60 Sports icons: Dare’s unpardonable blunder

By Fan Ndubuoke

Hello members of the sports community in Nigeria. I have taken time to go through the 60 sports icons recently honoured by our dear country, Nigeria.

First, I wish to  commend the Honourable Minister of sports, Mr. Sunday Dare for all his innovative ideas. Dare should have been here yesterday. 

However, the list of the 60 sports icons is flawed in many respects. Let us remove my immediate constituency, Sports journalism from the narrative for obvious reasons. But a journalist essentially chronicles events in the society. Some of the names omitted are unpardonable. 

For instance: This is a Nigerian that was at the helm of affairs as Sports minister when Nigeria conquered the world in 1985, U-16 World Cup. He later became the first elected chairman of the Nigeria Football Association. 

Under his tenure and supervision, Nigeria qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1993. The Golden Eaglets again won the World Cup in Japan under his watch.

For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the national team won the African Cup of Nations on foreign soil in Tunisia in 1994. The same year under his supervision, the national team, the Super Eagles participated in the World Cup for the first time during which the country made an unprecedented impression on world football. 

Not done yet, he led Nigeria and indeed Africa, to her first Olympic gold medal in football at Atlanta 1996. Nigeria qualified and participated in the 1998 World Cup under his leadership. 

His name is Air Comdr Samson Emeka Omeruah(PhD). Three-time Sports minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and one time governor of Anambra state. 

You be the judge .

 .Ndubuoke, who wrote in from Owerri is a former SWAN president and a former board member of NFA.