 whose main objective is the development of university sports in Africa, be named and called FEDERATION OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS or In French FEDERATION AFRICAINE DU SPORTS UNIVERSITAIRE (abbreviated FASU).

(b) That the first All-Africa University Games should be heldin 1974.

(c) That the basis of competition in the Games should be national.

(d) That only the following eight sporting activities should

be competed for in 1974— soccer (men), basketball (men and women), volleyball (men and women), lawn tennis (men and women), table tennis (men and women), swimming (men and women), athletics (men and women), and handball (men). It was however agreed that in future, the number of events of the games could be increased depending upon the request of members.

(e) That each regional organization was free to continue or

discontinue regional games.

20"African Universities Meet in Lagos," Daily Times, April 12, 1971, pp. 29-20.

219

(f) That the qualifications in the games should be:(i) All university students including colleges awarding

diplomas or degrees.(ii) Qualification in FASU shall be exactly the same as

that of FISU Games.

(g) That the annual subscription should be $150,000 per country.

(h) That the Executive Council should speed up arrangementsfor the First Games. These should be, the award of venue to a country,information to all countries in Africa, drafting of rules for compe-

21tition and constitution of FASU.

Several other meetings were held at Algeria, Ghana and in Nigeria respectively. In the last meeting, Ghana was elected as the host for the First FASU and to be held on December 27, 1974. The con­stitution for FASU was also approved by all the representatives of North African University Zone, Central African University Zone, SouthAfrican University Zone, East African University Zone, and West

22African University Zone.

The First All-Africa University Games,Ghana, December 27, 1974 to January 4, 1975

The First All-Africa University Games (FASU) was held in Ghanaat the University of Legon between December 27, 1974 to January 4, 1975

21G. Benmeh, op. cit., p. 131.22The FASU, unlike the WAUG is a competition which deals with

national university teams and not individual university. For example, Nigerian universities will send a combined contingent of men and women to FASU instead of each university sending separate teams of men and women.

220

with over 1,500 athletes and 600 officials from different universities in Africa in attendance. Dr. J.E.A. Mills of the Law Faculty, Univer­sity of Ghana, and President of the Amalgamated Club of the same university was the chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Games. The preliminary of the team games were held in seven zones in Africa. These zones were:

Zone 1 - Republic du Benin, Togo, Cameroun, Upper Volta, Mali.

Zone 2 - Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal.

Zone 3 - Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Guinea.Zone 4 - Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Niger, Chad.Zone 5 - Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania,

and Malawi.Zone 6 - Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Zaire, Rwanda,

Burundi, People’s Republic of Congo.Zone 7 - Zambia, Lesotho, Malagasy-Republic, Angola, and

23Mozambique.

The opening ceremonies, organizations and the general features of FASU were conducted In the same manner as FISU Games. Throughout the

Games, the spirit of friendliness, understanding, sportsmanship and African unity prevailed.

The most keenly contested of all the games and sports were track

and field events and soccer. The standard of performance was fairly high in almost all the games except swimming where Egypt dominated.

221

Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast fielded top athletes in the competi­tions. At the end of the competition, Egypt earned 36 gold, 15 silver

and 5 bronze medals to come first in the competition. Ghana came second with 9 gold, 10 silver and 18 bronze medals. Nigeria came

third with 8 gold, 19 silver and 15 bronze medals. See Table 30.

Top Nigerian athletes that won medals in the games were:

Men

Long jump - G. Ehezielum, J. Borada, 0. Juba.400 metres - T. Ogunjobi, Igirigo, Archibong.

Javelin - T. Abangwu, E. Birijo.Women

Hurdles - Sangodeyi, Usoro.Javelin - A. Okoli, C. Igboji.

Discus - A. Okoli.

Soccer Team

Faseku, Ajetumobi, Agwai, Aggey, Okolie, Inuogbo, Asuguo,24Walu, Odigie, Nwaowo, Akpoje, Holliday, and Seneya.

The records established in the athletic events are shown in Table 31.

Nigeria's Participation in the World University Games

The major opportunity for international competition for univer­sity students is through the Federation International du Sports

^Open FASU Files, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1977.

222

TABLE 30SUMMARY OF MEDALS, FIRST FASU GAMES, 197525

CountryMedals

Gold Silver Bronze Tota'

Egypt 36 15 5 56Nigeria 8 19 15 42Ghana 9 10 18 37Ivory Coast 6 5 3 14Algeria 1 4 8 13Uganda 2 1 5 8

Togo - 2 4 6

Congo Brazzaville - 2 - 2

Sudan - 2 - 2

Sierra Leone - - 1 1

Liberia - - 1 1

Republic du Benin - - - -

Zanbla - - - -

Zaire - - - -

Gabon - - - -

Tanzania - - - -

223

TABLE 31 THE 1975 FASU RECORDS26

Sports (men) Records Sports (women) Records

100 m. 10.6 secs. 100 m. 11.09 secs.200 m. 21.1 secs. 200 m. 24.06 secs.400 m. 48.5 secs. 400 m. 55.0 secs.800 m. 1 min. 53.3 secs. 800 m. 2 min. 53.3 secs.1,500 m. 4 min. 2.2 secs. 100 m. hurdles 15.3 secs.5,000 m. 15 min. 15.6 secs. shot putt 10.8 m.high jump 1.95 m. high jump 1.62 m.triple jump 15.80 m. javelin 40.13 m.long jump 7.95 m. long jump 5.91 m.110 m. hurdles 14.4 secs. discus 40.17 m.

400 m. hurdles 54.08 secs. 4 x 100 m. relay 48.01 m.

discus 48.82.5 secs.pole vault 4.20 secs.shot putt 15.78 secs.

javelin 66.09 m.4 x 100 m. relay 42.03 secs.4 x 400 m. relay 3 min. 16.7 secs.

26Ramadhan All, op. cit., p. 154.

224

Universitaire (FISU) which every two years sponsors games called 'Uni- 27versiade.' FISU was established in 1948 to promote physical education

among students of all countries by exchanging information on universitysports and organizing university sports conferences in order to promote

28moral value of amateur sports,

FISU was established in Luxembourg in 1948, but the summer and winter games did not begin until 1959 and 1960 respectively. The sum­mer games, beginning In 1959, held every two years on the odd-numbered

years, are called World University Games. One exception was the 6th Games, which were held in 1970. The winter games, beginning in 1960,held every two years on the even-numbered years, are called World

29University Winter Games. Due to the geographical conditions of Nigeria, the Nigeria university students could not organize winter games, rather she only enrolled for a few sports in the Summer Games in 1970 for the first time. The chart below shows the dates and places of the Official FISU Summer Games.

27Bennett, Howell and Simri, Comparative Physical Education and Sport, (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1975), p. 87.

28C. Lynn Vendien and John Nizon, The World Today in Health, Physical Education and Recreation, (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968), p. 395.

29C. Lynn Vendien, "FISU (Federation Internationale de Sports Universitaire) and the World University Games," Quest, XXII (June 1974), pp. 74-81.

225TABLE 32

FISU SUMMER GAMES

Year Place Year Place

1st 1959 Turin, Italy 6 th 1970 Turin, Italy2nd 1961 Sofia, Bulgaria 7 th 1973 Moscow, U.S.S.R.3rd 1963 Porto Alegre, Brazil 8 th 1975 Rome, Italy4th 1965 Budapes t, Hungary 9 th 1977 Sofia, Bulgaria

5 th 1967 Tokyo, Japan

1970 World University Games in TurinNigerian University Games Association (NUGA) which was inaugu­

rated at a meeting on July 8-10, 1965 at Ibadan became involved in FISU activities when it was admitted as a member of the Federation at the

FISU Assembly in Turin, Italy in August, 1969. Nigeria thus partici­pated in the World University Games for the first time in 1970.

Before NUGA sent representatives to the Games at Turin, there were series of meetings and decisions which included writing to all the Nigerian universities requesting them to contribute the sum of N2000.00 ($3,000.00) each towards the expenses of sending Nigerian student athletes to the Turin Games. (See Appendix 0 for a copy letter written to the registrar of Nigerian universities before the Turin trip was

possible.)Nigeria only took part in athletics and lawn tennis. Some of

the Nigerian university students who went for the Games were:1. G. T. Kelani - 100 m., 200 m and 4 x 100 m. relay.

2. K. Yusuf - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay.

2263. G. I. Umoh - 400 m., 4 x 440 m. relay.4. Miss 0. Odafin - 100 m., long jump and 4 x 100 m. relay.Nigeria did not win any medals in the Games in either athletics

or lawn tennis. All the African universities who took part in theGames performed badly. Only one African state, the Malagasy Republicwon a bronze medal.

The 1973 World University Games in Moscow

Nigeria's second participation in the World University Gameswas in Moscow in August, 1973. The 1973 Games in Moscow, which Soviet

sport officials hoped would be a preview of the Olympic Games in 1980,30attracted 3,500 men and women athletes from 67 countries. Nigeria

sent a strong contingent of 12 sportsmen and women and 7 officials.At first, Nigeria did not want to take part in the Games due to

Nigeria students' casual attitudes to international competitions. NUGA later changed itB mind to participate after much deliberations with members because of improved performances of the athletes during trials and the strong appeals from Moscow on their desire to see Nigerian con­tingent in the Games. The above facts were reflected in the minutes of the meeting of NUGA council of August, 1973 which said:

. . . After exhaustive deliberations on the various issues con­nected with our participation, such as impressive high standard of our athletes, the socio-political implications and the incessant and transparently strong appeals from Moscow on their desire to see Nigerian contingent, the Council

30Bruce L. Bennett, et al., op. cit., p. 87.

227unanimously decided that NUGA will participate in 1973 FISU Games in Moscow . . . 31

Prior to the final selection, the athletes from all the uni­versities in Nigeria took part in various preliminary trials conducted by NUGA. Some athletes in the trials for track and field events were: Men: Ahmed, 0. King-Paul, Benebo, 0. Odelusi, T, Shinaba,

Orungbemi, T. Ogunjobi, 0. Okeke, U. Anawsa, A. E. Okocha,M. Agu, A. Nwosu, N. Ezekwesili.

Women: M. Aiyede, P. Eve, K. Anike, M. Bafarin, Ajakaiye,Orubo and Adewale.The selected athletes went to the Games in top form. They how­

ever, did not win medals, but they improved on their previous perform- ances. T. Ogunjobi ran a beautiful race in 400 metres hurdles but mis­sed the qualifying round for the finals narrowly. 0. King-Faul,

T. Shinaba and 0. Odelusi also performed well in their events but they did not win medals.

In the speech credited by 0. Odelusi to the Director of Sports, Mr. I. A. Akioye of University of Ife, when welcoming the athletes backhome in form of advice, he said:

. . . Let us not wait until a month before 1975 FISU in Rome . . . We must start training right now. The time we spend practicing is absolutely nothing compared with what some countries put in to have results . . . ^2

Though the athletes did not win medals in the FISU Games, they were highly honoured at the end of the year during the "annual

31"World University Games, Moscow, 1973," part of a letter addressed to NUGA members, dated June 2, 1973, from the NUGA secre­tary's desk, Closed FISU File. University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

320. Odelusi, personal interview, July 28, 1977.

226university dinners" at their respective universities to show apprecia­tion to their services.

The 1975 World University Games in Rome, Italy

Nigeria's third participation in FISU Games was in Rome onSeptember 18-21, 1975. With about 4,000 men and women athletes from1,900 countries participating in the Games, FISU have become one of themost effective socializing forces in the world of sports for students.The FISU Games, like the Olympics, encompass almost every race, sect,

colour and different athletic abilities. Nigeria's athletes preparedvery hard for the Games more than before. About three months beforethe Games, NUGA organized a series of competitions and trials in order toselect better and well prepared athletes for the competition. At theend of many trials, the athletes in Table 33 were selected for camping.

Only four top athletes were finally selected from the lot becausethe top Nigerian athletes invited from U.S.A. could not leave their

studies for the Games, and the rest in the camp did not measure up to thestandards laid down for athletics by FISU. The selected athletes were T.Ogunjobi and Kemi Sangodeyi from the University of Ife, A. Akpekpe fromthe University of Benin, and C. Agada from Ahmadu Bello University.They left Nigeria to Rome in top form for the competition.

In the competition at Rome, T. Ogunjobi from the University of

Ife won a bronze medal in 400 metres hurdles. It was the only medal33won by the African continent in the Games.

33Closed FISU/NUGA File, University of Ife.

229

TABLE 33ATHLETES SELECTED FOR CAMPING IN PREPARATION FOR 1975 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES IN ROME, ITALY

No. Name Event Institution

1. Anthony Akpede 100 m., 200 m. University of Ibadan2. T. Tawari 200 m. University of Ibadan3. 0. Odelusi 100 m., 200 m. University of Ife

4. T. Ogunjobi 800 m., 400 m. hurdles University of Ife5. T. Orungbemi 400 m. University of Ife6* S. Okeke 100 m., 200 m. University of Lagos7. G . Agada 100 m., 200 m. Ahmadu Bello, Zaria8. F. B. Bakari 1,500 m. Ahmadu Bello, Zaria9. Aboyade Cole 110 m. hurdles U.S.A.

*o 1—1 G. Obasogie 110 m. hurdles U.S.A.11. B. Ijirigbo 110 m. hurdles U.S.A.12. C. Ehizielen

WomenLong jump, triple jump U.S.A.

13. Ashanti Obi 100 m,, 200 m. U.S.A.14. J. Egbejule 100m., 200m., long jump University of Lagos15. K. Sangodeyi 100m., 200 m. University of Ife16. M. Oshikoya 100 m. hurdles, long jump

and high jump U.S.A.17. E . Okeke Shot put U.S.A.

18. E. Edet Shot put U.S.A.

230Commenting on the Games, Mr. Oyewusi said:

. . . of the four top athletes (three males and one female) drawn from the six universities in Nigeria, one came from Ahmadu Bello University, one from the University of Benin, and two (one male and one female) from the niversity of Ife.The only medal (a bronze) won by any black African country was won by Taiwo Ogunjobi of the University of Ife in the 400 metres hurdles. The time returned (subject to Nigeria AAA ratification) beat the previous Nigerian national records of 51.29 seconds and 51.25 seconds . . .

Of the four athletes from the Nigerian universities only two could participate fully at the competitions . . .T. Ogunjobi in 800 metres and 400 metres hurdles, and Kemi Sangodeyi in 100 metres and 200 metres. A. Akpekpe from the University of Benin could not take part because of an injured leg; nor could C. Agada from Ahmadu Bello University because 4 x 400 metres relay team was not complete . . . ^4

With Taiwo Ogunjobi winning the first medal in FISU competi­tions, and even breaking the Nigeria national records, it is sure that the Nigerian universities are beginning to realize their roles in pro­moting high standard of performance in Nigeria's involvement and parti­cipation in international sports.

The 1977 World University Games in Sofia, BulgariaNigeria's fourth involvement and participation in FISU compe­

titions took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 18th to 28th August, 1977.Nigeria was represented in the Games with only three athletes

and three officials. Two athletes took part in track and field eventswhile the remaining one took place in lawn tennis. The officials wereDr. Adedeji, Dr. Fatile and Dr. Ojo. The athletes returned home again

without medals but the officials took part in many FISU meetings before they returned.

■^Extract from the report of "NUGA in FISU In Rome, September 18-21, 1975" by J. A. Oyewusi, Acting Director of Physical Education Institute, University of Ife, read during 1975 University of Ife, Sport Dinner.

231Up till the end of 1977 World University Games at Sofia,

Nigeria's performances in the Games had not been encouraging. Only one medal was won in 1975 Rome Games by T. Ogunjobi, and that was a bronze medal. Most of Nigerian performances in the Games are still lower than the standards expected of a country like Nigeria. Note the FISU qualifying standards compared with Nigerian universities best per­formances up to 1977 below.

TABLE 34FISU QUALIFYING STANDARDS COMPARED WITH NIGERIAN

UNIVERSITIES BEST PERFORMANCES35

FISU Qualifying Standards Nigerian Best PerformancesEvents Men Women Men Women

High jump 2.05 m. 1.70 m. 1.87 m. 1.83 m.Pole vault 4.90 m. - - 3.78 m . - -

Long jump 7.50 m. 6.00 m. 7.62 m . 5.12 m.Triple jump 15.70 m. _ - 15.40 m. _ -

Shot put 17.50 m. 14.50 m. 13.26 m. 9.87 m.Discus 56.00 m. 50.00 m. 39.50 m. 39.93 m.Hammer 65.00 m . - - - - - -

Javelin 74.00 m. 50.00 m. 56.44 m. 38.82 m.

Nigeria's records clearly showed that if Nigeria is to win

medals in future International competitions, she must put more efforts in coaching, training, and dedication to international sport» The data

35NUGA/FISU File (SAO/5.6/GYM/N.2D) University of Ife.

232shows that Nigerian university standards are too low. Their standards

bearly meet FISU standards in only long jump and high jump for men and women respectively.

CHAPTER X

THE CENTRAL ORGANIZATIONS CONTROLLING INTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITIONS

The development of a sound international sports philosophy depends on a sound administration of competitive sports. A sound admin­istration depends upon "sound organization, planning, directing and con­trolling of men, women and materials."^ Effective international sports organization and administration therefore, rests on a control authority or body whereby responsibility is designated between groups of people in order to accomplish certain goals which individuals could not accom­plish alone.

The rational for creating an effective central organization forcontrolling of international sports is to enable a group of people tocome together to accomplish for themselves certain goals which they asindividuals could not accomplish for themselves or could not do as welland for economic utilization of men, materials and finance in order to

2provide efficient, effective and systematic results.Nigeria has some sporting bodies controlling Nigeria's partici­

pation in international sports. The purpose of this chapter is to

If . A. Amuche, "Towards Effective Organization of Sports in the Federation of Nigeria," The Journal of Nigerian Association for Physical Health Education and Recreation I (March, 1977), pp. 44-62.

2Ibid.233

234present and examine the roles and organizational structures of these sport controlling bodies within Nigeria. These bodies are National Sports Commission (NSC), Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), States Sports Councils (SSC), Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA), and Associ­ations of Franchise holders together with national sporting interest groups. (See Figure 9.)

The National Sports Commission (NSC)The first overall central organization controlling interna­

tional sports in Nigeria is the National Sports Commission (NSC).Other organizations are supporting bodies. They all depend upon NSC

even though they are autonomous.In terms of life span, the NSC is a very young organization. It

came into being on August 12, 1971 through a Federal Government decree 3No. 34. It took its role from the former National Sports Council,

States Sports Council and National Sports Associations. Since its

inception In 1971, its impact on all international sport competitions and overall organized sports has been tremendous.

The NSC, which is a government agency, is charged with the respon­

sibility of encouraging, developing and coordinating sports programs throughout Nigeria. It is the only major organization that links Nigerian athletes to participate In international sport competitions. This Commission's jurisdiction also covers additional areas of hiring experts from abroad, purchasing sports equipment from foreign countries

3National Sports Commission, Decree No. 34, Official Gazette No. 41, Vol. 58, (12th August, 1971), pp. 149-153.

235

Supreme / Nigeria \ InternationalCouncil / National — — Olympicfor Sports - 7 ] Sports fv Committeein Africa \ Commission J ' (I.O.C.)(SCSA) ? \ (NSC) / \Others s' \ Others

PC— >>AFC / / \ \ \ \ CGFECOWAS f / ISFFASU FISU

StateSportsCouncil(SSC)

FranchiseHoldersNationalAssociations

Nigeria Olympic Committee (N.O.C.)

National Sporting Interested Groups

NigeriaUniversityGamesAssociation

Water Corporations Police Railways Army Others

------ Direct contact within Nigeria.- Direct contact outside Nigeria.

The IOC, ISF, and FISU are for international competitions outside Africa, while SCSA, ECOWAS, and FASU are within Africa. NSC Is the main body for all other sports controlling bodies in Nigeria.

Figure 9 . The Structure of Central Organizations Controlling International Sports in Nigeria.

236

and helping the states both physically and financially in their sport programs.

The other major functions of NSC are:

1. To encourage the development and organization of, and

participation in sports in Nigeria.

2. To coordinate and integrate efforts to raise the standard

of performance in sports throughout Nigeria.

3. The Commission shall, in all international relations

affecting sports, have the sole right to make, on behalf of States

Sports Councils, any necessary arrangements for competitions, techni­

cal assistance, recruitment of coaches and for any such other matters

as the commission may think fit.

4. To promote, in cooperation with other sports bodies or sports groups, the physical fitness and general well-being of all

persons in Nigeria.

5. To organize, or assist financially or otherwise, the parti­

cipation in sports at inter-state, national and international levels.

6. To train Nigerians to become sportsmen and instructors insports.

7. To conduct and encourage research into all matters relating

to sports.

8. To provide and maintain sports centres and facilities for

the training of Nigerians as instructors in and organizers of sports.

2379. To ensure the participation of all sportsmen where required

4in inter-state, national and international competitions.

Organizational Structure of KSCThe Commission is composed of fifty-three members called Execu­

tive Committee of the Commission, made up of a chairman appointed by the Commissioner, a secretary, the chairman and secretary of each

State's Sports Council; the representatives of the national sports associations; five representatives from each of the disciplined armed forces (Army, Navy, Police, Air Force and Prisons); Secretary and Chairman of University Games Association; a woman representative; a representative of physical medicine; a representative of the Nigeria Olympic Association; a representative of schools' sports,* and theremaining members to be appointed by the Commissioner in charge of

„ 5sports.

The administration of the Commission is controlled by an Executive Council of twenty-two people. The Commission also has a National Stadia Management Board consisting of fifteen members. The Chairman of the Commission is also the chairman of the board. Others are the secre­tary, five members of the Commission and eight other persons appointed by Commissioner.^ (See Figure 10*)

In order to attain the goals for which the National Sports Com­

mission was set up, the administrative structure was reorganized as follows:

4Ibid., pp. 150-151.5Ibid., p. 150.

6Ibid.

238

Chairman of each State SCRepresentatives of National AssociationsRepresentatives of the disciplined forcesChairman and secretary I of NUGA

Representative of woman sports

-i

NationalSportsCommissionExecutiveCommitteeNational StadiaManagementBoard

Representative of physical medicineRepresentative of NOCRepresentative school sportsFive persons of general sports interests

Sub-Committee

ChairmanTraining and coaching

1 1 FacilitiesSecretary CompetitionsGeneral

Recruitment

Administrative Secretary andSecretarial Staff

Chief ACC Accounts Office for National Associations

, -----Asst. Sect. (Sports Secretaries ofNational Associations)

Chief Coaches Senior Coaches, Assistant Coaches and Instructors

Research Unit

LjNOA is not under the NSC but its chairman and secretary are nominated by commissioner. They are representatives of national associations affiliated to IOC.

The National Associations are established by the Commission but they develop their own policies. All the secretaries and coaches are employed by the commission affiliated to inter­national federations.

Figure 10. Organizational Structure of NSC.

239

(a) Administrative and Finance DivisionThis division is headed by the Secretary to the Commission, who

in addition to Board matters, is in charge of general correspondence, central records, personnel matters, accounts, stores and sports goods.^

(b) Directorate (Technical) Division

The Directorate is headed by the Director of Sports. The func­tion of this division is to coordinate the activities of the National

Sports Associations, encourage new sports, school sports, organize com­petitions at national and international levels with the assistance of the National Associations, deploy coaches and organizing secretaries, maintain liason with State Sports Councils, National Coaching Scheme, matters relating to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Commonwealth Games Association and the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa.®

(c) A Training InstituteThis Training Institute is to be headed by the Deputy Director

of Sports. The main function of the Institute is to Improve quality of coaching personnel in all arms of sports.

(d) Zonal CentresThe new idea introduced by NSC In 1973 was the creation of zonal

centres to bridge the gap between the NSC and States Sports Councils and

^"The National Sports Commission Zonal System," NAAPHER Annual Conference paper read by Tunde Fabunmi, Sept. 1975 at Ife Conference.

g The present Director is Mr. I. A. Akioye, a physical educator and one time Senior Inspector of Education Western Region and Director of Sports, University of Ife.

240

To promote mass involvement in competitive sports. These zonal centres were:

Zone One: Kwara, Mid-Western, and Western States. Headquarters at

Ibadan.

Zone Two: North Central, North Western and Kano States, Head­

quarters at Kaduna.

Zone Three: North Eastern and Benue Plateau States. Headquarters atMaiduguri.

Zone Four: East Central, Rivers and South Eastern States. Head­quarters at Enugu.

Zone Five: Lagos State to be catered for from the Headquarters inLagos.̂

Since the inception of the Commission, it has done much to

improve sports throughout the nation. Its major contributions are:

1. By involving government directly and indirectly in spon­soring athletes to international competitions both at home and abroad.

2. By organizing and increasing Nigeria's sports festivals

in order to involve more Nigerians in sports. Example of these festi­

vals are Ghana/Nigeria sports festivals and the National Sports

Festivals.

3. By sending technical aids to states sports councils,

national associations and universities with the hope of improving standards and performances.

9NAPHER Annual Conference Paper, op. cit.

