Sports administration deserves an earthquake

The delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has come and gone. For the first time, spectators were barred from the venues for fear of the spread of Covid-19. Athletes competed without the usual vibes from the stands. It certainly was a different kind of Olympic Games. While our country’s contingent performed slightly better than the last two outings in London and Rio de Janeiro with the consolatory silver and bronze medals won by Blessing Oborududu (wrestling) and Ese Brume (long jump), Team Nigeria was in the news for the wrong reasons.

Of the 20 athletes from seven countries suspended by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics fr om Tokyo 2020, 10 of them were Nigerians. They were among the 23 athletes we took to Tokyo for the track and field events. These unfortunate athletes were barred by the AIU because the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development failed to do their jobs. The athletes violated Rule 15 of the anti-doping regulations which mandated three out-of-competitions tests within 10 months of a major track and field competition.

Since last year, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had beamed its searchlight on Nigeria due to several things that officials take for granted. It therefore came as no surprise when Nigeria got listed in Category ‘A’ of countries with highest risks of doping. It was this carelessness that resulted in the suspension of the 10 athletes. They didn’t do the mandatory blood and urine tests three weeks apart before arriving in Tokyo for the Games.

As is typical, the new AFN led by Tonobok Okowa has shifted blame for the embarrassment to the immediate past board headed by Ibrahim Shehu Gusau. Okowa’s board is less than two months in office. Of course, Gusau has in turn insisted he warned the Sunday Dare-led ministry about the impending doom in Tokyo if our athletes failed to carry out the mandatory tests. Beyond the blame game, it is obvious that the power tussle in the AFN that forced affairs of the athletes to take back seat was largely responsible for the embarrassment Nigeria faced at the Tokyo Olympics.

It was a sorry sight to see Nigerian athletes who should be competing for medals, carrying placards in protest of being excluded through no fault of theirs. As if that was not enough, Blessing Okagbare, our brightest medal prospect in the women’s 100m and 200m was also provisionally suspended from the Games for failing out-of-competition dope test carried out on her last month. She tested positive for Human Growth Hormone (HGH), a performance enhancing substance added to WADA’s ban list this year. To compound the problem, PUMA, the German sportswear company that Gusau entered partnership with on behalf of the country, cancelled the four-year deal over a breach that can easily be located in some financial improprieties.

After Nigeria’s best-ever performance at the Atlanta Games in 1996, our sports have been floundering like rudderless ship on sea. No real attempt has been made to reverse the rot in the sector. Will there be sanctions for those who caused Nigeria to be embarrassed in Tokyo? That too, cannot be answered with affirmation. Worse things have happened in our sports in the past without consequences. So why would those handling the sector be bothered when all that matters are what they stand to get, financially? Will there be better preparations for Paris 2024? We doubt. Unless there is a total overhaul of the sports sector and there are consequences for what happened in Tokyo, the rot will continue.

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