As we enter Day Nine of the Paris Olympics without Nigeria getting on the medals table, it is clear that we are participating in too few events. Our sports minister needs to look at building in the following areas

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Team sports - When I was in secondary school, we participated in team sports every day. Handball, basketball, volleyball, football, hockey, etc were events in which we were all trained. Across the spectrum we had national games festivals for universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, police colleges, etc, in which talent emerged. We then had the National Sports Festival which produced the crème de la crème. Surely this can easily be revived

[2] Walking - Nobody can walk like the Nigerian villager. Some women and children have to walk 2km to the stream and back every morning just to fetch water at dawn. Olympic gold should be a Nigerian preserve

[3] Table tennis - There is a table on every street corner in Nigeria. We should be sweeping the medals table in this event at every Olympic Games

[4] Cycling - This one gets to me big time. Every Nigerian villager owns a bicycle and cycles to their farm on a daily basis. Nobody cycles more than the Nigerian villager

[5] Swimming - Nigeria has a 853km Atlantic coastline stretching from Badagry to Calabar with people living in all these riverine communities. Most of these people swim everyday, so I ask why these communities are not producing swimming champions?

[6] Rowing - Historically Ijaw culture is built on the canoe, with every family and city state operating fishing and war canoes. Indeed, Jaja of Opobo can to the fore by being a highly successful war canoe commander. Up until today, Nigeria’a 20m Ijaws are still expert rowers who row their canoes every day

[7] Long distance running - Physically, the Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri and almost identical to the East Africans the Luo, Kikuyu, Tigray and Oromo. How come the Kenyans, Ethiopians and Ugandans are excelling at marathons, steeple chase, 10,000 metres, 5,000 metres, etc and we are not?

[8] Wrestling - Do you all remember that it was wrestling that brought Okonkwo to the fore in Umuofia? In many of our local communities, wrestling is part of the culture. Another area in which we should be excelling

[9] Equestrianism - Across northern Nigeria, every emir holds an annual durbar, to which horse riding is central. Why do they not open a horse riding school to train their local youths who parade at the annual durbar and convert them into top athletes?

[10] Archery - Every maiguard in Nigeria is a bow and arrow expert. Why has this not translated to sporting success?