241

4. Facility wise, by legislation, NSC is required to provide facilities for utilization by the national sports associations in

developing their programs. Since its inception, the NSC has been

trying to fulfill that objective by acquiring and improving Ahraadu

Bello Stadium in Kaduna State for national use, improving and providing many lawn tennis courts and swimming pools in Lagos area, and building

and expanding the National Sports Stadium complex in Lagos. "It is still the projection of NSC to ensure that at least there is a

standard modern sports complex in all the nineteen states of Nigeria."^

The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC)

The second on the list to be discussed on the central organi­

zation controlling international sports in Nigeria is the Nigeria

Olympic Committee (NOC). NOC is a voluntary, non-incorporated organi­

zation established to make possible Nigeria's participation in the

Olympics, Commonwealth and All-Africa Games. NOC is strictly struc­

tured on the directives of the IOC by working through its committees when there are assignments.

Historically, Nigeria formed its Olympic Committee in 1950

after the formation of some national associations. It was then called Nigeria Olympic British Empire Games Association (NOBEGA). The first

officers were Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe (Patron); Sir Adetokunbo Ademola

^National Sports Diary 1976, op. clt. , pp. 10-12,

(President), Miss T. W. Niblett (Honorary Secretary), and Mr. D. Owen (Honorary Treasurer).

In 1966, six years after independence, the association was givena new name as Nigeria Olympic Association (NOA). That name was againchanged in 1975 to Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to bring it in line

12with the international practice.

NOC is essentially composed of national associations holding

international franchise. It also involves itself in NSC activities but its relationship with the national sports interest groups is infor­mal.

In strict accordance with the IOC stipulations, the NOC is com­

posed of the following:

1. Any Nigerian member of the International Olympic Committee

in Nigeria. (At present, there is Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the former

Chief Justice of Nigeria.)

2. The representatives of Nigeria in the Commonwealth Games Advisory Committee and in the organizing committee of other interna­tional games.

3. Two representatives nominated by each of the national asso­

ciations, one of whom must be the chairman of that association, affili­

ated to the International Federations recognized by the IOC and whose nominations in writing have been accepted by the Council of NOC.

rational Sports Commission (NSC), Sports Diary, (Lagos: TimesPress Ltd., 1976), pp. 10-12.

243

4* One representative nominated by each of the national associations whose sports are not in the Olympic program and whose nominations in writing have been accepted by the council as defined in the rules.

5. Such persons, who have rendered or can render exceptional service to the Olympic movement, as the council may co-opt as members. The number of such co-opted persons shall not exceed ten at any one time, and such co-opted members shall be known as "Nominated Members."

6. Such persons as may be invited by the Council to be honoraryand life members of the association in accordance with the conditions

13stipulated in these rules . . . The officers of NOC consist of a

patron, president, two vice presidents, secretary, assistant secre­tary and one honourary treasurer. (See Appendix Q for their names.)

The main objectives of the NOC are:

1. To make known throughout Nigeria the aims and objectives of the Olympic movement and to propagate its high ideals.

2. To project the national sport image, and to see to its

healthy development free from political, religious, racial, tribal interference and commercialism.

3. To educate public opinion regarding the importance of pro­perly organized physical recreation in improving the health of the nation and developing character and the spirit of citizenship and to

cooperate in the improvement of facilities for recreation.

13NOC constitution of the Nigeria Olympic Association, pp. 3-6.

2 44

4. To ensure through the National Amateur Governing Bodies in Nigeria the representation of Nigeria by the best available competi­tors in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Gaines, in all branches of sport and to maintain the influence of Nigeria opinion in the control and regulation thereof.

5. To ensure that the views of national associations shall have their due weight and influence in the organization in Nigeria of the preparations for the Olympic Gaines, the Commonwealth Games, and Africa Games in particular and of all international games in general.

6. To assist in the provision of adequate funds for the worthy

representations of Nigeria in Olympic . . . Games, to function as required by the international regulations, as the official body for such matters in Nigeria and to provide safeguards against negligenceor irresponsible disbursement of such funds.

7. To establish and maintain affiliations of the association,which the IOC and the Commonwealth Games Federation, and with theother international controlling bodies having jurisdiction over games

14in which Nigerian teams may participate from time to time.

Organizational Structure of NOC

NOC is directed and controlled by the council of 23 members. These members are made up of the representatives of each Olympic sport

14Nigeria Olympic Committee, The Constitution (Mushin, Lagos: OMP Works 1972), pp. 1-3 and Awoture Eleyae, op. cit., pp. 142-146.

245

national associations, one member each from the non-Olympic sport national associations, and two co-opted members. This council meets

once a month but the day-to-day operations of the council are carried out by the secretary and his personal secretarial assistants.

The NOC through its council forms different Games sub­

committee to deal with specific topics related to preparing, sending

and participating of Nigerian teams in international contests. A Games

sub-committee's main duty is to check eligibility and other specifics

established by the NOC regarding teams representing Nigeria in inter­national sport competition. (See Figure 11.)

NOC has no regular source of revenue. Its budget is usually projected on the number of sports which have athletic potentials.

However, in 1968 "Club 400" was established by NOC with the dual aim to help finance formidable teams to international competitions, and to

support NSC in its effort to encourage sports in Nigeria.^

Membership in the club is open to ’public spirited' citizens as

well as to the aliens. Members pay N200 (about $300) annually. Member­

ship has to continue for at least five years. In 1968, the Club paid

over $40,000 to assist the NOC send its team to the Olympic Games

'Club 400' is made up of rich and business men from the cross section of the nation. These people are specially admitted into the club with the purpose of donating money through the NOC to sponsor athletes to international contests. The Club 400 has no representa­tion in the council of NOC but it has a co-opted member in the General House of the NOC.

246

The Secretary and his secretarial assistants for functioning activities of NOC

NOC

TheCouncil

GamesSub-Committees

Club400'

StateSports

CommitteeStateSports

Committee

StateSports

Committees

------- Direct link.- — Indirect link

Figure 11. Organizational Structure of the NOC.

in Mexico, Also in 1970, the Club alone paid about ninety percent ofthe cost of sending the Nigerian team to Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.

Col. Dr. H.E.O. Adefope, the President of NOC, in 1971 praisedthe activities of this club by saying:

. . . Our preparations, participations and achievements in Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games which took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 15th to 26th July, 1970 were due mainly to the cooperation of all members and the various sub-committees set up during the period . . . Our sincere gratitude goes to Club 400 that provided the greater part of the fund that made the trips feasible . . . 17

^"Nigeria Olympic Committee Annual General Meeting and Report to NOC," The Nigerian Sportsman, I (June 1971), pp. 18-20.

17.Ibid,

247

NOC, since its formation, has done much to influence Nigeria's participation in international sports competitions.

The States Sports Councils (SSC)

In the process of developing competitive sports in Nigeria,

States Sports Councils were introduced Into the country. The Govern­ment of Western Nigeria was the first to establish a sports council having realized the value of sports In a vast developing nation as

Nigeria. The sports council was established by the government bill18entitled "Western Region Sports Council Law 1959."

As from 1962-65, other state sports councils were created

having these functions:

(a) To assist financially or otherwise the organization and

holding of matches, competitions or contests between amateurs, and

to arrange, promote, organize or hold such sports matches, competi­

tions, contests, ceremonies and functions as may, in its opinion, be

necessary or desirable for the purpose of promoting sports generally.

(b) To assist financially or otherwise the participation of any Nigerian team of amateurs in sports, held in Nigeria or elsewhere.

(c) To maintain playing fields and premises for the practice

of, or for the holding of matches, competitions or contests between amateurs.

(d) To establish ahd maintain centres for the training of

persons as instructors in, or organizers of any form of sports.

18Western Nigeria Gazette, No. 48, Vol. 8, October 22, 1959,Part C.

248

(e) To assist financially or otherwise any school, club,

association or other body for the purpose of encouraging participationby such school, club, association, or other body in any form of

* 19 sport.

The above functions make sports councils very autonomous over

sports associations, clubs and the NSC within each state. The National Sports Commission and the Nigeria Olympic Association will only be

coordinators. This agrees with the country's constitution.

The Organizational Structure of SSC

The machinery of the SSC is carried on in five divisions:

(a) Stadium Division headed by the stadium manager and con­troller of the Stadia.

(b) Accounts Division headed by the accountants.

(c) Sports Organization headed by the senior sports organizer.

(d) Coaching Division headed by a chief coach.

(e) Administrative Division, the head of which is the secre-20tary who is also the chief executive officer. (See Figure 12.)

All the division heads are responsible to the Secretary, who

is also responsible to the Chairman of the Council. All the Council's

activities are supervised by the Military Governor's office for the

l9Ibid., Part III, Section 12(2).

249

purpose of general administration and annual estimates and establish­ment matters.

In the Sports Organizing Division, there are sport organizers

for one or more sports. These organizers are the honourable secre­

taries to the states associations. Coaches are also provided for each major sports such as football, athletics, swimming, hockey, table tennis, lawn tennis, cricket, netball, boxing, basketball, volleyball and wrestling. (See Figure 12.)

MilitaryGovernor

Council Chairman and Secretary

Statutory Corporation

Service Board

Ministry of Economic Planning and Reconstruction

Stadium Division c/o Stadium Manager and Controller of Stadia

Administra­tive Division c/o the Honourary Secretary

Account Division c/o Accountant and Clerks

SportsOrganization Division c/o Senior Sports Organizers

Coaching Division c/o Chief Coach of Various Sports

Adopted from former Western States Sports Council (now Oyo State).

Figure 12. Organizational Structure of States Sports Council.

250Though the programmes and structures of SSC vary very slightly

from each state to the above, they perform the same functions.

Directly, States Sports Councils do not organize international sport contests like the NOC, NSC or NUGA, but these councils help to

promote sports awareness through various national bodies and associa­

tions. In addition, they promote and sponsor sport festivals and league matches among state clubs from where the NOC and NSC recruit

their top athletes. Furthermore, the SSC always represents their states in NOC and NSC council meetings where Nigeria’s participation in inter­

national sports meetings are discussed.

Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA)

The third central organization involving only Nigerian students

in institutions of higher learnings in international sport competitions is the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA).

NUGA is at present the only association involving university students in inter-university competitions both at national and interna­tional levels. NUGA is an association that replaced the previous

National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) which ran university games prior to 1965 with the hope of improving the administration of the games

and exposing students to advanced competitions.The General Council which is the supreme governing body of NUGA is

comprised of five representatives from each member university. Three of these members are faculty and two are students. There is also the

Executive Committee of the General Council that consists of elected

officers of the association, the honourary legal adviser and two repre­

sentatives of each member university made up of one faculty member and

251one student. It is the duty of the Executive Committee to manage the

affairs of the Association. (See Figure 13.)

The functions of the Association are:

1. To encourage the development of sports and the spirit of

sportsmenship in the universities.

2. To work in consultation with its member universities and to encourage:

(a) Inter-university championships.(b) Inter-university fixtures.(c) Affiliation with any governing sports body both within

and outside Nigeria fulfillment of the association's

objectives.(d) To do such other things as promote the objectives of the

Association.^

NUGA is included in National Sporting interest groups (Figure

13) because NUGA has no permanent secretariat and secretary. It also

has no paid officers, budget and facilities of its own to promote com­petitive sports. During the NUGA year, each university provides every

athlete with necessary equipment, sportswear and other materials for

competitions. The secretariat migrates with the Secretary and Presi­dent once every three years to the university hosting NUGA Games.

NUGA has not contributed significantly to both national and

international teams competing in international competitions as expected

by many Nigerians. The facts collected from interviews pointed out that

21Nigerian University Games Association, Constitution, (1972),pp. 2-4.

252

The Executive Committee

(Policy level)

The General Council of Nigerian University

Games Association (NUGA)

The Secretariat Controlled* by the Secretary (functional level)

*The Secretariat is rotated among member universities every two years.

Figure 13. Organizational Structure of NUGA.

The reasons could be attributed to the poor organization of NUGA which

has no permanent secretariat, secretary, paid officers and also facili­ties of its own.

Secondly, until recently, no coaches or sport-coordinators were

employed into Nigerian universities who could take care of sports pro­

grams. "Rather sports are regarded as extra-curricula activities.Most students who took part in sports relied too much on natural

22abilities. So, little could be expected from them." However, in recent years, with more universities introducing physical education

programs, and some expanding their sporting programs, things have

Nigeria University Games Association, op. cit., pp. 2-4.

253started to change for the better. Some universities now employ coaches in order to raise the standard of performances.

Other National Associations and Sporting Interest Groups

Other groups that may be included in the list are the national associations of franchise holders and various sporting interest groups.

The NOC, NSC and SSC in Nigeria depend mostly on national associations of franchise holders to get top athletes to train and sponsor for inter­

national competitions. These associations are under two categories.

The first group is in Olympic movement and the second group i6 not. The

group of associations in Olympic movement are football, athletics,

boxing, wrestling, judo, swimming, volleyball and basketball. The

group of associations that are not in the Olympic movement but are

represented in other international contests are cricket, lawn tennis,

table tennis, polo and netball. Both categories have representations in

the NSC and SSC. Further still, they contribute part of their annual dues to NOC in order to have enough funds to sponsor athletes to international competions.

Other sporting interested groups like the Army, Police, Railway,

Prisons and others have various clubs that compete in various league series at the national and international levels. One popular event in the series is African Soccer Championships for Africa Cup of Champion

Clubs and African-Cup Winners Cup.Though these national associations and national sporting

interested groups do not directly organize international contests like

the NOC, NSC or NUGA, through their activities and representations in

254

various councils and committees, their importance in central organiza­tions controlling international sport competitions cannot be ignored,

CHAPTER XI

THE EFFECTS OF NIGERIA'S PARTICIPATION

IN INTERNATIONAL SPORT COMPETITION

The preceding chapters have recounted the development and Nigeria's participation in international sport competitions from the

colonial era to date. In Chapter XI, information already presented in the preceding chapters are related to the effects of these compe­titions on the nation.

In an effort to obtain additional data on this problem, a ques­

tionnaire survey was conducted during the field trip to Nigeria. One

hundred and twenty top Nigerian athletes and thirty coaches and adminis­trators who have been involved directly in Nigeria's participation in international sport competitions were involved in the exercise. Their names were located and collected from National Sports Commission, States Sports Council, universities and athletes and coaches. Over ninety per­cent of the questionnaire forms issued to both athletes and coaches and administrators were returned. The athletes returned ninety-three per­cent of the questionnaires and the coaches and administrators returned

eighty percent. The information received from the questionnaire served as a primary source to this issue under discussion. (See Appendix C for

the questionnaire and questions used during the field trip to Nigeria.)

255

256

Therefore, the objective of this chapter will be to supply ade­quate information to these statements under the hypotheses:

1. That some recognized and identifiable factors led Nigeria to involve and participate in international sport competitions.

2, That the involvement and participation of Nigeria in the

international sport competitions have significant contributions in the emerging nation of Nigeria.

3. That Nigeria is no longer following the original objectives

and factors that led her to participate in these modern sports at the

international levels.

4, That some problems facing international sport competitions

could be identified and solved.

Sub-Problem I: That some recognized and identifiable factors led

Nigeria to involve and participate in international sport competitions.

Sport is a universal phenomenon of our modern times and various reasons have been expressed for the staging and participating in vari­ous international sports competitions. Some nations and societies come to be known all over the world through the image of their sporting behaviors, or through their athletes' performances. These and other

factors have been established into the questionnaire form with short statements attached to them in order to facilitate systematic analysis

of available data.

The response elicited by the questionnaires proved to be quite

interesting. The respondents agreed that some of the factors listed in

257the questionnaire led Nigeria to participate in international sport competitions. This will be fully discussed in the chapter.

For the purpose of comparison of data collected, the responses of the athletes and coaches/administrators are compared by using fre­

quencies and percentages. The investigator believes that this approach will further make it easier for readers to understand the accepted fac­

tors that led Nigeria to participate in international sport competi­

tions. (See Tables 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40.)

International Understanding and Goodwill: Through participation in

international sport competitions, Nigeria develops, improves and

strangthens its international understanding and goodwill to all nations of the world.

From the beginning, varied reasons have been expressed for

organizing international competitions. Perhaps the most persistenttheme is the promotion of International understanding and goodwill

between competitors, officials and spectators from various nations.

This agrees with the opinion expressed by Vendien and Nixon who wrote:"Sports constitute a first Internationa language. The pur­pose of sending sport teams abroad is to Increase mutual understanding and strengthen international goodwill."^

The above statement would appear to be true because sports reveal not only the "nature of an Individual opponent, but also cul­

tural values and behaviors. Through them we learn about other peoples, how they live, what they eat, what they value, how they behave and what

they are as they are." Despite cultural mores, complex national

^C. Lynn Vendien and John Nixon, op. cit., p. 377.

258

sporting regulations and political differences that defied singular interpretations, and vigorous arguments during international competi­

tions, especially the Olympic and some regional games, standards con­tinue to increase, and the population of athletes and spectators continue to rise due to the fact that they promote cooperation, under­standing and goodwill between nations of the world.

No wonder then why Nigerian athletes, coaches/administrators accepted "international understanding and goodwill" as the number one factor that motivated Nigeria to participate in international sport

competitions. Seventy-five percent of the respondents strongly agreed to the statement under this factor while only 1.5% disagreed. Both the athletes and coaches ranked this factor very high. (See Tables 38 and 39.)

Education; Through international sport participation Nigeria provides great opportunities for all-round education of the athletes.

Sport is an Integral part of education. It permeates through the process of knowledge starting from learning simple rules of the com­petition to the complex art of coaching, administration, research and promoting international understanding. Education for international understanding is one of the most insistent requirements confronting modem civilization. In recent decades an unprecedented amount of thought and ideas have been given by developed and developing nations to the necessity of utilizing education through international sports as an instrument for national building and world peace. Education is the onlyeffective way to achieve these goals. Hopefully, it can be used readily through international sports and organizations.

259

TABLE 35

THE RESPONSES OF ATHLETES AND COACHES/ADMINISTRATORS BY FREQUENCIES

Factors SA A D SD U Total

International understanding and goodwill 102 31 2 1 136

Education 54 62 9 8 3 136

Propaganda 63 60 2 - 11 136Health 50 64 19 2 1 136Politics 25 55 49 4 3 136Culture 49 68 17 - 2 136Economy 66 55 8 - 7 136Patriotism 70 51 9 - 6 136Militarism 6 22 69 22 17 136

Festivals and ceremonies 58 58 12 1 7 136Democracy 45 58 14 2 17 136

Prestige 71 48 13 1 3 136

Amateurism 55 52 22 - 7 136

Winning medals 41 42 43 7 3 136

SA ■ Strongly Agree A * Agree D ■ Disagree SD « Strongly Disagree U • Undecided

260

TABLE 36

THE RESPONSES OF ATHLETES AND COACHES/ADMINISTRATORSBY FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE

SA A D SD UF % F % F % F % F %

International understanding and goodwill 102 75 31 22.8 2 1.5 1 .7

Education 54 39.7 62 45.6 9 6.6 8 5.8 3 2.3Propaganda 63 46.3 60 44.1 2 1.5 — — 11 8.1

Health 50 36.8 64 47.0 19 14.0 2 1.5 1 .7

Politics 25 18.4 55 40.4 49 36.0 4 2.9 3 2.3Culture 49 36.0 68 50.0 17 12.5 — — 2 1.5Economy 66 48.5 55 40.4 8 5.8 — — 7 5.1

Patriotism 70 51.5 51 37.5 9 6.6 — — 6 4.4

Militarism 6 4.4 22 16.2 69 50.7 22 16.2 17 12.5

Festivals and ceremonies 58 42.6 58 42.6 12 8.8 1 .7 7 5.1

Democracy 45 33.0 58 42.6 14 10.2 2 1.5 17 12.5Prestige 71 52.2 48 35.3 13 9.6 1 .7 3 2.3

Amateurism 55 40.4 52 38.2 22 16.2 — — 7 5.1

Winning medals 41 30.1 42 30.9 43 31.6 7 5.1 3 2.3

SA * Strongly Agree A •a Agree D ■ Disagree SD * Strongly Disagree U * Undecided

261

TABLE 37THE COMPARISON OF ATHLETES AND COACHES'/ADMINISTRATORS' RESPONSES BY FREQUENCY

SA A D SD U TotalFactors X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y XY

Int ernatIona1 unders tanding and goodwill 84 18 26 5 1 1 1 112 24 136

Education 50 4 44 18 8 1 7 1 3 - 112 24 136Propaganda 52 11 48 12 2 — — - 10 1 112 24 136Health 45 5 48 16 16 3 2 - 1 - 112 24 136Politics 22 3 51 4 33 16 3 1 1 3 112 24 136Culture 47 2 47 21 16 1 — - 2 - 112 24 136Economy 58 8 39 16 8 — — - 7 - 112 24 136Patriotism 53 17 44 7 9 — — - 6 - 112 24 136Militarism 6 - 19 3 55 14 16 6 16 1 112 24 136

Festivals and ceremonies 52 6 41 47 11 1 1 - 7 - 112 24 136

Democracy 41 4 41 17 12 2 2 - 16 1 112 24 136Prestige 58 13 40 8 12 1 1 - 2 1 112 24 136Amateurism 46 9 41 11 21 1 — - 4 3 112 24 136Winning medals 38 3 38 4 30 13 3 4 — - 112 24 136

X ■ AthletesY ■ Coaches/Administrators SA « Strongly Agree A ” Agree D “ Disagree

SD * Strongly Disagree U * Undecided

TABLE 38THE POSITIVE RESPONSES COMPARED WITH THE NEGATIVE RESPONSES BY FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE

Factors

Positive NegativeSA A Total D SD Total

F % F % F % F 1 F % F %International understanding and goodwill 102 75 31 22.8 133 97.8 2 1.5 — — 2 1.5Education 54 39.7 62 45.6 116 85.3 9 6.6 8 5.8 17 12.5Propaganda 63 46.3 60 40.1 123 90.4 2 1.5 — — 2 1.5Health 50 36.8 64 47.0 114 83.8 19 14,0 2 1.5 21 15.4Politics 25 18.4 55 40,4 80 58.8 49 36.0 4 2.9 53 38.9Culture 49 36.0 68 50.0 117 86.0 17 12.5 — — 17 12.5Economy 66 48.5 55 40.4 121 89.0 8 5.8 — 8 5.9Patriotism 70 51.5 51 37.5 121 89.0 9 6.6 — — 9 6.6Militarism 6 4.4 22 16.2 28 20.6 69 50.7 22 16.2 91 66.9Festivals and ceremonies 58 42.6 58 42.6 116 85.3 12 8.8 1 0.7 13 9.6Democracy 45 33.0 58 42.6 103 75.7 14 10.2 2 1.5 16 11.8Prestige 71 52.2 48 35.3 119 87.5 13 9.6 1 0.7 14 10.3Amateurism 55 4C.4 52 38.2 107 78.7 22 16.2 — — 22 16.2Winning medals 41 30.1 42 30.9 83 61.0 43 31.6 7 5.1 50 36.8

Positive responses =* Strongly Agree and Agree (SA + A) Negative responses * Disagree and Strongly Disagree (D + SD) SA ■ Strongly Agree A “ Agree D * Disagree SD ■ Strongly Disagree

262

TABLE 39THE COMPARISON OF ATHLETES AND COACHES'/ADMINISTRATORS'

POSITIVE RESPONSES BY FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE

'SA' Responses 'A’ Responses Total ResponsesX Y X Y XY

Factors F % F % F % F % F % Ranking

International understanding and goodwill 84 75.0 18 75.0 26 23.2 5 20.8 133 97.8 1stEducation 50 44.6 4 16.6 44 39.3 18 75.0 116 85.3 7 thPropaganda 52 46.4 11 45.3 48 42.9 12 50.0 123 90.4 2ndHealth 45 40.2 5 20.8 48 42.9 16 66.7 114 83.8 9thPolitics 22 19.6 3 2.5 51 45.3 4 16.6 80 58.8 13thCultures 47 42.0 2 8.3 47 42.0 21 87.5 117 86.0 6thEconomy 58 51.8 8 33.3 39 34.8 16 66.7 121 89.0 3rdPatriotism 53 47.3 17 70.8 44 39.3 7 29.1 121 89.0 3rdMilitarism 6 5.4 — — 19 17.0 3 12.5 28 20.6 14thFestivals and ceremonies 52 46.4 6 25.0 41 36.6 17 70.8 116 85.3 7 thDemocracy 41 36.6 4 16.6 41 36.6 17 70.8 103 75.7 10 thPrestige 58 51,8 13 54.2 40 35.7 8 33.3 119 87.5 5 thAmateurism 46 41.1 9 37.5 41 36.6 11 45.3 107 78.7 11thWinning medals 38 33.9 3 2.5 38 33.9 4 16.6 83 61.0 12th

X * Athletes (total 112)Y * Coaches/Administrators (total 24)SA » Strongly Agree „ .° J b Positive responsesA ■ AgreeRanking * Order of accepting the factors

263

TABLE 40THE COMPARISON OF ATHLETES AND COACHES'/ADMINISTRATORS'

NEGATIVE RESPONSES BY FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE

Factors

'D' Responses 1SD' Responses Total Responses

RankingX Y X Y XY

F % F % F % F X F %

International understanding and goodwill 1 0.9 1 4.2 2 1.5 13thEducation B 7.1 1 4.2 7 6.3 1 4.2 17 12.5 6thPropaganda 2 1.8 2 1.5 13thHealth 16 14.2 3 12.5 2 1.8 — — 21 15.4 5thPolitics 33 29.5 16 66.7 3 2.7 1 4.2 53 38.9 2ndCultures 16 14.2 1 4.2 17 12.5 6 thEconomy 8 7.1 8 5.9 12thPatriotism 9 8.0 9 6.6 11thMilitarism 55 49.1 14 58.3 16 14.2 6 25.0 91 66.9 1stFestivals and ceremonies 11 9.8 1 4.2 1 0.9 — — 13 9.6 10thDemocracy 12 10.7 2 8.3 2 1.8 — — 16 11.8 8thPrestige 12 10.7 1 4.2 1 0.9 — — 14 10.3 9 thAmateurism 21 18.8 1 4.2 22 16.2 4 thWinning medals 30 26.8 13 54.2 3 2.7 4 16.4 50 36.8 3rd

X * Athletes (total 1X2)Y » Coaches/administrators (total 24)SA ■ Strongly Agree A = Agree

Ranking * Order of rejecting the factors. *792

265International competitions, such as the Olympics, Commonwealth

Caines, All-African Games and World University Games are the splendidmeans Nigeria has been using to educate her youths. For example, oneNigerian athlete remarked:

Education through international sports is a whole, not in parts like what we learn in books and classrooms. It starts right when you are preparing for a competition and gets to the peak during competitions. It ends when you return home, and remains with you till you die.^

That statement was strongly supported by the responses received

from the questionnaires where 85% of the respondents supported the view

expressed under "Education", and only 12.5% did not. (See Table 38.) Bycomparing the responses of the athletes with coaches/administrators, theathletes supported the statement more than the coaches/administrators.They all ranked the factor 7th along with Festivals and Ceremonies.(See Table 39.)

