After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to the Federations that had bright chances of qualifying for the Olympics. Medals projections were made by all the Federations, although their athletes were still trying to qualify; which lasted until about June 2024. The concerned Federations obviously prioritized qualification over preparations for the Games. This seems to have always been the case.This has to change.
At the end of the qualification period, the selection of athletes and coaches was the absolute responsibility of each Federation.A few attempts to question selection after i got complaints were strongly resisted and defended.
To achieve our targets, we approved onshore training in different locations in the country in addition to the offshore training camps for our teams in Saarbrucken, Germany, and Sevilla, Spain. Ten out of the eleven sports trained in Germany. The choice of the training facilities in Germany was based on the very positive recommendations of the Ministry team and included the President of one of our Federations who as a former world champion and Olympic gold medal winner, is quite familiar with Olympic-standard facilities and equipment. At the training camp, the Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee offered scientific preparation and mental strength training support. The very high quality of their participation was confirmed by independent sources comprising athletes, coaches, and team administrators.
In all these, the President and Commander in Chief of the Federation,HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ensured that funds were not a limiting factor. Athletes competition requirements were provided, allowances were paid early, and training grants were disbursed to all athletes.I made myself readily available to deal with any issue throughout the competition. Therefore, the underwhelming performance of our team is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation.
As a responsible organisation, we have swung into a review process. We shall evaluate the competition readiness of every athlete comprehensively, including their injury and medical history within the limits of patient confidentiality. The role of coaches and administrative staff will also be examined.
There must be a lot of lessons to learn from our performance and improvements must be made in all ramifications.The last time we returned from the Olympics without a medal was in 2012.The next two Olympics after that we’ve had a bronze medal in 2016 and a silver and bronze in the 2020 Olympics. As a country, we deserve more.Let’s turn the disastrous outcome of the 2024 Olympics to a huge positive for Nigerian sports.
