The National Sports Commission (NSC), in collaboration with World Athletics and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), is set to host the inaugural Africa Running Conference in Lagos — a landmark event that underscores Nigeria’s growing influence in the global sports ecosystem.

The conference, designed to promote health, fitness, and athletic excellence, will bring together key stakeholders from across the continent to explore the expanding opportunities in road running and sports-driven economic growth.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko said the event aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of transforming sports into a catalyst for national development.

“This conference is not just about running,” Dikko said. “It reflects our commitment to building a thriving sports economy — one that creates jobs, attracts investment, and enhances Nigeria’s global reputation.”

He noted that the rising popularity of road running across Nigeria signals an untapped potential for economic and social impact. “Every state now wants to be involved,” he added. “That shows the potential for lasting impact.”

NSC Director General Bukola Olopade hailed the partnership with World Athletics as a “milestone moment” for Nigerian sports, emphasizing that it validates the effectiveness of the Tinubu administration’s ongoing sports reforms.

“We’re moving from being a consumption-based sports nation to one that produces and hosts world-class events,” Olopade said.

He further highlighted that World Athletics’ decision to stage the conference in Lagos — ahead of countries like Kenya and South Africa with long-standing marathon traditions — demonstrates growing international confidence in Nigeria’s capacity and reform agenda.

Alessio Punzi, World Athletics’ Head of Running and Mass Participation, described the forthcoming event as “a turning point for African road running,” revealing that it will include technical workshops for athletics federations from across the continent.

“The Lagos conference is about building a full ecosystem — from grassroots participation to elite performance,” Punzi stated.

The Africa Running Conference, the first of its kind, will serve as a platform for collaboration among governments, private sector leaders, and the sporting community. It aims to reinforce Nigeria’s leadership role in promoting health, wellness, and sporting excellence across Africa.

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BY DANLADI BAKO

Sports and indeed global athletics have been the cynosure of quite a huge community of track and field afficionados in the last nine days at the Tokyo World Athletics finals.

The global athletics fraternity congregates annually to celebrate new world beaters and champions.

Athletes spend a large amount of time, energy and resources to train, attracting the best coaches and utilizing some of the high impact facilities in developing qualifying times for their individual events.

So many nations facilitate the upscaling and upgrading of their athletes’ mentality, physique and performance standing through investments in the training and welfare of their high-profile athletes by providing grants, scholarships and appreciable reward systems.

These have been in short supply in Nigeria and indeed within the developing world where the priorities of most governments are education, health, poverty and so many other development challenges.

However, the benefits of investing in sports are unquantifiable especially on the world global diplomatic stage, unassailable visibility and an incredible reputation unachievable in so many other areas of human existence. In the eighties and 90s the Americans literally ruled the sprints with female 100 meters legend Florence Griffiths – Joyner and 400 meters world champion Michael Johnson.

Just like America used the movies to show Americans as the world best, sportsmen like basketball’s Michael Jordan and boxing’s Muhammad Ali put America on the pinnacle of human capacity for endurance, determination, strategic planning and near perfect execution.

America might have the size and population above 200 million so it’s success can be expected, however Jamaica an island of 150 miles by 50 miles has gone beyond exporting Reggae’s global icons like Bob Marley and Alton Ellis to producing 100 meters legends Usain Bolt, Sherry Ann Fraser-Price and Marlene Ottey thereby winning international recognition and inevitable public reckoning far beyond most African countries.

Now a land locked southern African sub-continent country Botswana with less than the population of Lagos State just on Sunday won the 4 x 400 men’s relay gold at the Tokyo 2025 games even after picking a few other medals through individual athletes Tebogo et al.

The Tokyo games have come and gone with Tobi Amusan putting Nigeria on the medals table with her 100 meters Silver medal.  Ajayi’s efforts in the 100 meters men’s final was also commendable.

For me the highest point was the super- human diminutive Kenyan Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres clinching gold and 5000 metres silver.

Another great spectacle was the exploits of American idol Noah Lyle who anchored the last leg of the 4 x100 metres gold winning quartet.

Lyle won the 200 metres gold as well becoming one of the audaciuos and eye-catching supreme athletes of Tokyo 2025. Mention must be made of Sweden’s Armand Mondo who broke the pole vault world record thrice in two days.

So when and how would Nigeria get to these towering heights of conquering the world?

The fact is that we once had Olympic and World Athletics finalists like Innocent Egbunike (400m) , Chidi Imo (100 and 200m), Yusuf Alli (Long jump) and Falilat Ogunkoya (400m) although it was the American University collegiate structure that groomed them to become world beaters with little or no input from the home government.

Once in a long while a training grant of $50,000 gets handed to them in preparation for Olympic games to pay their coaches and for utilizing training facilities abroad. Even Ezekiel Nathaniel and Oyinkansola Ajayi are still beneficiaries of the American University collegiate structure.

The aforementioned names who also schooled and trained in the United States are still very much around especially Yusuf Alli, Falilat and Mary Onyali.

The authorities need to device the appropriate strategies to achieve podium standings in the nearest immediate future.

All the products of the National Youth Games and the School Sports Federation games should be drafted into a growth enhancement program, hire some of the best Athletics coaches from around the world and ensure the construction and maintenance of high-performance pitches and gymnasia.

The Sports Federations must be populated with patriotic and passionate sports men who are brimming with enthusiasm, desire and creativity.

President Tinubu did not only resuscitate the National Sports Commission, he gave an unprecedented 12 billion naira to the Sports Ministry for AFCON and other tournaments earlier this year so we have a listening President who can restore our lost glory in sports and athletics in particular. Nigeria must reclaim its podium standing capability as soon as possible.

Danladi Bako, OON was Senior Special Assistant to former Minister of Youth and Sports as well as one-time Chairman Sokoto State Football Association.

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By KUNLE SOLAJA.

Nigeria’s silver medal finish at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships once again highlighted the country’s roller-coaster fortunes on the global stage.

While the podium placement ensured Nigeria did not return empty-handed, the overall medal count has remained stagnant in recent years compared to other rising athletics nations.

At the Doha 2019 Championships, Team Nigeria endured a barren outing, failing to register a single medal. Three years later in Oregon 2022, Ese Brume broke the drought with a stunning gold in the women’s long jump — Nigeria’s first-ever world title in the event.

The momentum continued into Budapest 2023, where world record holder Tobi Amusan claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles, cementing Nigeria’s presence among the elite hurdlers. In Tokyo this year, the nation repeated the feat in the same event, albeit again settling for silver.

A comparative glance at the last four editions shows a troubling trend: Nigeria has not improved its medal tally, with just one medal each in 2022, 2023, and 2025.

This raises urgent questions about depth, consistency, and investment in talent development beyond the few star performers.

Comparative Medal Table (2019–2025)

• Doha 2019 – 0 medals (No standout performance)
• Oregon 2022 – 1 Gold (Ese Brume, Women’s Long Jump)
• Budapest 2023 – 1 Silver (Tobi Amusan, 100m Hurdles)
• Tokyo 2025 – 1 Silver (100m Hurdles)

The pattern underscores Nigeria’s reliance on individual brilliance rather than systemic excellence. Athletics analysts argue that unless the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) strengthens grassroots programs, invests in coaching and sports science, and improves athlete welfare, the country risks stagnating while competitors from Africa and beyond surge ahead.

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