Propaganda: By participating in international sport competitionNigeria's name is well known throughout the world.

International sports are sources of International and world­wide propaganda for many nations. In an age which has witnessed the rise and fall of totalitarian regimes, sports has long since become a means of propaganda and has therefore assumed a continually increasing political significance. This agrees with Alex Natan's writing which

reads:Today sport has become a propaganda weapon in world

affairs which through the incidence of inherent nationalist

2Personal interview with Titi Adeleke, Ibadan, August 18,1977.

266

instincts points the way and means to new methods of psychological warfare.3

Furthermore, international sports are often the only sources of

awareness of many nations and peoples to which the majority of general

public are exposed. Such events may also be the international aware­

ness sought by a majority of the citizenry. Those who do not have

strong opinions nor even interest in international relations, might well

know who is the strongest man, or fastest human or world boxing champion in the world.

Undoubtedly, international sports, apart from Nigeria's size,

position, and economic viability in Africa have exposed a majority of Nigerians to worldwide sports and have added to their international

awareness. This view was supported by the responses to the statement under propaganda as a factor that led Nigeria to take part in interna­

tional sports. Altogether, 123 (90.4%) out of 136 respondents accepted

it as a major factor. The factor was also ranked second in importance

to international understanding and goodwill, (See Tables 37 and 39*)

Health: Through active participation in international sport competi­

tion, the health and fitness of the participants are maintained.The use of sports as a means of checking and correcting a physi­

cal illness is not new in many societies. The Greeks were lovers of beauty. They projected fitness and health through sports. The present

rush to cut down weight to improve health through sports is the ideal

^Alex Natan, "Sports and Politics," Sport, Culture and Society, A Reading as Sociology of Sport, edited by John W. Loy and Gerald S. Kenyon, (London: Macmillan Company, 1969), p. 203.

267of the day. International sports undoubtedly have contributed to this

awareness. Vendien and Nixon once remarked that sports are used toimprove hygiene in developing countries. They further people's health.They produce mental health and physical strength. They are essentialphase of medical rehabilitation for physical and mental illnesses

4treated in government institutions.That statement appears to be true. Nigerian government and

educators are aware of the Importance of health and fitness in the

nation. Efforts have been made to use sports to achieve this through the National Sports Commission and States Sports Councils by Involving the youths in many competitive sports at local, national and interna­

tional levels. The athletes and coaches/administrators who were involved in this exercise supported the view expressed under 'health* with a total of 83.8%. That means that 114 of the total 136 respondents

supported the view. This factor Is ranked 9th out of 14 factors assembled for this purpose. (See Tables 38 and 39.)

Politics: Through the development and participation in internationalsport competitions Nigeria improves and develops its internal and exter­nal political ideology.

Sport is a pawn in this world of politics. Sports and politics are inseparable. National governments have from time to time used sports as a weapon to achieve their objectives. In the past, the Romans, the Nazis in Germany, and the totalitarian countries of Italy and the Communist Russia have used sports to indoctrinate their youths

4C. Lynn Vendien and John E. Nixon, op. cit., p. 47.

268

in their political ideologies. Politicians in Asia and Africa within the last decade have also used sports to achieve their goals. Recently, the People's Republic of China have successfully used the game of table tennis as a means of opening the "bamboo" gate that had shut

China away from the outside world for over two decades. Politics in

sport have kept South Africa and Rhodesia out of international sports.It is now threatening the unity of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Politics is already in sports. Sports provide many symbols

which lead people to identify themselves with certain political systems.

All countries have realized that athletes can be used as political

ambassadors of international goodwill, for sport has an international language which transcends linguistic, political and social barriers in

the world.^

Despite the fact that some nations sponsor international com­

petitions in their own country or send their national teams to other countries in order to aid the political propaganda effort of their government, the results of interviews and data collected showed that

politics is not a major factor that led Nigeria to take part in international sport competitions. Only 80 respondents (58.8%) out

of 136 who returned the questionnaire forms supported the view expressed under politics (Table 38). This factor was placed 13th on

the ranking table of the factors (Table 39).

5Bruce 1. Bennett et al., op. cit., p. 224.

269

Therefore, with the facts at hand, politics is shown not to be a strong factor among other factors that led to the development and

Nigeria's participation in international sport competition.

Cultures: Participation in international sport promotes intercul-tural understanding between Nigeria and other nations of the world.

International sport is primarily a cultural product and it Is

a medium for cultural exchange. In all human societies, rituals, festivals, dances, music, arts and sports do not only give pleasures but in addition provide outlets for creativity, reinforce the group identity and solidarity. Such activities also tie closely into social, religious, economic and other phases of life. International sport effects in Nigeria is without exception.

Cultural research has shown that there are certain com­mon denominators in all cultures, and has accorded the ways in which people are alike rather than those ways in which people differ. It has also shown that through international sport competitions the hard crust of conservatism that divides one people from another is at its weakest.^

Despite diverse cultural differences among the ethnic groups in Nigeria, the sports organizers and administrators have not faced with cultural problems, instead they use them to promote social inter­actions and national prestige during international sport meetings. During the previous Olympics, Commonwealth and All-Africa Games, Nigerians conspicuously displayed her rich cultures to the outside

^Warren R. Johnson and E. R. Buskirk, Science and Medicine of Exercise and Sports, (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1968),p. 437.

270world, not only during the inarch pasts but also in native costumes, art-work shows, and the use of talking drums. These things promoted

international understanding, aided athletic performances, and enter­tained the spectators.

The results of the data collected supported the view that cul­ture is a strong factor in the development and Nigeria's participation in international sports. Eighty-six percent (117 out of 136 respon­dents) supported it. It is also sixth on the list of accepted factors (Tables 35 and 39).

Economy: By hosting and organizing International sport competitionNigeria attracts tourists to the nation.

The use of international sports as a source of revenue for a nation has proved to be effective in both developed and developing nations. The love of watching international contests Is now popular. This has been done through the government control over public playing

grounds, selling of cultural materials and gambling.Nigeria’s modem sport complex stadium in Lagos has attracted

thousands of foreigners to the country. This also has led to Nigeria's hosting the second All-Africa Games, as well as a series of soccer, boxing and table tennis matches and ECOWAS Games in Lagos just between 1973 to 1977. A considerable amount of money has been realized through these exercises.

Through the experiences of the respondents in International con­

tests within and outside Nigeria, 89.0% (121 respondents out of 136) supported the view expressed under 'economy.' This makes this factor to

be the third popular factor on the list (Tables 38 and 39).

271Patriotism: Nigeria's participation in international sport competitionstimulates the spirit of patriotism in Nigerian youth.

Patriotism which is based on the love of one's own country or race is one of the strongest vehicles today in international sport com­petitions. Through participation in sports, athletes tend to develop a consciousness of belonging to their nation in spite of basic domestic problems at homeland. During top sport meetings with other races or nations, they have the tendency of developing new social patterns of

readiness "to do or die." It is a discipline that is extremely effec­tive for one's national ideology.

International sport competitions to Nigerians today is more than a sporting exhibition, a test of skill or strength, but a symbolic renewal

of the vital energies of a race or nation. International sport there­fore is undoubtedly a major factor that brings Nigeria together. Evi­dence of this can be seen from the results of the data where 51.5% of the respondents strongly supported the view expressed, while only 6.6% disagreed. In all 121 respondents supported 'patriotism' as a major factor that led Nigeria to take part in international sport competi­tions. This factor is also third on the list of accepted factor and eleventh on the rejecting list. (See Tables 38, 39, and 40 )

Militarismi Through international sport participation Nigeria Improves and promotes physical conditioning and fitness of the participants for possible future military service.

Compulsory school and mass sports participation can be used to train youths in military attitudes and physical conditioning for

272

military services. Some nations have maintained military forces through competitive sports to keep their political autonomy. The training of these forces include special and strict sporting programs. Thus involving the national government in youth programs for physical fitness and in readiness for future military service is a means to militarism.

In the history of Nigerian education and involvement in interna­

tional sports, there was no evidence in writing or orally to show that physical education or sport programmes were geared towards militarism. The evidence that this was true were the responses of the athletes and coaches/administrators to the statement under this factor. Only 20.5% sup­

ported the statement while 66.9% (91 respondents) rejected the factor. This factor is the least accepted of all the factors assembled for the study. (See Table 35 for the responses, and Tables 38, 39, 40 for the frequency and percentage tables for comparisons.)

Festivals and Ceremonies: By participating in International sport com­petitions, Nigeria increases its festivals and ceremonies in order to infuse nationalism and oneness in the youth.

Some governments have promoted sports and games through national festivals and ceremonies in order to achieve international

sport awareness, social order, and social stability in the youths. Nigerian government too is doing the same by increasing its sporting

festivals both at the local and national levels.The early Nigerian festivals and ceremonies were connected with

rituals, religions and seasons. The early sport-pioneers in Nigeria used these festivals and ceremonies effectively to initiate Nigerian youths to modem sports even during the "Empire Day" celebration era.

273

Today, sport finds itself at the crossroads. It now acts as magic and

magnet by attracting thousands to various sport festivals and ceremonies

organized and controlled by schools, colleges, Ministry of Education, clubs, associations, sports councils and universities. These sporting

activities at local, national and international levels have Increased

Nigerian sport festivals considerably. The most recent and popular of them all is the National Sports Festival which is organized every other

year purposely to infuse nationalism and oneness in the Nigerian youth.

The increased sporting festivals and ceremonies at local, national and international levels undoubtedly influenced the opinions

of the respondents to the statement credited to this factor in the ques­tionnaire. 85.3% supported the factor with only 9.6% on the negative

side. This factor was ranked seventh together with education in popu­larity. (See Tables 39 and 40.)

Democracy: Nigerians learn and practice behavioral patterns necessary to

the democratic process as well as gain in appreciation of the values of democracy through participation in international sports.

Sport has been advanced as an activity which knows no boundaries

of race, religion or politics. This is an idealistic view which has

taken some hard knocks, yet there have been significant achievements.

Some inroads have been made against racial discrimination in sport and

against national superiority mainly to promote healthy democracy in sports and wise peaceful internationalism.

It is popularly accepted among Nigerian sport lovers that one can change the world of tomorrow by molding the boys and girls of today with democratic ideals through sports. This is true because Nigeria is

274a democratic society. The traces of true democracy still exist in the

culture and tradition of the people. These are practices not only in the extended family^ system of the society but also in modern sports.

In order to stimulate this further, Nigerian leaders have been dili­gently working for the past decade through the Sports Councils,

National Sports Commission, and Supreme Council for Sports in Africa to propagate the true spirit of democracy in sports and also remove unnec­essary bias against any colour or race In international sports. The

significance of this bold approach is that both the coaches and sports

administrators in Nigeria are using the umbrella of true amateur inter­

national sports to promote true democracy among the youths of the world.

The concept of democracy was well accepted by the respondents

with 75.7%. It was however, more highly supported by the majority of

athletes rather than the coaches. The respondents placed this factor

tenth on the ranking list. (See Tables 35, 38, and 39.)

Prestige: Nigeria is recognized as an independent nation and its opin­

ion respected through its involvement in International sport competition.Organizing or taking part in international sport competitions is

regarded as a high prestige. Some nations sponsor international sport competitions in their own country, or send their national teams to other

countries for prestige purposes. For example, not all nations in the

^Extended family in Nigeria is more than the artificial or physical connections between parents, brother and sister, or nephews but it is a tradition of democracy which connects generations and is the grassroots of each family and the nation. So, the function of the extended family covers the satisfaction of physical, social, moral, political and financial needs of each member of the family within the community. The philosophy of extended family rests on the principle of equality, fraternity and patriotism.

275world can host the Olympic Games or even All-Africa Games. Despite the

cost and inconveniences of hosting these games, some nations would still

be canvassing for votes from member nations in order to host the games. They do this because of the prestige behind hosting the games. Like­

wise, Nigeria was very proud to be the first black nation to represent Africa in the Commonwealth Games and the first black nation to win a

gold medal which was in the high jump event. These little things added

prestige to the young nation.

Further still, prestige in international competitions is winning more gold medals. If a nation can win more gold medals than other

countries or be a victor in one popular sport like soccer, basketball,

or volleyball, the achievement and attendant publicity is regarded a valuable asset to the total prestige of that country in the eyes of other nations.

Nigeria within a decade has organized and hosted many interna­

tional competitions. The biggest of all the games it hosted was the

Second All-Africa Games which undoubtedly added a prestige to the nation.

Furthermore, the voice of Nigeria is heard and respected In

many countries all over the world not only because she has produced two

world boxing champions of the world class but because she consistently

calls the attention of the developed nations to racism in sports.

The athletes, coaches and administrators in Nigeria who have participated and are still active in international sports know the pre­

sent status of Nigeria in the world of sports. It is no wonder that

"prestige" was rated fifth with a score of 87.5% among other factors

276

listed in the questionnaire. Seventy-one respondents rated it very high while only 13 disagreed with the factor. (See Tables 35 and 39.)

Amateurism: Nigeria athletes develop the true spirit of amateurism

through participation in international sport competition.

The distinction between amateurism and professionalism in sport has been a matter of great controversy. The international body con­trolling sports has yet to come up with a true definition of each which will be acceptable by all nations. "Amateur and professional athletics around the world are governed by a maze of complex laws and regulations,

gmany of which defy reason." As far as Nigeria is concerned, profes­sional sport is yet to be popular. A majority of the athletes are amateurs. Amateur here is defined as:

An amateur is one who participates and always has participated in sport solely for pleasure and for the physical and mental benefits he derives therefrom, and to whom participation in sport is nothing more than recreation without material gain of any kind, direct or indirect. In addition, he must comply with the rules of the International Federation concerned.9

That concept of sport is still followed in the country. Mem­bers of teams learn about cooperation and group loyalty, and sometimes these are stronger than the competitive spirit. Above all, through international sports, Nigerian athletes are made to know that they are true amateurs and they are ambassadors of their state, and Nigeria as a whole. Amateurs in sports are expected to obey the code of sport ethics and other concomitant laws associated with sports. Therefore, the concept of amateurism in Nigeria is very strong. No wonder then,

gBruce L. Bennett et al., op. cit., p. 160.

qIbid., p. 155. Also rule 26 of the 10C regulations.

277why 78.7% of the respondents accepted the statement under amateurism as one of the factors that motivated Nigeria to involve in international sport competition. Only 16.2% disagreed with the statement making the factor eleventh popular when ranked with other factors. (See Tables 36 and 39.)

Winning of Medals: By participating in international sport competition,Nigerians accumulate medals in order to show its strength and poten­tiality to other nations.

Winning of medals or trophies in international competition has been a strong factor that led some nations to compete actively in international sports. "National prestige can be enhanced by victories

in international sporting arena, for each performance reflects a nation's image and consequently, each success may increase national vitality, strength, and development."^ Some nations even go further to say that the triumph of their athletes in international competitions by winning more medals is a proof of their political superiority. To some nations still, the successes in international sport competitions reflect the nation's image, so do defeats, and when an athlete or a

team loses, it is not just a personal loss, but rather a national tragedy.

Winning of medals is very important. It is a motivating factor, and it is one of the goals one is expected to achieve during competi­tions. As far as Nigeria is concerned, winning is a secondary factor.

This is supported with the responses from a majority of the respondents

^Bruce L. Bennett et al., op. cit., p. 222.

278

to the statement credited to this factor. Only 30.1% strongly agree

with the statement while 31.6% disagreed. However, with 83 respondents supporting this factor, it is ranked twelfth with 61% behind politics and militarism. (See Tables 38 and 39.) It is surprising that the

coaches/administrators did not accept this as a major factor because

they rejected it with a total of 70.6% to 29.5% for the athletes.

(See Table 40.) This factor cannot be accepted as a popular factor.

In conclusion, the recognized factors that led Nigeria to

involve and participate in international sport competitions are,

(1) international understanding and goodwill, (2) propaganda, (3) eco­nomy, (4) patriotism, (5) prestige, (6) cultures, (7) festivals and

ceremonies, (8) education, (9) health, and (10) democracy. Others that could be included are (11) amateurism and winning medals. There was

not enough evidence to support politics and militarism as major factors that led Nigeria to participate in international sport competition.

The above conclusion was based on facts collected from few

available related literatures, interviews and questionnaires.

Sub-Problem II: That the development of Nigeria’s participation In

International sport competitions has significant contributions on the

emerging nation of Nigeria.The scope of international sport competition has expanded

rapidly throughout the nation since the exposure of athletes and sports officials to the Commonwealth and the Olympic Games in 1950 and 1952

respectively. Since then, many Nigerians have participated in many

national and international sport competions both at home and abroad.

279A majority of Nigerians through these participations have realized the true perspectives and virtues of participating in and organizing inter­national sports.

The assumed virtues of international sports participations are

so familiar and so widely believed that it may seem unnecessary to use

any formal procedures to reveal the substantive content of these vir­

tues. However, if a research effort is to be remotely defensible as

objective and perhaps scientific, it is never sufficient for a

researcher to rely upon his own a priori perspectives and assumptions about the data he uses, no matter how generally known. Under Sub-

Problem I, facts collected from the questionnaires, interviews and related literatures were used to detect the major factors that led Nigeria to participate in international sport competitions. Under this Sub-Problem II, the facts collected from the respondents through per­

sonal interviews and dialogues supported with some related literatures

will be used to determine the effects of Nigeria's participation in international sport competition.

The various virtues expressed by the respondents can be

broadly identified under these categories:1. That international sport participation builds character

of the Nigerian youths.2. That international sport participation is conducive to the

physical fitness of the nation.

3. That international sport participation promotes national

unity.

2804. That international sport participation stimulates the

interest of the Federal Government of Nigeria by supporting national and international sport programs.

5. That international sport participation has positive effects on Nigeria’s prestige and image at home and abroad.

(1) That international sport participation builds character of the Nigerian youth: Many people considered the sport environment a parti­cularly favorable arena for the development of ethical meaning due to its well established rules, sanctions and discernible roles and pat­terns of interactions. The concept probably gains prominence among many people because sport is a very large element of the society.Thus, it was assumed that it should have a heavy impact on the per­sonality development and other ethical behaviors of many people.Edwards too had the same belief when he wrote:

Sport is a vital character builder. It molds the youth of our country for their roles as custodians of the republic. It teaches them to be strong enough to know they are weak, and brave enough to face themselves when they are afraid. It teaches them to be proud and unbending in honest defeat but humble and gentle in victory . . . It gives them a predomi­nance of courage over timidity, of appetite for adventure over love of ease. Fathers and mothers who would make their sons into men should have them participate in sport.

The above probably agrees with the general beliefs of many athletes and other sport consumers in Nigeria that international sports participation builds character of Nigerian youths. One example is the opinion expressed by Adeyemi, one of the Nigerian devoted athletes of

^Harry Edwards, Sociology of Sports, (Homewood, Illinois, The Dorsey Press, 1973), pp. 84-103.

281the 1960's who is the chairman of Ondo Volleyball Association and head

of Department of Physical Education, Adeyemi College, Ondo. Adeyemi observed that:

. . . International sport has given Nigeria an awareness of its relationship with the world community through international interaction through sports . . . It has also triggered ethical behaviors based on a sense of moral and spiritual values which regular contacts and association of Nigeria with other cultures had evolved . . . 12

Titi Adeleke who was once the fastest woman in Africa in the

1960's and who is now a devoted athletic coach at Ibadan expressed the same view by saying that:

International sports help to promote a happier and more cohesive and cooperative type of group living. They help to promote sportsmanship, and fair play . . . They promote health­ful habits of the youths. They build and promote ethical behaviors that are very essential in this age of Nigeria'ssports revolution,

Finally, Anike, one of the female outstanding athletes that

Nigerian universities have produced in recent years, also expressed

similar opinion but In a more comprehensive language when she wrote before her wedding in July, 1977:

International sport competitions without any doubt and hesitation have infused into the young boys and girls of this nation with a respect for bodily excellence and a desire to attain it. They have supplied a new and effective motive for resisting all sins which weaken and corrupt the body and the nation. They have quickened admiration for such manly qualities as courage, fortitude, and presence of mind in emergencies and under difficulties. They have cultivated in a few athletes the habit of command, and in many the habit of quick obedience and intelligent subordination. Finally, they have set before us

12Personal interview with Ben Adeyemi, Ondo, August 28, 1977.13Personal Interview with Titi Adeleke, Ibadan, August 22,

1977.

282prizes and distinctions which are uncontaminated by any com­mercial values, and which no one can win who does not possess much perseverance and self-control in addition to rare body endowments and prestige.

The above show the popularity of international sport participa­tion upon character development in Nigeria according to the virtues

expressed. However, since there is no previous studies in this area in Nigeria, the judgement here is that available information is inconclu­

sive on the claim that Nigeria's participation in international sport

competition builds character. Some writers will not support the above

sport creeds expressed by the respondents. They believed that interna­tional sport literatures have no definition of good character and that

the great emphasis now laid on winning has de-emphasized the notion that

sports builds good character. In fact, John Tunis termed all the sports

creeds a sport myth. For example, Tunis wrote:

The great sport myth . . . is a fiction sustained and builtup by . . . the news-gatherers and other professional sportuplifters . . . who tell us that competitive sport is health- giving, character-building, brain-making and so forth . . . They imply more or less directly that its exponents are heroes, pos­sessed of none but the highest or moral qualities; tempted and steeled in the great white heat of competition; purified and made holy by their devotion to . . . sport. Thanks to (coaches and sports writers), there has grown up in the public mind an exaggerated and sentimental notion of the moral value of great, competitive sport speeches . . .

Why not stop talking about the noble purposes which sportsfulfill and take them for what they are? . . . In short let uscease the elevation of sport to the level of a religion . . . ^

14Personal Interview with Rachel Anike, July 8, 1977, atIbadan.

John Tunis, Sport, (New York: John Day Publishers, 1928),p. 24, quoted by Harry Edwards in Sociology of Sports, (Homewood, Illinois: The Corsey Press, 1973), p. 317.

283As far as Nigeria is concerned, the existing data are not suf­

ficient to warrant the assertion that international sport participation is detrimental to the development of good character.

(2) That international sport participation is conducive to the

development of the physical fitness of the nation: It Is a popular con­ception in Nigeria that international sport participation promotes physical fitness of Nigerian youths especially those who are in active

sport services. Physical fitness is a frequently discussed subject throughout the world but the term Is an elusive one to define objec­tively. Much interest in physical fitness in Nigeria has been sparked by the various comparative physical fitness tests that have been adminis­

tered in different parts of the world. Few of the tests have been given to the athletes or used in secondary schools in the country. From the above it is therefore clear why some athletes who had been exposed to such studies expressed strong views that international sports participa­tion improves physical fitness of the nation.

One sport administrator who expressed that view was Babalola of

the National Sports Commission Lagos who pointed out that international sport competition has positive effects on the emerging nation of Nigeria in that it promotes physical fitness and healthy habits of the partici­pants. He further emphasized that it provides the participants a

variety of recreational opportunities.^One top Nigerian athlete that had the same concept was Oloyede,

an International volleyball player, who said that "participation in

^Dialogue with A. 0. Babalola, Lagos, July 18, 1977.

284international sports included the promotion of health and physical fit­ness of the Nigerian y o u t h s . M a n y other athletes have a similar con­cept. But looking through the real definition of physical fitness as expressed by experts, it may be difficult to agree with the concept that

international sports participation alone develop total fitness. For

example, Mathews pointed out that physical fitness is exact in its meaning, indicating to us specific components we might measure to

reflect a person’s fitness status. The sensible organic ingredients of physical fitness include muscular strength, muscular encurance, muscu­lar power, muscular flexibility, cardiovascular or cardio-respiratory

18fitness, and neuromuscular coordination.

