Team Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games success in Glasgow

 

For so long, Nigeria has been in  the world news with ‘not-so-pleasant’ stories. Fake agency, wasteful budget, corruption allegation, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, Yahoo-yahoo or internet scams, irregular migration, drug trafficking, herder / farmers clashes, poverty and unemployment are some of the news broadcasts by international media organisations about my country. It is however heartwarming to learn that something good has come out of Nigeria’s Nazareth in sports, I mean athletics.

The Commonwealth Games is a global multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. First staged in 1930 as the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada with 11 countries and 6 sports, the event has grown from 400 athletes into a massive international gathering representing dozens of nations and territories. It was proposed in 1891 by Astley Cooper to build unity in the British Empire. Canceled in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. Renamed over time to match political shifts from empire to a voluntary association.

Nigeria first participated at the Commonwealth Games (then known as British Empire Games) in 1950 at Auckland, New Zealand.  winning a single silver medal.  Joshua Majekodunmi won Nigeria’s first ever medal at the Games in the men's high jump.  However, the country did not participate in four Commonwealth Games editions: 1962, 1978, 1986, and 1998. In 1962, Nigeria did not attend the Games in Perth, Australia. In 1978, Nigeria boycotted the Edmonton Games to protest New Zealand’s sporting ties with apartheid South Africa. In 1986, the country likewise shunned the Edinburgh Games because Britain refused to impose sanctions against apartheid South Africa. In 1998 we missed the Kuala Lumpur Games due to the country's suspension from the Commonwealth.

Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games took place from July 23 to August 2, 2026, featuring 10 sports and 6 para-sports across 4 main venues.  Around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories participated at the quadrennial events. Ahmedabad, India, will host the 2030 centennial games. Nigeria’s total was 10 medals fewer than the haul recorded at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. However, the lower count was largely influenced by the scaled-down nature of the Glasgow Games. Glasgow took over hosting duties after Victoria, Australia, withdrew in July 2023. Because of limited preparation time and budget constraints, several sports were removed from the programme, including wrestling and table tennis, which have traditionally contributed significantly to Nigeria’s medal tally. Despite the reduced schedule, Nigerian athletes produced several standout performances.

Team Nigeria competed in 10 sports with 72 athletes, winning 24 medals comprising 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze to finish seventh on the medals table and emerged as the best performing African country at the Games. That’s exemplary and heartwarming!

Nigeria’s record breakers at the just concluded Games are: Goodness Nwachukwu who set a new world record and won gold in the women's para-discus (F42-44/61-64) with a 39.66m throw. Rafiatu Folashade Lawal dominated the women's weightlifting event by breaking three separate Commonwealth Games records in a single day to win Gold Medal for Nigeria. Samuel Ogazi became the first Nigerian man to win the 400m title, setting a new Games record of 44.25 seconds. Rita Ferdinand and Folashade Oluwafemiayo set world records in para-powerlifting (lifting 158kg and 175kg respectively). Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and Policeman Ezekiel Nathaniel made history as the first Nigerian men to win the Commonwealth shot put and 400m hurdles titles.

Nineteen-year-old Jessica Oji won a silver medal in the women's shot put with a throw of 17.87 meters. She is the first Nigerian woman to win a shot-put medal at the Games since 2006. Temitope Adesina won a historic bronze medal in the women's high jump. She cleared 1.90 metres to finish third, ending a 72-year high jump medal drought for Nigeria since Emmanuel Ifeajuna's gold in 1954 and becoming the first Nigerian woman to podium in the event. Kayinsola Ajayi also ended a 20-year wait for a Nigerian medal in the men’s 100m by claiming bronze.

As usual, Nigerian female athletes won more laurels for Nigeria at the Games. Nigerian ladies won five of the country’s 10 gold medals, five of the seven silver medals and four of the seven bronze medals while the duo of Patience Okon-George and Ella Onojuvwevwo also participated in the Mixed 4x400m relay that won bronze for Nigeria.

Hearty congratulations to all the winners at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Congratulations are also in order to the Chairman of National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, the president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Chief Tonobok Okowa, the Director General of National Institute for Sports, Comrade Phillip Shuaibu, the coaches, management and staff of NSC and AFN for the yeoman’s job they did to make Nigeria shine at the just concluded sports fiesta. Appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for approving the funds for the Games and the relevant authorities for prompt release of the approved funds.  Unlike in the past when Nigeria used to make the Games a jamboree of sort with very large contingent, Nigeria went to Glasgow with a relatively small contingent of 72. Not only that, there were no welfare issues with our athletes. No travel logistics or accommodation challenges and no doping scandal. This is praiseworthy!

It's time to build on the success of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Los Angeles Olympics is due in 2028 before the next Commonwealth Games in India in 2030. In between, there are global sporting events where Nigeran athletes will need to showcase their talents. It’s time for Nigeria to embark on comprehensive grassroots sports development and scouting for next generation of athletes to take over from the aging ones. Scholarships should be offered to promising athletes by federal and state governments including private sector and wealthy individuals to allow them focus on developing their sporting potentials. Sports, as we all know, is a multi-billion-dollar business which can yield high return on investment aside the prestige and honour it brings to our country. We need to develop our sporting facilities, recruits skillful coaches, hunt for very young athletes and create enabling environment for sports development. Sports is a large employer of labour and can help Nigeria reduce youth unemployment and restiveness.

I.G: @jideojong