Athletics
NIGERIAN SPORT – NEVER BEEN THIS BAD!
BY SEGUN ODEGBAMI
These are very dreary times for Nigerian sports. For those of us that have been a part of several generations, the pain is deep.
I was an active participant at the highest level from the mid 1970s when Nigerian sports were on a global ascendancy.
That was when Nigeria started an authentic dominance of Africa in Track and Field, table tennis, (lawn) tennis, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling, joined the elite forces in African football at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopiaand went to the Montreal Olympic Games with some of the best athletes in the world in different events and sports (in Track and Field, and amateur boxing) with realistic chances of carting away some medals.
It is very painful to wake up every week these days, particularly as I write my column, to the reality of the horror that has become the present state of Nigerian sports.
Take the past week for example.
Nigerian athletes just returned from the World Relays in Japan. The event was the qualifying meet for 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.
The Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, who was with the contingent reported that they were humiliated by the organisers through the poor treatment meted openly only to the Nigerian team.
He described the reception as ‘third class’, and the major cause of the team’s woeful performance and failure to record even a single win.
Unlike all the other teams, Nigeria was taken very far away from the venue and the centre of activities and accommodated in a very low-class hotel.
But why?
The belief now is that it has to do with the two-year-old tiff between the IAAF and the AFN reported in several social media platforms.
The reports say that two years ago the
AFN was erroneously paid $150,000 instead of $20,000 as its annual grant by the
IAAF.
Since then it has failed to refund the excess of $130,000. The AFN has not reacted to the allegation. Neither explaining what happened to the money nor refunding it. According to a letter making the social media rounds, even a pledge to repay given by the sports minister of Nigeria some months ago in Asaba, Nigeria, was not redeemed. Meanwhile, the man may soon be on his way out of the sports ministry.
Nigerian athletes may, indeed, have had
to pay the price for administrative indiscretion, punished for the AFN’s
ineptitude.
A big question menacingly hangs in the air: ‘what happened to the funds’? No one is accepting responsibility, and no one is providing an answer. So, Nigeria, with her innocent athletes, suffer.
This past week, the same international body, the IAAF, de-listed Asaba as host of the African Athletics Track and Field championship because of the shambolic arrangements, the poor state of equipment and facilities, and the technical deficiencies observed glaringly during the competition.
All the results recorded at the event have been cancelled, a total waste of time, effort, and resources. It is a terrible advertisement for Nigeria.
With the 2020 Olympic Games just around the corner, not much is happening to reassure Nigerians of a possible good outing for the country.
This was a country that used to be a part of the final lineups in the sprints, jumps, sprint relays, boxing, and even football at several Olympics.
From 1976 to 2006, a period of some 30 years and 8 different Olympics, Nigeria presented some athletes that were either winning medals or had the capability to do so.
From 1984 Nigeria actually started to win Olympic medals. In 1996 it won an unprecedented number including its first, two Gold medals.
Since then her fortune in medals has been dwindling. How did Nigeria descend into this very sorry pass?
For those of us that have been a part of the history of Nigerian sports since 1976 the present times are the undoubted worst in our country’s history with stories so ugly, they benumb the mind.
For 2003 All African Games hosted in Abuja, Nigeria started to build Africa’s best and most modern Doping Test Centre.
Sixteen years since the event ended the centre is unfinished, its carcass abandoned, with all the resources spent on it going down the drain in a colossal waste.
No one is held to account for what happened. In that same year, Nigerian administrators hired ‘mercenary’ athletes to represent some African countries, in specially identified uncommon sports, to compete against Nigeria as a grand strategy to boost Nigeria’s medal haul.
The mission was that the country would top the medals table in the continent. The country did, people were rewarded and the country celebrated a scam.
For several years now, the country has failed to organize a proper national sports festival, an event designed and started in 1973 to unite the youths of the country through healthy social interaction and sports competition, whilst identifying and developing the best among them discovered during the games.
The last one that held in December 2018 in Abuja may go down in the history of the country as the worst sports event ever hosted as a result of its meaninglessness and remote distance from the objectives for which the festival was established in the first place.
It is imperative to call for a total review of the vision, aims and objectives of the sports festival that has been distorted through time, with little or nothing derived from it any more.
Athletics
Kenyans and Ethiopians dominate the half marathon at ECOWAS Marathon, Nigerians win 5 km race
Kenya Harrison Muchira Wanjiru won the ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon half-marathon on Saturday in 1 hour 04.39; on his heels was another Kenyan, Adam Sulaiman Muhamad, who was second in 1.05.27, and a Nigerian Francis James Musa came third in 1.05.51.
If Kenyans dominated the men’s race, the women’s race was dominated by Ethiopians. Lydia Natiyaka Wamalawa of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 1 hour 15.3, Aberash Minsewo, another Ethiopian, was second in 1.17.14, and like in the men’s race, a Nigerian Patience Dalyop was third in 1.21.15.
Nigerian runners dominated the 5 km race, they also won most of the prizes reserved for ECOWAS citizens.
Each one for his reason, thousands of runners pounded the streets of Abuja on Saturday as the 2025 ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon flags off at the ECOWAS Commission Yakubu Gowon Way, a little after 8.00 am, while the 5 km race started shortly after.
For the elite runners that participated in the 21-kilometer race of Africa’s most lucrative half-marathon, the focus was on the $ 10,000 prize money for the top finisher.
Ditto for the top runners in the 5km race whose sights were also fixed on the prize money for the top five finishers.
For former presidential aspirant Omoyele Sowore, a constant face in marathons and road races in Nigeria, America and other parts of the world, the ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon was another medium to carry his message of justice for humanity to every part of the world.
Sowore did not run alone; he ran with the #Run with Sowore Group and other members of his Lazy Man Athletics Club.