Bucher defines physical fitness in another way. For example, hewrote:

Physical fitness is the ability of a person to live a full and balanced existence. The total fit person possesses physi­cal well being but also such qualities as good human relations, maturity and high ethical standards. He also satisfies such basic needs as love, affection, security and self-respect. In addition he possesses soundness of such body organs as the heart and lungs, a human mechanism that performs efficient under exercise or work conditions such as having sufficient stamina and strength to engage in vigorous physical activity, and a reasonable measure of skill in the performance of selected physical activity.^

Leke Oloyede, personal interview on July 11, 1977, at Ife. Oloyede has represented Nigeria in many international volleyball com­petitions. He was formally a coach at Lagos Sports Council before he went to Ife University.

18Donald K. Mathews, Measurement in Physical Education, (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1973), pp. 4-5.

19Charles A. Bucher, Foundations of Physical Education, 4th ed. (Saint Louis: The C. V. Mosby Company, 1964), pp. 107-109.

285If the above definitions are accepted, it shows clearly that it

may be difficult to find one with the perfect fitness* The same degree of physical fitness will not be the same for everyone. Physical fitness

cannot be considered by itself, but instead as it is affected by mental,

emotional, and social factors as well. However, because man functions as a whole and not as segmented parts, the virtue expressed about physi­

cal fitness by the respondents cannot be totally ignored. On the other hand, it should be noted that motor fitness which appeared to underlie the responses of the athletes interviewed cannot be synonymous with the total fitness. Therefore, the assumptions that international sport pro­

motes physical fitness cannot be read to mean total fitness.

(3) That international sport participation promotes national unity:Sports and games are a mirror of the society that fosters them since

they provide a touchstone for understanding how people live, work and

think. They may even serve as a barometer of a nation's progress and 20civilization. The above agrees with what operates in Nigeria today

and which was expressed by some respondents about the significant

effects of international sport competition on Nigeria generally.For example, Ronke Akindele pointed out that "international

sport undoubtedly promotes Nigeria’s oneness at home and prestige 21abroad . . . " Olukokun expressed the idea in a similar manner when

20F. Cozens and F. S. Stumpf, Sports in American Life,(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953), p. 2.

21Ronke Akindele personal interview, Ibadan on August 22, 1977. Miss Akindele was the fastest woman in Africa in the late 1960’s. She represented the nation in many international contests. She is now a devoted athletic coach at Ibadan.

286

he said, "International sport participation has played an important part

in the development of Nigeria by providing new trends in togethernessbetween tribes, ethnic groups, socio-economic levels, religions, cotnpe-

22titors and non-competitors. Another sports administrator said that,"international sports generally contribute to Nigeria’s national unity.They promote the fusion of ethnic groups during sports competitions andfestivals and they are used to promote national understanding and

23unity."" His concept was also supported by Abioye, the chairman of Volleyball Association, Oyo State and lecturer/coach at University of

Ife. He pointed out that:

International sport has positive effects on the emerging nation of Nigeria. It provides the participants with a variety of national and international experiences. It exposes the Nigerian youths to the rich cultures of other nations which undoubtedly are essential for international understanding. Furthermore, it promotes togetherness and oneness of Nigerian ethnic groups during national and international competitions and festivals.

The researcher agrees with the opinion expressed above. Apart from the cultural shows and festivals, there is no doubt that interna­tional sport competition and national sports festivals have strong positive effects on the nation. For example, before the introduction of

modern sports and international sports competitions in Nigeria, there

22Dialogue with Olukokun, Ibadan, August 27, 1977. Olukokun is a physical educator, now is sports coach at Ibadan,

23Personal Interview with P. A. Oyedotun, Ibadan, August 29,1977. Hr. Oyedotun is now an Inspector of Physical Education in OyoState of Nigeria.

24Personal interview with J. A. Abioye, Ife, July 15, 1977.Mr. Abioye is the chairman of Oyo State Volleyball Association, thenational volleyball coach for the nation, and a lecturer/coach at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

287was no serious signs of oneness, togetherness and national unity among

the many ethnic groups that lived within the geographical framework of

the nation as they are at present. However, the researcher perceived that the virtues expressed by the respondents may be more popular with

many athletes, sports administrators and coaches than non-athletes.

Further studies may be necessary to find out the degree of the positive

effects of the virtues that were expressed.

(6) That international sports competition provides stimulus to the

Government of Nigeria: There is no doubt that Nigeria is undergoing a

modern sport revolution. Priorities are being recorded in areas of

coaching, facility improvement, and in mass sports participation at national and international levels. There were increases and interests in national and international sports festivals. Thousands of Nigerian

youths now participate more fully than ever before in native and

modern sport competitions. Some games like cricket and lawn tennis which had been sports of the classes finally appear to have reached the

masses. The games of soccer, athletics, boxing, swimming, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, judo and handball now have more fol­lowers than before. Sports are no more controlled by the army, police,

commercial firms and government colleges. They have gone beyond big

cities. They are popular all over the country. The main reason for the

increased interests and for the increased mass sports participation in

recent years can be attributed to the great stimulus that international sport competition has provided which eventually led to the Federal

288

Government’s direct involvement in sports. For example, Omilabu com­

menting on the same said:

One of the greatest effects and outcomes of Nigeria's participation in international sport competition has been the stimulus that sport has given to the Federal Government of Nigeria in promoting sports at national and international levels. The Federal Government is now committed to improve sports facilities all over the nation because of the mass 25 sports participation and for effective use of leisure time.

A similar opinion was expressed by Williams who said: "Inter­

national sports have had a far reaching influence on organization of sports throughout Nigeria. It has encouraged the Government’s intro­duction of various league competitions and the national sports festi-

26vals through the activities of the Sports Councils and Commission."

The above views are true because of the interest the States and the Federal Government have shown in sports. This perhaps agrees with

what Bennett and others expressed:

Sport programs are often viewed as vehicles for socializa­tion whereby certain social goals can be established, social interaction between individuals and groups can be effected, ^ and models or examples for the rest of society are visible.

Historically, the true involvement of the Nigeria government in

sports promotion started in the 1960's which led to the establishment of

Sports Councils and the building of stadia at the administrative

25A personal interview with Jide Omilabu, Ibadan, August 27, 1977. Mr. Omilabu is in charge of volleyball promotion in Ibadan.

26S. 0. Williams, personal interview on July 7, 1977.Mr. Williams is the Secretary for the Amateur Athletic Association of Nigeria at National Sports Commission Office, Lagos.

27Bruce L. Bennett, M. Howell, and U. Simri, Comparative Physical Education and Sport (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1975),p. 220.

289headquarters throughout the country. This again, in 1973 was followed

up by the establishment of the National Sports Commission by decree number 34. The significance of government direct involvement in sports has a far reaching effect than the virtues already quoted above. It has brought to light the dearth of sport administration and management personnel in the country. For example, Akioye, a physical educator and the director of National Sports Commission summarized the problem by

writing:. . . We are all aware of the increase in the number of sports councils in the country from four in 1960*s to twelve in early 1970's and now nineteen. These increases have constituted a great challenge to our profession, to the universities and to our government. Today, at Sports Commission and Sports Councils the country needs a minimum of 20 Directors, 400 National and States coaches, 400 organizing secretaries, a highly qualified team of administrative staff, 20 stadium managers, 400 Sports Medical Doctors, and their team of para-medical personnels made up of nurses, physio-therapists and masseurs . . . 2 8

The second significant effect Is associated to lack of modern facilities to meet the needs of the sports consumers in the country. This again can be supported with what Onyeamisi and Hughes wrote in the Sunday Sketch:

. . . In spite of Nigeria's achievement In international sport competitions, it is admissible that Nigeria presently lacks the basic facilities for meaningful sports development. In fact, we can say without fear of contradiction that in spite of her much vaunted oil wealth and overwhelming status as the biggest country In Africa, Nigeria is yet to hold her head above water in different spheres of international sports due to shortage of facilities . . .

28I. A. Akioye, "Presidential Address to Nigerian Association for Physical Health Education and Recreation," The JONAFHER (Journal of the Nigerian Association of Physical Health Education and Recreation), 1 (March, 1977), pp. 15-18.

290The country presently has very fev modern and well equipped

playgrounds, and gymnasiums, apart from the ultra-modern National Stadium complex in Surulere, Lagos, Ahmadu-Bello stadium Kaduna, Liberty stadium, Ibadan, and possibly Ogbe stadium in Benin and the newly completed Calabar sports stadium, there is hardly any other sports stadium of acceptable modern standards in other parts of the Federation . . . The same thing applies to swimming pools and other component factors which incidentally are few and far between. This is not very encouraging . . . ^9

The foregoing statement shows that despite the stimulus inter­national sport has provided, it has also provided some problems to sports consumers and sports administrators of the country in the major areas of personnel and facilities. The solution to the problems will be discussed in the next chapter.

(4) That international sport competition has positive effects on Nigeria’s prestige and image at home and abroad: Man has taken part insports and games for many reasons, such as for fun, recreation, self- expression, health, exercise, competition, money or for other reasons not readily discernible. However, since sports have been interna­tionalized through the various continental and regional sports compe­titions, many nations compete in these games purposely for national and international prestige, national identification and for other national­istic purposes. This assertion can be supported with what Bennett and others wrote that, "as successes reflect a nation’s image, so do

defeats, and when an athlete or a team loses in international competi-30tion, it is not just a personal loss, but rather, a national tragedy."

29Matthew Onyeanisi and Hughes Egwuatu, "Development of Sports in Nigeria and its Future Prospects," Sunday Sketch, May 29, 1977, p. 14.

30Bruce L. Bennett et al., op. clt., p. 223.

291Little was known about Nigeria by many nations until after the

exposure of Nigerians to the Commonwealth and the Olympic Games in 1950 and 1952 respectively, and to other regional competitions in later years such as the All-Africa Games, West African Games, World Soccer

series and the World University Games. The true participation of Nigeria's athletes in these games were more than participation for fun, exercise, recreation or money. Nigeria's participation actually con­tributed to its national prestige and image at home and abroad. The above can be supported with the concept expressed by Udoh when he pointed out:

If there is anything a nation, particularly a developing one wants and cherishes most, it is knowing that it could stand on equal footing with other nations not withstanding their developmental stage. Nigeria's participation in the interna­tional sports has done just that. Nigeria has not won manyoutstanding honors in the international sport, but the friend­ship and goodwill which its sportsmen, sportswomen and sportsadministrators have won are worth the investments which Nigeria has made in international sports.

Odelusi, a top Nigerian sprinter expressed the same opinion ina similar language when he pointed out that "international sport is oneof the events that exposed Nigeria to all countries of the world. Itis again through it that Nigeria's culture, people, prestige and social

32settings are known by many people and many nations."

31Personal interview with C. 0. Udoh on August 15, 1977, at Ibadan. Hr. Udoh is a coach/lecturer at the University of Ibadan.

32Personal interview with 0. Odelusi, Ife, August 30, 1977.Mr. Odelusi is a physical educator and a sprinter that has represented the nation in many international contests.

292

Another athlete who held to the same concept was Juba who said:

International sports provide a common basis for national understanding between sportsmen and women from different parts of the world. They also provide positive experiences for Nigeria's competitors as well as avenues for the projection of National identity. There is no doubt that Nigeria is well known today more than before because of her participation in some major international sports competitions. International sports participation has contributed to Nigeria's image and prestige at home and all over the world.33

Other athletes too have the same concept like others already quoted. For example, Ronke indicated that "international sports

3 4

undoubtedly promote Nigeria's oneness at home and prestige abroad."Mebawonduye, another top athlete pointed out that, among the many

effects of international sports competitions on Nigeria are its posi-35tive effects on Nigeria's image and prestige outside the country.

The opinion expressed by these respondents can be supported by

the statement of the director of the National Sport Commission:

As a professional, I appreciate the Olympic Games, Common­wealth Games, the World Cup, the All-Africa Games, the Nigeria Sports Festivals, the Challenge Cup, as fascinating social institutions for winning medals. But they mean more than that . . . The games are for national prestige. They are also the summits for measuring or testing the biological specimens in each nation, country, state or family . . . ^6

33Personal interview with 0. Juba, Ife. August 30, 1977. Juba is a talented athlete. He has represented the nation in many interna­tional sport competitions in track and field events. Juba is a coach/ lecturer at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

34Ronke Akindele, personal interview, Ibadan, August 22, 1977.35Personal interview with F. Mebawonduye, August 12, 1977.36I. A. Akioye, op. cit., pp. 17-18.

293The investigator supports the popular beliefs that international

sport competition has positive effects in projecting Nigeria's image and

prestige at home and abroad because the facts expressed are enough to support the virtue assumed. However future studies may be needed on the

virtue in order to determine the degree of its popularity in Nigeria.

Other Effects: Some other effects expressed that fall outside the cate­

gories already discussed are related to recreational opportunities and

exposure to the rich culture of other countries. For example,

Mebawonduye indicated that "international sports participation provides

opportunities for recreation for both the athletes and thousands of37Nigeria sports consumers." This is true because there are many oppor­

tunities in Nigeria today to participate or to watch various sport com­

petitions not only at the sport centres but at the recreational centres.A second effect was given by Williams who indicated that "inter­

national sport competitions showed the Nigeria's true talents, abilities38and weaknesses." Babalola also pointed out that "international sports

participation exposes Nigerian youths to the rich cultures of other

nations which undoubtedly are essential for international under- 39standing." Adeyeml added another concept to the above when he said:

International sports participation exposes Nigerians to human values and for the beliefs of other nations particu­larly about the apartheid in sports . . . Furthermore, through

37Personal interview with Mebawonduye, Ife, August 12, 1977.38Personal interview with S. 0. Williams, Lagos, July 7, 1977.39Personal interview with A. 0. Babalola, Lagos, July 18, 1977.

294the help of international sports participation, there have been effective work habits towards better coaching and performances which have been generated in the coaches and athletes through participation in, and with other advanced nations of the world.^0

It is true that Nigeria's participation in international sports

competition has positive effects on the nation. This concept has been

supported by available data collected from personal recorded interviews and dialogues from athletes, coaches and sport administrators. How­ever, since few Nigerians participate In international sport competi­

tions, and only very few of them expressed their views about the effects of international sports participation on the nation, the researcher's

judgment on the virtues expressed is inconclusive. On the other hand,

the available data are not sufficient for the researcher to reject the assertions made on the positive effects of International sports parti­

cipation on Nigeria. Further studies will be needed on this issue to

clear the doubts and misconceptions that might have been developed,

Sub-Problem III: That Nigeria is no longer following the objectives

and factors that led her to participate in these modern sports at the

International levels.Since there is no previous study and not enough sources on this

problem under survey, it Is difficult to assert that Nigeria is no

longer following the objectives and factors that led her to become involved in and participate in modern sports.

The few facts collected by the investigator through personal

interviews, questionnaires and available records indicated that Nigeria

40Personal interview with Ben. Adeyemi, Ife, August 22, 1977.

295has not deviated from her original objectives and factors that moti­

vated her to participate in these modern sports. These factors and objectives have been enumerated and explained fully in the earlier sec­tions of this study.

Further studies will be necessary on this problem in order to collect more facts and up-to-date data from larger samples in Nigeria than hitherto done.

Sub-Problem IV: That some problems facing international sport competi­tions in Nigeria could be identified and solved.

Various problems exist in international sports participation

today. Some of these problems are common in areas of facilities, per­

sonnel, finance, politics, apartheid in sports, amateur-professional

concepts and administration. However, more problems are found in developing nations than the developed ones. Nigeria is a developing

country. Sports concepts are just gaining more grounds. International sports are organized not for fun or recreation but for prestige, inter­

national understanding and for national unity. More and more problems creep out daily in the organization and administration of international

sports. Some persistent problems that were recognized and that were frequently mentioned by many sports lovers and consumers in the nation are listed below:

1. The shortage of adequate and modern sport facilities.

2. Lack of enough qualified and competent sport administrators,

coaches and applied personnel of all categories.

2963. Shortage of modern and adequate sport equipment for training

and for competition against top competitions.A. Lack of research into Nigeria's sports programs which can

be used to enrich international sport programs.

5. Insufficient budget to run sport programs at national and international levels.

6 . Lack of sound philosophy in the utilization of Nigeria's human resources in planning for future participation in international

sports.

1. The shortage of adequate and modern sport facilities: Sport facili­

ties play a vital role in the development and organization of sports in any developed or developing countries. Where the facilities are avail­able in a very large quality and are evenly distributed throughout the country, it is assumed that they will enhance and facilitate the promo­

tion and development of modern sports under effective sports programs.

On the contrary, a great problem is posed to the coaches and sport organizers.

During the periods of investigation in Nigeria, the author was

able to find out that one of the greatest problems confronting Nigeria’s

participation in international sports lies in inadequate facilities.

Apart from the ultra-modern National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, Ahmadu Bello Stadium at Kaduna, the Liberty Stadium at Ibadan, Ogbe Stadium at

Benin, and a newly completed Calabar Sports Stadium at Calabar, there is

hardly any other sports stadium in Nigeria of acceptable standards.

297In fact, the same thing applies to swimming pools and other component

facilities essential in the stadium and swimming pools.

Historically, Western Region was the first to build an all­purpose stadium called Liberty Stadium at Ibadan. The stadium was

opened on September 30, 1960. Then, the stadium was the best stadium in Africa south of Sahara except South Africa with accommodation for

over 50,000 spectators. Other stadia were built in the 1960's in the Regional capitals such as the Ahmadu Bello Stadium at Kaduna by the Northern Regional Government with accommodation for over 50,000 specta­

tors and then the Ogbe Stadium at Benin City with a seating capacity of

over 20,000 people. In 1973 this was followed with the building of

National Stadium popularly known as the 'Sport City' at the Federal

capital in Lagos with the seating capacity of about 100,000 spectators.

This stadium Is the most complex, most modern and most costly of all

the stadia in Africa south of the Sahara. The stadium was purposely

built to host the Second All-Africa Games. These stadia were built

purposely to promote the games of soccer, track and field, field hockey, basketball, volleyball, netball and cricket. Since then, there has

been no serious effort to build and increase Nigeria’s sports facilities to meet the needs of the sports consumers both at national and interna­

tional levels.At the university level, only the University of Ife has a com­

pleted stadium with about 15,000 seating capacity. There is no college

or secondary school with any sport stadium or an acceptable sport field

to promote international sport competitions. There is no single field-

house or covered sport field for all the year round training and

298practice in the hot tropical climate. Furthermore, the whole nation has less than five Olympic size swimming pools and less than four well equipped gymnasia.

A good facility is not necessarily a big one. The nation needs a new approach to facility construction and maintenance. Gone are the

days when clubs and sporting bodies owned and controlled sport facili­

ties. The local, state and federal government should come to the lime­light of facility improvement before it is too late, so that all the

big cities and universities in the country can have modem sport facili­

ties of acceptable standards. These will help them to have bold inter­

national sport programs. The suggestion of the government in facility

improvement agrees with what Bennett and others wrote:

The construction and maintenance of the ever-growing number of facilities is a substantial financial burden which has led to the involvement of different levels of government in this area. Practically gone are the days when clubs owned a majority of the sport facilities . . .

Of the different government levels, local government car­ries more responsibility for sport facilities than the national government. National governments are responsible primarily in the Communist and developing countries. Japan is the only developed country in which the national government plays a sig­nificant role in the construction and maintenance of sport facilities. In 1969 alone the Japanese national government contributed funds for the improvement of about 1,000 sport facilities throughout the country. In Greece the national government, through its Secretariat for Sports, also plays a major part . . . Local government carries the major respon­sibility for the construction and maintenance of sport areas in countries like Australia, Canada, Finland, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Taiwan, Uruguay, and West Germany . . . ^

In order for the government to do effective job in this area, a

separate body within the NSC should be established to work

41Bruce L. Bennett et al., op. cit., pp. 123-124.

299cooperatively with the National Sports Commission and the States Sports Councils. Before the above suggestion is accepted, the researcher will suggest a critical study on the issue in and outside the country.

2. Lack of enough qualified and competent sport administrators, coaches, and applied personnel of all categories: In an age when thevalue of sports to the individual, the community, and the nation is increasingly being recognized and when, also, the business of sports has become a highly competitive and highly technical area of human

endeavour, only those nations which treat sports as an affair more than the ordinary and plan for its continuous development at all levels can hope to reap the best of the benefits that they confer. Such develop­ment would often result where adequate sports consciousness is created among persons of all sexes, ages and stations In life and in particular, where there are effective coaching, adequate sports administration with broad programs for detecting talents early and training the talented ones to international levels in different areas of modern sports.

The development and promotion of modern sports in Nigeria are rather too slow and not very encouraging. The main reason is due to lack of qualified and well prepared personnel in the management and administration of Nigeria's sports programs. The major areas of per­sonnel shortage are in areas of coaching, sport administration, stadia

management, sports medical doctors with their team of para-medical personnel and professional teachers who will teach the basic skills In

schools and colleges.

300The main reason for the large shortage of personnel in the

country can be attributed to Nigerian's attitude toward physical educa­tion generally. Physical education is still waging an uphill battle for academic recognition and respectability in Nigerian higher institutions where qualified personnel could be trained. Physical education is still a stepchild in the educational family. It is still struggling in the

country from the critical judgment of many educators that it is not academic and therefore does not require the same kind of preparation

needed in other professions. The present shortage of qualified person­nel in different areas of modern sports have proved them wrong. The National Sports Councils, the Federal Ministry of Education and a few Nigerian universities are now serious more than before to correct the imbalance. The nation has learned in a very hard way that not all Commonwealth or Olympic Games medalists can teach or coach success­fully. Physical education and sports need equal preparations like other professions. The present crash programs Introduced by the govern­ment in this field to bridge the gap of personnel shortage In different fields of physical education and sports will however take some time before their efforts are rewarded.

Formerly, the bulk of coaches and sports organizers were mostly voluntary workers who were not prepared for the job. Most of them had no previous training and experience to do effective work. Perhaps it will be appropriate to support the above with what Efunkoya wrote:

The Nation's sporting sector should acknowledge with pro­found gratitude the remarkable voluntary contribution rendered to the growth and development of modern sports in this country.There exists a large army of voluntary workers In practically

301every sport that Nigerians participate in; and this group of selfless workers remain the main source of life growth of the sport.

It is not always appreciated or realized, how enormous is the vastness of voluntary workers in this country, which is devoted to the administration, organization, coaching and development of sports. One can clearly say that the framework of sport has been entirely tied together by unsought for and unpaid labor. The volunteers are moved to work by sheer burning enthusiasm, desire and interest. They utilize their time and energy so that their fellow men and women may find entertainment and joy . . .

In myriad and countless ways, these thankless volunteers, unsung, unhonored and often unheard of turn the wheels. With­out them, we wonder what the present structure would have been . . . ^2

But it must be admitted that sport has assumed a new concept and a new type of workers, fully knowledgeable, well qualified and ready to adjust with the change of sports revolution throughout the nation. There is obviously the need for a new philosophy, and this is partially being crystalized in the formation of Sports Councils and Commission throughout the nation.

Further development of sports therefore, should be intrinsi­cally held together with an effective sports administration that honorary officers are not expected to shoulder on a part-time basis.The unique contributions of these volunteers through Sport Councils,

Associations and Committees in evolving policy should not be totally ignored but harmonized into the main of the new frontier or the new deal that is expected to give sports in the country a new lease of life.

The present mass recruitment of foreign coaches in different areas of Nigeria's sports programs both at the states and national

42Adegboyega Efunkoya, "Tribute to the Voluntary Worker," The Nigerian Sportsman I, (June, 1971), p. 4.

302levels should gradually be replaced with qualified Nigerians who know

more about the problems and needs of the nation. The investigator may

however suggest that only the qualified Nigerians be recruited into the

National Sports Council and the States Sports Councils. The replace­

ment of the foreigners and the voluntary workers with qualified person­

nel in all the sectors of Nigerian sports should not be done in a hurry. The exercise should be done gradually and with care.

3. Shortage of modern and adequate sport equipment: The shortage of

modern equipment is another critical area that needs special attention if Nigeria as a nation will prove its worth and improve its human

resources in international sports contests. Athletic equipment actu­

ally promotes athletic performances apart from security against acci­

dents. As at present Nigeria has not enough modern and adequate sport

equipment for the training of its top athletes like many nations, such

as weight training equipment and other modern track and field, swim­ming and sports equipment despite its oil wealth and other mineral

resources. In fact, Nigeria has no single factory for sports equipment.

Everything needed in this area is ordered from outside the country.The improvement of equipment has increased tremendously in

recent years in both individual and team sports. The evidence of the

improvement can be seen in the use of fiberglass poles for pole vault event, styrofoam for safe landing, metal discus, metal frame for rac­quets, timing and measuring equipment and many others. For example,

Bennett and others wrote:

303A few words need to be said about the improvement in athletic

equipment, for when we compare the achievement of yesteryear with those of today, we often tend to forget that today's athlete has better equipment at his disposal. The records set for pole vaulting with the fiberglass pole could hardly have occurred if athletes still had to land on their feet in sand, or sawdust pit.The piles of styrofoam allow a safe landing in almost any body position. Franklin Held's javelin, constructed according to aerodynamic principles, has definitely contributed to the improve­ment of the world record of javelin throw by over 40 feet in 20 years. Metal frames for tennis racquets, aluminum bats for base­ball, fiberglass sticks for ice hockey, and graphite shafts for golf clubs are other recent equipment innovations. Shoes for all sports are lighter with more efficient cleats for better performance. New swim suits cling to the body and dry rapidly . . .

