Ogbuku Lauds Female Athletes’ Spectacular Performance at Commonwealth Games

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

For their unprecedented sporting outing, the Nigerian female athletes, who represented the country in the just concluded commonwealth games in Birmingham, United Kingdom, have been commended for the extraordinary feat which placed the country in the 7th position on the overall medal table with 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals.

A public affairs analyst who is also the Special Assistant to the Deputy Senate President, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, gave the commendation in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday.

He said the Nigerian contingents to the games, especially the female athletes, have put smiles on the faces of Nigerians in spite of difficulties and numerous challenges facing the country.

Ogbuku, while showering praises on the heroic feats of the athletes, said: “If we have anything to put smiles on our faces for now, it’s the recent performance of our Nigerian athletes at the just concluded Commonwealth Games which gives us hope that things could be better in the future.”

According to him, prior to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which stands to be Nigeria’s best performance in world sporting competition, the last time Nigeria did well was the 1994 Commonwealth Victoria Games in Canada.

Ogbuku, while congratulating all the Nigerian women for making the country proud, also said: “These women did not only win gold medals, some of them also broke existing records and set new world records.”

He noted with satisfaction that the qualification of the Super Falcons, the female national football team for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that would take place in Australia and New Zealand, has made up for the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“From the look of things, it seems the women are taking the centre stage and putting Nigeria back on the world map despite the fact that they have been relegated and repressed here at home for a long time,” he said.

Ogbuku opined that more leadership roles should be given to the women to compensate for all their positive contributions to the growth of the country.