Egbunike ready to serve Nigeria again
By Nnamdi Okosieme
January 23, 2011 01:42AM
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Going by the calendar released by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Nigerian athletes have a loaded season ahead of them in 2011.
Of the competitions lined up, two are key, and these are the Athletics World Championship taking place in August in Daegu, South Korea and the All Africa Games taking place in Maputo, Mozambique in September.
Of the two events, Nigeria has greater pedigree at the All Africa Games where apart from the 1973 edition, which it hosted; it has finished first on the athletics medals table. Its total haul of 229 medals comprising 101 gold, 72 silver and 56 bronze medals, clearly makes it the most successful country as far as athletics is concerned at the games.
Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Solomon Ogba said Nigeria will make an impact this year on the international athletics scene. Sunday Bada, technical director of the federation says the federation will get quality coaches for our athletes to ensure that they excel in 2011:
“We do have quality Nigerian coaches both here in Nigeria and outside that can make the difference. We will reach out to them and the best will be engaged for Nigeria,” Bada said.
Indeed, not many Nigerians will disagree with Bada that quality coaching may well mean the difference between success and failure not only this year but even beyond.
One man who believes he can make the difference is Innocent Egbunike. Egbunike is one of the most accomplished and respected of Nigeria’s retired athletes. Egbunike, who has Olympic, World Athletics Championships and All Africa Games medals among others, is also an accomplished coach.
The retired quarter-miler who is part of a generation of athletes (Chidi Imoh, Olapade Adenekan, Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, the Ezinwa brothers: Davidson and Osmond, Fatima Yusuf,
Adewale Olukoju were some others) that put Nigeria on the international athletics map with their impressive performances in the 1980s and 1990s, believes Nigeria can get back on track.
“I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria will be great again. We just need to put things in place and we will get going again,” Egbunike said from his base in Qatar where he has been coaching since 2008.
Egbunike, a silver medallist in 400 metres at the 1987 Athletics World Championship in Rome is willing to be part of that revival.
Lending a hand
Nigeria has been without a head coach in athletics since 2008. Asked if he will be willing to leave his base in Qatar to take up coaching appointment in Nigeria, he said:
“If opportunity presents itself, I will be back home to bring change; it will be a great opportunity to give my best in order to bring change and hopefully a new era in Nigerian track and field I have given my vast experience and expertise to other nations, coaching their athletes to Olympic medals and it will be fitting to give back to our great nation, where it all started for me.” Egbunike’s coaching resume is indeed impressive. He has coached a host of Nigerian and foreign athletes. Some of them include: sprinters Omar Luom of Senegal (1995-1997) Joseph Batangdon Cameroon (2000-01, 2003), Sanyon Cooper of Liberia (2004-2005), the Aladefa siblings, Taiwo [1995-1996] and Kehinde [2000-2001] and Benedicta Ajudua (1999-2000).
Under Egbunike’s management, some of these athletes rediscovered their form.
But by far his biggest achievement as a coach came in 2008 when he coached a down and out American,
Angelo Taylor, to win gold medal in 400 metres hurdle at Beijing Olympics of that year. Taylor had won gold in the same event eight years earlier at the Sydney Olympics but had fallen on hard times. Down on his luck, he met Egbunike, who at the time was coaching a group of athletes including Chris Brown of Bahamas, who finished in fourth place at the Beijing Olympics in 400m and African 400m champion in 2006, Gary Kikaya, at Georgia Institute of Technology. His encounter with the Egbunike changed his situation.
Egbunike, a deeply religious individual renewed Taylor’s faith in God and helped him to get back on his feet. The result was the gold in Beijing. The Beijing Olympics was a busy one for Egbunike. Aside coaching those athletes, he was also head coach of the Nigerian athletics team, which picked up two bronze medals at the games. In 1996 and 2000 he had also served as coach with the Nigerian athletics contingents.
“We can surpass our Beijing performance,” says Egbunike, one of the few Nigerian former top athletes not to have failed a dope test at one time or the other in his career.
Loved and respected by the present generation of Nigerian athletes for his level-headedness and his, he believes he can ginger them to action: “We have the athletes who can make Nigeria great again in athletics. With the athletics federation ready to make things happen, I believe change is possible and I want to be part of that change,” he said.