New equipment has also speeded up competitions. Gone from the big international events is the tape, which required a rela­tively long time to measure throwing events. It has been suc­ceeded by an electric device which determines the distance in a couple of seconds with the aid of infra-red rays . . . ^

These recent improvements in sports equipment are not so pro­

nounced in Nigeria. The main reason is that the equipment is too

scarce to get and those available are too costly to buy. Sports equip­

ment shops are rather too few because all equipment must be ordered from

the developed nations and they take six to nine months to arrive into the markets.

The main solution to this sports equipment problem is for the government to encourage the establishment of sport equipment factories. Athletes need to train with modern equipment. They need to be familiar with most of them for training and conditioning purposes. Nigeria has

potential athletes but lack of adequate facilities and equipment does not allow them to prove their worth like blacks in other nations of the world. In 1970, for example, the Commissioner of labour who was also in

43Bennett et al., op. cit., pp. 126-127.

304charge of sports wondered why Nigerian athletes could not do very well in international sports competitions like the blacks in America,Brazil, and even West Indies. The Commissioner said:

Throughout the world, the black man is proving his great prowess in sports . . . If the West Indies can produce world beaters in cricket, if the United States can boast of Negroes who are the cream of tennis, boxing, basketball, baseball and athletics, and if Brazil can repeatedly take the World Cup in football and now keep it forever, this country of ours enclosing with its borders of 60 million Nigerians in the great homeland of the black man, can do as much . . . ^

The Commissioner forgot that essential facilities, equipment and

other problems acted as limitations to Nigerian's better performances in international sports competitions. The Improvement in facilities and equipment is too slow to cope with top performances. Nigeria should increase the rate of equipment importations from foreign countries until she can be self sufficient through the establishment of many modern equipment factories in the country.

4. The lack of research into Nigeria's sports program; In order to maintain a high standard of scientific approach to improve modern sports in Nigeria, Integration of research into its sports programs is essen­tial. To improve standards and performances in international sports

competitions In Nigeria extensive research work needs to be done so as to determine Nigeria's strengths and weaknesses in international sports. Pragmatic approach must be used in which there will be close cooperation

between the researcher and practitioner. At present, there is no

research work on this area. It is therefore diffficult to predict what

44Chief Anthony Enahoro, "New Nigerian Athletes to be Improved," Nigerian Morning Post (Lagos), August 28, 1970, p. 14.

305Nigerian athletes can do in any international sport competitions.

Research is the answer to find out solutions to Nigerian problems in modern sport competitions. This agrees with what Scott wrote:

Research is the scientific method for finding answers to questions. When we are insufficiently informed we often find it convenient to formulate tentative answers based on the avail­able facts. Such tentative answers or generalizations called hunches* guesses, hypotheses, theories, laws, or principles depending on how sure we are of them. They are Important tools of thought because they help to place the known facts in proper relation to each other, show up the limitations of available facts, and most important they provide something to test or shot at, the doing of which uncover further facts, and thus hasten the finding of the true answers to the question . . . 5

There are different types of research work that are applicableto sports. These research techniques are being Improved daily by manyadvanced nations. Historically, "the establishment of the firstresearch laboratory for physical education and sport dates back to 1918when Dr. Johannes Lindhard established his laboratory for the theory of

46Gymnastics in Copenhagen.” Since then extensive research works have come to stay in physical education and sport. Unfortunately, research work on physical fitness, coaching, teaching and many others are still missing in many areas of physical education and sport in Nigeria. The reasons may be linked to lack of research facilities in the country, lack of qualified personnel to do the research work and lack of finan­cial support from the government.

45M. Gladys Scott, Research Methods in Health Physical Educa­tion and Recreation, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: AAHPER, 1959),pp. 11-12.

46Bennett et al., op. cit., p. 168.

306In order to have an effective research to improve sports

generally In Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria must come to the aid of Nigerians interested in research work. There are evidences of

some countries apart from the USSR where governments give money to sup­

port research in sports. For example, Bennett and others pointed out that:

. . . Of the countries participating in the questionnaire sur­vey, only Australia, Holland, New Zealand and Nigeria and Uruguay reported that no government funds were available for research. In Holland, the sport organizations pick up the bill for research while in Greece, Japan, Norway, and West Germany sport organizations supplement government funds on a sizable scale . . . ^

Secondly, in order to maintain a high standard of scientific approach to physical education and sports, and in fact to promote stand­

ards in international sport competitions, the physical educators in the country should be committed more than before to research techniques

because in the final analysis no work Is better done than the experts in

the field, and the quality of research depends entirely on the knowl­

edge, wisdom, and personal integrity of the investigators. Therefore research work is highly needed to Improve standard performances of the

Nigerian athletes and also find solutions to the persistent problems of

Nigeria’s participation in international sports.

3. Insufficient budget to run sport programs in Nigeria: A lump sum of

money is needed to develop effective sports programs to international

levels. It costs much to recruit and train an athlete to become an

Olympic or Commonwealth champion. It costs much to hire or recruit

A7Ibid.. p. 172.

307highly qualified coaches and sports administrators. It also costs much

today to organize and host international sports competitions like the

Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Gaines, World Cup Championship series and

even the All-Africa Games. The present method in Nigeria by which money

is allocated by the government through the States Sports Council and the National Sports Commission to run sports programs at national and inter­national levels needs another approach. Though the current budget on

sports was not available to the researcher during the process of data collection, the facts collected showed that enough money was not avail­able to run sports throughout the nation. The nation depends too much

on annual dues, gate receipts, voluntary donations from Club 400 and

other firms. This system worked well in the past but not now that sports have been institutionalized. Enough budget will be needed not

only to pay the salaries of the workers or recruit personnel abroad but

also to improve facilities, supply adequate equipment and train indi­

genous coaches for local, national and for international competitions.

If the government of some countries can give great support to

sports promotion and development, there is no reason why the Nigeria

government should give partial support. For example, Bennett wrote:Most national governments provide direct financial subsidies

or support for the sports program in one way or another . . .The degree of federal support for sport associations varies from nothing to 100 percent in the Soviet Union. For Finland, Greece, East Germamy, Nigeria, and Uruguay the range is from 50 percent to 85 percent . . .

The investigator believes that If the federal government comes

to the aid of universities, colleges, schools, clubs, and associations

48Ibid., pp. 238-239.

308with much financial aid to organize and promote sports, much success will be achieved in the international contests. A separate body care­

fully selected by NSC is therefore recommended to look into the problem. All the members should have up-to-date experience about international

sports and also on finance. The members from the National Sports Com­

mission, States Sports Councils, sports associations and Nigeria Uni­versity Games Association should be included in the body.

6. Lack of sound philosophy about the modern sports programs: There is

no one in Nigeria who can say that he or she understands the national or

state philosophy about sports. There is not yet a defined sport philos­

ophy that can influence effective planning, organizing, and evaluation of Nigeria's future participation in modern sports. A unified philos­

ophy is therefore necessary for the country.

Philosophy here is viewed as a systematic effort to clarify and

coordinate our beliefs and to integrate them with our actions. Since there is no uniform thinking between the sporting bodies in the country

as to what philosophy should guide Nigeria's modern sport concepts at local, national, and international levels, a well defined philosophy acceptable to all sports lovers and consumers is ripe to be formulated.

It is the hope of the researcher that the new philosophy will make it

possible for the nation to promote and encourage modern sports partici­pation to the best needs of the individual and society. It will also

encourage uniformity and sports structures in all institutions, States

Sports Councils and at the National Sports Commission. The statement

below will show that the NSC which was set up by the Federal Government

309of Nigeria with Decree 34 on August 12, 1971, with the main objective to

encourage the development, organization and participation in sports, and

also to coordinate and integrate efforts to raise the standards of per­

formance in sports throughout Nigeria has no well defined objective andpersonnel to reflect a sound philosophy for the nation:

The philosophy of the National Sports Comnlssion and its executive committees were ill-defined and under-defined and as such the NSC more or less had no well defined objectives andlacked a sense of direction.

The administrative machinery of NSC composed mostly of the old "Fraternity members" who knew little or nothing about sports organization and administration and who allowed their personal interests and feelings to override their decisions when matters related to national sports were involved.. . . Under that setup the nation placed much emphasis on frivolities because of misplaced priorities such as developing the sports zonal system, giving athletes scholarship to study overseas, recruiting coaches from abroad, and organizing costly national sports festivals.

In the final analysis, the NSC boss was saddled with a lot of responsibilities because of bogus plans, poor administrative control, and Ineffective coordination at the centre. The NSC sank further and further into insolvency

The above showed the true picture of the NSC and the other

sporting bodies. The solution will be} purge NSC, reassign duties to such unqualified personnel by putting them to the jobs that suit their preparations and experience, and then employ qualified physical educa­

tors instead.

Under a qualified personnel, the NSC will then be able to come

out with a sound sport philosophy for the nation. The Nigerian sports

philosophy should define her objectives of sports organization and the

ways and means of attaining these objectives. The philosophy should

49F. A. Amuchie, "Towards Effective Organization of Sports in the Federation of Nigeria," The Journal of Nigerian Association for Physical Health Education and Recreation, 1 (March, 1977), pp. 44-57.

310decide whether more emphasis should be placed on the competitive or

recreational sports, or whether both should receive equal attention in the emerging nation of Nigeria.

The investigator believes that a well defined philosophy on sports will provide the nation with a guide to actions and will help

the personnel in the solution of various problems related to local, national and international sports competitions.

Other solutions to the problems under discussion are further treated in the next chapter under recommendations.

CHAPTER XII

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

There have been few definite works and records tracing the rise and development of modern sports in Nigeria. Those that existed have

recognized the missionaries' and colonial administrators' influences. However, the setting up of competitive sports in schools, formation of

clubs, associations and Nigeria Olympic and British Empire Games Asso­

ciation together with the rise of cities and markets have been recog­

nized as the precursors of the urgent and pervasive need for competitive

and international sport competitions. In the 1960's, political and

economic upheavals changed the face of the country, the political lead­

ership and could even be seen in the physical well being of the citi­

zens. These had a serious Impact in international sports organization

and administration but yet, Nigerians clung to the democratic ideals of amateur sports. Today, International sport represents the most compre­hensive organization in social spheres of the nation.

This study was conducted with the effort to search, collect and examine reliable information both verbal and written about the develop­

ment of Nigeria's participation in international sport competitions and

its effects on the nation. This, however, is not a complete history of

the development of Nigeria's participation in international sports. It could not be. A thick volume could be written on each sport and on

311

312

names of many people who have involved and participated in these compe­

titions and who have earned honors. What the investigator had done is to assemble the few available resources on the problem.

The data for the study were compiled from library sources,

interviews, questionnaires, a visit to Nigeria and from letters. In addition, an examination of the literature on comparative physical

education gave additional dimensions to the investigation. Lack of sufficient written records and means of communication acted as the major limitations to the study.

Part of the study included background information on Nigeria

as a nation based on geographical and historical factors together with

the people that make the country a nation. The second phase of the

study was to ascertain the growth and development of modern sports

followed by the formation of amateur sports concept through schools,

clubs, associations and friendly participation in major international sport competitions with its effects on the emerging nation of Nigeria.

The study however, revealed that Nigeria did not win many

medals in the Olympic Games and World University Games. The future however is very bright. She did perform better in other international

sports such as the Commonwealth Games, All-Africa Games, ECOWAS Games

and Africa soccer championship series.

The major revelations from the study are:

That, Nigeria being a large country with scores of groupings of

people, each having a different environment, language, tradition, religion and with each group producing something different from the

313

other, the Empire Day celebrations on May 4 of every year had helped

to set a sense of unified sport celebrations, a sense of oneness and a sense of introducing competitive and amateur sports into the country.

The concept from this celebration later led to the development of

inter-school, inter-club, inter-provincial competitions and finally,

international sports.

That the first international sport competition experience of

Nigeria took place while she was still a colony under the British

Government. This competition was the Fourth Commonwealth Games held at Auckland, New Zealand on February 4-11, 1950. Nigeria became the

first indigenous African nation to compete at the Games. Nigeria's

second experience in international sport competitions was in 1952 XVth Olympic Games at Helsinki. Since then, Nigeria did not only participate in the Commonwealth or the Olympic Games but also in

All-Africa Games, the ECOWAS Games, the World and Africa Soccer

Championship Series, the Africa and West Africa University Games and

the World University Games. Records also showed that Nigeria's first gold medal came from Emmanuel Ifeajuna in high jump at the Vancouver

Commonwealth Games in 1954, and Nigeria's first medal came from M. Maiyegun in boxing at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.

That the major factors that led her to participate in these

games are: international understanding and goodwill, education,

promotion of cultures, festivals and ceremonies, health of the nation,

propaganda, economy, concept of amateurism, patriotism, democracy

314

and prestige. Winning of medals is not very strong. The study revealed that politics and militarism are not major factors.

That the transitional period of Nigeria from her colonial master

had no significant effect directly on Nigeria's involvement and partici­

pation in international sports. The effect was indirect and this was through internal politics caused by political differences which later resulted in a civil war. Nigeria was in fact fully developed economically,

socially and politically before her Independence in 1960, and since

there was no blood-shed before the attainment of Nigerian Independence

or mass retrenchment of foreigners from the country, there had been no noticeable effect during the transitional period with the Nigeria's

participation in international sports.Furthermore, the colonial masters showed no deep interest in

Nigeria’s involvement in international sports competitions outside its colonies in West Africa. Her major interest revolved around trade and

commerce. Those foreigners who promoted modern sports and amateur con­

cepts in Nigeria during the colonial days were mostly sailors, traders, military officers and missionaries. Rather, Nigeria’s participation in

the multi-racial international competitions of the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games between 1950-1960 were motivated by Nigerians

themselves with some support from few military men in the country. The

colonial administration did not provide the incentives or money towards the sponsorship of Nigerian athletes to these games. For example, Eleyae

quoted V.B.V. Powell as saying:During the early international sport competitions all

expenses used to be paid by the AAA or NOBEGA or from the funds raised from the voluntary contributions. Government

315

made no significant contribution to financing selected teams or national teams to such competitions . . . Before Independence, the autonomy of the governing bodies for sports were more jealously guarded from Government interference than it is today.

That the initiation and selection of athletes for international

sports were done through clubs, league matches, various sports festi­vals and friendly contests at local and national levels. The few

selected athletes are sent to training camps specially for international competitions by the sporting bodies. These bodies are: National Sports

Commission, States Sports Councils, and Nigeria Universities Games Asso­

ciation. The example below is a letter of invitation for training for the FISU Games by the NUGA:

14th June, 1977Dear Mr./Miss/Mrs. ___________

FISU Games in Sofia

You have been invited to camp in preparation for theWorld University Games holding sometimes in August.

You will be on probation for the period 1st July to15th July, 1977 when the final selection will be done. Thosewho are not selected finally have to go home.

Kindly let me know in writing your acceptance or otherwise before or on the 20th of June, 1977 . . .

Contact me for any question or explanation on the FISU Games.

Yours,SignedJ. Ade OyewusiActing Director ^University of Ife, Nigeria

^Awoture Eleyae, op. cit., p. 42.

2IPE/FISU/NUGA File, University of Ife, 1977.

316The final selections are done purely on performances of athletes

through series of contests organized by specialist coaches and sports officers in their special events.

That the athletes are financed for these competitions through

four main sources. These sources are through free donations from thepublic, through Club 400 which is made up of rich and businessmen

throughout the country, through clubs and associations annual dues and3gate fees, and through advertisements and government subsidies.

The bulk of money however came from Club 400 and donations from

the public. Government did not come into the show until the formation

of the National Sports Commission in 1971.

That the central organization controlling Nigeria’s participa­tion in international sports competitions are the National Sports Com­

mission (NSC), the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), States Sports

Councils (SSC), the Nigeria Universities Games Association (NUGA), and the Nigeria National Associations of Franchise Holders (NNA). However, the NSC is the only coordinating body through which other bodies operate.

That the major strengths of Nigeria in international sports lie

in athletics, boxing, soccer, table tennis, lawn tennis and swimming in that order. Nigeria today is the strongest nation in swimming, south of

the Sahara. In the whole of Africa, she is next to Egypt. The above could be supported with records from the First and Second All-Africa Games and

3West Africa Games (ECOWAS) Estimate Report, August, 1977.

317

in ECOWAS Gaines of August, 1977. However, the major weaknesses of Nigeria in these international sports lie in the team sports of basket­

ball, volleyball, badminton and are also hindered by the ineffective planning for these competitions.

The solution to the weaknesses could be based on the following

recommendations:

1. That physical educators in conjunction with the major

sporting bodies should come to grips with a new national philosophy for promoting international sports which, when implemented and widely dis­seminated will influence modern sport programs in all primary, post

primary, post secondary and all institutions connected with interna­tional sports.

2. The NSC should continue as the major coordinator for all the

sporting bodies, but its philosophy needs to be redefined. The NSC

philosophy should be clear and distinct to all Nigerians. A well defined sports philosophy will provide the NSC with a guide to actions

and will help its personnel in the solution of problems facing Nigeria's

participation in international sports.

3. The retired sportsmen and women who distinguished themselves in various sporting events in doing Nigeria proud in years gone by should

be reactivated. Similarly, those of them still in the game should also be encouraged with promotions or further training opportunities, since

that is one of the ways of convincing them and their parents that sport is not an exclusive hobby for drop-outs.

4. That if it is an accepted fundamental notion that the present jet age has no room for apathy and complacency, then the Federal and

318

State Governments must make enough funds available to both the National and State Sports Councils and institutions of higher learnings to enable them to expand and construct more modern facilities, purchase up-to-date and essential equipment, recruit expatriate as well as train more indi­genous coaches and sport organizers. This will ensure that the country's sports administration is put on a sound and proper footing against the present and future involvement and participation in international sports.

5. The NSC should allow the national associations more autonomy to evolve their programs to maximum advantage. Moreover, public spirited Individuals, organizations and businessmen who are anxious to join the crusade for meaningful sports development in Nigeria should be morally and financially encouraged.

6 . That Nigerian Sportsman magazine, and other journals con­nected with sports should be published again by the NSC and SSC. The publications may further promote awareness for international sports and may be useful for further studies.

7. That the Professional Association of Physical Education in Nigeria should be more committed to international sports programs than at present. There should be a closer link between that association and the NSC and SSC in order to influence research in different areas of sport.

8. Soccer is undoubtedly the premier sport and Nigerian enjoy the games more, if it is generally accepted that good perfor­mance which means winning most of the games played and losing a few

honorably enhances the national prestige and saves prestige, then it is

319obvious that the cheap victories of Nigerian national and club teams in Africa soccer championship series may not continue to come indefinitely because, standards of performance rise every day in other nations too. Nigeria has the materials and natural resources. The only saving grace is how and when to tap what exists. To be able to tap them success­fully, the slogan 'catch them young and keep them on' must be followed. Periodic in-service training and workshops should be provided for the coaches and specialists under the National Sports Commission, States Sports Councils and other areas, so that they can know the modern

methods of training and coaching the sport to Nigerian youths both inside and outside institutions. Summer clinics as they are done pre­sently should be intensified in all sports of Nigeria's high and low reputations. These summer clinic centres should be evenly distributed among the states.

9. Umedun wrote that "International sport is regarded as far too important. It is seen both as a means to change the society or as a vital ingredient in the health of the whole nation." Therefore, it is very necessary to intensify talent hunts in all the parts of the Federation. There are many talented young boys and girls in the remote

Nigerian villages and institutions who should be spotlighted, and given scientific training early in life. To achieve this objective, the NSC and SSC as a matter of priority should invest much more money than they are doing in school sports, and in areas of facilities, equipment and

^S. 0. Umedun, "The Role of the NSC in Preparing Athletes for International Games," 5th NAPHER Conference, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, (August 28-31, 1975), p. 1.

320organization of school sports competitions. There should be as a mat­ter of urgency at least one physical education specialist in every

secondary school and teacher training colleges in Nigeria. To offset an envisaged inadequate supply of physical education specialists, a crash program for mass training of these teachers may be introduced in all the present Advanced Teacher Training Colleges in Nigeria or by increasing intake of these teachers in all the ATTC. This will help Nigeria to break future ground in international sports through early exposures of both the primary and secondary schools in a wide variety of sports skills, equipment and competitions.

10. That NSC must develop a closer relationship with the para­medical units— X-rays, dietetics, orthopedic and exercise physiology laboratories for both the diagnosis and cure of athletic injuries. In particular, the service of the sub-division of sports medicine should be to ensure that potential sportsmen and women remain fit. Sports

medicine carries out medical tests on the athletes, and devices on their regular conditioning exercises, on types of food and water to take. International sport is now a big business and only those countries like USSR, U.S.A. and Germany that invest heavily in sports medicine are In the fore front. For Nigeria as an emerging nation to break more ground in international sports, the Federal Government should give due cogni­sance to sports medicine, and make proper use of its facilities and

5resources.

^A. Omololu, "Sports Medicine as a Discipline Towards the Enhancement of the Nigerian Sports Programme," 5th NAFHER Conference, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, (August 28-31, 1975), p. 1-3.

321

11. That more emphasis should be placed on sport programs In both elementary and secondary schools. It is estimated that over 80% of these schools have inadequate playgrounds, gymnasia, suitable equipment and unqualified instructors in sports. Many schools then are unable to carry out the sport development programs needed for national and inter­national sports success. Sports in these schools therefore need special attention from the NSC, SSC and the Federal Ministry of Education.

12. That indigenous African activities and games now used in schools be researched, compiled and distributed to provide more cul­tural exchanges between states of Nigeria for the purpose of motivating Nigerian teachers to use them to teach some basic skills in interna­

tional sports. Africa indigenous activities are many. They are full

of complex activities which can be used successfully to promote modem sports in the schools.

13. That physical education specialists in the country, though they are few, be intricately involved in all local, state, national and international sport programs. They must at all times be involved in thecomprehensive planning and policy formation of sports development.Through the estimated data at hand, it was discovered that many of these specialists were excluded from many sports programs conducted in the nation from 1973 to date. For example, less than 10 percent of them were involved during the last All-Africa Games in Lagos, less than 30% were involved in the last National Sport Festivals, and less than 10% during the ECOWAS games in Lagos. If these people are neglected, thensports development will grow very slowly.

32214. That more youth clubs be organized throughout the nation.

These youth clubs would in future be the nucleus for sports programs outside schools, especially for the very many school leavers and drop­outs.

15. That because summer holidays are becomming popular and

Important throughout the nation, Nigeria should explore the possi­

bility of cooperative states venture to develop centralized all pur­

poses sport facilities at different parts of the country. Summer

camping and training centres could be located at these centres.

Thorough feasibility studies should be conducted before accepting

the project. A visit to developed countries such as America, England,

France, Japan, Germany or even Russia could be very advantageous.16. That because of popularity of international sports in

Nigeria, annual awards for the best and successful athletes and coaches

be Introduced. The awards should be spread to all sports.

17. That because of notable progress towards Nigeria's poli­tical stability and socio-economic development, and because of remark­

able successes in many International sports competitions, Nigeria should apply to host the Africa Cup of Nations, the Commonwealth Games and the

Olympic Games in that order before this decade rolls by.

APPENDIX A

(a) A Sample Letter of Introduction(b) A Sample Letter to:

(i) National Sports Commission(ii) States Sports Councils(iii) Secretary of IOC/SCSA(iv) Universities(v) Daily Times Office

(c) A Sample Letter to:

(i) Athletes(ii) Clubs and Associations(iii) Businessmen

(d) A Sample Letter to:

(i) Libraries(ii) National Archives(iii) Federal Ministry of Education

Research and Information

323

(a) Sample Letter of Introduction' v' V V •'*

T H K O i l H ) S T A T I C U>'l \ ICItSITV

May 16, 1977

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter will serve as an introduction for Mr. Daniel 0. Ogunbiyi who is presently enrolled at Ohio State University, Columbus, as a doctoral student in physical education.

I am his graduate adviser and will be most grateful to you for your cooperation and assistance in helping Mr. Ogunbiyi to do his research into the topic of Nigerian international sport competition.

Very truly yours,

Bruce L. Bennett Professor of Physical

Education

325(b) Sample Letter

D. 0. Ogunbiyi 309 Pomerene Hall Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210 U. S. A.May 20, 1977 .

Dear Sir:

I am a Nigerian doctoral student of The Ohio State University, currently collecting materials for my Ph.D. dissertation on the topic, "Nigeria's Involvement in International Sports Competition and Its Effects on the Nation".

I shall be grateful if you can grant me an Interview and also help in supplying me with some sources of information based on the following:

a. Factors that led Nigeria to participate in international sports competition.

b. Effects of these competitions on the nation.c. How the athletes are trained and selected.d. The past and present roles of clubs, associations,

universities and businessmen in these competitions.e. Names of top athletes who have represented the nation

in these competitions.f. Nigeria's strengths and weaknesses in these competitions.I shall also like you to help prepare a list of athletes, coaches,

clubs and associations that can help in the study. I will also welcome other suggestions which you think will make the result of my trip and investigation successful and Informative. I plan to be in Nigeria between July 3 and August 31, 1977.

