Nigeria: The Dilemma of the Super Falcons Bonanza
For once, in a very long time, the nation was in unison, expressing pure joy and fulfilment. You can feel, breathe, and catch it. It was so overwhelming that the Aso Rock seat of power was caught up with it, and the President and First Lady leading the way. People in a nation that is in severe pain and hardship suddenly found their voice, and President Bola Tinubu grabbed the opportunity with all he had.
Having been subjected to so much pressure from the activities in the economic and political spheres, the President rode the wave of opportunism and dished out national awards to the victorious Super Falcons, topping it with a hundred thousand US dollars to equivalent to each of the players and allocation of a flat to each of them and their officials in the renewed hope housing estate in Abuja.
A surprised nation was caught between the excitement of the moment and the very significant gesture by the president. Were the cash gifts and awards justified? According to an AI overview from Google: “Following their qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the Uzbekistan national football team received a unique and generous gift from the president: each player was gifted a BYD electric car, according to news reports. This was a special celebration for the team’s historic achievement of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. The cars were presented to the players after their final qualifying match against Qatar.” It must be noted that they also got national awards.
In our economics classes of the seventies and eighties, the sentence then was “Brazil is the highest debtor nation of the world”. At the same time the popularity of Brazil was rising through the export of their Samba-style of football. So, people did not notice the dire economic conditions of the people. They loved and admired Brazil through their football, which infinitely attracted huge foreign direct investments. A Brazilian was heading the world football governing body, and that also brought other levels of respect to the country of Brazil.
What the Super Falcons victory has done for Nigeria cannot be quantified. It showed our ability to attain the highest heights if the divisions amongst us could be properly managed to our advantage. On the field that day, every region of this country was represented, and the selections were based strictly on merit. Despite the strident criticism of the coach when he first brought out the list, he stood his ground. He did not rely on a particular individual but was able to adjust his team list according to the strength of the opposition, and there was no complaint from any player for being left out. It showed that the problems of this country are mainly caused by a negligible few, who are bent on placing their own narrow interests over that of the collective. It re-emphasizes our own resilient culture, of doggedness in the midst of every odds, which has produced outstanding Nigerians in diaspora and within.
It is the same resilience that has kept the people on, despite the apparent neglect of successive governments over their plight. You cannot put a price on the value of what these girls had done, in the manner of our heroes in other areas, of arts, science and culture. Our music is now the dominant genre, and the world couldn’t do anything but accept it. It is now our mantra that “Nigeria no dey carry last” anywhere we find ourselves.
Since coming to power, President Tinubu has travelled to almost all parts of the globe, trying to attract foreign investors and post positive image for the country; of course at very huge cost to the country’s coffers. The results of these efforts are far diminished by just one continental cup win by the Super Falcons, it has lifted the country’s mood and given every body renewed hope as our politicians would want to term it. It has also shown that with real focus in the right areas, things could be done well to bring the much desired change for the country. So, the cash, flats, and award gifts to the Super Falcons are very well deserved.
Some are also of the opinion that the coaches should have gotten higher cash award instead of half of the hundred dollars given to them. There was also this fear of sustainability and fairness to other sports, but this fear was laid to rest after the basketball team, D’tigress, repeated the same feat and got the same treatment from the Federal Government. What remains now is sustainability. How can we guarantee that future rewards will match such feats? With the challenges of our economy, can it hold? What about our heroes in other fields of endeavours – scientists, military personnel, top-class academics, innovators, and indeed, every other person that has brought joy and pride to the nation?
Also, how can we put in place the right structures to make these feats a regular one and not off and on episodic events? How do we start building from the grassroots? How do we set programmes and timeliness for athletes’ developments? Set programmes that will encourage the youths that they use their time positively? These are the structures that will encourage the sustainability that we are all talking about. It is not all about money.
We have talked of local government autonomy and regional restructuring. This is what we are talking about. It is about reviving the competitive spirit in each of us to bring out the best to our comparative advantage without envy or hate. It is discovering these talents in whatever areas early enough so that they could be nurtured to full potential. That is the restructuring that I am referring to here. It is about thinking home first for any solution, instead of looking abroad from where no help cometh.
In the world of today, any country that cannot find home grown solutions to their challenges, will continue to remain beggar to other nations and act according to their dictates, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, is doing to us now. The arrangement now should focus on grassroots developments.
The Federal Government should do all it can to make sure the over 700 local governments, are enabled to function to our specific goals. Finally, let us have a resource pool to reward excellence with clear guidelines and standards for obtaining the rewards. With this, the mindsets of people representating Nigeria in diverse callings, wherever they may be, will be properly orientated – the civil service, various military and paramilitary services, academia, and individual businesses; let it be institutionalised that there is reward in excellent deliveries.
We must not fail to reward or encourage those who have served in the past. Pensions and other entitlements must be paid promptly. The issue of sustainability will involve putting in place workable structures that will ensure continuous rewards for all of those who have excelled in their various fields while representing Nigeria. It should not be limited to an arm of sports or one vocation. All put together will make the renewed hope dream a reality.
By Vanguard.
