Twenty-one years ago, Nigeria’s athletics recorded one of its biggest embarrassments on the international stage when the country’s 27-man strong athletics team to the 9th IAAF World Championships, in France returned with what was then tagged the “Paris scandal.”
At the 2003 World Championships, which was held at the Stade de France, in Paris, the Nigerian team, made up of 15 men and 12 women protested what they considered “poor treatment” by the Nigerian government.
The team, which had the likes of Deji Aliu, Uchenna Emedolu, Victor Okorie, Endurance Ojokolo, Mary Onyali, and Vivian Chukwuemeka, protested against alleged neglect by the Sports Ministry, which they accused of failing to provide training grants and other things that they needed to compete against their counterparts neck-to-neck.
From today, August 1, Nigerian athletes will be at the same venue to battle with their counterparts from across the globe for medals at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics. And like a country that never learns from its past, another crisis cropped up in Team Nigeria’s camp, yesterday morning. This time, it is the omission of United States-based sprinter, Favour Ofili’s name from the 100m list submitted to the organisers of the Olympics.
Ofili, a frontline 100m runner, raised the alarm in the early hours of yesterday upon discovering that her name was not on the list of competitors for the event.
She accused the AFN of deliberately omitting her name from the 100m event. “It is with great regret that I have just been told that I will not be competing in the 100m at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity,” she wrote in her X account.
Ofili ran 11.06 seconds at the Nigerian Olympics trials in Benin City, Edo State, in June to secure her place at the Paris Olympics. She has competed in more 100m races this season than the 200m and ran two wind-aided times of 10.85sec and 10.78secs.
She added: “For what….to not be entered and compete at the Olympic Games because the responsible organisation failed to enter me? Please remember, in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC, and NOC failed to release funds for athletes to be tested, which made 14 qualified Nigerian athletes unable to not compete.
“Now this……..If those responsible are not held accountable for taking this opportunity from me, neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future! ‘Next one is the 200 metres, I hope I’m entered.”
Reacting to the incident, a shocked AFN said: “We registered Ofili for the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay. We don’t know how her name went missing from the 100m event. This is our stand as a federation.”
Troubled by the sad development, Sports Minister, John Owen Enoh, declared, yesterday, that those responsible for the athlete’s omission from the race would be sanctioned.
He said: “I will not tolerate this utter recklessness. It is highly inexcusable, and there will be thorough sanctions after investigations into where and from whom this gross negligence originated.
“All parties must take their duties very seriously. The current way of operating the Federal Ministry of Sports Development does not allow for incompetence at any level.”
As an immediate measure, the minister ordered the AFN and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to ensure that Ofili is not deprived of the opportunity to compete in all the races she is qualified and registered to represent the country at the Paris Olympics.
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To draw international attention to their plight at the 2003 Championships in Paris, 21 years ago, the athletes created a scene at the famous Stade de France, by boycotting the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays. The team returned home with no medal.
The impact of the scandal in 2003, rocked the nation’s athletic family to its foundation, and it forced the sports ministry to hurriedly set up a panel of inquiry. But the outcome of the investigation never saw the light of day.
Meanwhile, the minister has assured the athletes that they will be amply rewarded for any medal that they win for the country. The ministry got N10 billion for the athletes’ preparation camping and participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics. To motivate the athletes, the minister promised to pay each gold medalist $5,000, while silver and bronze medalists will also get some financial rewards.
The athletes have been assured that they will deliver thrilling performances in the relays, showcasing Nigeria’s speed and teamwork on the track.
The women’s 100m final will be held on Saturday, August 3, and on August 4, it will be the men’s 100m final. Both will take place at the Stade de France.
Two athletes, who were part of Nigeria’s squad to the ninth IAAF Championships at Paris 2003, are in the current Team Nigeria to the 2024 Olympics, but in different capacities.
While Victor Okorie is now a board member and Performance Director of AFN, Endurance Ojokolo is one of the coaches.
