Gold Getters and Other Medalists

+Senorita Ponders 

Gold Getters and Other Medalists

Like the exploits of women producers in Nollywood, the sports industry in Nigeria could do well to leverage the comparative advantage Nigerian women have over men to build a formidable sports industry.

When given equal access and attention as men, women have brought higher returns on public investment in sports at the national level.

Even though it’s only January 2024, Tobi Amusan, a 26-year-old female athlete, has already broken Gloria Alozie’s 25-year-old indoor 60-meter hurdles record on January 27, 2024, setting an African record, as she smashed Alozie’s 25-year-old record of 7.82 seconds during the 1999 Madrid Championship, with a time of 7.77 seconds at the Astana Indoor Meet in Kazakhstan.

With female athletes continuously showcasing their abilities on the international scene, Tobi Amusan’s win reminds the world of the remarkable performance of female athletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Game, where the 26-year-old retained the 100-meter hurdles championship she had won in the Gold Coast, Australia, four years earlier, with a new personal best time of 12.30 seconds.

She and other women were the only ones who won the 11 gold medals for Nigeria. No man won a gold medal.

The gold medals were awarded in various sports, showcasing the versatility and skills of the female Nigerian competitors. 

The medals were earned in weightlifting, athletics, para powerlifting, and wrestling.

Women also won the country more silver medals: 6 from women and 3 from men.

And they led the men with more bronze medals too: women won 8 games while men won 6 games.

In 2023, Amusan went through some ups and downs. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) accused her of “missing three tests in 12 months,” leading to a temporary ban. 

She arrived barely three days before the 2023 World Athletics Championships tournament began therefore, she was unable to defend her World Championship title in Hungary, ending in sixth place.

The 26-year-old stormed to her latest victory in the 60m hurdles final ahead of American Nia Ali, a two-time world indoor champion and world 100 metres hurdles record holder and  Ireland’s Sarah Lavin, who finished fifth at the European Championships in Munich 2022 and improved her outdoor national record to 12.62 at the World Championships in Budapest 2023.

Cheers to Tobi Amusan, our Woman. Cheers to more access and inclusion of the girl child and women in sports!

Police Morality Vs Gender Equity 

A single pregnant female police officer is a sight Nigerians might never see.

In Nigeria, a single, that is, unmarried, pregnant female police officer is a sight that can never be seen. This is so because a female Nigerian police officer is dismissed from the Nigerian police force once she falls pregnant.

This is listed in Regulation 127 of the police acts, which states that “An unmarried woman police officer who becomes pregnant shall be discharged from the Force, and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector-General.”  

It’s okay for certain institutions to have a code of ethics governing their staff that is different from that of the general public.

Regulation 137 of the Police Act is not against female policemen being pregnant. It is against unmarried woman police officers. So, it is not about the physical fitness of the officer but about the marital status of the pregnant.

This kind of police morality is deeply amoral because it stems from a deeper moral injustice and inconsistency. 

The police act could attempt to require a higher morality from its officers if it states: “an unmarried police officer who becomes an expectant parent (an expectant father or an expectant mother), shall be discharged from the Force, and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector-General.”

What the law demands is not a moral high ground from its officers but a direct assault against the female police officer’s equal standing with her male counterpart before the law. 

Borrow a Best Practice 

The New Jersey Attorney General Guidelines protocols for pregnant officers do not only have a guideline for pregnant officers, but it also has no clause which states the dismissal of a pregnant unmarried officer. 

Bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) have kicked against this law, which is part of the Nigerian police act and is intended to have a significant impact on how the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) operates and is conducted. The NBA saw this regulation as “a law that conflicts with the 1999 constitution (as amended) and discriminates against an unmarried female police officer.”