FOR Team Nigeria, bad moments are pouring in torrents at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. On Tuesday, a major uprising stained Nigeria’s participation. Favour Ofili, 21, a female sprinter, the Athletic Federation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Olympic Committee are at the centre of a messy administrative meltdown.
In summary, Ofili’s name is missing from the list of women 100 metres competitors at the Games. Ofili broke the unpleasant news on Tuesday on her social media page. She said the AFN did not register her. She qualified after winning at the national trials in Benin, Edo State, in June with 11.06 seconds, her personal best.
“It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at these Olympic Games,” she lamented. “I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity.” This is shocking ineptitude.
The AFN lamented that it did not know how the omission occurred, insisting that it registered Ofili. The Sports Minister, John Enoh, called for a probe. The probe should be comprehensive to unravel the culprits since the AFN/NOC registered Ofili for the 200m and the 4x100m races.
During the opening ceremony, there was outrage as the basketball contingent had to make do with a makeshift arrangement because of internal bickering among factional officials.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 14 Nigerian athletes, including Ofili, were denied participation because the AFN and NOC failed to pay for their dope tests.
In Tokyo, Nigeria became an object of scorn. There were not enough kits and allegations of officials cornering gifts meant for the athletes. Athletes’ allowances were delayed. Nigeria won only a silver and a bronze at Tokyo.
These incompetence and poor athlete welfare are costly. At the peak of their careers, sprinters Gloria Alozie and Francis Obikwelu dumped Nigeria for Spain and Portugal. Basketballers and footballers turn their back on Nigeria because of similar reasons. D’Tigers, who represented Africa in Tokyo, could not make it this time because of shoddy preparations in the qualifiers.
The Ofili saga reinforces the impression that Nigeria’s sports administrators lack nous. President Bola Tinubu approved N12 billion for the Games, but that was late.
Already, the Super Falcons have crashed out. They lost all their three group matches to Brazil, Spain (both 1-0) and Japan, scoring their only goal in a 3-1 defeat. Boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore was expelled from the Games on Thursday for allegedly failing a dope test.
Nigeria is being represented in Paris by 84 athletes. In its peculiar tradition, there will likely be more officials than athletes.
So far, the few bright spots are the D’Tigress.The female basketball team gained a rousing 75-62 victory over Australia, ending 20 years of defeat at the Olympics. D’Tigress lost 75-54 to France in their second match on Thursday.
As such, it is difficult to replicate Team Nigeria’s best moment at the quadrennial Games this time. At Atlanta ’96, Nigeria won six medals, including two golds in the U23 football tournament and Chioma Ajunwa’s long jump leap. Nigeria has won 27 medals since its initial participation at Helsinki ’52.
Yet, Nigeria has a rich pool of athletes. They are not fulfilling their potential as they should. So, the country needs to get rid of the stains of corruption, ineptitude and mediocrity marring its sports. In its place, the ministry should elevate merit and administrative sagacity.
All the culprits in the Ofili saga should pay the penalty to prevent a recurrence. Athletes should be prepared for the next Olympic Games early rather than waiting until the eve of the competition.
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