Imagine Ghana was involved

EYES glued to the starting block, we all imagined the outcome. Nigeria has dominated the women’s sprints since landing on the driver’s seat at the 1978 All Africa Games. The dominance has been total and in Nairobi, in 1987, Nigeria raised the standards with a clean sweep of the 100m. A repeat in Johannesburg left no doubt that the sprints belonged to Nigeria.

As they lined up, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Endurance Ojokolo and Ene Emeh stood good chances of sustaining a tradition that Modupe Oshikoya and company began in Algiers. For once there was a two-pronged apprehension over the result of this race, one local, the other foreign. On Friday night I had received information that Mercy Nku, primed to win the 100m gold in Abuja, had been around, begging that she be pardoned.

Nku is on suspension after incidents that resulted in Nigerian women not lining up for the final of the 4x100m relay at the World Championships in Paris. Athletics was to start the next day - too late to register and Sports Minister Col. Musa Mohammed had said Nku was out of the Games. He was not even in town to consider the apology. If Nigeria lost the race, it would make the case of those who said that the suspension was hasty and could ruin the country’s chances (in athletics) at the 8th All Africa Games. Another source of concern was a certain Ghanaian who had been positing results that made her seem a threat to the Nigerian calculations.

Vida Anim had a chance to create what would have been an upset of the records. She almost did. From the start until 10 metres to the end of the race, the Ghanaian looked unstoppable, her yellow outfit slightly ahead of the prominent Nigerians in the race - Mary and Endurance. Ojokolo had been upset when the runners were recalled following a false start. She was clearly ahead in that instant.

They flash through the finishing with enough speed to create a blur to the ordinary eye. Then the waiting started. Did the Ghanaian get it? This was more of the question than which of the Nigerian had it. Mary had her sympathisers, she was running what someone dubbed her last All Africa Games 100m final. Will you bet on that? Endurance on her part was long overdue to make the point that she was the successor to the queen.

It was at this point that the drama started. We did not know what Mary saw, but the next moment she was laid flat on the track, threw both legs up in celebration. She began her victory lap, Endurance and Emeh tagging along. In the Team Nigeria spirit it did not matter who won so long as the medal was in Nigeria’s kit. Seconds later, the drama took a new turn.

The scoreboard “confirmed” that Endurance won, 11.27 seconds, ahead of Mary, though they were both timed in at the same mark. Mary stopped on her track, surprise all over her face. Endurance was too confused to celebrate. Within a split second, the scoreboard was telling another story - Mary had won with 11.26 seconds, Ojokolo was second with the same time and Vida third in 11.29 seconds.

“This is one reason the world cannot take us serious,” the spectators beside me said.

“They cannot tell us who won, they cannot give us the time.” I was also wondering what would have happened if the Ghanaian Ndah or other nationals were involved in the swinging 100m (women) result. I asked the same questions when I learnt that security people arrested Nigerian cycling who were training for their road race events.

Their offence was that they were on the presidential route, at a time the President was about to make the airport on his way to attend the 40th anniversary of the coronation of the Emir of Kano. Those arrested cyclists could have been South Africans, Ghanaians, Ethiopians, or any other nationals. These best Games ever can get better.