Gold digger has been used over the years as a derogatory term to describe women who go into relationships with wealthy men in particular, to extract money from them. Gold diggers are generally believed to have no love for the men but are only with them because of the material and financial gains.
The term has its roots among chorus girls and sex workers in the early 20th Century.
The best known gold digger of the early 20th century was Peggy Hopkins Joyce, a former show girl who married and divorced millionaires. She was characterised as a gold digger during her divorce battle with Stanley Joyce during the early 1920s.
The gold digger stereotype is therefore, often used to tag women especially in cases of separation and divorce. In such cases, the term is used to depict the woman as one who came to the union with nothing but was angling to leave with a lot.
Never mind that there are a lot of men that can be described with the term and examples abound.
In Nigeria, it is not unusual to find even the poorest of men refer to women as gold diggers and expectedly, the women do not feel good about it.
Times seem to have changed, however, as Nigerian women now go for gold and put in every effort to get it at all cost.
However, unlike those who go after men of worth for their gold, the new era of Nigerian women are putting in work to earn their gold.
From the Folorunsho Alakijas in the business world to the Ibukun Awosikas in banking to those making their mark in other professional practice, Nigeria women, more than ever before, are showing the world that gold is what they deserve and they are earning it.
This new interest in ‘gold digging’ by women of Africa’s most populous nation came to the fore at the just concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The athletes did not just put smiles on the faces of their countrymen with their sterling performances at the games, they also have shown that impossible is nothing with determination.
Team Nigeria flew the country’s flag high as event after they event, the athletes registered their names and that of the country on the medals table.
At the end of the games, the country won a record 35 medals, i.e 12 gold, 9 silver, and 14 bronze medals.
The gold medal haul is the highest at a single Commonwealth Games for Nigeria, representing its best performance ever.
The team did not just win but also set many new records and broke jinxes of over four decades of no medals in some sports.
At the end of the day, Nigeria was the best ranked African country on the medals table, finishing in 7th place.
What is even more interesting, which makes the women ‘gold diggers’ is that all the gold medals at the event were won by the female athletes.
With her winning in the weightlifting 55kg category, Adijat Adenike Olarinoye set the tone for the gold haul. This was closely followed by Rafiatu Folashade Lawal’s victory in the in the 59kg weightlifting category.
From that point, the women became unstoppable in their gold quest.
Miesinnei Mercy Genesis (50 kg), Blessing Oborududu (57 kg), and Odunayo Adekuroye (57kg) also won gold medals in women’s freestyle wrestling.
Other gold medalists were Folashade Oluwafemiayo, Women’s heavyweight Para Powerlifting; Eucharia Iyiazi, Women’s shot put; Chioma Onyekwere, and Goodness Nwachukwu in women’s discus throw; and Ese Brume in long jump.
Brume set a new record of 7.00m, breaking her own record of 6.99m earlier in the games.
Oluwatobiloba Amusan also secured a gold win in the women’s long jump and joined Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nkwocha to clinch the keenly contested and elusive women’s 4X100m relay, setting a new African record of 42.10 seconds to beat the month-old 42.22 seconds African record they earlier set in Oregon, USA, at the World Athletics Championships.
Amusan also won a gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles. She set a world record with her 12:12 time in the women’s 100m hurdles, becoming Nigeria’s first-ever world record holder in athletics.
The female athletes did not only win gold, they also won four silver and seven bronze, medals, totaling 23 medals won by women out of the 35 medals won by the team. Their male counterparts on the other hand, accounted for 12 medals, comprising three silver and eight bronze.
These victories were not easy as can be seen in how keen every contest went. The women had to dig (put in their best effort) to get the coveted gold.
The impressive performance by the athletes shows that Nigeria has a future in sports and all hands must be on deck to keep the current momentum, as preparations hopefully commence towards the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
In winning the medals they got and setting records, one thing was obvious, these athletes did not just wake up and get to that point. They are products of months and years of preparation.
I am particularly elated with the performance of the girls, which not only brought joy to the faces of a despondent people and made Nigerians all over the world proud, but serves to motivate other young girls that they can achieve and even surpass their achievements if they put their minds to it and prepare.
It is heartwarming that there were no embarrassing stories of non-payment of athletes among other issues that Nigerian sportsmen often have to contend with at international events of this nature.
In a clear departure from the past where it sometimes took upwards of 28 years for the government to fulfil it’s promises as in the case of the Tunis 94 Super Eagles, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in a show of appreciation at a small ceremony, even before the games ended, splashed cash on the medalists with the gold medalists receiving $5,000 each and their coaches $3,000 each, while silver and bronze medalists got $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.
The authorities should not just stop at splashing money on the athletes but begin to scout and train the next generation of athletes who will take over from these ones and continue to do the nation proud.
The way I see it, with their achievement, the term gold digger has a new meaning and no woman especially, should take offence when called by it, particularly when it is in reference to their quest for the best possible reward.
