Our Glorious Paralympians, I Hail O! -By Micheal A. Adeniyi

What else could they have done that to have made Nigerians proud; they deserve more than “thank you” I am hailing them, they are heroes. Well, the Paralympic team’s have really stunned me having left for the 2016 Paralympics without any fanfare and on the heels of another disappointing Olympic Games show, the physically-challenged athletes lifted spirits high in Rio where they amassed a dozen medals which eight of the total haul was gold while there were two silver as well as two bronze medals in the kitty. This feet has made thhe summer Paralympics team extraordinary in performances. Once again “I hail o” but I think the Nigerian contingent and the Government should provide state-of-the-art facilities to all players at par with the normal Olympic aspirants of the country.

Nigeria has been taking part in the Paralympics since 1992 and it first attended Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. I think Government should start identifying the players’ potential from an early stage as they need more time to gear up for the final competition, unlike the other Olympians. The mess created by the sport ministry, NFF and numerous sports bodies while training, flying and clearing the final list of players in some games for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil should in no way be allowed in the Paralympians’ selection, never should it happen! In comparison to the largest ever Nigerian team sent to the recently-concluded Olympics wherein the country bagged just three medals, the performance of the Paralympians has been far better. Most of this Medal winners are women, making Nigerian disabled women a rare feat and this will be a strong motivational force for many differently abled women who aspire to see their talents recognised at the global level.

To bolster the global Paralympic Movement and take it many steps ahead Nigeria, the athletics body may consider more players coming in from other differently abled categories than the currently reserved disabilities in mobility, amputation, blindness and so on.

Sensing their specific disabilities, the Government must move towards supported decision-making under which persons with disabilities enjoy full recognition and equality so as to make right decisions about their own abilities. We have an established system of fundamental rights and freedoms, but still we need to go a long way to fight social alienation of differently abled people. This will help many more of these sportspersons to showcase their talents in international sports events in the days to come. The time has come for the country’s ossified sports establishment system to facilitate and realise the huge talent still lying unearthed among our players.

Very well the NFF has been entrusted to prepare a comprehensive game plan for our Olympians, they must throw light on the hurdles encountered by the Paralympians as well.

One again Dear Paralympian I celebrate you. I hail oooo

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