Bright Omokaro earned himself the infamous nickname, 10-10 at the Maroc ’88 Nations Cup.
Nigerian athletes returned as 10-10-10 at the Seventh African Athletics Championships which held in Cairo Egypt in 1990. The Green Eagles came back home from Morocco as second best and were renamed Super Eagles. The track and field contingent was simply the best in the Land of the River Nile.
Omokaro did a yeo man’s job for the Eagles in the semi-finals clash with Algeria. The Eagles were reduced to 10 players after making the lawful two substitutions. With the game at 1-1, the Desert Warriors had an edge. Then Omokaro tactically ‘balanced the equation’ by injuring an Algerian. The two teams had to play with 10 men each and Nigeria relied on a grueling penalty shoot out to qualify for the grand finale.
The trip to Cairo in 1990 came after Algeria had defeated the Eagles twice to win their first Africa Nations Cup, Algiers ’90. The Eagles won yet another silver. Many of the players were green horns. Herbert Anijekwu, Tajudeen Olukanmi, Ben Iroha, Aloy Agu, Daniel Amokachi, Okey Uche and Wasiu Ipaye made their Nations Cup debut. Stars like Stephen Keshi, Samson Siaisia, Peter Rufai, Humphrey Edobor and Sunday Eboigbe stayed away.
Highlight of Cairo ’90 was the absence of such elite athletes like Chidi Imo, Yusuf Ali, Henry Amike, Davidson Ezinwa, Adewale Olukoju, Olapade Adeniken and Kayode Oluyemi. Top female stars like Maria Usifo, Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, Tina Iheagwam, Beatrice Utondu, Airat Bakare, Christy Opara and Kehinde Vaughan were also missing.
By 1990, Usifo was the best Nigerian performer at the African Championships. She boasted of five gold medals which came in the women’s 100m and 400 metres Hurdles. At the Third Championships, Rabat ’84, she won the 100m Hurdles. This feat was repeated at Cairo ’85 and for the third time, she won at Algeria ’88.
Usifo was the 400m Hurdles queen at Algeria ’88 and Nigeria ’89. The import was that Nigeria went to Cairo ‘ 90 without Africa’s best female hurdler. Usifo was undisputed champion in both 100m and 400m Hurdles for five years ,from 1984 to 1989, having also won All Africa Games gold in both events at Nairobi ’87.
Sports minister at the time was, Anthony Ikazoboh, an Air Force Police officer who had played some football for Plateau in Jos and Stationery Stores In Lagos. He picked his Media Assistant, Mitchel Obi, as Chef de Mission. It was like the Sports ministry did not consider this competition so important.
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The country could not defend Usifo’s hurdles titles. Mosun Adesina finished third in the 100m Hurdles which was won by Ghana’s Diana Yankey, a lady who could not stand Usifo in Lagos a year earlier. In the 400m Hurdles, the Akinremi sisters, Omolade and Omotayo, tried their best but it was not good enough for gold.Morocco’s Nezha Bidouane, who also beat Adesina in the 100m Hurdles picked the gold leaving the sisters with silver and bronze.
That was the low point. The Nigerian girls exploded in other events. Fatima Yusuf cleared the 200m and 400m. In the 400m, it was a 1-2-3 as Charity Opara and Emily Odoemenam went for silver and bronze respectively. Odoemenam also won silver in the 200m.
The 100 metres was as good as the 400m. Onyinye Chikezie was the fastest girl, followed by Chioma Ajunwa and Mary Tombiri. Ajunwa went ahead to grab the Long Jump gold. Stella Emefesi took the silver medal. Another Stella, Agbaegbu, finished second in the High Jump, losing the top spot to Lucienne N’Da of Cote D’Ivoire. Ifeanyi Aduba was the bronze winner.
Kate Nwani won another bronze, in Javelin Throw.
The men were a little shy. Moses Oyiki did what the women could not do in the Hurdles. He won the 110m. Another individual gold came from Ayodele Aladefa in the Long Jump. Others settled for silver and bronze. It was not a good story in the sprints and quarter miles as Kenya led the pack with Joseph Gikonyo, who hit a double in the 100m and 200m while the Kitur brothers, Samson and David, made it gold and silver in the 400m.
Abdullahi Tettengi won silver in the 100m and 200m. Sunday Bada was third in both the 200m and 400m. Ikechukwu Chika won bronze in Discus Throw. Pius Bazighe lost the Javelin Throw gold to Fidele Rakotonirina of Madagascar just like Tommy Ozono missed the gold in the Decathlon.
Nigeria ruled the relays. The men dusted Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire to gold in the 4x100m and did the same to Kenya and Morocco in the 4x400m. Everyone had expected the Kenyans, with their Kitur brothers, to go for gold so easily. It did not work.
The women had a very easy ride leaving silver and bronze for Ghana and Egypt respectively in the 4x100m. The Kenyan women were better than their men in the 4×100. They settled for silver after the gold was taken by Nigeria. Mauritius finished third.
At the end of thee day, Nigeria emerged tops with 10 gold medals, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals. That was how the athletes became 10-10-10. Kenya came close with nine gold, nine silver and seven bronze,9-9-7. Morocco followed with 6-5-1. Ethiopia got 4-2-6 and Egypt, the host nation, 3-5-4.
It is interesting that Chioma Ajunwa carried this Long Jump success to the Olympics. After being denied participation at the Barcelona ’92 Games, the Flying Police officer won the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta’96 Olympics. Sunday Bada was denied Olympic gold at thee Sydney 2000 Games. But he got it albeit post humously in 2013.
Fatima Yusuf and Charity Opara also left Atlanta with 4x400m medals. In early 1990, the duo had won medals in the 400m at the Auckland Commonwealth Games. Fatima was first, Charity finished third. At the World Junior Championships held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in August, 1990, Fatima was first, Opara second.