Nigerian athletes are breaking world records at the ongoing Rio Paralympic Games. Team Nigeria has won eight gold medals, more than any other African country. Unfortunately, little or nothing has been said to recognise the excellent performance of the Nigeria’s physically impaired athletes.
During the recent Rio Olympic Games, Team Nigeria received a lot of publicity from both local and international media and ended up winning only one bronze medal. In contrast, Nigeria’s Paralympic team winning eight gold medals has been largely overlooked. It is expected that the remarkable performance of these athletes should spur laudable comments from different quarters, most especially the federal government.
The physically impaired individuals should be appreciated for their world record breaking performances. This will motivate the team to exhibit more brilliant performances at future Paralympic Games.
Presently, Team Nigeria has won twelve medals; eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals. This makes Nigeria occupy the eleventh position on the Paralympic games medal table.
Why Nigeria’s Paralympic athletes receive second class treatment
Obviously, the Nigeria’s Paralympic team athletes are not well recognised despite their mouthwatering performances. A major reason for this second class treatment is their physically impaired nature. This mentality is pervasive in Nigeria as these people are being treated like they are not part of the society. This idea deepens the stereotype against them in our society. Consequently, it affects the productivity of these physically impaired individuals.
The athletes suffer neglect because they are seen as second citizens. They receive relatively poor treatment from the federal government when representing Nigeria at international sporting events like Rio Paralympic Games. This is unlike the palatable treatments are given to the able-bodied Olympic athletes. For instance, Nigeria’s Olympians are often celebrated for their performance at Atlanta 1996 but the Paralympic team did better by winning three gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
In addition, the Ministry of Sport pays less attention to the physically impaired athletes. The annual budget of the ministry focuses more on football while other sports receive less allocation. This is evident in the 2016 annual budget where N1,289,686,404 is allocated to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), while other sports receive a lesser allocation. In this vein, Paralympic athletes are not well catered for and not well recognised. This is a major issue that needs to be addressed because the Paralympic athletes are making the country proud.
Meet Team Nigeria’s eight gold medalists
Ezuruike Roland: He won the first gold medal for Nigeria at the ongoing Rio Paralympic Games. He took the gold medal in the men’s 54kg Powerlifting event. He won his first gold medal for Nigeria at the 2015 African games.
Kehinde Paul: He broke a world record with a 220kg lift in the men’s 65kg Powerlifting event. He won the second gold for the Nigeria at ongoing Rio Paralympic games. Kehinde won a gold medal at the men’s 72kg powerlifting event of the 2014 Commonwealth games.
Ejike Lucy: The team Nigeria’s captain set a Paralympic and World record by winning the women’s 61kg powerlifting event with 138kg lift. Her spectacular performance gave team Nigeria another gold medal at the ongoing Paralympic games.
Onye Lauritta: She won the Nigerian seventh medal at the ongoing Paralympic games. She pulled a brilliant performance at the Women’s shot put F40 Athletic event when she her first throw of 7.83m breaking the world record of 7.72m. Onye’s final throw of 8.40m earned her the gold medal.
Nwosu Ndidi: She won the fifth gold for Nigeria at the women’s 73kg Powerlifting event. She lifted 140kg to equate the Paralympics records. Despite her poor start at the event, she was able to make things by the end of the game, which earned her a gold medal.
Omolayo Bose: She was able to set a new record for herself at the women’s 79kg Powerlifting event of the ongoing Paralympic Games. She won the sixth gold medal as lifted 138kg, outsmarting her China’s counterpart, Lili Hu, that lifted 135kg.
Ugwunwa Flora: She won the seventh gold medal for Nigeria at the Women’s Javelin throw F53/54 athletics event. She recorded a throw of 20.25m to win another gold medal for the country. The 32-year-old Javelin thrower dominated the whole scene by beating the world record of 18.86m by 2m.
Orji Josephine: She won the eight gold medal for Nigeria at the Women’s 86kg Powerlifting event. She gave Nigeria the eleventh medal at the Paralympics. She lifted 147kg to win her gold, making her best in the event.
