It’s a shame how Nigerian athletics has fallen—Ngerem

By Ben Efe

Former Athletics Federation of Nigeria president, Dan Ngerem has called on all genuine athletics enthusiasts to join ranks and salvage the sport, otherwise there will be more catastrophic results in the future.

Mr. Ngerem was speaking against the back ground of the chaotic federations election and the resultant disorganised Nigerian participation at the last World Championships in London.

“It is a sad commentary all round. We have become the butt of jokes in athletics  family all over the world with our people hustling for continental posts and begging like refugees to serve even in coffee serving meaningless committees.

“We are facing challenges now because we failed to plan and turned our nation into a ‘one athlete country’.

“We were thinking that there is a short cut to success. We enjoyed some porous and unsustainable successes for sometime, but now it has blown up in our faces.”

He submitted that for the federation to move away from lacklustre administrative posture and management of athletes, only the right calibre of people should be on the board and the secretariat.

“But this is not likely to happen because it is all about politics and “politricks” and rumours/news of sexual harassment all over the place.”

He said the Nigerian team couldn’t have performed at the London 2017 Worlds under the circumstances the athletes competed.

“There is no support structure for the welfare of the athletes neither were there any tactical and strategic framework.

“Imagine what they have to endure in getting visas. I even quietly tried to support/fund athletes including writing embassies to help get visas for some athletes. Where was the AFN management and where was the sports ministry?”

“I still can’t understand why we couldn’t get visa for our athletes and the Minister and his retinue of retainers and hangers on were in London spending money and earning estacodes.

“And, the most regrettable scenario of all is that there is no hope and no end in sight to the imbroglio and negative vortex.”

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