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Paris 2024: Sports Minister Apologizes to Nigerians |
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have concluded, and I acknowledge that our performance was far below expectations. It did not meet the objectives, hopes, and aspirations of Nigerians. I extend my apologies to our compatriots and commit to reflecting on what went wrong as we look forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 (August 28 – September 8).
When I took office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I faced the challenge of preparing for four international competitions: AFCON, the African Games, the Olympic Games, and the Paralympic Games, all within a few months. I was reminded that the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sports competitions, requiring at least four years of preparation. However, I discovered that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not yet begun.
In the true Nigerian spirit, we aimed to uphold our country's international sports image. Our goal was to replicate or surpass the performance of Atlanta 1996. To achieve this, we adopted a progressive approach to enhance the performance of our athletes and coaches. In my first week, I requested all National Sports Federations to provide their plans and programs and conducted a nationwide inspection of our sports facilities.
Subsequently, I established a Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee, comprising seasoned sports performance professionals, to drive our preparations.
At that time, we had barely qualified for the Olympics in any sport.
We focused on both AFCON and the African Games, which were happening in quick succession, while our athletes also participated in Olympic and Paralympic qualification tournaments. This required our athletes to peak several times within a short period.
I learned that athletes from many countries had qualified almost a year ago and had already structured their training programs for the Olympics. Despite this, we remained undeterred.
I convened a series of meetings with the Presidents of the National Sports Federations, their Technical Directors, and Secretaries General. These meetings reviewed the preparations for the competitions. The Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee attended to discuss and streamline methodologies and training methods, considering the time constraints.
After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to Federations with strong chances of qualifying for the Olympics. Medals projections were made by all Federations, although their athletes were still trying to qualify, which lasted until about June 2024. The concerned Federations prioritized qualification over preparations for the Games, a practice that must change.
At the end of the qualification period, the selection of athletes and coaches was the sole responsibility of each Federation. Attempts to question selections after receiving complaints were strongly resisted and defended.
To achieve our targets, we approved onshore training in various locations in the country and offshore training camps for our teams in Saarbrucken, Germany, and Sevilla, Spain. Ten out of the eleven sports trained in Germany.
The choice of training facilities in Germany was based on positive recommendations from the Ministry team, including the President of one of our Federations, a former world champion and Olympic gold medalist familiar with Olympic-standard facilities and equipment.
At the training camp, the Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee provided scientific preparation and mental strength training support. The high quality of their participation was confirmed by independent sources, including athletes, coaches, and team administrators.
Throughout this process, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ensured that funds were not a limiting factor. Athletes' competition requirements were met, allowances were paid early, and training grants were disbursed to all athletes. I made myself available to address any issues throughout the competition. Despite these efforts, our team's underwhelming performance is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation.
As a responsible organization, we have initiated a review process. We will comprehensively evaluate the competition readiness of every athlete, including their injury and medical history, within the limits of patient confidentiality. The roles of coaches and administrative staff will also be examined.
There are many lessons to learn from our performance, and improvements must be made in all areas. The last time we returned from the Olympics without a medal was in 2012. In the subsequent Olympics, we won a bronze medal in 2016 and a silver and bronze in the 2020 Olympics. As a country, we deserve more. Let's turn the disappointing outcome of the 2024 Olympics into a positive turning point for Nigerian sports.
