Nigeria’s sporting officials are facing intense criticism and calls for reform after the country failed to win any medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite fielding continental champions like Tobi Amusan, Nigeria left empty-handed for the first time since the 2012 London Olympics.
The country’s poor performance has sparked widespread disappointment and outrage, with many questioning the competence of Nigeria’s sporting federations. Sports Minister John Owan Enoh apologized to Nigerians and acknowledged that the country’s Olympics preparations were inadequate.
Enoh revealed that when he assumed office less than a year before the Games, he discovered that Nigeria’s Olympics preparations had not even started. “As a country, we deserve more,” he said. “Let’s turn the disastrous outcome of the 2024 Olympics to a huge positive for Nigerian sports.”
Former and current Olympians have also spoken out, calling for a shakeup in the country’s sporting federations. Chioma Ajunwa, a gold medalist in the long jump at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, said Nigeria’s sporting federations needed a complete overhaul.
“One thing I think the people in the helm of affairs should do is to overhaul the sports department in Nigeria,” she told Arise News channel. “They should stop recycling the old administrative officers that never know what they are doing.”
Nigeria’s best Olympic performance was in Atlanta in 1996, when the team won two golds, one silver, and three bronzes. However, the country has struggled to replicate this success in recent years. The 2008 Beijing Olympics brought five medals, but there were zero in London four years later.
The sports minister’s apology and promise to reform Nigeria’s sporting system have been welcomed by many, but others are skeptical. They argue that the country’s sporting woes run deeper and require more concrete action.
Nigeria’s failure to win any medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics is a wake-up call for the country’s sporting officials. It highlights the need for a complete overhaul of the country’s sporting system, from grassroots development to elite performance.
The country needs to invest in infrastructure, coaching, and talent identification. Nigeria also needs to address issues of corruption, mismanagement, and lack of accountability in its sporting federations.
Only then can Nigeria hope to replicate the success of smaller nations on the continent, which have consistently punched above their weight at the Olympics. The country’s sporting officials must take responsibility for their failure and work towards creating a better future for Nigerian sports.
