Veteran Nigerian sports journalist, Charles Ojugbana, has expressed deep disappointment over Nigeria’s poor performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, describing it as a “humongous disaster.”
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Ojugbana criticised the lack of planning and preparation that led to Nigeria returning home without a single medal, despite the country’s vast sporting potential.
The journalist emphasised that success in sports is not accidental but the result of careful planning and intentional efforts, noting that Nigeria did not plan properly for the games.
Ojugbana said, “When you fail to plan, it means you have planned to fail. There’s just one word to describe Nigeria’s performance at the last Olympics and that word is disaster. It’s a humongous disaster that a country of so much sporting potential and prowess can go to a game in 2024 and come back empty handed.
“Sports is very intentional. It doesn’t happen by coincidence. It is what you plan, what you dream, that you end up achieving. And for the Olympiad which comes in a four year cycle, every country knows ahead of time when and where it would hold, therefore you have the ample opportunity to plan. Why is it impossible for a country as big and as rich and as endowed as our own country to be able to plan?”
Ojugbana also noted that another reason for the country’s poor performance was because Nigerian athletes were competing in sports where the country has little historical success, arguing that Nigeria should focus on its proven strengths in combat sports, athletics, weightlifting, and wrestling—disciplines where the country has a strong track record.
He said, “We sent 82 athletes and I was shocked to my bone marrow when I saw Nigerian competitors in rowing, in swimming, in cycling. For crying out loud, what is that in the name of any country? Nigeria has what we call her areas of speciality that have been proven over time. We are good at combat sports. We are good at athletics. That is why in boxing for instance, our first Olympic gold medal came from Nojim Mayegun as far back as 1964. The next one came from Isaac Ikhouria in Munich, ‘72. After that, we had Peter Konyegwachie. And we have had a long train of boxers, all of them with world repute. Why is it that there was no Nigerian boxer in the quarter finals, finals and winning a medal in the Paris Olympic games.”
He highlighted the issue of leadership and management within Nigerian sports and compared the leadership of global sports organisations to Nigeria’s, noting that countries with successful sports programs often have leaders with deep personal experience and expertise in sports. In contrast, he argued that Nigeria’s sports administration is plagued by issues of patronage rather than meritocracy.
“You cannot give what you do not have,” Ojugbana said, stressing the importance of having knowledgeable and experienced individuals in leadership positions.
Ojugbana further stated that while the Minister of Sports had apologised for the poor performance, there needs to be real accountability. He called for those responsible for the administrative failures to be held accountable, including naming, shaming, and banning those who failed in their duties.
“Sport is intentional,” he said. “Until we begin to see it as that, then there’s no point even participating.”
Melissa Enoch
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