In Abuja

It was all almost 39 years ago when the globe stood still for Nigeria after clinching the gold medal in football during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, but today the country has become a laughing stock, coming out with nothing in the just concluded Paris 2024.

The eighth time Nigerians will have such a bitter experience. Yet, this time 39 years ago, the nation went topsy turvy over the extraordinary achievement of being the first nation outside Europe and South America to win a global football tournament.

The team overcame Brazil and finally, Argentina to earn the gold. Finally, the Nigerian Olympic team returned home with six medals: two gold, one silver, and three bronze.

Not only that, Nigeria had become the first-ever country to win the Under-16 World Cup that had just been introduced.

Strength, skill, and a willingness to attack were the three main ingredients the Nigerian team showed as they beat oppositions spread across five continents – Asia (Saudi Arabia), Europe (Italy, Hungary, and West Germany),  Central America (Costa Rica) as well as  Africa – Guinea.

Today, the barren medal outing at Paris 2024 – the eighth time Nigerians will have such a bitter experience, has invoked serious concern about the government tendering a public apology for the dismal performance of its 88-man team.

"It’s Paris disaster,’ Sports Development Minister John Enoh lamented. Team Nigeria’s performance in the 2024 Olympics in Paris was “disappointing”.

The minister in an official apology made in a statement on his X handle on Saturday, said that Team Nigeria’s failure to secure any medal at all “is a product of very many other things that need immediate attention.”

He revealed that not only would he ensure that such does not repeat itself, but that in the forthcoming sports federation elections, he would ensure that the most appropriate candidates are voted in.

“Yesterday, I met with gentlemen of the press at the Nigerian Embassy in Paris for a press briefing following the country’s participation in the 2024 Olympics.

As we go back home, we must do everything to prevent future occurrences of the Paris disaster and if this will entail the review of how people are elected to lead our sporting federations, it will be done.

“The elections for the federations are around the corner, and it will be the perfect platform to get only those who are most eligible to lead the various sports federations.

“Team Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the country did not secure any medals does not entail being addressed just by our participation at the Olympics, but it is a product of very many other things that need immediate attention.”

He added that contrary to speculations, the ministry made adequate provisions, financially and otherwise, to prepare the athletes for the Olympics.

“We did everything as a ministry to prepare the athletes adequately and provide them with every financial support, but unfortunately, the performance did not produce any podium finish,” he said.

He vowed to ensure that aspirants for the forthcoming sports federation elections are thoroughly scrutinised.

“I am aware that the sports federation elections in Nigeria are even tougher than our national elections. We must set our standards to scrutinise what motivates those vying to run the federations and get only the best hands.

“This call for reform aims to enhance the leadership and effectiveness of Nigeria’s sports federations, paving the way for improved performance on the global stage,” he added.

“The Olympic Games have ended, and I accept that our performance should have been a lot better. It fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians.

“I must apologise to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games August 28–September 8),” he said.

The minister stated that upon assuming office, he was met with the tasks of executing four international competitions namely the AFCON, the African Games, the Olympic, and the Paralympic Games, and needed sufficient time to prepare.

“I was also reminded that the Olympic Games is the world’s supreme sports competition, and countries require at least four years to prepare for it.

“I held extensive discussions with the management staff of the Ministry and got to know that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not started.

“In the true Nigerian spirit, it was our view that we should spare no effort to sustain the international sports image of our country,” he stated.

Nigeria’s first gold medallist at the Olympic Games, Chioma Ajunwa, was also shocked by the dismal showing of the country at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Her mark at the Olympic Games remains indelible. She is not just the first to win a gold medal for Nigeria at the Olympics, she is also the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in a field event.

She was 25 when she performed the feat at Atlanta ‘96. 

"Please I am not happy.  Let the Nigeria sports department put their house in order and stop recycling good-for-nothing administrators.

“Let them put in position, those that love and know sports and the power of sports and what it can do for a nation rather than those that are there for pecuniary reasons.

“There is a need to revamp school sports both secondary and primary at all levels, bring back sports council and local government grassroots competitions which is the breeding base for every state,” she said.

In a post-mortem of Team Nigeria’s failure at the Paris 2024 Olympics, foremost Nigerian sports journalist and media manager, Dr. Mumini Alao, attributed the barren medal outing to inadequate funding and mismanagement.

In response to the Sports Village Square inquiry, Alao said: “Nigerian sports is grossly underfunded which is a reflection of our poor economy. Unfortunately, even the little that is made available by the government, is often mismanaged by selfish and corrupt sports administrators.

“Sports facilities are inadequate and poorly managed which affects talent discovery at the grassroots. Welfare for our elite athletes is poor compared to most other countries that we compete against at the Olympics which leads some of the best talents opting to represent other countries. There are several other factors.

“We need a complete reset. The government should scale up the implementation of its policy on promoting sports as a business to attract private sector funding for sports facilities, training of coaches, grassroots talent discovery, and management of elite athletes.

“Also, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and many of the sports federations need a total shake-up. Most of the administrators there have nothing more to offer.”

Disappointed, Nigeria’s former sports minister Solomon Dalung, said ``To fail to plan is to plan to fail!’’,

According to him, the foundation of Team Nigeria was faulty ahead of the just-ending Olympic Games.

He faulted the composition of most of the sports federations that produced athletes for the games and reported that the federations were not well composed to present athletes who would have excelled.

“The federations must command the confidence of the congress. Unfortunately, the foundation I laid while I was in office had been dismantled”, said Dalung, sports minister from 2015 to 2019.

He thinks that most of the sports federation leadership were not accountable to the congress that elected them.

“During my tenure, I enlarged the electoral college to include all stakeholders in sports. I had an all-encompassing board that included even the media. But upon my departure, the structures were dismantled.”

Dalung said that he heard the current sports minister, John Owan Enoh saying that the sports sector will have to go back to the drawing board after Paris 2024.

“It must start with accountable sports federation boards. As it is in Nigeria, no sports minister ever had the opportunity to attend two editions of the Olympics owing to the four-yearly cycle of the Olympics. No sports minister stays to implement new ideas for the succeeding Olympics.

Dalung said that in his time, he did not have as much funds as was made available to the current minister. He said that the demonstration in Nigeria may also have had negative effects on Team Nigeria.

“They are Nigerians and have families at home. The crisis at home will affect them and could have made athletes lose focus.”

Aside from the apology, the Government of Nigeria is optimistic of a good show at the Paralympic Games.