My future correspondence as from July 3 to the end of August is:D. 0. OgunbiyiC/0 Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Yours sincerely,

D. 0. Ogunbiyi

326(c) Sample Letter

D. 0. Ogunbiyi 309 Pomerene Hall Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210 U. S. A.May 20, 1977

Dear Sir/Ma:I am a Nigerian student in the process of completing my Ph.D.

dissertation in Physical Education with special interest in "Nigeria in International Sports Competition".

Nigeria has participated in many international sports competitions for some time now. I am interested in knowing your opinion and current facts on the following:

a. Why Nigeria got involved in international sports competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, All African Games and many others.

b. Do these competitions have any significant effects on the nation?

c. What do you think were Nigeria's major strengths and weak­nesses and how can we further improve on them?

d„ Documents and records showing outstanding performances and promoters of these sports.

With the above questions and needed facts, I shall much be obliged if you can grant me an interview between the months of July to August when I hope to be in Nigeria for a field trip for the study.

My address as from July 3, 1977 to the end of August is:D. 0. Ogunbiyic/o Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Thank you for your cooperation.Yours sincerely,

D. 0. Ogunbiyi

327(d) Sample Letter

D. 0. Ogunbiyi 309 Pomerene Hall Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio A3210 U. S. A.May 20, 1977

Dear Sir:

I am a graduate doctoral student at The Ohio State University currently collecting materials and information for the completion of my dissertation. My topic is related to "Nigeria's Involvement in International Sports Competition".

1 shall be obliged if you could allow me the use of your library and help me collect some relevant materials on the above prob­lem in your library during my field trip to Nigeria in July and August, 1977.

My future correspondence as from July 3 is:D. 0. Ogunbiyic/o Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Thank you for your cooperation.Yours sincerely,

D. 0. Ogunbiyi

APPENDIX B ITINERARY FOR THE FIELD TRIP

328

ITINERARY FOR FIELD TRIP TO NIGERIA

D. 0. Ogunbiyi P. E. Graduate Office 309 Pomerene Hall Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210

July 5: Arrive in Nigeria.July 6-8: Lagos Zone Activities:

(a) Visit National Sports Commission Headquart(b) Federal Research and Information(c) National Library.

July 11-15: Ibadan Zone Activities:(a) Visit Liberty Stadium, Ibadan(b) University of Ibadan(c) National Archives(d) Daily Sketch and Tribune Offices(e) University of Ife, Ile-Ife.

July 18-22: Lagos Zone Activities:(a) National Sports Commission Headquarters(b) Daily Times Sports Editor's Office(c) University of Lagos(d) Federal Research and Information(e) Federal Ministry of Education.

July 25-27: Lagos Zone Activities:(a) National Sports Commission Headquarters(b) University of Lagos(c) National Library.

July 28-30: Ibadan Zone Activities:(a) University of Ibadan(b) University of Ife(c) Adeyemi College, Ondo.

August 1-2: Kwara Zone Activities:

(a) Ilorin Sports Council(b) Federal Government College.

330August 3-6:

August 8-13:

August 15-20:

August 22-27:

August 28: Augus t 30: August 31: September 1 & 2:

Lagos Zone Activities:(a) National Sports Commission Headquarters(b) Abeokuta Zone(c) Federal Ministry of Education(d) Daily Times Office.

Ibadan Zone Activities:(a) University of Ibadan(b) National Archives(c) Liberty Stadium.(d) University of Ife(e) Ile-Ife Museum.

Ibadan and Lagos Zones Activities:(a) Liberty Stadium(b) University of Ibadan Library(c) National Sports Commission Headquarters(d) Federal Ministry of Education,

Research and Information(e) Daily Times Office(f) National Library.

Ibadan and Lagos Zones Activities:(a) Liberty Stadium(b) National Sports Commission(c) Federal Ministry of Information, Lagos(d) University of Ibadan(e) University of Ife(f) Kwara State Sports Council.

Ibadan NAPHER Conference.University of Ife.University of Ibadan.Lagos Zone Activities

September 4: Return to U.S.A.

APPENDIX CSPECIMEN OF PERSONAL INTERVIEW

331

332

INTERVIEW FORMAT

PERSONAL INTERVIEW AND QUESTIONNAIRE.These questions are designed to find out the following on the

development of Nigeria’s participation in international sports competi­tion and its effects on the nation:

1. The factors that led Nigeria to involve and participate in international sports competition.

2. The significant contributions of these competitions on emerging nation of Nigeria.

3. The selection and financing of athletes to these international sports competitions.

4. The problems facing Nigeria in international sports competitions.

5. Strengths and weaknesses of Nigeria in the competitions and possible remedies.

Tape Recording Interview for Athletes.1. In how many international sports competitions have you represented

the nation?

2. What were your events?

3. Casting your memories back to the past, do you remember how you developed your athletic ability? Who were your coaches? What actually motivated you into international sports competition?

4. What were your experiences in international sports competition In

relation to new knowledge about habits, culture and many others of other nations?

5. Through your experiences, comparing our athletes with those of

other parts of the world (firstly, developing countries, and secondly, the developed countries). What do you feel are the main

333differences in the performances of Nigerian athletes with athletes of other nations?

6 . What do you think are the causes of the differences?

7. Are you happy that Nigeria is actively involved in international sports competition? Why?

8 . What benefits do you think Nigeria derives from such competitions?

9. Casting your memories to the past again, what do you feel are

Nigeria's strengths and weaknesses in these competitions? Can you suggest remedies?

10. Will you like to participate in 1978 Commonwealth games and 1980 Moscow Olympic Games?

11. Please can you give some names of Nigerian top athletes who repre­sented the nation in many international sports competitions and now

employed by either the federal or state governments?

Personal Interview Questions for Sports Commission,Sports Councils and University sporting bodies.

1. In how many International sports competition is Nigeria actively

involved? Can you remember each year she participated for the first time in each you have mentioned?

2. Do you still justify Nigeria’s involvement and participation in each

of these competitions? Why?3. Nigeria has been in these competitions for a long time now, can you

mention some factors that led her into these competitions?4. What are the Nigeria's strengths and weaknesses in international

sports competition?

334

5. Do you still justify Nigeria's participation in these competitions? Why?

6. Have these competitions any significant effects on the nation?What are they if any?

7. Some athletes had won medals and some had contributed greatly to

Nigeria's involvement and participation in these sports competi­tions. Please, what has the nation done for them?

8. How do you support the Nigerian athletes who represented the nation

in international sports? What are the roles of clubs, associations and businessmen in international sports?

9. What roles do the federal government and the state governments of

Nigeria play in promoting Nigeria's participation in these inter­national sports competitions?

10. What roles or contributions have Nigeria institutions of higher

learning made in Nigeria's participation in international sports competition?

11. Various problems undoubtedly are facing your planning for the

international sports competition, what are these problems? Can you suggest some ways they can be solved?

12. What do you feel about the stands of Nigeria in supporting the banning of member nations in international sports competition?

What are the major reasons?

13. What do you think are our strengths and weaknesses in international

sports competition? How can we improve on them?

APPENDIX D

SPECIMEN COPY OF QUESTIONNAIRE

335

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

(ii) Specimen Copy of Questionnaire

Dear

I am conducting a project to determine the development of Nigeria’s participation in international sport competition and its effects on the nation. This study will be my Ph.D. dissertation at Ohio State University in the Physical Education Department.

A questionnaire is enclosed which will only take a few minutes to complete. Your answers will be most helpful in learning more about Nigeria's international sport competition and its effect on the nation.

Kindly fill out the questionnaire and return it between July 3 and August 20, 1977 in the self-addressed, stamped enve­lope which is enclosed for your convenience. I shall be in the country during this time in order to collect more information on this problem.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

Yours in sports,

— PD. 0. Ogunbiyi

337

Event(s^ and vear(s)

Which International Competition(a)?

Instruction to Questionnaire: Pleas* read through each statement below care­fully. Place a circle around the number in the column which most closely represent your opinion that Che statement is a factor related to the develop­ment of Nigeria's participation in international sport competition.

1 under SA means strongly agree to the statement.2 under A means agree to the statement.3 under D means disagree to the statement.6 under SD means strongly disagree to the statement.5 under IF means undecided with the statement.

Factors SA A D SD U1 2 3 6 5

1. International understanding and goodwill: Throughparticipation in International sport competitionNigeria develops, improves and strengthens its 1 2 3 6 5international understanding and goodwill to all nations of the world.

2- Education: Through international sport participa­tion Nigeria provides great opportunities for ail 1 2 3 6 5round education of the athletes.

3. Propaganda: By participating in international sportcompetition Nigeria's name is well known through- 1 2 3 6 5out the world.

6. Health: Through active participation in interna­tional sport competition, the health and fitness 1 2 3 6 5of the participants are maintained.

5. Politics i Through the development and participa­tion in international sport competition Nigeria ̂ 2 3 6 5improves and develops its internal and external political ideology.

&• Culture: Participation in international sportcompetition promotes intercultural understanding 1 2 3 6 5between Nigeria and other nations of the world.

Economy: By hosting and organising internationalsport competition Nigeria attracts tourists to the nation.

1 3 6 5

333

SA A D SD U8. Patriotism: Nigeria's participation in inter- —

national sport competition stimulates the 1 2 3 4 5spirit of patriotism in Nigerian youth.

9. Hilltarism: Through international sportparticipation Nigeria improves and promotes ̂ 2 3 4 5physical conditioning and fitness of the participants against future military service.

10. Festivals and ceremonies; By participating ininternational sport competition Nigeria 1 2 3 4 5Increases its festivals and ceremonies in order to infuse nationalism and oneness in the youth.

11. Democracyi Nigerians learn and practice behavior patterns necessary to the democraticprocess as veil as gain in appreciation of the 1 2 3 4 5value* of democracy through participation In international sports.

-̂2* Prestige: Nigeria is recognized as an independent nation and its opinion respected through Its Involvement in international sport competition.

14. Winning of medals: By participating in inter­national spore competition, Nigerians accumulate medals in order to show its strength and potentiality to other nations.

1 2 3 4 5

13. Amateurism: Nigeria athletes develop the truespirit of amateurism through patticipation in 1 2 3 4 5international sport competition.

1 2 3 4 5

15. Pleas* list any other factors which you think, have led to the development of Nigeria's participation in international sport competition;

APPENDIX E NIGERIA'S SPORTS AMBASSADORS TO THE

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1950-1974

339

340

NIGERIA'S SPORTS AMBASSADORS TO COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1950-1974

1950 Commonwealth Gaines, Auckland Athletic Team:

1. K.A.B. Olowu (captain)2. J. 0. Majekodunmi3. B.A.A. Guobadia4. J. S. Olotu

Team Official:

100 in. and long jump High jump High jump Pole vault

5. E. A. Miller - Team manager

1954 Vancouver, Canada Games

Athletic Team:1. S. O. Williams (captain) - Long jump2. K.A.B. Olowu (vice captain) - 100 m., long

m. relay3. A. K. Amu - 100, 200 and4. M. A. Arogundade - 100, 200 and5. E. A. Ajado - 100 and 4 x .6 . E. Ifeajuna - High jump7. P. Esiri - Triple jump8 . M. B. Osagie - High jump9. T. Erinle — 200 m.

Boxing Team:10. Garuba Ide — Ban weight11. Ado Garuba — Fly weight

Team Officials:

4 x 100

44

x 100 m. x 100 m.

relayrelay

12. Jack Farnsworth13. Harding Ekperigin

- Team manager- Team coach

341

1958 Cardiff, Wales Games Athletic Team (men):

1. K.A.B. Olowu (captain)

2. G. A. Esan (vice captain)3. V. Odofin4. S. E. Akraka5. T. Obi6. P . B . Engo7. S. A. Akpata8 . J. Chigbolu9. J. Omogbemi

10. S. A. Oloko11. K. K. Duncan12. J. S. Olotu13. 0. Odobo14. V. I. Gabriel15. R. A. Arogundade16. S. Oladapo17. B. A. Agbebiyi18. 0. Oriakhi19. E.A.B. Adeleye20. E. Jeyifous21. L. I. Ogbogu22. E. A. Ovbiagele23. P.O.C. Ozieh24. 0 . Okuwobi

Athletic Team (women):25. Plorita Iyo (captain)26. E. A. Adeyemi27. O. Onwuchekwa28. V. Odogwu

29. Shade Payne30. E. Okoli

Boxing Team:31. Gbadegesin Salau32. Afodu33. Michael Usebu

Swimmers:34. Horace Kantu35. J. Ofongo

Sprints, long jump, 4 x 100 m. relay100 and 4 x 100 m. relay Long jump, 100 and 4 x 100 m. relaySprints, 4 x 100 m. relay100 m. and 110 m. hurdlesTriple jumpTriple jumpHigh jump200 m.110 m. hurdles 110 m. hurdles Pole vault High jump High jump 400 m.400 m.800 m. and 1 milePole vault800 m. and 1 mileTriple jumpShot put and discusShot put and discusJavelinHigh jump

Long jump, hurdles and 80 m.High jump4 x 100 m. relayHigh jump and 4 x 100 m.relay4 x 100 m. relay High jump

Heavy weight Light middle weight Welter weight

100 m. freestyle 100 m. freestyle

342Officials:

36. V.B.V. Powell _ Team manager general37. S. 0. Jolaoso - Team secretary/treasurer38. 0. A. Omololu - Team patron39. Col. Willis - Boxing team manager40. J. A. Adeola - Team manager (men)41. Mrs. Mary Niblett - T earn mana g e r (women)42. J . B . 0 . O j o - Coach43. J. Johnson - Honourary masseur in U. K.44. D . L . Fugh - Honourary coach U. K.

Letic Team (men):1. S . Igun2. K. Agbabokha3. G . Ogan4. D . Ej oke5. 0. Peters6 . S. Asiodu7. F. Sobande8. T. Erinle9. 0. Adekunle

10. P . Nwaokoro11. B . Majekodunmi12. A. Belleh13. P . Anukwa

Triple jump and high jump 400 m. hurdles Triple jump100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relayHigh jumpHurdles and 4 x 100 m. relay 100 m.400 m.400 m.HurdlesDiscus

Athletic Team (women):14. V. Odogwu - Long jump, 80 ra. hurdles15. 0 . Akindele - 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay16. J. Bodunrin - 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay17. M. Jinadu - 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay18. R. Okafor - 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay19. T. Adeleke — 400 and 800 m.

hig Team •*

20. N. Ndukwu — Bantam weight21. A. And eh - Light weight22. F. Ayinla - Light-heavy weight23. N. Maiyegun - Light-middle weight24. R. Gbadamosi - Welter weight25. J. Dele - Feather weight

343Swimming Team:

26. J. Afekafe27. C. Adeingupu

100 m. freestyle100 m. and 200 m. back stroke

Officials:28. Lt. Col. M. Okwechime - Chairman National

Council29. Hr . Chinwuba - Team manager30. Dr. A. Eleyae - Athletics coach31. H r . J. Omogbemi - Athletics coach32. Mr. H. Bassey M.B.E. - Boxing coach33. Mr. R, Watts - Swimming coach34. Dr. A. A. Efunkoya - Team doctor

' Edinburgh, Scotland GamesAthletic Team (men):

1. S. Igun (captain) -2. K. Abdullai -3. Aboyade Cole -4. J. Abidoye -5. K. Agbabokha —

6. G. Agbamu —7. A. Akinkuotu -8. A. F. Belleh -9. A. Egwunyenga -

10. B . Haj ekodunmi -11. H. Makama -12. R. Ojo -13. A. Odelusi -14. G . Ogan -15. T. Oyebami —16. 0. G. Peters —17. M. Dogon-Yaro —

etic Team (women):

18. D. Adekoya —

19. J. Bodunrin -20. E. Edet —

21. J. Omorege -

22. M. Oshikoya —

23. R. Urhobo —

High jump and triple jump 100 and 4 x 100 m. relay Sprints800 and 1,500 m.400 m. hurdles and 4 x 400m. relay4 x 400 m. relay4 x 400 m. relay110 m. hurdles400 and 4 x 400 m. relay100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay400, 4 x 400 m. relay200, 4 x 100 m. relay200, 4 x 100 m. relayLong jump, triple jump100, 4 x 100 m. relay100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay400, 800 and 4 x 400 m. relay

200, 4 x 100 ra. relay 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay 100 m., 100 m. hurdles, long jump and 4 x 100 m. relay 100, 200 and 4 x 100 m. relay High jump, 4 x 100 m. relay and pentathlon 100 m., 4 x 100 ra. relay

-ng Team:24. A. Adeyemi - Light weight25. A. And eh - Light-welter weight26. K. Armah - Feather weight27. F. Ay in la - Light-heavy weight28. C. Durango - Fly weight29. N. Ekwehun - Heavy weight30. I. Ikhuoria - Middle weight31. J. Mensah - Welter weight32. E. Ndukwu - Bantam weight33. G. Go gun - Light-fly weight34. F. Oviawe - Light-middle weight

Team Officials:35. Chief J.B.O. Ojo36. Dr. A. Eleyae37. Mr. G. Dibia38. Miss Tonia Ahabue39. Mr. E. L. Jegede40. Mr. Hogan Bassey M.B.E.

- Team Manager- Team coach- Assistant team boach- Chaperon- Team manager (boxing)- Team coach

Headquarters Staff:41. Col . H .E.O. Adefope - Commandant42. Mr. S. 0. Jolaoso M.B.E. - General team manager43. Mr. A. A. Ordia M.B.E. - Secretary/treasurer44. Dr. A. A. Efunkoya - Team doctor45. Mr. W. B . Thompson - Masseur

1974 Christcnurch, Hew Zealand Gaines Athletics Team (men):

1 . A. Olakunle — 100 m., relay

200 m., 4 x 100 m

2. A. Phillips - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay3. B. Majekodunmi - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay4. K. Abdullai - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay5. S. Opeipie 100 m.,

relay200 m., 4 x 100 m

6. M. Makama - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay7. S. Onyekwe - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay8. M. Dongo-Yaro - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay9. B. 1j irigbo - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay

10. A. Owoeye - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay11. A. Agbarau - 400 m., 400 m. hurdles12. J. Abidoye - 800 m.13. J. Doherty - 3000 m. steeplechase

34514. J. Okoro - Long jump15. A. Ogunfeyimi - Long jump16. T. Oyakhire - Javelin17. Aboyade Cole - 110 m. hurdles18. 0. Obasogie - 110 m. hurdles19. J. Jampilda — 800 m .

Athletics Team (women):20. M, Oshikoya - 100., 4 x 100 m. relay, 100

m. hurdles, high jump, long jump, pentathlon

21. B. Ewuzie - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay22. U. Ufon Uko - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay23, E . Eraordi - 100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay,24. E. Apu

long jump100 m., 4 x 100 m. relay

25. A. Obi - 100 m., 300 m., 4 s: 100 m26. F . Mbakwe

relay400 m . , 4 x 400 m. relay

27. R. Joshua - 400 m . , 4 x 400 m. relay28. S . Adeduro - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay29. I . Akinwale - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay30. N . Nwosu - 400 m., 4 x 400 m. relay31. G . Ebukuyo - 800 m.32. E . Okeke - Shot put33. 0. Okuofu - Javelin

Boxing Team:34. Saliu Ishola Fly weight35. Christopher Emenogwu - Bantam weight36. Eddie Ndukwu - Feather weight37. Kajin Amah - Light weight38. Isaac Slluko - Welter weight39. Obisia Nwakpa - Light-welter weight40. Fidilis Olayiwola - Light-middle weight41. Kingsley Idanl - Middle weight42. Isaac Ikhuorla - Light-heavy weight43. Fatal Ayinla — Heavy weight

Swimming44.

•*

John Ebito 100 m., Butterfly, 100 m.,200 m. freestyle and 200 m. breast stroke

Athletics Team Officials:

45. Mr. A.K.O. Amu46. Mr. S. 0. Oduguwa

- Team manager- Assistant team manager

34647. Mr. A. Olubo - Team coach48. Mr. J. Ogunmakinde - Team coach49. Mr. 0. Omolabi - Team coach50. Mrs. V. 0. Nwajei - Chaperon

Boxing Team Officials:51. Lt. Col. J, W. Uker - Team manager52. Mr. Hogan Bassey M.B.E. - Team coach53. Mr. Santos Martins - Team coach

Swimming Team Official:54. Mr, D. 0. Emoghene - Team manager/coach

N.S.C. Headquarters Staff:55. Brig. H.E.O. Adefope - Commandant56. Mr. A. A. Ordia M.B.E, - N.O.C. Secretary57. Mr. J. A. Enyeazu - General team manager58. Dr. 0. E . Awani - Athletics team doctor59. Dr. I. B. Adesina - Boxer team doctor60. Mr. C. Adeoye - Technical official (boxing)61. Mr. Olu Oguntokun - Technical official (boxing)62. Mr. Chris Ajao - Physiotherapist63. Mr. C. 0. Itabor - Team secretary/treasurer64. Mr. C. Igoh - Senior public relations officer65. Mr. K. Ibidapo - Photographer66. Mr. T. Oshuntolu - Press (Daily Times)

Observers for N.S.C. and Other States Sports Councils:67. Alhaji Isimaila Ahmed - N.S.C. 73. Mr. 0. Oshodi68. Mr. B. A. Guobadia 74. Mr. J . Omagbemi69. Mr. M. S. Adewale 75. Mr. I. A. Osifor70. Mr. G .B .I . Onuoha 76. Brig. F. Sotomi71. Mr. H . J. Etukudo 77. Chief Begho72. Mr. Ayo Lawanson 78. Mrs. Begho

Sources: J. B. Agbogun, Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games; N.S.C.Commonwealth Games Report; Nigeria Year Books; Nigeria Dailies.

APPENDIX F NIGERIA'S MEDAL TABLES IN THE

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1950-1974

347

348

NIGERIA'S MEDAL TABLES IN THE

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1950-1974

Names Medals Events

1950 Auckland Games

I. J. Majekodunmi Silver medal High jump

1954 Vancouver, Canada Games

1. E. Ifeajuna2. P. Esiri3. M, A. Arogundade

E. A. Ajado K.A.B. OlowuA.K.O. Amu

4. S. 0. Williams5. N. B. Osagie6. Garuba Ide

GoldSilver

Silver

BronzeBronzeBronze

High jump Triple jump

4 x 100 m. relay

Long jump High jumpBoxing - bantam weight

1958 Cardiff, Wales Games

1. T. ObiJ. Omogbemi V. Odofin S. Akraka

2. Gbadegesin Salawu

Silver

Bronze

4 x 100 m. relay

Heavy weight boxing

349Names Medals Events

1966 Kingston. Jamaica Games

1 . S. Igun Gold Triple jump2 . E. Ndukwu Gold Boxing - bantam weight3. A. And eh Gold Boxing - light weight4. K. Agbabokha Silver 400 m. hurdles (men)5. G. Ogan Silver Triple jump6. D. Ejoke Bronze 200 m. (men)7. V. Odogwu Bronze Long jump8. N. Maiyegun Bronze Boxing - middle weight9. F. Ayinla Silver Boxing - heavy weight

10. S. I gun Silver Long jump

1970 Edinburgh, Scotland Games

1. A. Adeyemi2. F . Aylnla

GoldGold

Boxing - light weight Boxing - light heavy weight

1974 Christchurch) New Zealand Gaines

1 .2 .3.4.5.6 .7.8 .

9.10.

Modupe Oshikoya (Miss) GoldEdett Ndukwu GoldObisia Nwakpa GoldModupe Oshikoya (Miss) SilverKajin Armah SilverFatal Ayinla SilverModupe Oshikoya (Miss) BronzeR. S. OyebamiB. Maiekodunmi _v AVJ Ti 4 BronzeK. Abdullai0. AlaniS. Ishola Bronze1. Ikhuoria Bronze

Long j ump (women)Feather weightLight-welter weightPentathlon (women)Light weightHeavy weight100 m. hurdles (women)

4 x 100 relay

Fly weightBoxing - heavy weight

Sources: J. B. Agbogun, Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games, Ilorln,Nigeria, 1975; NSC Commonwealth Games Reports; Nigeria Year Books 1950-75.

