Sports And Election Fever – Who I will NOT cast my single vote for

Segun Odegbami

This not the best of times to write about sport. Writing on any subject outside of the ongoing national elections in Nigeria would appear insensitive, particularly with the pains that all Nigerians are going through on the eve of, probably, the most important election in their country’s history – the Presidential election.

The election is a defining one for all Nigerians, a hard choice to elect a new leader that can steer Nigeria away from the precipice of calamity to safer grounds. None of the contending persons fits the perfect bill. For those of us in sport, we observe that their campaigns have been devoid of any mention of the most powerful tool in the world for the genuine unity and integration of Nigerians of various backgrounds, creeds, culture and tribes.

We believe that sport can play a big role in achieving those objectives, but we are grossly in the minority, so we hold our peace and join in the political conversations and processes. Even here, we are on a slippery slope. So, for us, to vote has become a burden.

We are very aware that there cannot be gains without pain. That is a well-known cliché in sport. In the ‘game’ of politics, for that’s what it really is, Nigerians have been playing too close to fire for too long, toying like spoilt children with the elements, and getting away every time with a slap on the wrist by not selecting their best XI.

Applying the old treatment now has started to burn the fingers of Nigerians. This time, they are truly caught between the devil and the deep blue sea in who to elect as their next President. Whoever they elect, they will be ‘losing’ before they can ‘win’. It is a conundrum without an easy or obvious way out.

In the wisdom of the Chief Umpire of this