ANDY MURRAY: EVERY NATION NEEDS A HERO

If there is only one person having the greatest time of his professional life in the world in the last few days, that person is, Andy Murray, the recently crowned Wimbledon champion. Murray is a study in perseverance and determination to succeed despite all the odds. He has passed a lot of near misses in the past, but that did not deter him. That is why his victory is so sweet to the people of the United Kingdom that had waited for 77 years to have one of their own crowned Wimbledon men’s champion in a tournament hosted at their backyard. If you want to know how sweet victory taste work hard like Murray, then everyone will forget that you are Scottish and remind the outside world that you are British. Even the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron is over the moons because of Murray’s victory and when the Wimbledon champion paid him a visit at the No 10, Downing Street(their own Aso Rock Villa), the leader of Great Britain received him warmly and recommended him for knighthood, because he has” lifted the spirit of a whole nation”.

His victory also reminded me of the victory of the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations. The Super Eagles were made up of players who are mostly from the South-East and South -South of the country and in a country where ethnic and religious sensitivities are at all times high it was not long before some people began to refer to the team as “Igbo team” or “Biafran team”. It was a tag that was meant to hang the Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, if he had failed in South Africa. The Super Eagles eventually became the African Champions and it was no longer the “Biafran team” but the Super Eagles of Nigeria. Like Murray and Super Eagles have shown, where you are from geographically is immaterial, what your nation needs is a hero, a winner. Do not take your eyes off the prize, because once you win, your country and the world will rise to celebrate you.