However, the majority of runners like Blessing Mozie participated because running has become a way of life.
A staff member of the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria, she ran on Saturday because running has become a part and parcel of Lagos-born Mozie’s life.
Before moving to Abuja, Mozie participated in several editions of the Lagos City Marathon, running the full marathon, but she ran the 5 km on Saturday because she is not used to the Abuja roads.
”I was born in Lagos, I grew up there, so I am familiar with the route, but I am not too familiar with the Abuja routes. Maybe in future, I will run the half marathon and the full marathon in Abuja.
“I think running is something everybody should do because of its immense health benefits.
“For me, running is not a fashion statement but a way of life because it is good for the body generally, and I am encouraging everybody to embrace the culture of running; the benefits are immeasurable.
An estimated 5,000 Nigerian and international runners battled for $71,000 prize money on Saturday.
The men’s and women’s winners of the 21 km half-marathon race won $10,000.
Also, all the first 200 runners to cross the line received bronze medals to show they had participated.
The Chairman of the Main Organizing Committee and ECOWAS Director of Youth and Sports, Amb. Francis Njoaguani noted that the event was part of activities to commemorate ECOWAS at 50.
Njoaguani stated that the initiative is aimed at encouraging regional participation and celebrating homegrown talent.
He noted that the future goal is to achieve the World Athletics Gold Label status within the next four years, positioning the ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon among the most prestigious road races globally.
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Nigeria’s foremost marathon and road race club, the High Altitude Athletics Club of Jos, Plateau State, is sending a strong field of elite runners to the 2025 ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon, which will take place on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Stephen Nuhu, the club manager and coach, disclosed that over 30 runners have arrived in Abuja for Saturday’s race.
The runners who will compete in the half marathon include Sati Musa Bala, Mathias Nenfort Gofwen, Mandela Banki, Geofrey Koptin Gomam, John Dauda, Elisha Friday, Shaba Dare Eniola, Yohanna Friday, Gwet Tokbe Christopher, Shambor Blessing Solomon, Agofure Charity, Akusho Lydia Thomas, Danjuma Agnes, and Mathew Nancy.
Nuhu also disclosed that his club aim to win the men’s and women’s titles and also the 5km family race,
“We have some very good young runners who have what it takes to win the 5km, our challenge is the 21km race. We are determined to beat the teams from other ECOWAS nations, especially Ghana, Senegal and others who we are reliably informed are sending a strong team”
Nuhu commended the ECOWAS Commission for increasing the prize money and prompt payment,
“When it comes to prompt payment of prize money, ECOWAS Commission is number one, they will never tell you stories, you get your money once technical officials have certified you as the winner.”
Elsewhere, the Ghanaian Athletics Association and the Ghana Army are also sending strong teams to the 2025 ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon.
The Ghana team expressed readiness to storm Abuja with 20 men and women runners with the sole aim of winning some prizes in the men’s and women’s categories.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Okon, the Race Director, has urged registered runners to collect the running number, vest, certificate, participants’ guide and others at the VIO Office, Federal Secretariat Car Park, Eagles Square, Abuja,
“We are there from 9 am to 5 pm daily, registered runners and those that intend to register are welcome, they can fill out the form free and collect their kits immediately”.
Okon warned that there won’t be registration and collection of kits on race day.
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Athletics
ECOWAS Marathon announces exclusive prize money for West African runners, targets World Athletics Gold Label status
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has unveiled an exclusive prize money incentive for West African runners participating in the 2025 ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon.
The announcement was made on Thursday at a press conference by the ECOWAS Commission, the sponsor of the marathon.
According to ECOWAS Director of Youth and Sports, Amb. Francis Njoaguani, who also serves as the Chairman of the Main Organizing Committee, the first West African runner to cross the finish line will receive $1,000.
The second-place finisher will earn $500, while the third, fourth, and fifth-place runners will receive $400, $250, and $200, respectively.
This initiative is aimed at encouraging regional participation and celebrating homegrown talent.
Njoaguani emphasized ECOWAS’ long-term vision to elevate the marathon to international prominence.
He stated that the goal is to achieve the World Athletics Gold Label status within the next four years, positioning the ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon among the most prestigious road races globally.
Currently, the marathon stands as the most lucrative half marathon in Africa, offering an impressive prize structure for both men and women.
Winners of the 21km race will each take home $10,000, while second and third-place finishers will earn $5,000 and $4,000, respectively.
The fourth-place runner will receive $3,500, followed by $3,000 for the fifth, $2,500 for the sixth, $2,000 for the seventh, $1,500 for the eighth, $1,200 for the ninth, and $1,000 for the tenth-place finisher.
In the 5km category, the first-place winner will receive $1,000, the second-place finisher $300, the third-place $250, the fourth-place $150, and the fifth-place $100.
Njoaguani expressed his delight at the marathon’s rapid growth and increasing popularity. He recalled the challenges faced in its early years but noted that it has since evolved into a highly anticipated sporting event.
The 2025 edition, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS, is expected to attract over 5000 runners from across the globe.
To mark this milestone, ECOWAS is fully sponsoring runners from all member states, both men and women, to participate.
Additionally, significant interest has been shown by runners from Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as from other regions beyond Africa, including the United States, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Switzerland.
For this edition, some minor adjustments have been made to the race routes.
The 21km race will begin and end at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters, ensuring a seamless and well-coordinated course for participants.
Meanwhile, the 5km race will start Independence Drive by Sahad Stores and CDB and conclude at the ECOWAS Commission.
Beyond its competitive aspect, the marathon serves as a unifying platform for West African nations. Njoaguani highlighted that the marathon is more than just a race, emphasizing that it is a means of fostering regional integration, bringing people together to interact, celebrate fitness, and strengthen the bonds within the community.
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