APPENDIX G THE SUMMARY OF GOLD MEDALS IN THE

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, 1930-1974

350

351

THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES

SUMMARY OF GOLD MEDALS 1950-1974

•o 00c 6 c *3 oo

QJ o CO 00 00 on -h fM c■H 4J 00 00 c 3 e > CL) oo ■HU c oo c e 00 *r4 ■H *H H •H ■u c r— (4-1 -H c •H •H er) C -— I 4-1 § -E -H 4-4 rHc e •M U C i— 1 •H c-l o s o eo 4-i 00 m3 ~a X U c 3 3 3 3 o •H *3 to •3 •rt CM at 4JO to 0 >•> 0) CO o o (J -c 3 S 3 C at -h oCQ pa ti­ -2 03 ext to CO co rt E-I CO £k J H

England 10 25 17 37 11 8 2 47 78 16 2 253Australia - 6 19 4 - 12 1 99 78 11 12 242Canada 1 4 2 1 - 3 6 49 33 8 19 127South Africa - 14 2 - 4 - - 7 20 1 12 60New Zealand - 3 2 1 7 7 1 5 26 4 3 59Scotland - 10 - 2 2 - - 11 9 2 1 37Pakistan - - - - - - - - 2 - 18 20Jamaica - 1 - - - - - - 13 - - 14Kenya _ 3 - - - - - - 13 - - 14Ghana - 7 - - - - - - 4 - - 11India _ - - - - - - - 1 1 12 14Wales - 2 — - - - 1 3 3 1 — 10Nigeria - 6 - - - - - - 3 - - 9North Ireland Trinidad

3 * * “ 1 * 5 — 9and Tobago - - - - - - - - 3 1 1 5

Uganda - 6 - - - - - - - - - 6Singapore - - - - - - - - - 4 - 4Malaysia 4 - - - - - - - - - - 4Malaya - - - - - - - - - 2 - 2Ceylon - 1 - - - - - - 1 - - 2S. Rhodesia - 1 - - 1 - - - - - - 2Bahamas - - - - - - - - - 1 - 1Barbados - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1Isle of Man - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1Fiji - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1Guyana - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1N. Rhodesia - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1Hong Kong - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1St. Vincent - 2 - - - - - - - - - 2Tanzania - - - - - - - - - 2 - 2Zambia — 2 — — — — — — — — — 2

Total 15 96 43 45 27 30 11 221 311 51 79 920

APPENDIX HANALYSIS OF NATIONAL ENTRIES BY SPORTS TO

SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973

352

s»nt«̂) *̂T̂JV“TTT

pnoo*s

i

' £39»

t C 9

\<0•1

1

-«C

“P

3 i

H5 C96

i91

£»

¥

•t

I

f

I

2•»

2*

20ns 12

s

{ fat!

5

11

1-?2,

30

j

<A

<i"4

t

c

i»

O

f

CA

i•

IT3i»

V«

<

Ira53t*

n

>?

33A9

C

2

1

ra

ca

a06!

22

J592*p

0m?9

*

■s£

COUNTftV

1

§1 a

hiat an

s a► *0

Li*0at S

VI 1 o(k

LAtA -

at u toa 1 a 3

toK to 0 W a ra

ra —■to LI z A T H L E T I C S

■#

atcs ►

utf» a u LA 1 I 1 09

HJ *CO to u 1 U at U ra

£ - 1 at p 1 KJra a - 1 1 I LJ s A T H L E T I C S

s a *0 U 1 1 1 P P io •3 ( 1 1 1 1 1 i K> 1 1 1 I 1 1 KJ P ( to 1 X B A S K E T B A L L

*aat 1 t t 1 KJ r 1 1 I 1 1k i to 1 1 1 1 1 to 1 1 K> 1 \ 1 1 to P P 1 to P 5 b a s k e t b a l l

ra9k

* ra-

0» w » <0 » » 1 00«3 - -

CD \ P 1 ra £ B O X I N G

81 at Li t *> 1 p 1 0 1 to a a a LA •si 1 to a 1 1 a 1 1 1 a a ra a 1 at p a £ C Y C L I N G

81 y 1 1 1 I k )

O 1 1 P 1 1 8 1 » 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 3 8 t J 1 3 1 1 1 i to0 ra £ F O O T B A L L

■aM

1 p 1 P Jk 1 t 1 1 P 1 £ * 1 1 1 1 1 * P 1 £ 1 1 1 1 1 1 P £ 1 l Jk £ £ I I A N O B A L L

St 1 (V J Ot 1 r 1 t f 1 1 a m a * 1 1 1 at 1 1 0 Vi 1 j I 1 >• 1 ra \ l a a £J U D O

Hi* 1 p 1 1 KJ 1 * \ 1 1 * a at 1 A 1 1 90 * a 1 1 t * 1 > a * 1 (A 1 1 A * £

L A W N T E N N I S

8 - p U U » 1 1 1 to 1 1 am to P 1 ) 1 a t 1 ra U H| p P 1 1 I 1 1 1 O 0 £ S W I M M I N G

M*0

to 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 1 p 1 a I 1 1 ' 90 P 1 to 1 A. 1 1 Ki 1 1 1 1 t a 1 5 S W I M M I N G

09*j 1 1 91 1 at 1 * 1 p M a a to » 1 01 1 P a to 1 P a A t A A t 1 1 t 1 a 1 £ t a b l e T e n n i s

LIu 1 1 1 1 1 1 tJ p M Ki 1 P a 1 1 1 1 1 * 1 i P a * p L> to 1 1 1 1 \ A 1 S T A B L E T E N N I S

8 1 1 1 u M p 1 1 1 J P M 90 1 1 z 1 1 1 1 1 to 1 1 1 1 1 1 P to T l K) 1 £V O L L E Y B A L L

~AsHi LA -jKJ £

a A00

MWatu

a . «a00LiKJ90 *

«0Lito Li U M

O 4Jato 8

e *to

LAto

h1 a s 0 AO 8 atinto s a Lrraa ■0ts£ T O T A L

8 O* Li a A KI’O 1 1 KJ a a *H-|U to ►J1 U to* Lira£ toa *

a 1 raA rara- 1 1 9090 Li T O T A L

M3 toI/Ih|at <M4«t aH|$ to8* CDl/ta 58 Li

LA LA•siu 3 at raa ULi■08 0 a

to 0 5ALi*10ara8 * rau ’O5 G R A N D T O T A L

COLr>Co

Analysis, of National

Entries to

Second All-Africa

r-»™.t

APPENDIX I

PARTICIPANTS BY COUNTRIES IN DIFFERENT SPORTSAT THE SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES

354

355

m 01c

Country *h jo do h w S c '•* j i j i *> .r\ * + m c___ . j k_

i—i -H01 rH Co 0) i-H i-H eiH Xi 60 i-H .■H 0)4J 4-) 60 e CO CO H<li 01 C iH Xi XIi-H JX •tH »—i 4-J *o o CJ= 01 X O O c H34J CO O >•> o CO 0 CO<: CQ CO o tl. PC >-) .J

f-t T—1 QJ60 £ (0 CL.

>S (Df o> at 4-i

i~ t » - t uiH X> r-H OS CO o o»05 H t> 05

M w M w M M M M M M M W M w MAlgeria X X X X X X X X X 8Arab Republic

of Egypt X X X X X X X X X X X X 10Botswana X X 2Burundi X 1Cameroun X X X X X X X X X 8Central Afri.

Republic X X X X 3Congo Brazzaville X X X X X X X 6Dahomey X X X X X X X X 6Ethiopia X X X X X X 5Gambia 1Ghana X X . X X X X X X X 6Guinea ’) X X X X X X 5Ivory Coast X X X X X X X X X X X 9Kenya X X X 3Lesotho X X X 2Liberia X X X X X AMadagascar X X X X X X X X X X X X 9Malawi X X X X X AMali X X 2Mauritius X X X X X AMorocco X X X X ANiger X X X X X X 5Nigeria X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 12Senegal X X X X X X X X X X X X 11Sierra Leone X X X X X X 5Somalia X X X 2Sudan X X X X ASwaziland X 1Tanzania X X X X X X X 5Tchad X X X 3Togo X X X X X X X X X 8Tunisia X X X X X X X X 6Uganda X X X X X X 5Upper Volta X X X X X X X 6Zambia X X X X X ATotal 32 25 8 7 26 18 8 8 13 18 12 8 16 9 8

Source: Second All-Africa Games Report, Lagos, Nigeria (Jan. 7-18,1973), p. 10,

Country

APPENDIX J

COMPOSITION OF CONTINGENTS TO

SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES

356

357Composition of Contingents to Second All-Africa Games

Countrytot-lOVo.Eou

bOc■H i—Is <u rt c n. cB O O CO CJ J-f <J Q> < Cu

»4-1CO CO

oo I-H •Hu <0 r-H<U 1-1 (000 u c f—1

B to •H u (0CO e 3 4J<U to u-l o OH s: o *“3

M W M WAlgeria 78 3 4 14 23 9 131Arab Repub. of Egypt 95 22 12 1 10 6 2 148Botswana 13 1 2 16Burundi 16 1 1 18Cameroun 83 11 10 1 8 5 2 120Central Afr. Republic 12 18 4 1 2 3 1 41Congo Brazzaville 55 8 7 6 12 7 95Dahomey 33 16 3 5 3 1 61Ethiopia 40 3 4 4 4 2 56Gambia 10 1 1 12Ghana 84 26 10 4 6 5 2 137Guinea 48 4 8 1 5 5 6 77Ivory Coast 92 25 11 3 8 6 2 147Kenya 42 14 5 2 3 6 2 74Lesotho 9 8 2 3 22Liberia 30 3 4 3 5 2 47Libya 1 1Madagascar 62 24 11 4 9 5 2 117Malawi 13 3 1 3 2 1 23Mali 20 2 2 2 26Mauritius 21 2 4 3 30Morocco 13 2 4 3 4 2 28Niger . 32 3 7 1 5 5 2 55Nigeria 149 47 18 4 12 230Senegal 111 29 14 2 15 5 2 178Sierra Leone 33 8 5 1 4 5 2 58Somali 3 2 1 1 1 8Sudan 18 4 3 5 30Swaziland 4 1 1 6Tanzania 52 7 6 1 4 2 1 73Tchad 22 2 4 1 3 2 34Togo 48 18 8 2 8 5 2 91Tunisia 61 6 6 6 79Uganda 48 13 5 2 5 1 74Upper Volta 72 4 10 1 6 12 2 107Zambia 15 10 3 1 3 32Total 1,537 341 193 31 171 153 56 2,482

Source: Second All-Africa Games Report, Lagos, Nigeria (Jan. 7-18,1973), p. 10.

APPENDIX K MEDAL WINNERS ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973

358

359

Event 100 m.

200 m.

400 m.

800 m.

1,500 m.

5,000 m.

10,000 m.

110 m. hurdles

400 m. hurdles

3,000 m. steeple­chase

SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973 MEDAL WINNERS IN ATHLETICS

Athletics - Men

Names Country0 . Karikari Ghanasy . Barka Senegalj. Mwebi Kenya0 . Karikari GhanaG. Daniels GhanaJ. Mwebi Kenya0 . Asati KenyaT, Bezabih EthiopiaM. Tedesse Ethiopia

C. Sielei KenyaJ. Kipkurgat KenyaS. Djouadi Algeriap. Bay TanzaniaK. Keino KenyaS. Regassa EthiopiaB. Kipcho KenyaM. Yifter EtihipiaP. Mose Kenya

M. Yifter EthiopiaP. Mose KenyaR. Juma KenyaF. Kimaiyo KenyaC. Aboyade NigeriaA. Sarr Senegal

J. Akii-Bua UgandaW. Koskei KenyaS. Ayoo Uganda

B. Kipcho KenyaE. Mogaka KenyaY. Mohamed Ethiopia

MedalsGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronzeGoldSilverBronze

360Event Names Country Medals

Marathon M. Wolde Ethiopia GoldL . Bendane Ethiopia SilverR. Mabuza Swaziland Bronze

4 x 100 m. relay Nigeria GoldGhana SilverCongo Brazzaville Bronze

4 x 400 m. relay Kenya GoldNigeria SilverUganda Bronze

High jump A. Wasugbe Somalia GoldS. Eye Gambia SilverA. Evele Cameroun Bronze

Long jump J. Owusu Ghana GoldJ. Okoro Nigeria SilverM. Dia Senegal Bronze

Pole vault A. Gheita Egypt GoldK . Rahal Algeria SilverTsondzabeka Congo Brazzaville Bronze

Triple jump M. Dia Senegal GoldA. Numabi Uganda SilverM. Pomaney Ghana Bronze

Discus N. Niare Mali GoldN. Assaad Egypt SilverS. Krage Ivory Coast Bronze

Hammer Y. Ochola Uganda GoldG. Luzira Uganda SilverS. Shaheen Egypt Bronze

Javelin J. Aye Ivory Coast GoldJ . Mayaka Kenya SilverF. Gonongo Congo Brazzaville Bronze

Shot put N. Assaad Egypt GoldN. Niare Mali SilverA. Djabaili Algeria Bronze

Athletics - Women100 m. A. Annum Ghana Gold

R. Asiedua Ghana SilverU. 0. Ufon Nigeria Bronze

361Event Names Country Medals

200 m. A. Annum Ghana GoldB. Ewuzie Nigeria SilverJ. Ocran Ghana Bronze

400 m. Chemabwa i Kenya GoldG. Bakari Ghana SilverF. Mgbakwa Nigeria Bronze

800 m. C. Anyakun Uganda GoldR. Joshua Nigeria SilverH . Opoku Ghana Bronze

1,500 m. F. Kesiime Uganda GoldM . Wagaki Kenya SilverR. Yeboah Ghana Bronze

100 m. hurdles M. Oshikoya Nigeria GoldE. Edet Nigeria SilverB. Nyakeco Uganda Bronze

4 x 100 m. relay GhanaNigeriaKenya

GoldSilverBronze

4 x 400 m. relay UgandaNigeriaKenya

GoldSilverBronze

Shot put 0. Evelyn Nigeria GoldN. Nnema Nigeria SilverG. Brigitte Ivory Coast Bronze

Discus R. Hart Ghana GoldA. Okoli Nigeria SilverA. De-Souza Togo Bronze

Javelin C. Rwabiryage Uganda GoldL. Cherotich Kenya SilverA. Chepkiyeng Kenya Bronze

Long Jump M. Oshikoya Nigeria GoldM. Odafin Nigeria SilverC . Kabanda Uganda Bronze

High jump M. Oshikoya Nigeria GoldG . Aghagba Nigeria SilverM. Chesire Kenya Bronze

Source: Second All-Africa Games Report, Lagos, Nigeria (Jan. 7-18,1973), p. 50.

APPENDIX L RECORDS ESTABLISHED DURING THE SECOND

ALL-AFRICA GAMES, LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1973

362

363

Records Established During the 2nd All-Africa Gaines Lagos - Nigeria - 1973

Athletics OldEvent Competitor Country New Record Record

200 m. Karikari OheneMenGhana 21.08 sec. 21.1 sec.

200 m. C. Asati Kenya 46.26 sec. 46.9 sec.800 m . Sielei Cosmos Kenya 1:45.33 min. 1:47 .4 min.1,500 m. Bayi Philbert Tanzania 3:37.18 min. 3:47.1 min.10,000 m. Yifter Mirtus Ethiopia 29:4.6 min. —110 m. Hurdles Kimaiyo Fatwell Kenya 14.14 sec. 14,6 sec.400 m. Hurdles Akii-Bua John Uganda 48.49 sec. 51.7 sec.3,000m. s/chase . Jipcho Benjamin Kenya 8:20.69 min. 8:47.4 min.4 x 100 m. relay Nigeria Nigeria 39.84 sec. 4.5 sec.4 x 400 m. relay Kenya Kenya 3:06.33 min. 3:11.5 min.Pole Vault A. Gheita Egypt 4.65 m. 4.15 m.Long Jump J . Owusu Ghana 8.00 m. 7.49 m.Triple Jump Dia Mansour Senegal 16.53 m. 16.27 m.Shot Assad Nagui Egypt 19.48 m. 16.32 m.Discus N. Niare Mali 55.28 m. 51.20 m.Hammer Y. Ochola Uganda 50.64 m. -

Javelin Aye Jacques Ivory Coast 77.22 m. 71,52 m.Marathon M. Wolde Ethiopia 2 :27 .32 .02 min.

Women100 m. Alice Annum Ghana 11.72 sec. 12.4 sec.200 m. Alice Annum Ghana 28.83 secs. -

400 m. T. Chemabwai Kenya 54.01 sec. -

800 m. Anyakun Christie Uganda 2:09.48 min. -

1,500 m. Kestime Peace Uganda 4:38.65 min. -100 m. Hurdles Modupe Oshikoya Nigeria 14.23 sec. -

4 x 100 m. relay Ghana Ghana 46.20 sec. 48.00 sec4 x 400 m. relay Uganda Uganda 3:45.37 min. -

High Jump Modupe Oshikoya Nigeria 1.71 m. 1.62 m.Long Jump Modupe Oshikoya Nigeria 6.15 m. 5.63 m.Shot Evelyn Okeke Nigeria 13.58 m. -

Discus Hart Rose Ghana 41.06 m. -

Javelin C. Rwabiryage Uganda 47.50 m. 40.30 m.

Source: Second All-Africa Gaines Report, Lagos, Nigeria (Jan. 7-18,1973), p. 51.

APPENDIX M

SECOND ALL-AFRICA GAMES, 1973 MEDALS TABLES

364

Second All-Afrit* Cfltes, f j|ol t Nigeria. i 9 M

Modal■ Tablea

. , , Baahet- ftaafcet- _ , _ ,. fool- Hand* . .Coonlr,, A tM « U . h i U •»■!«« CyMI'* hi|l W 1 JU«K.

C 5 • C S 1 c s a L £ 1 G s a c S a c s I c S a G S 1 C G ft G s ■ C $ 1 G S B

Algeria 1 z 1 4 2 1 3 1 1 2 4 4 n

Arab Republic of Egypt 2 I 1 ) i 2 1ft 10 2 4 I 74 H 13

Caneroun 1 1 1 1 I 3

Congo Irtuarllli J 1 J 3

Dilrnwr * 1 1

Itlilopla 2 1 4 1 z 2 4 1 4

G»I>|| 1 1

Ghana 1 4 4 ? J 1 2 I 3 1 7 11

Guinea I 1 1 I

Ivory Cueat I 2 I 2 4

Kenya 7 a a 2 1 I 9 9 JO

Hedugaacar 1 1 Z 2 1

ftil 1 1 l 1 1

Morocco I 2 1 1 3 3

tlliei 1 1

Niger la 3 u 2 3 1 4 1 2 7 1 3 4 a 5 7 14 23 20

Senegal 1 i 2 I t 1 1 4 2 7

Sirtta 11 a 1 1

Sudan 1 1 1 1 1 1

Swaziland 1 1

Tanianla 1 1 1 1

Togo t 1

1ui»i»|a 1 1 i 1 7 4 2 1 4 b 1

Uganda a 2 4 7 4 Z a 4 4

Z«a*»Ja ft 1 4 i 4

Total Medela Awarded 14 14 34 1 1 1 J i 11 11 22 z 2 2 1 1 i i i 4 4 12 2 2 4 22 22 22 10 10 IB 1 1 1 92 92 119

Source: Srcond All-Afiica ^n m b Krpcir ( U g o t , Nigeria fJan. 7-14, 1973). p. 112. 365

APPENDIX N

MEMBERS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEES FOR THE ECONOMIC OF WEST AFRICA COMMUNITY STATES (ECOWAS)

GAMES, LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1977

366

367

ECOWAS GAMES, LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1977

MEMBERS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEES

PRESIDENT: Mr. Dan IsokrariCHAIRMAN: Dr. L. Adegbite

COORDINATOR: Mr. I, A. AkloyeSECRETARY: Mr. D. 0. Enajekpo

MEMBERS

1. Brig. Olu Bajowa2. Mr. E. L. Omitola3. Mr. A. A. Ordia M.B.E.4. Dr. A. A. Efunkoya5. Major Yoml Williams6. Mr. S. 0. Akinwunml7. Mr. M. A. Arogundade8. Alhaji R. A. Adejumo9. Alhaji Ganiyu Davodu

10. Mr. S, 0. Jolacso, M.B.E.11. Chief J. K. Agbaje12. Col. P. C. Tarfa13. Mr. T. Pam DCP14. Mr. Isola Folorunso15. Mr. K. Emechabe16. Mr. A. Omoera 17/18. Two people from next

hosting country

A. FUND-RAISING1. Mr. Dan Isokrari - Chairman2. Mr. I. A. Akioye - Vice-Chairman3. Alhaji R. A. Adejumo4. Alhaji G. Dawodu

5. Mr. Adeyemo Adeyara6. Alhaji L. S. Balogun7. Dr. Olu Asokun8. M r . Olu Falcrao9. Mr. Bruce Ovbiagele

10. Mr. Lare Adeshina11. Mr. U.B.T. Egouwoku12. Mr. Bavo Sapara13. Miss Ayo Sangster14. Miss Tola Olujobi15. Mrs. A. 0. Oseni16. Dr. Eniola Sogbasan - Secretary

B. ACCOMMODATION

1. Alhaji Ganiyu Dawsdu - Chairman2. Mr. S, A. Alamutu - Vice-Chairman3. M r . Ebenezer Babatope4. Mr. Sam. 0. Igbe5. Mr. R. A. Glwa6 . Mrs. Sayo7. Mr. J. 0. Ajayi8 . Mr. R. B. Johnston9. M r . Asuquo Ekpe

10. Dr. J. A. Adedeji11. Mr. C. Udoh12. Mr. W. F. Akemu13. Mr. F. A. Akinola14. SAR Students University of Ibadan15. Mr. Kunie Banjo16. Mr. L. A. Ayorinde - Secretary

C. CATERING1. Mrs. Tinu Dawodu - Chairman2. Mr. A. F. Giwa - Vice-Chairman/

Alternate

368

3. Mrs. Banjoko - University of Lagos4. Catering Officer - College of5. Mrs. 0. Adeniran Education6 . Mr. E. I. Ajibede7. Dr. Olu Aderibigbe8 . Dr. (Miss) 0. 0. Okeowo9. Mrs * Ayodele

10. Mr. H, 0. Anthonio11. Mr. B. 0. Owolowo12. Catering Officer - Ibadan

Polytechnic13. Mrs. N. E. Inwang - Secretary

D. CEREMONIAL. PROTOCOL, RECEPTIONAND MEDALS

1. Major F. A. Williams - Chairman2. Lady Kofo Abayomi3. Mr. Eddie Johnson4. Miss Julie Coker5. Miss Bose Olujobi6 . Com. Wole Bucknor7. Mr. Ralph Opara8 . Mr. M. T. Gbajabiamila9. Mr. S. K. Domingo

10. Mr. M. A. Olasoji11. Lt. Porbeni12. Lt. Com. (Miss) Peters13. Major I. 0. Adebunmi14. Mr. B. Aisida15. Miss Rosemary Dacosta16. Lt. Col. J. A. Olubobokun17. Mr. B. E. Odiase18. Protocol Officer, External

Affairs, Ikeja19. Mrs. C. I. Bako20. Miss S. 0, Olafioye21. Mrs. C. A. Omlyale - Secretary

E. TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONSAND TRAFFIC

1. Mrs. S. 0. Akinwumi - Chairman2. Captain Segun Oladeinde - Vice-

Chairman3. Mr. J. A. Elueze4. Mr. B. Fadeyi5. Mr. S . D . Awoyemi6. Mr. J. 0. Adedeji7. Mr. E. 0. Abodunde

8. Capt. H. B. Lawanson9. Police Traffic Division,Ibadan

10. Officer-in-Charge Signals11. Mr. J. B. Ogufere12. Dr. Ola Balogun13. Transport Officer, U.I.-Mr.S.O,

Durojaiye14. Mr. A. Tairu15. Mr. Kwajafa (SP)16. Mr. Ayo Alabi - Secretary

F. PUBLICITY, PRESS AND PUBLICRELATIONS

1. Mr. Isola Folorunso - Chairman2. Mr, Dipo Otutuloro - Vice-

Chairman3. Mr. E . Okonkwo4. Alhaji Babington Bakre5. Mr. Fabio Lanlpekun6 . Mr. Funsho Adeolu7. Mr. S. B . Osuntolu8 . Mr. Bayo Animashaun9. Mr. 0. Bank-Olemoh

10. Mr. Owolabi Ilori11. Mr. Dele Adetiba12. Mr. Akin Ogunmade-Davies13. Mr. Olu Akaraogun14. DSP. Lekan Alabi15. Mr. A. Fashina-Thomas - Secretary

G. SECURITY1. Col. P. C. Tarfa - Chairman2. Mr. T. E. Animashaun - Vice-

Chairman3. Major A. S. Mukhtar4. Army Officer 186 Battalion,

Ibadan (Capt. S. N. Onwuteaka)5. Officer-in-charge Mobile Police,

Ibadan6. M r . J . Ogunyemi7. Mr. H. 0. Soyomobo8 . Mr. Femi Omigade - Secretary

H. TECHNICAL1. Mr. S. 0. Jolaoso, O.B.E. -

Chairman2. Dr. A. Eleyae

3693. Dr. J. Adedeji - Vice-Chairman4. Mr. 0. Omolabi5. Mr. M. A. Oladipo6 . Chairman of National Associations7. Mr. E. 0. Oladepo8 . Mr. W. A. Babarinde9. Mr. J. 0. Ogunyemi

10. Mr. Ayo Adegoke11. Mr. H. 0. Soyombo12. Mr. A. 0. Babalola13. Mr. E. A. Oniyinde - Secretary

J. MEDICAL1. Dr. A. Efunkoya - Chairman2. Dr. Ogunlusi - Vice-Chairman3. Prof. D. Femi Pearse4. Prof. 0. Akinla5. Col. Ajao6. Dr. Aderiblgbe7. Dr. O. Seganjo8. Dr. C. 0. Williams9. Dr. K. Odusote

10. Dr. J, 0. Toyosi11. Dr. A. Ashiru12. Dr. A. Okere13. Dr. D. F. Peters14. Dr. Rotimi15. Dr. Y. E. Kayode16. Mrs. Towobola M. 0.17. Mr. G. I. Odia18. Dr. Okoisor19. Dr. 0. 0. Sogbetun20. Dr. 0. Coker21. Dr. Shittu - Secretary

INTERPRETERS: E. K. DawoduR. A. Oyedele

L. DOCUMENTATION1. Mr. D. 0. Enajekpo - Chairman2. Mr. Kola Ogunbanwo3. Mr. A . 0. Okeowo4. Miss I. E. Wabara - Secretary5. Representatives of Disciplined

Services, Protocol/Ceremonial Committee, and one representa­tive from the Publicity, Press and Public Relations, are yet to be appointed.

