The dream of the founding fathers of the National Sports Festival was to see a Nigeria’s version of the Olympic Games uniting Nigerian youth irrespective of their ethnic, sex, religious and social backgrounds.
This has been the main objective of the sports festival since the first edition in addition to winning of laurels by participating athletes for their respective states. These athletes, men and women, are seeing as Ambassadors of their states. Athletes and officials including their fans are expected to exhibit high degree of spirit of sportsmanship.
The importance attached to fostering this unity made it imperative for the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, the custodian of the National Sports Festival, to take the hosting of the championship across the six geo-political zones and all states of the federation at every two year when the competition would be holding.
The 20th edition of the National Sports Festival, which Edo State hosted, seems to digress from the noble cause of this national unifying championship going by what happened at some centres in the course of 2-14 April, 2021 dates of the festival.
Did Team Edo and their fans really see the National Sports Festival as a tournament designed to unite Nigerian youth? Did they exhibit that spirit of sportsmanship during the tournament? These are questions that need to be answered by the host state judging from what happened in some of the events at the just concluded sports festival.
Nigerians were shocked to see the attitude of Team Edo in the football finals for both men and women where referees unprofessional calls led to Team Lagos losing the finals to the hosts.
The memory of what happened at the football pitch of University of Benin on the day of the two finals would still linger on in the memory of Lagos female football players, their officials and supporters, who were seriously intimidated and coerced to defeat by the antics of Team Edo; all in a bid to win at all costs.
Unconfirmed report also indicated that some visiting journalists who covered the football match were also not spared as they were allegedly threatened by some Team Edo fans who found them sympathetic to Team Lagos’ predicament.
With alleged glaring referee bad calls, the male football final was in favour of the host team on the same day the female football final was played.
Chief Coach of Lagos male football team, Yusuf Adesina gave an account of what happened to the media after the unfortunate event. He said: “It was a day light robbery in Edo. The intimidation, harassment and bad officiating were too much and there was nothing Lagos could do than to surrender to the antics of Team Edo.
“Immediately Lagos scored two goals, the centre referee began to officiate in favour of the hosts.
“We scored our clean two goals, but Edo scored their own goals which were assisted by the officials. They pushed our keeper to score the two goals which I believed the referee ought to have disallowed it.
“It was not a good day for us because we were treated badly by the hosts just because they wanted to win gold medal at all costs in the football event. Despite our defeat, I commend my players for their resilience and doggedness they showed throughout the match against all odds.”
One of the players, Sulaiman Ahmed expressed disappointment with the do or die affair syndrome the hosts displayed against Lagos in both male and female football categories. He said Lagos played against officials and fans which denied them from winning gold medal in football event.
The violence at the boxing event would go down in the history of Edo State where some finals were declared inconclusive and were forced to be shifted to the day of closing ceremony, no thanks to the unsportsmanlike behaviour of fans of Team Edo who did not want to see one of their female boxer, Lydia Uhummangho losing her fight to Jachinlta Umunnpkwe from Bayelsa State.
Bayelsa’s boxer had the upper hand, both technically and physically in the 81kg bout. It was surprising to see Team Edo fans storming the floor, chanting war songs to intimidate the officials from announcing the result.
The action of the fans led to mayhem at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre on Airport Road, Benin on Tuesday night, 13 April, 2021, innocent athletes, officials, journalists, even security personnel on ground run for their dear lives.
Gunshots were heard within the premises of the Cultural Centre on that night as athletes and others ran towards the gate to escape
Not mindful that they were hosting Nigeria, the fans went on rampage leading to the stoppage of ongoing boxing events and for the first time in the history of the National Sports Festival, some boxing bouts which involved Team Lagos, Ondo, Delta and Enugu were declared inconclusive, forcing a shift to the following day normally reserve exclusively for closing ceremony.
Earlier on that day, fans of Team Ogun could not stomach a defeat from Team Lagos when one of their boxers, Kasali Abayomi lost 2-3 to Shittu Afolabi in the 52kg male bout. Instead of Team Ogun filed an official petition to Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) to register their displeasure on the outcome of the fight, they took the law into their hands, disrupting the proceedings. They attacked referees and other officials with chairs and table. This happened in the presence of top officials of Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) and Local Organising Committee (LOC) officials on ground.
This action call to question the level of security put in place by the organisers of the sports festival.
A Nigerian, Adegbenga Bakare has this to say while describing Team Edo’s attitude in a festival hosted by the state, “It’s a shame thing like this can still happen in the 21st century.”
Thomas Stephen, one of the athletes said he was so surprised that Edo fans behaved like lords during the festival thinking all results would be in their favour.
“It is not always like that in sports. If you can accept victory, you must also accept defeat. That is what we call spirit of sportsmanship. So sad that Team Edo disappointed themselves by the shameful action at the football event and what happened at Oba Akenzua Sports Centre during boxing events,” Stephen said.
“What could have been a great tournament was marred by the selfishness and greediness of Team Edo by their shameful action,” said Segun Ogunshakin, a resident in Benin who watched the female football final at the University of Benin.
“I feel so sad for Nigerian football for what the referee did to rob Lagos of the match. I also feel so bad for Team Edo who supposed to be good hosts to other states. What I heard Edo fans did at boxing venue was uncalled for and most be condemned,” Ogunshakin said.
The need to have a free and fair National Sports Festival must be the concern of all stakeholders, if possible, it must be enshrined in the code of conducts for any state bidding to host while clear spelt out penalty and sanction must be given to any defaulting state.
The future of Nigerian sports depend on how best competition such as the National Sports Festival are organised devoid of any stain which may put the image of the host and other stakeholders into disrepute.
