{"id":3188,"date":"2022-07-23T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/?p=3188"},"modified":"2022-07-22T17:14:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T16:14:14","slug":"open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Letter to H.E. Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) on forgotten African Sports heroes.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Your Excellency,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I salute you on behalf of all generations of African sportsmen and women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Forgive me for writing you a public letter even though a copy of this will soon be on your desk at the\u00a0<b>African Union<\/b>\u00a0headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is only for your information, for now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I am inspired to make my humble contribution to the celebrations of the posthumous birthday of the great African son, the late, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, that took place earlier this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The late Madiba, represents many things to many people all over the world, particularly Africans. Generally, though, he is revered by all as one of the greatest human beings that ever lived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The man\u2019s 27 years behind bars were not in vain. They were the price he had to pay for taking a courageous and noble stand against injustice, racial segregation and discrimination against Blacks in South Africa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">His being in jail became a rallying point for the greatest coalition of the Black race on earth at the time, awakening Black and African consciousness, and promoting racial equality and a level playing field for all of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">In the course of that chequered struggle, fought on several fronts but mostly political, there were a few moments and events that were epochal and stood out. One of them that probably sent the most powerful message to the world was conceived by Tanzanian President, Julius Nwalimu Nyerere, championed by Nigerian Head of State, Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo, and executed by the Presidents of 25 African countries as well as those of Iraq and Guyana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Former Governor of Atlanta in the United States of America, Ambassador Andrew Young, still credits President Olusegun Obasanjo and Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, Abraham Ordia, with igniting the fire that consumed the 1976 Olympic games, unleashed a new and very potent weapon for change in the world, and kick-started the unstoppable process of Nelson Mandela\u2019s release from jail and his metamorphosis into the sage that is now revered and described as one of the greatest humans to walk the face of the earth.\u00a0<\/span><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">From\u00a0<b><i>Montreal \u201876<\/i><\/b>\u00a0the walls of Apartheid started to crack and crumble. They finally fell in 1993, with Sport successfully baring its fangs and using its awesome powers to change the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Having said all that, as the world remembers and celebrates Nelson Mandela posthumously at 104, there are some persons reeling from the pains of that 1976 boycott.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">These are the athletes from 27 countries that hearkened to Africa\u2019s call, set aside their Olympics dreams so that Black South Africans can gain freedom, and boycotted the games. It was a success that came with a very high price tag, a sacrifice that has remained unacknowledged even by South Africa, the beneficiary country, for almost half a Century.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Many of the athletes never got a second chance to attend another any Olympics. Many have died, unacknowledged and unrecognised.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Even a check at the International Olympic Committee\u2019s headquarters in Switzerland reveals that none of them is\u00a0\u00a0registered as having attended the 1976 Olympics. In short, their action has faded into oblivion, buried in the sands of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Now, dead bones have risen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">One of the athletes that was involved in 1976, a Nigerian hurdler, Godwin Obasogie, wrote a scathing and revealing message on a social media platform from his base in New York this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><b><i>&#8220;Let them sit and think. The best group of athletes in all sports were put together and\u00a0<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Nigeria<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>\u00a0took us to\u00a0<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">the\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>1976 Olympics with lot<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">s\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>of medal hopes&#8230; After 4 years of preparation, 24 hours to the opening ceremony, BOOM!\u00a0<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">they announce we\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>are not<\/i><\/b><b><i>\u00a0<span lang=\"EN-GB\">to\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>compe<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">te<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>. We sacrifice<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">d<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>\u00a0our medals to liberate South Africa.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><b><i><br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/>They brought us back to Lagos,\u00a0<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">and\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>dumped us. Good-bye. No apologies. No appreciation. No recognition. No medals of honor like most countries will do after such a boycott.\u00a0<br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/>Many people on that team have gone to their grave with anger, and those of us living are still angry.\u00a0<br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/><br aria-hidden=\"true\" \/>They took away our medals, joy and life-time Olympic<\/i><\/b><b><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\">s<\/span><\/i><\/b><b><i>\u00a0dreams.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><b><i>Until that team gets apologies, or recognition from the right quarters, no matter how we try, it\u2019s never going to be right again for Nigerian sports. We were used and dumped and they moved on. Over 40 years later, we have not moved on. We are still angry&#8221;.