Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist, Chioma Ajunwa, has expressed strong criticism of the country’s sports administration following another disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Ajunwa urged a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s sports sector, stressing the need for new leadership and improved planning.
Ajungwa’s comments come after a lackluster performance by Nigerian athletes, missing out on several medal chances.
Mr. Ajungwa criticized the current sports administration for its repeated failures and lack of accountability, stressing the need for people with real expertise and passion for sports to lead the sports sector.
“One of the things that those in political power need to do is overhaul Nigeria’s sports sector. They should stop using old administrators who don’t know what they’re doing. If you take someone who knows a lot about onions, we wouldn’t talk like this.
“Our problem is that we are taking advantage of people who have no idea what sports are, people who have never played sports in their lives.If you go to the Ministry of Sports before 3 p.m. , everyone has gone home.”
The Olympian lamented the persistent problems in the Nigerian sporting world, saying the same problems continue to plague the sector at every Olympics.
She expressed frustration at the wasted potential of Nigerian athletes who invest significant time, energy and personal resources in their training, and also pointed to mismanagement of funds on the part of the government. .
“It is very unfortunate that Nigeria has to have this kind of talk every year. If you remember, it was the same after the last Olympics. They are telling us to go back to square one. I keep saying, we never look at a drawing board, we don’t even know how to draw on a board.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost all our opportunities and that our players wasted all their time, energy and personal resources. It’s also very unfortunate that Nigeria spent so much money. We don’t spend the money when we should, so it’s none of my business.”
The gold medalist emphasized the importance of planning and preparation and criticized the lack of foresight and strategic investment in player development.
Ajungwa also lamented the poor facilities available to Nigerian players, especially the limited access to stadiums.
“As soon as this Olympics is over, countries will go back and start planning, because this is a once-in-four-years event, so each country will have plenty of time to go back and plan the training of their athletes. ” But instead of planning how the county will move forward, we Nigerians just go back to our comfort zone and start celebrating the money we earn there and treat ourselves with that money. will start investing in personal things.
“If the minister is giving them enough money based on how much they have spent since preparation, perhaps that could have been their motivation. You know how much money athletes spend in the stadiums where they train because even here in Nigeria, they don’t allow athletes to train in the stadiums. I don’t know who it was built for.”
Chioma Cal
follow me:
