{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mathematical 7","provider_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7","title":"Neglecting sports \u2013 a time bomb! - Mathematical 7","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ek6HN2XegK\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/neglecting-sports-a-time-bomb\/\">Neglecting sports \u2013 a time bomb!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/neglecting-sports-a-time-bomb\/embed\/#?secret=ek6HN2XegK\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Neglecting sports \u2013 a time bomb!&#8221; &#8212; Mathematical 7\" data-secret=\"ek6HN2XegK\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/time-bomb.jpg","thumbnail_width":225,"thumbnail_height":225,"description":"Permit me to apologise once again to all those that make this column part of their weekend diet, for not filling this space last weekend. Let me make a confession. For the first time in many years, I have not been excited about writing anything about sports. Whilst on my trip to the United States I met with a legion of Nigerian ex-international athletes across the spectrum of sports, exceptional athletes in their time, intellectually empowered now with education, exposed now to the best traditions and most functional systems in sports development, and eager to render service to their country, neglected and disregarded by their country, \u2018wasting\u2019 away in America like beautiful flowers in the desert (that metaphor once again) with America being the beneficiary of all their invaluable resources. I can imagine what bringing all these people together, adding their offerings to those of their counterparts here in Nigeria to confront the present situation in Nigerian sports that has been invaded by \u2018pirates\u2019 and the birthrights of authentic sports persons taken away from them. These invaders will not let go of their loot. In fact, they are becoming stronger, controlling everything with a firmer grip, with negative consequences on the sports themselves. The juices flowing from them are too sweet. I have been writing consistently for almost 40 years of my life on a subject matter that encapsulates the better part of my life itself. This effort has yielded nothing, even though the thought that some people actually take their time to read words put together by me has been humbling and fulfilling. That is what has kept me going. To look back through the years and realize that very little has changed to halt the downward slope of sport is to weep in silence. I must confess that I am angry and frustrated. There are experiences in sports that cannot be bought in the market place; experiences that cannot be taught within the four walls of a classroom; experiences that are the product of tears, sweat and blood on the fields and courts; experiences that should have been deployed to chart a proper course for Nigerian sports in the sea of global opportunities available to millions of our country\u2019s naturally gifted athletes presently wasting in the limbo of ignorance and disregard by government, drifting in the sea in a rudderless boat heading nowhere. It is obvious even to the blind that, structured the way it is now, Nigerian sport is going nowhere. Sports are stuck in the mud, a blind man leading a sector with one-eyed people. Yet, the wheels of the country continue to grind, totally oblivious of the damage been done to generations of young people whose lives could be different, who could be living in the paradise of fame, fortune, power and a good life through sports, but for the neglect, the sector suffers."}