<\/i><\/b><b><i><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I hope, your Excellency, that you can feel Godwin Obasogie\u2019s pain and anger. He is calling from a deep and depressing place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Somehow, things just do not happen by \u2018accident\u2019. All of nature is of an intricate design that humans can never unfathom. So, the elements have heard Godwin\u2019s voice and have started reacting, planting the seeds of hope and a new future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The\u00a0<b>Nigerian Institute of International Affair<\/b>s has unearthed some of the forgotten history of Nigerian Sport and heroes.\u00a0\u00a0It is partnering with a patriotic Nigerian philanthropist,\u00a0<b>Allen Onyemah<\/b>, Chief Executive Officer of the country\u2019s largest airline,\u00a0<b><i>Airpeace Airline\u00a0<\/i><\/b>to do something about it<b><i>.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Some \u2018restitution\u2019 on behalf of the Nigerian people is at hand. The Nigerian\u00a0<b><i>Montreal \u201976<\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u2018heroes\u2019 are now to be remembered, recognised and honoured at an event being conceived to take place during Nigeria\u2019s Independence celebrations on October 1, 2022, in Lagos. I hope you shall be present, because you shall be invited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">On that day, a permanent monument is to be unveiled bearing the deeds and the names of all the Nigerian athletes that went to\u00a0<b><i>Montreal \u201976.<\/i><\/b>Their names will be permanently etched in Gold on\u00a0<b>The Sports Wall of Fame<\/b>\u00a0to be erected as a monument for specially-identified Nigerian Sports Heroes, to be located either inside the\u00a0<b>National Stadium<\/b>\u00a0complex in Lagos, or within the premises of the\u00a0<b>Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,<\/b>\u00a0<b>NIIA<\/b>, in Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Your Excellency, as you can see from my narrative, this is not a purely sports affair. Indeed, it is more of diplomacy than sport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">That\u2019s why I am writing this to you, so that you can consider the possibility of greater recognition bestowed on all the athletes from the 25 African countries that played a role in 1976 in the struggle that accelerated the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and in the ascension of Nelson Mandela, whose birthday is being celebrated all over Africa this week, as the First Black President of a \u2018free\u2019 South Africa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The\u00a0<b>AU<\/b>\u00a0can adopt the Nigerian example, and establish a new special unit for Sports and Diplomacy, and prioritise a worthy place for Sport as a diplomatic tool in Africa\u2019s relationship with the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Celebrating the continent\u2019s heroes will be a good place to start, inspiring a whole new generation of young, gifted Africans that are doing and can do extra-ordinary things through sports in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Just for your information also sir, these are the\u00a0\u00a0countries involved in the 1976 boycott:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Tchad, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Zambia, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Mali, Swaziland, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, Tanzania, Central African Republic, and Nigeria.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">The two Non-African countries that also joined were Guyana, and Iraq.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">I am in the process of compiling the names of all the athletes involved, should the AU need them, soon, I hope.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Yours faithfully,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_ydpc8eddedfMsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\">Ambassador Olusegun Odegbami, MON, fnim, AFNIIA, OLY<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I salute you on behalf of all generations of African sportsmen and women.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Forgive me for writing you a public letter even though a copy of this will soon be on your desk at the\u00a0African Union\u00a0headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is only for your information, for now.<\/p>\n<p>I am inspired to make my humble contribution to the celebrations of the posthumous birthday of the great African son, the late, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, that took place earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>The late Madiba, represents many things to many people all over the world, particularly Africans. Generally, though, he is revered by all as one of the greatest human beings that ever lived.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-general"],"gutentor_comment":0,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Open Letter to H.E. Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) on forgotten African Sports heroes.\u00a0 - Mathematical 7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open Letter to H.E. Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) on forgotten African Sports heroes.\u00a0 - Mathematical 7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I salute you on behalf of all generations of African sportsmen and women.\u00a0  Forgive me for writing you a public letter even though a copy of this will soon be on your desk at the\u00a0African Union\u00a0headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is only for your information, for now.  I am inspired to make my humble contribution to the celebrations of the posthumous birthday of the great African son, the late, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, that took place earlier this week.  The late Madiba, represents many things to many people all over the world, particularly Africans. 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I am inspired to make my humble contribution to the celebrations of the posthumous birthday of the great African son, the late, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, that took place earlier this week.  The late Madiba, represents many things to many people all over the world, particularly Africans. Generally, though, he is revered by all as one of the greatest human beings that ever lived.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes\/","og_site_name":"Mathematical 7","article_publisher":"@Mathematical7","article_author":"@Mathematical7","article_published_time":"2022-07-23T11:00:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/African-Union-logo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Olusegun Odegbami","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mathematical7","twitter_site":"@mathematical7","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Olusegun Odegbami","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/open-letter-to-h-e-macky-sall-chairperson-of-the-african-union-au-on-forgotten-african-sports-heroes\/"},"author":{"name":"Olusegun Odegbami","@id":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/#\/schema\/person\/51ca8d6f5a931b5938034ed6b563c90c"},"headline":"Open Letter to H.E. 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