THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has lambasted those in charge of Nigerian sports following the dismal outing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Team Nigeria spent a budget believed to be N12 billion and took 88 athletes to the Games, which ended yesterday, yet did not win one single medal, leaving millions of Nigerians, including Obi, highly disappointed.
“Now that the Paris Olympics 2024 has officially ended and our dear Team Nigeria, despite the huge financial investment made into the project, is returning without a single medal, let me unreservedly register my displeasure with the performance of our team and their handlers,” Obi began in a lengthy post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The rascality and recklessness that has continued to characterise leadership in our nation in nearly every department. The general impression that has come to stick is the one that portrays our country as a joke, even on the international stage.”
Obi went on to compare Nigeria’s disastrous performance in France with other countries who spent far less to achieve far more.
“How can one explain that a country like Jamaica spent less than 5% of what we spent on our contingents for the Paris Olympics 2024 and won as many as six medals,” he asked rhetorically.
“Yet with our huge financial investments and large contingent, we could not win even a single medal?
“At least nine African countries won gold but the giant with over 200m people came home without even a bronze!
“We invested about N12 billion in this year’ s Olympics, which is almost twice the amount budgeted for the entire Ministry of Science and Technology for this year.
“This is over N136 million (about $85,000) spent on each of the 88 Nigerian contingents to the Olympics, and no single medal was won while Jamaica, a nation which spent far less than we did, a total of about $2300 on each contingent, won 6 medals; 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze at the Olympics.
“We must now interrogate the relationship between this huge investment and our dismal outcome. Sad stories like this are our lot only because we have refused to embrace competence and capacity over routine and favouritism in Nigeria.”
One of the lowlights of Nigeria’s failure in France was the inexplicable non-registration of Favour Ofili in the women’s 100m even after she qualified for the event.
It was not the first time officials were letting down Nigerian athletes with their incompetence. Over a dozen Nigerian athletes were denied participation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics because the Athletics Federation of Nigeria had not given them the mandatory three out-of-competition tests each.
One of those athletes was Annette Echikunwoke, who switched nationalities afterwards and then won gold in women’s hammer throw for the United States of America in Paris.
“Let us consider the case of Favour Ofili, a Nigerian professional sprinter who trained for years for the 2024 Olympics, only for her name to be recklessly and wrongly removed from the list of athletes for the 100m race at the Olympics by Nigerian sporting authorities,” Obi wrote.
“What explanation can anyone give about Annette Echikunwoke, a former Nigerian hammer thrower, who was frustrated by the same rascality of some Nigerian leaders, making her switch her allegiance to the United States, where she eventually won a medal in the just completed Olympics?
“These same professional athletes were denied the opportunity to represent our nation in Tokyo 2020, for similar reasons of administrative recklessness.
“I have it on good authority that some injured athletes, not physically fit to represent the country and not competing in the ongoing Olympics, were there in Paris receiving estacodes from our national resources.
“Some of the sports officials and others who have no reason to be at the Olympics were there too, living large and feeding fat on the estacodes while our nation was
crashing out on every sporting event.
“One of our athletes, Ese Ukpeseraye, had to borrow a bicycle to compete at her sporting event! How can one sensibly explain such recklessness and infamy?
“What a country! What a shame! When do we stop these rascalities that always rob our nation of golden opportunities to make a positive change?
“I call on the government to investigate these gross misconducts and make sure that those responsible do not have the opportunity to do so again. We must build a nation of discipline and commitment to duty, where competence and capacity reign. That is the New Nigeria we preach, and it is POssible.”
