New colours. . . . Femi Seun Ogunode was born in Ondo state, Nigeria, but now runs for Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula
For the past decade some Asian countries,
especially on the Arabian Peninsula, had been beefing up their ranks in
athletics with talent from Africa. These countries, more so Qatar, Bahrain and
Oman, used the power of the petro-dollar to lure gifted athletics from poor
African countries and offered them "a better life" in exchange for
these athletes forsaking their nationalities.
Kenya and Ethiopia were the biggest targets,
given their well-known talent pools in middle distance running. Though the
attitude initially was that Africa will not be crippled by the Arabs' poaching,
that notion changed in 2003 when Stephen Cherono left for Qatar. Kenya and
Africa were shaken because Cherono was among the brightest prospects to come
out of this continent at the time. He had already won the 1999 World Youth
Champion in the steeplechase and set a world junior record two years later. In
2002 he won the steeplechase gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games - all for
Kenya.
Then in 2003 Cherono, aged just 20, moved to
Qatar and changed his name to to Saif
Saaeed Shaheen. While some reports said he received up to US$1 million to
become a Qatari citizen, while others said it was merely for a monthly stiped
of $1,000.
The truth is that after Cherono the exodus to
Arabia was heightened, much to Africa's irritation. But as seen in the ongoing
Asia Games, the irritation is now affecting other Asia countries, as Africans
dominate the track. It is no longer a middle distances thing as
Nigeria-born Nigeria-born Femi Seun
Ogunode broke the hearts of Chinese and Japanese runners to claim gold for
Qatar and the new Asian 100m record in the Games in Korean city of Incheon.
Similarly, Ethiopian-born Maryam Yusuf Jamal was
peerless on Monday claiming the women’s 1500m gold, while the Moroccan-born
pair of Mohamad Al-Garni and Rashid Ramzi finished one-two in the men’s race.
Al-Garni also claimed the 5000m gold in the games. . . all for Qatar.
“It’s
unfair because they are taller and have a longer stride,” men’s 100 metre
silver medallist Su Bingtian lamented after the race. “They are more powerful
and athletic. Physically we are at a disadvantage.”
Made in Africa. . . Gold medalist, Mohamad Al Garni of Qatar (Morocco-born) is flanked by silver medalist Alemu Bekele Gebre of Bahrain (Ethiopia-born), right, and bronze medalist Albert Kibichii Rop of Bahrain (Kenya-born) at the model ceremony for the men's 5000m race in the Asia Games on September 27 in Incheon, South Korea
Japan’s Kei Takase, who finished third in the
100m, talked of the Africans setting the bar
“higher and higher" in what was supposed to be a regional Olympics
for Asian athletes.
But even more shocking is the speed with which
imported Africans are allowed to compete as Asians. Earlier this year
Nigerian-born Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya became a Bahraini. A few months later
she wins the women’s 400m gold in Asia Games.
As disturbing as it may sound, for both
continents, there's a school of thought in Asia that the influx of Africans may
not necessarily discourage home-grown talent but encourage it to up their game.
But as Su Bingtian of China observes, the African imports with "their
longer legs" are an unfair advantage. Maybe yes, maybe no.
However, from the African perspective, we have to
look hard at our misuse of resources, lack of support for development and
rewards for elite athletes. This is where the rot lies, which makes our sportsmen and women restless and
end up belonging to other continents.
Flying the flag. . . Nigerian-born Oluwakemi Mujidat Adekoya became a citizen of Bahrain a few months before winning the women’s 400m gold in Asia Games
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