How Nigeria missed exploiting the Publicity potentials of the Olympics

Rio 2016 has come and gone. But once again, Nigeria has missed the opportunity to establish itself as a nation brand. We have missed out on the Publicity the enormous 17-day visibility accorded participating countries, or better put, the media attention accorded medal-winning countries, by a 3.5 billion worldwide viewing audience.

Nigeria missed those glorious moments when the world stood still for champions as they received their medals. Those moments when media mention provoked interest in some otherwise obscure countries. Those moments the people of the world open their hearts and minds to the peoples of the countries showing up and more so, winning the medals. And the Olympics is always a veritable platform to get media attention.

We had little to celebrate, and that guaranteed our media blackout. No mentions! Not even our traditional sports of wrestling, boxing, football and athletics could herald us. We still grapple with the fundamental problems of mediocrity, indiscipline, laxity, melancholy and nonchalance. It was another jamboree and racketeering was widely bandied. We participated in very little number of events, and won medals in very much less, only in football, actually, which delivered too little too late, a Bronze that guaranteed us a place at the bottom of the Medals Table.

We missed out on the attention enjoyed by medal-winning countries, even by event-participating countries. We missed out on the Tourism, Business and Skills/Tech transfer opportunities that trail such visibility and by extension, media attention that such exposure brings. We also missed out on the opportunity to launder some of our sorry reputation.

Shouldn’t the government know, with its retinue of advisers, that sporting glory indicates the wellbeing, steadiness, seriousness, steadfastness, progress, and social development of nation states; it reaffirms the place of a country on the world map, and accords international recognition and significance. The consequent media reports impact the psyche of a country and its citizens’, breeding confidence. But sporting glory has its way of abandoning the talented, and rewarding the meticulous, the disciplined, the focussed and the organised.

Nation brands have long used Sports and accompanying media attention to propagate ideologies, assume domination, and even settle socio-political scores. America still uses Sports to remind the world of its economic, political and systemic domination of the world. But Nigeria won’t even win the All-African Games, predictably not even the next, thus denying itself of inestimable Publicity, consistently.

At the end of it, Kenya sat 15^th, ahead of all other listed African countries on the Medals Table. South Africa, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Burundi, Niger, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco made up the rest of the African pack, in that order. Kenya is Africa’s best-decorated, best featured, its anthem played the most, and its flag continues to fly in our hearts, pricking our consciousness on other good things about the country: the image, the business prospects, the tourism and the possibilities.

So, how many of us have heard of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan? Well, the country won a Bronze medal in weightlifting where Nigeria had excelled in the past. Even the UAE, in which Nigerians have invested so much looted petro-dollars, in its city of Dubai especially, has also developed its sports and come to world reckoning, winning a bronze medal in Judo.

It might be pertinent to note that 21 African Olympic Committees from: Mauritania, Liberia, Swaziland, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe, South Sudan, Comoros, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, DRC, Niger, Malawi, Togo, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea. Guinea Bissau, Mali and Benin collectively sent in 81 athletes, same as Nigeria which returned with only one Bronze medal. Niger with 5 athletes only, won a Silver medal.

On a lighter note, couldn’t our Niger Delta ‘Scavengers’ have spun some magic in swimming; IPOBists in wrestling, boxing or weightlifting; BH’ers in Archery; and ratings of the Police and Armed Forces in Shooting? At least that’s the wild assumptions and imagination of many who leave everything to natural tendency and chance than careful planning and preparations.

We even lost our reputed shine, razzmatazz and flamboyance during Opening Ceremonies, choosing tracksuits over all creative local apparels. With the ‘late arrival of costumes’, this year’s was beneath our past outings, by far.

The Press photographers were there, waiting; the newshounds were there probing, but Nigeria offered no content good enough for exploitation. Media attention eluded us and we deluded it. We cannot continue to pretend promoting the brand Nigeria without consistently creating awareness, interest and loyalty. Only then can we reposition Nigeria and build for it a more positive image.

-‘Dele Dele-Olukoju