As Nigeria grapples with the aftermath of a disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a poignant poem by Rt. Hon. Orok Otu Duke JP, a seasoned sports executive who chairs the Cross River State Table Tennis Association and Canaan Table Tennis Club, has captured the nation’s collective frustration and hope for change. Titled ‘Be Bold, Go for Gold!,’ Duke’s recent poem serves as both a critique of the current state of Nigerian sports and a rallying cry for reform NEGROIDHAVEN has garnered.
The poem begins by reflecting on the high expectations that accompanied Nigeria’s journey to Paris. With great fanfare and anticipation, the nation hoped to make a mark on the world stage. However, the reality was far different. The athletes returned home empty-handed, and the nation’s hopes were dashed.
In his poem, Duke does not shy away from addressing the underlying issues that contributed to this failure. He sharply criticizes the mismanagement and corruption within Nigeria’s sports federations, calling for the removal of entrenched bureaucrats who stifle progress. The poem’s imagery vividly portrays the frustration and helplessness felt by the athletes, who were inadequately prepared and unsupported.
Looking forward to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Duke charges the Minister of Sports to take bold action. He calls for a thorough overhaul of the sports sector, drawing on the metaphor of cleaning the Augean Stables —a task requiring Herculean effort.
The full text of the poem follows below:
‘BE BOLD, GO FOR GOLD!!
(For Our Failure in Sports Olympics in Paris, 2024)
This title as an oxymoron,
Should not make us mourn.
We had gone to the XXXIII Sports Olympiad with hype
And hope,
With razzmatazz and fanfare,
But returned home bare.
We showed up for the ‘’Show’’,
But bowed out in a ‘’No Show’’.
Who goes to a gun-fight with a machete?
The rot and sleaze in our sports body is muted.
Malicious shenanigans, infractions
And deep seated mischief in all the Sports Federations should be booted.
Entrenched bureaucrats and parasites abound,
Wrestling and pinning mavericks and progress to the ground.
Every Nigerian athlete looked desolate;
Like a child waiting to be breastfed,
A writer without his dream;
A musician without a song –
The frustration was visibly palpable.
The Olympics that was lost in antiquity
And reborn in the modern era,
Has moved from the City of Lights
To the City of Angels;
From a recipe of Parisian delights
To Hollywood dreams –
Sports memories to last a lifetime.
Success is a mindset that does not rest on talents alone but by effort.
Efforts will drive you home,
When everyone expects you to give up,
Over matters that were executed before you came up.
When the clouds of doubt rain down on you,
Drag us from the canvas
And reposition us on the winning streak.
Shepherd us from the rain into sunshine:
Ginger, mollify and engineer another generation of sports enthusiasts.
In the XXXIV Sports Olympiad in Los Angeles in 2028,
Hon. Minister, be Bold and go for Gold;
You hold the yam, knife and mould,
You are able and enabled,
To clean the messed up Sports Augean Stable.’
