By Olumide Iyanda
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to take a position on cash and other rewards for Nigerian athletes who win laurels at international sporting events.
This was made known to QED on Monday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
Responding to enquiries about cash rewards after Buhari congratulated the national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, for winning the 2015 FIBA Africa Basketball (AfroBasket) Championship in Tunisia, Mr Adesina said “please let’s wait and see the direction first.”
Buhari on Monday joined other sports-loving Nigerians in applauding D’Tigers’ exhilarating 74-65 victory over their Angolan opponents in the AfroBasket 2015 final game which also secured Nigeria’s qualification for the men’s basketball event at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The President, according to a statement signed by Adesina, “commends the players for displaying exemplary strength, courage, determination and patriotism as well as great skills and creativity to dethrone Angola, the perennial African basketball champions.”
Buhari called on members of the team and their handlers to work very hard to surpass their extraordinary heroics in Tunisia before a global audience at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and bring even greater glory to Nigeria.
“The President assures the team, its managers and the Nigerian Basketball Federation that his administration will give them and Nigeria’s other representatives at the next Olympic Games, the fullest possible support to ensure that they are well prepared to excel against the champions of other countries and regions in Rio de Janeiro,” the statement concludes.
QED recalls that Buhari, as military Head of State in 1985, promised the national team, the Golden Eaglets, that won the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup (then known as known as the U-16 tournament) in China a house, stock in the Central Bank of Nigeria, streets to be named after each player and scholarships among other rewards for making the country and Africa proud.
The tradition of offering more than a presidential handshake, which began before Buhari in 1985, continued with successive administrations.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan in October 2014 alone splashed over N332.25 million as largesse on over 350 athletes and officials who had won various medals and laurels for Nigeria at various international and continental championships from seven months up to that moment.
