Team Nigeria’s unimpressive outing at the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics might have been sealed even before the start of the competition. Finishing 8th in Africa, 74th in the world, and winning only 2 medals, Nigeria’s latest Olympics performance is no welcome improvement on the single medal win and 78th position finish at Rio 2016. What is however more dismaying was the noted gross leadership ineptitude of Nigerian sports officials, which has over time being a recurring trend.
Vanguard reported late in July how some Nigerian athletes took to the streets of Tokyo to register their grievances for their avoidable ineligibility to compete, while their counterparts were actively participating in the global completion. Apparently, 10 of the Nigerian representatives were disqualified for not undertaking the mandatory three required pre-competition tests. Again, 32 years old Blessing Okagbare, Nigeria’s sprint sensation and holder of the women’s 100 meters Commonwealth Games record for the fastest time, was also suspended mid-competition after reportedly testing positive for human growth hormone. The bubbling question is who takes responsibility for this national embarrassment.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) acting as the track and field governing body in the country is saddled with the task of preparation of athletes and compliance with competition regulations. The subsisting federation’s board during Tokyo 2020 however paid less attention to regulatory compliance. The inevitable result was the avoidable humiliation faced by enthusiastic athletes and ultimately national shame. Following the disgraceful incidences, Tonobok Okowa, AFN president insisted that the body will take responsibility for the negligence of the immediate past board, setting up a new anti-doping commission. However, this isn’t the first time that Nigeria has exhibited administrative deficiency in national athletics.
Back in London 2012 Olympics, the then Sports Minister, Yusuf Suleiman, had spontaneously pledged to grant full support for the athletes’ excellent performance. The statement however turned out to be mere ‘politician’ as neither the AFN nor National Sports Commission officials delivered on any tangible agenda in the weeks leading to the competition. Expectedly, venturing into London 2012 Olympics with 11th-hour preparation, Nigeria failed to record any medal win.
Rio 2016 was no better as Nigeria recorded a single bronze win. Fidelis Gadzama, a co-silver medalist for men’s 4×400-meters relay at the Sydney 2000, had shared his views with Newsweek on the reasons for Nigeria’s unimpressive performance at the Olympics. He highlighted poor preparation and corruption as major debacles to Nigeria’s Olympic success. Speaking of his experiences at Sydney 2000, he reiterated how the relay team almost missed out on the competition after they lodged complaints of unpaid allowances but were responded with threats of being sent home from the competition. He also remarked on the unsupportive attitude of some Nigerian officials who absented themselves from the stadium and sat back in their hotels. Commenting on Nigeria’s Rio 2016 outing, he lamented that not much has changed with occurrences of missed flights, reneged funds promises, and a positive doping test.
The trail of administrative irresponsibility in previous Olympics outings blazed into Tokyo 2020s. In reaction, Nigerian athletes have taken the bold move to air their thoughts on administrative lapses. After her suspension from Tokyo 2020, Blessing Okagbare lashed out at the incompetence of sports officials emphasizing that “athletes are always at the receiving end of the damages.” Chimezie Metu of Nigeria’s D’Tigers also decried the negative effects administrative lapses have on athletes, stressing how hard it is for them to focus on the game.
London 2012 Olympics and beyond, to this present time is a long way off, yet occurrences of administrative lapses in sport governance hit the news in fresh details. Presently, the morale of Nigerian sports persons is dampened and expectations for future global athletic outings hold little or no hope of impressiveness. The problem is clear, the solution is deducible. Change is anticipated.
SAINT
