DREAM KILLERS? - by Blessed Elemikan

We live in a country where the definition of success seems to be very narrow; go to school, graduate, get a white-collar job and start getting paid. This route is safer and trying to do something extra might be met with a lot of hostilities.Now, education is a really good thing and I recommend it. I think every nation that takes the academia seriously and genuinely rewards her outstanding academics is bound to excel. However,as Nigerians, we need to understand that when a child shows passion for other things outside the academic world, that child could be pointing to their potential future career. Academics and extra-curricular activities can be done simultaneously, today through well structured football academies. In Nigeria, there are a number of them such as Beyond Limits Sporting Lagos academy, to name a few. I'll be talking about two special stories, the story about Lionel Messi and the story of some guys who were my schoolmates in Secondary school. Messi was an exceptionally gifted footballer right from when he was little. He couldn't get into teams because he had a growth deficiency, but his grandmother consistent stood up for him and told the coaches how good her grandson was. She was so convinced in her son's abilities that at a point, she told him he will be the greatest player to play the game, reportedly. Messi was eventually able to get into a team, but no team was willing to take up the financial burdens that came with his disability; he had to undergo a surgery or he would remain the same height. Then came FC Barcelona. They saw how good he was and took up his bill. He signed for them and went on to become the greatest player to ever play football, true to what his grandmother said. In Secondary school, there were this two guys, siblings.... Very wonderful footballers. They both played in an academy and also in the state's cadet team. Their father was very supportive of their football dreams and even went to watch their matches. Just last month, the elder signed for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil. Now he is happy, the father is happy, his friends are also happy. I get that making it through football or through sports in Nigeria could be very difficult, but I don't think we should kill the dreams of those who dare to dream. Imagine if Messi never had a supporter in his grandmother, imagine if the two guys were never supported by their father, we wouldn't have experienced the greatness of Lionel Messi, I wouldn't have felt the thrill of knowing a footballer plying his trade in Brazil. Not everyone who wants to go into sports is in serious. This mentality has killed the career of many potential sports persons in this country. Sports make people, and we should not kill the dreams of those who want to do great things through sports.

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