K. INVITATION AND SEATING ARRANGEMENT

1. Brig. Olu Bajowa - Chairman2. Mr. K. Emechebe3. Mr. A. A. Omoera4. Major F. A. Williams5. Mr. Isola Folorunsho6 . Major R. 0. Fashina7. Maj or Bode Adewuyi8 . Mr. A. 0. Agundele - Secretary

SECRETARIAT: Mr. A. 0. FabunmiMr. A. 0. OgundeleI. E. Wabara (Miss)

APPENDIX 0 NIGERIA UNIVERSITY GAMES ASSOCIATION

(NUGA) ADMITTED TO FISU, 1970

370

371

(NUGA) ADMITTED TO FISU, 1970

c/o Sports Centre, University of Ife, Ile-Ife,16th April, 1970

*The Registrar,Dear Sir,

FISU Games August 26 - Sept. 6, 1970

Consequent on the admission of NUGA to FISU, the World Body hasinvited NUGA to send a contingent to the next World University Games holding in Turin, Italy, from August 26 - Sept. 6.

The NUGA hopes to participate in two events— athletics and lawn tennis. The Association has decided to limit the size of the contingent to not more than 15 which is the minimum size that would entitle us to 10% group travel rebate from Nigerian Airways.

From enquiries, we have learnt that a sum of N5,000 ($10,000.00) would be needed for the expenses of round trip travel, equipment and subsistence allowance.

The Association has decided to appeal to each of the four func­tioning universities to contribute a sum of HI,000 ($2,000) which willgive us H4,0C0 ($8,000).

We are making an appeal to the Nigerian Sports Council, Club 400 and some Nigerian firms for donations in cash and kind to make up for the balance of HI,000 ($2,000) . . .

We thank you for your past support.

Yours sincerely,4Secretary (NUGA)

^NUGA closed file (Vol. I) Marked 1965/70, University of Ife,Ile-Ife.

*A copy of this letter was sent to all the registrars of Nigerian universities. The request was granted.

APPENDIX P

RECORDS ESTABLISHED BY NIGERIAN ATHLETES IN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS COMPETITIONS

372

373RECORDS ESTABLISHED BY NIGERIAN ATHLETES IN

INTERNATIONAL SPORTS COMPETITIONS

Time, Height,Event Distance Name Date Place

100 m. 9.4 secs.Men Events J . Omogbeml 1959 Leverkusen

9.5 secs. D . Ej oke 1964 Lagos10.3 secs. D. Ejoke 1965 Dakar10.3 secs. B . Maj ekodunmi 1968 Mexico10.3 secs. K. Abdulal 1968 Mexico10.2 secs. K. Abdulai 1976 Lagos10.8 secs. 0. King Paul 1973 Ghana*

200 m. 20.7 secs. A. K. Amu 1961 Lagos20.7 secs. D . EJ oke 1965 Lagos21.5 secs. 0. Odelusi 1973 Ghana

400 m . 45.9 secs. M. Makama 1974 Christchurch46.4 secs. B. I j irigwo 1972 Munich47.6 secs. T. Orungbemi 1973 Ghana*

800 m. 1:48.7 mins. J. Abidoye 1972 London1:48.8 mins. M. Dogon-Yaro 1971 San Diego1:53.2 mins. T. Ogunjobi 1973 Ghana*

1,500 m. 3:47.2 mins. J. Abidoye 1973 Lagos4:3.7 mins. T. Ogunjobi 1973 Ghana*

5,000 m. 14:13.7 mins. J. Abidoye 1967 Lagos14:43.6 mins. S. Bature 1973 Lagos

10,000 m. 31:31.9 mins. G. Umoru 1974 Lagos

Marathon 2 Hrs. 49:12.6 mins. A. Musa 1973 Lagos

110 m. 13,7 secs. A. Aboyade Cole 1971 DurhamHurdles 13.6 secs. G. Obasogle 1976 U. S.

15.3 secs. V. Ozowa 1973 Ghana*

400 m. 51.3 secs. K. Agbabohka 1970 EdinburghHurdles 51.3 secs. G . Agbamu 1972 London

51.2 secs. T. Ogunjobi 1976 Rome

3,000 m. 9:11.3 mins. J. Doherty 1973 LagosSteeple 9:23.8 mins. J. Doherty 1974 Christchurch

374

EventTime, Height,

Distance Name Date Place

High Jump

Men

2.08 m.

Events (Continued)

S. Igun 1964 Ibadan A2.00 m. No name No date No place

Long Jump 8.02 m. C. Ehizuelen 1976 U. S.7.86 m. C. Ehizuelen 1974 Charleston7.13 m. M. Oduro 1973 Ghana*

Triple 16.82 m. C. Ehizuelen 1974 Des MoinesJump 1.2 m. M. Oduro 1973 Ghana*

Pole 4.26 m. M. Oundaye 1960 LagosVault 4.30 m. E. Elili 1976 Lagos

3.81 m. B. Asagba 1973 Ghana

Shot Put 16.69 m. C . Okonkwo 1974 Lagos *10.08 m. No name No date No place

Discus 49.99 m. P . Anukwa 1964 Lagos40.27 m. 0. Sam 1973 Ghana

Javelin 73.38 m. A. Oyakhire 1972 Ibadan60.64 m. No name 1973 Ghana*

Hammer 41.12 m. C. Okonkwo 1972 Lagos

4 x 100 m. 39.4 m. Oyebami, Ojo, 1968 Mexico

41.7 m.Maj ekodunmi Abdulai

No name 1973 *Ghana

4 x 400 m. 3.04.3 m. Dongoyaro, 1972 Munich

3.02.2 m.Ijirigwo, Makama, 0jo

1976 Montreal3.20.4 m. - - - 1973 Ghana*

4 x 800 m. 7.46.0 m. Nigerian Army 1972 Lagos

100 m. 10.7 secs.

Team

Women Events R. Akindele 1967 Ibadan

11.5 secs. J . Bodunrin 1968 Mexico12.3 secs. M. Bifarin 1973 Ghana*

375

EventTime, Height,

Distance Name Date

Women Events (Continued)200 m. 23.9 secs. R. Akindele 1968

23.9 secs. M. Oshikoya 197225.0 secs. M. Bifarin 1973

400 m. 54.3 secs. N. Nwosu 197457.5 secs. T. Adeleke 196853.9 secs. A. Obi 197661.2 secs. B. Kpologen 1973

800 m . 2:10.7 mins. R. Joshua 19732:17.4 mins. T. Adeleke 19702:34.5 mins. B. E. Egbuchua 1973

1,500 m. 4.38.0 secs. G . Ebukuyo 1970100 m. 13 secs. M. Oshikoya 1974Hurdles 15.9 secs. M. Bifarin 1973200 m. Hurdles

28.4 secs. N. Njoku 1971

Long Jump 6.50 m. M. Oshikoya 19745.24 m. No name No date

High Jump 1.76 m. M. Oshikoya 1973Shot Put 14.20 m. E . Okeke 1973Discus 40.82 m. A. Okoli 1973

39.93 m. A. Okoli 1973Javelin 41.49 m. D. Okuofo 1974

38.82 m. A. Okoli 1973Penthatlon 4423 points M. Oshikoya 19744 x 100 m. 45.15 secs. Edet, Obi,

Olaye, Oshikoya1972

45.7 sec. — - - 19734 x 400 m 3:40.8 mins. Mbakwe, Obi,

Joshua, Nwosu1974

Place

MexicoMunichGhana*

LagosIbadanLagosGhana*

LagosIbadanGhana*Christchurch

ChristchurchGhana*Stetford

Christchurch No place*GuadalajaraGuadalajara

LagosGhanaLagosGhana*ChristchurchMunich

*Ghana

*Sources: West Africa University Games (WAUG) Official Results,Closed NUGA/WAUG File, 1977, and Source for Nigerian Records, NSC and GAAA Track and Field Rest Performances (Ghana/Nigeria Official Pro­gramme) , 1974-75.

APPENDIX QOFFICERS OF THE NIGERIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

376

377

THE OFFICERS OF THE NOC

Names Position HeldSir Adetokunbo Ademola, KBE, P.C. Brigadier H.E.O. Adefope Mr. A. A. Ordia, M.B.E.Dr. L. 0. AdegbiteMr. S. 0. Williams, 0. 0.Mr. M. A. Arogundade Dr. H. E. Innis-Palmer Dr. A. A. Efunkoya Mr. J.L.A. Onasanya Mr. C. 0. Itabor Mr. 0. A. Ladelnde Mr. M. Isa Ahmed Mr. M. K. Iloh Dr. D. Olu Asekun Col. J. N. Garba Mr. S . Dankaro Mr. Adekunle Kukoyi Dr. (Miss) Simi Johnson Mr. S. 0. Jalaoso M.B.E.Mr. S. 0. Lawal Mr. M. A. Alabi Mr. C. A. Alubanwo Dr. S. L. Adesuyi Mr. H. Agedah Mr. Alii Idowu

Patron and member IOCPresidentSecretary GeneralVice PresidentVice PresidentMemberMemberMemberMemberAssistant Secretary GeneralAuditorMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberSecretary Games CommitteeAssistant SecretaryAssistant TreasurerMemberMemberMember

Names Position HeldMrs. Yetunde Makanji Mr. J. A. Agbobla Alhaji R. A. Adejumo Dr. S. 0. Sojirin Mr. J. A. Laleye Mr. Paul Goubsky Mr. N. L. Omitola Alhaji L. 0. Okunnu

MemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberHonorary Member Honorary Member

Source: National Sports Commission, Diary, 1976.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

379

380Books

Agbogun, Jacob B. Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games. Ilorin, Nigeria: Kvara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, 1975.

All, Ramadham. Africa at the Olympics. Bridge House, London: AfricaBooks Publishers, 1976.

Arlott, John, ed. The Oxford Companion to World Sports and Games. London: Oxford University Press, 1975.

Bennett, Bruce L., Maxwell L. Howell and Uriel Simri. ComparativePhysical Education and Sport. Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger,1975.

Buchanan, K. M., and J. C. Rugh. Land and People in Nigeria. London: University of London Press, 1962.

Bucher, Charles A. Foundations of Physical Education. 5th ed.St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company, 1972.

Burns, A. C. History of Nigeria. 7th ed. London: George Allen andUnwin, Ltd., 1969.

Carmichael, Williams and M. McIntyre Hood. Official History of theIXth British Commonwealth Games. Edinburg, Scotland: EdinburgSport Official Publication, 1970.

Cozens, F. and F. S. Stumpf, Sports in American Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953.

Delury, George E. The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1977.

Edwards, Harry. Sociology of Sport. Homewood, Illinois: The DorseyPress, 1973.

Enahoro, Anthony (Chief). Fugitive Offender, An Autobiography.London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1965.

Gardiner, E. N. Athletics of the Ancient World. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1955.

Goodhart, Philip, and Christopher Chataway. War Without Weapons.London: W. H. Allen, 1968.

Henry, Bill. History of the Olympic Games. New York: G. P. Putnam'sSons, Ltd., 1976.

Ikejiani, Okechukwu. Nigeria Education. Lagos: Longman, Nigeria Ltd.,1971.

381Jokl, Ernst. Sports In the Cultural Pattern of the World. Helsinki:

Institute of Occupational Health, 1956.

Johnson, Warren R., and E. R. Buskirk. Science and Medicine of Exer­cise and Sports. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1968.

Loy, John W., and Gerald Kenyon. Sport, Culture, and Society: AReader on the Sociology of Sport. New York: MacmillanCompany, 1969.

Mandell, Richard D. The Nazi Olympics. New York: The MacmillanCompany, 1971.

Mathews, Donald K. Measurement in Physical Education. Philadelphia:W. B. Saunders Company, 1973.

McIntosh, Peter, Sport in Society. London: C. A. Watts CompanyLimited, 1963.

Nduka, Otonti. Western Education and The Nigeria Cultural Background. Ibadan: Oxford University Press, 1964.

Nelson, Harold D. Area Handbook for Nigeria. Washington: UnitedStates Government Printing Office, 1972,

Schaap, Richard. An Illustrated History of the Olympics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963.

Schwrz, Walter, Nigeria: Tribes and a Nation. New York: FrederickA. Praeger, Inc., 1968.

Scott, Gladys M., ed. Research Methods in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Research Council for American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 1959.

Thompson, Richard. Race and Sports. Cambridge, Massachusetts: HarvardUniversity Press, 1961.

Van Dalen, Deobold B., and Bruce L. Bennett. A World History ofPhysical Education. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenticeHall, Inc., 1971.

Vendien, Lynn C., and John E. Nixon. The World Today in Health,Physical Education and Recreation. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1968.

382Documents

"Butler-Cooke Cup Competitions." File of Records 1954-70.

"National Sports Commission," Sports Diary, Lagos: Times Press Ltd.,(1976) pp. 10-12.

"National Sports Commission Decree No. 34." Official Gazette No. 41,Vol. 58, (August 12, 1971) pp. 149-153.

"Nigeria Olympic Committee," The Constitution, Lagos: OMP Works (1972),pp. 1-3.

"Nigeria University Games Association," The Constitution, (1972) pp. 2-4.

"NUGA/FASU/FISU Games," Closed File, University of Ife, Ile-Ife,Nigeria, 1977.

"NUGA/FISU Games," Open File, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 1977."NUGA/WAUG Games," IPE/FISU/NUGA File, University of Ife, Ile-Ife,

Nigeria, 1977.

Official Report, Commonwealth Games 1950-74, National Sports Commission Headquarters, Lagos, (1977) pp. 1-6.

"Sports and Games," IBMINED 1/1, C/W 3670 Ibadan National Archives,1949.

"West Africa Games (ECOWAS)," Estimate Report (Aug., 1977) pp. 1-15.

Miscellaneous"Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) of Nigeria," Official Handbook,

Lagos: P. 0. Box 211, 1952, 9.Benneh, G. History of All-Africa University Games. Ghana: University

of Ghana Publication, 1975, p. 9."British Commonwealth Games," Constitution of the British Commonwealth

Games. London: British Commonwealth Games Federation Publica­tion, (1969) 2-3.

British Amateur Athletic Association, Official Handbook. London:26 Park Crescent, 1940 pp. 1-8.

Federal Republic of Nigeria, a pamphlet issued by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Information publication, Lagos: (Nigeria), 1968 pp. 1-4.

383

"First Ghana and Nigeria Sports Festival," Programme of Events. Lagoa:National Sports Commission Publication, August 10, 1974, pp. 1-4.

"Ghana Amateur Athletic Association, GAAA," Programme of Track and Field Events between Ghana and Nigeria. 1974. NRC Publication, 1974,pp. 16-18.

Ife University, Sixth West African University Gaines Programme of Events, March 19-28, 1977, pp. 6-42.

Information about the Republic of Nigeria, A pamphlet produced by the Nigerian Embassay, Washington, D.C., 1975, pp. i-iv.

I.O.C. Olympism, A booklet of the International Olympic Committee, first published in 1972, pp. 5-11.

Soile, Oladipo. "An Analysis and Evaluation of the OrganizationalStructure and Policy of Western State Sports Council," Unpub­lished field report for a Certificate Management, Western State Sports Council, Ibadan, January, 1971, page 12.

"Western Region Sports Council," Western Nigerian Gazette XVIII,October 28, 1959, Part C.

Theses and Dissertations

Adedeji, John Ademole. "The Role of Physical Education In the Nation Building of Nigeria." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1972.

Agbogun, Jacob A. "A Study of the British Commonwealth Games." Unpub­lished master's thesis, The University of Alberta, 1970.

Dunning, Donna George. "An Historical Analysis of the Roles of Educa­tion in Nigeria, Society with Emphasis upon the Problems Created by Cross Cultural Contact." Unpublished master’s thesis, The Ohio State University, 1963.

Eleyae, Awoture. "A Comparative Analysis of Amateurism In Track andField Athletics in Nigeria and in the United States of America." Unpublished master's thesis, The University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 1971.

Eleyae, Awoture. "A Comparative Assessment of the Central Organizations for Amateur Sports in the United States of America and Nigeria." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 1973.

384

Hall, Sydney Owen. "The Role of Physical Education and Sport in the Nation Building Process in Kenya." Unpublished doctoral dis­sertation, The Ohio State University, 1973.

Semotiuk, Darwin Michael. "The Development of a Theoretical Framework for Analysing the Role of National Government Involvement in Sport and Physical Education and Its Application to Canada." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1970.

NewspapersDaily Times (Lagos)

"Army Football League Competition," May 23, 1942, p. 15.

"Vigilant," October 31, 1942, p. 8.

"Boxing a Strong Sport," September 22, 1944, p. 12.

Sports Writer, "Send Nigerian Athletes to England," April 29, 1948, p. 15.

"Nigeria and the British Commonwealth Games," February 7,1950, pp. 10-16."The Dream Came true, Nigeria goes to the Olympics," July 21, 1952, pp. 27-28.

"Ogbemudia presents ten Guineas to Hussey College," February 26, 1961, p. 15.

Fasogbon, "AAA of Nigeria sacrifices Nigeria's Image at the altar of foreign Amateur Idealism," August 24, 1970, pp. 29-30.

"African Universities meet in Lagos," April 12, 1971, pp. 29-30."General Gowon's Opening Address to declare the second All- Africa Games opened," January 8, 1973, pp. 29-30.Adebola Tayo, "Dupe Oshikoya: A pride to Nigeria," February 15, 1974, p. 29.Olu Makinde, "Implications of Dupe Oshikoyafs Success for Career Guidance," March 15, 1974, p. 7,"The Commonwealth Games," May 21, 1977, p. 34.

Times sport, "That Super-Club Contest," June 1, 1977, p. 30.

385

"More Backing for Sports," June 4, 1977, p. 30.0. Esbee, "Talking about Sport," June 10, 1977, p. 30.

Daily Sketch (Ibadan)

Sketch Sport, "All-Africa Games opened," January 8, 1973, p. 15.

Albert Owuru, "West Africa University Games," March 10, 1977, p. 16.

Albert Owuru, "West Africa University Games," March 29, 1977,p. 22.

Sketch Sport, "IICC the true African Champion," April 17, 1977, p. 15.

"Summit hopes of avoiding Commonwealth Games boycott," May 1, 1977, p. 15.

Onyeanisi Matthews, "Development of Sports in Nigeria and itsfuture prospects," May 29, 1977, p. 14.

Kayode Ojo, "Save the Commonwealth Games," June 14, 1977, p. 22.Bobby Naidoo, "African Sports take a new Look," August 2, 1977.Kayode Ojo, "Sports is unity," Obasanjo opens ECOWAS Games," August 28, 1977, p. 1.

Lagos Standard

"Early Clubs in Lagos," August 13, 1902, p. 4.

J. A. Douglas, "Programme of Amusement," August 17, 1904, p. 8.

"The Lagos Club," January 24, 1906, p. 10.Major Cuggisberg, "Native and English Games," June 3, 1914,p. 10.

Lagos Weekly Record"Inter-Colonial Competition," April 11, 1903, p. 8.

"Inter-Colonial Cricket Match," January 11, 1905, p. 8.

386"Friendly Competition," May 3, 1905, p. 10.The Editor, "Empire Day," June 3, 1916.

Nigeria Pioneer (Lagos)

"A Memorial Cup," May 3, 1918, p. 7.

Sports Editor, "First Football Match between Ghana and Nigeria," May 3, 1918, p. 10."Boxing in Lagos," September 6, 1929, p. 12.

Nigeria Tribune (Ibadan)

"Welcome Home from Melbourne," December 2, 1956, p. 12.

Tayo Adebola, "Women's Angle," March 10, 1973, p. 9.Tope Akerele, "IICC Crisis," June 10, 1977, p. 15.

Morning Post (Lagos)

"The Commonwealth Games," August 28, 1970, p. 11.

Lagunda Abiola, "Revolutionizing Sports in Nigeria," October 9, 1972, p. 31.

Punch (Enugu)

Adenuga Segun, "I am at Olympic Gold," May 8, 1977, p. 23.Lawal Lanre, "At last, AFC says 'Yes' to Champ, of Champ.,"June 1, 1977, p. 15.

Lagos WeekendDum Robert, "Football in Nigeria," February 25, 1977, p. 14.Dum Robert, "Essence of Youth Sports Federation," April 8,1977, p. 14.Dum Robert, "Tasks ahead of Nigerian Soccer Coach System,"June 10, 1977, p. 19.

387

The Times (London)

"The British Commonwealth Games," August 2, 1954, p. 2,

"The British Commonwealth Games, opened in Cardiff, Wales," July 19, 1958, p. 8.

"The British Commonwealth Games opened in Kingston, Jamaica," August 4, 1966, pp. 4-8.

Other Papers

"A Strong Nigerian Square made a clean sweep of the athletic events at the ECOWAS Games," Nigerian Observer (Lagos), September 3, 1977, pp. 22-23."Africa Games Start Today in Nigeria," Washington Post, January 7, 1973, p. 10."All-Africa Games in Lagos," The New York Times, January 8, 1973, p. 36.

388List of Personages Interviewed

NamesSport Administrators/CoachesMr. Abioye, J. A.National Volleyball Coach Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Dr. Adedeji, J. A.Acting Head of DepartmentDepartment of Health/Physical EducationUniversity of Ibadan, NigeriaMr. Adekunle, 0.Oyo State Sports Council Oyo, NigeriaDr. Ajisafe, Femi Head of DepartmentDepartment of Physical/Health Education University of Benin,Benin City, NigeriaMr. Akioye, I. A.Director of SportsNational Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaMr. Alabi, M. A.Secretary Nigeria Boxing Associationand General Secretary for Amateau Boxing in Africa

National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaMr. Ayo AlabiSecretary Amateur Basketball Association National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaDr. Awoture Eleyae Acting Director of Sports National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, Nigeria

Date

July 15, 1977

July 12, 1977 August 28, 1977

August 12, 1977

August 28, 1977

July 8, 1977

July 6-7, 1977 July 18-19, 1977

September 1, 1977

July 8, 1977

389Names

Mr. Babalola, A. 0.Secretary for SwimmingNational Sports Commission HeadquartersLagos, NigeriaMr. Ben Sola Adeyemi Physical Education Department Adeyemni College of Education Ondo, NigeriaMr. Dotun Olukokun Oyo State Sports Council Liberty Stadium Ibadan, NigeriaMr. Jide Omilabu Oyo State Sports Council Liberty Stadium Ibadan, NigeriaMr. Ogundari, J. T.University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMr. Ogundele, A. 0.Secretary for the ECOWAS Games National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaMr. Olowokere, G. M.Federal Government College Ilorin, Kwara State, NigeriaMr. Omotosho Omolabi Principal Coach and Acting Driector Liberty Stadium Ibadan, NigeriaMr. Oni, 0.National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaMr. Oniyide, E. 0.National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, NigeriaMr. S. 0. WilliamsSecretary for Amateur Athletic Association National Sports Commission Headquarters Lagos, Nigeria

Date July 18, .977

August 28, 1977

August 27, 1977

August 27, 1977

August 12, 1977

July 18, 1977

August 10, 1977

July 12, 1977

July 8, 1977

August 25, 1977

July 6-7, 1977July 18-19, 1977

Names390

DateMr. P. A. Oyedotun August 29, 1977Ministry of Education Inspectorate Division Ibadan, Nigeria

Mr. J. A. Oyewusi, Acting Director July 28, 1977Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMr. C. 0. Udoh August 15, 1977Department of Health/Physical Education University of Ibadan Ibadan, Nigeria

Athletes

Mr, Adeleke Adeniyi July 11, 1977Oyo State Sports Council Oshogbo, NigeriaMr. Babatunde Asagba July 28, 1977c/o Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMiss Biodun Balogun July 12, 1977c/o Oyo State Sports Council Liberty Stadium Ibadan, NigeriaMiss Gloria Ayanlaja July 12, 1977c/o Oyo State Sports Council Liberty Stadium Ibadan, Nigeria

Mr. Francis Mebawondoye August 12, 1977Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMr. Leke Oloyede July 11, 1977Institute of Physical Education August 28, 1977University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

391Names Date

Mrs. M. Odelusi July 28, 1977c/o Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMr. 0. Odelusi July 28, 1977Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Mr. Olu Juba August 30, 1977Institute of Physical Education University of Ife Ile-Ife, NigeriaMiss Racheal Anike July 28, 1977Department of Physical Education Adeyemi College of Education Ondo, Nigeria

Mrs. Ronke Eyinade Liberty Stadium Ibadan, Nigeria

Mr. Taiwo Ogunjobi July 7, 1977National Sports Commission Lagos, Nigeria

August 18, 1977 August 22, 1977

Miss Titi Adeleke Liberty Stadium Ibadan, Nigeria

August 18, 1977 August 22, 1977