By Jonathan Ugbal
The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh on Tuesday told sports administrators in the country that the performance of Team Nigeria at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics games held in Paris France is a ride awakening to certain realities.
Enoh said this in a post games review meeting he convened with Federations, administrators and regulatory stakehokders, to unearth the cause of the country’s performance and chart a way forward held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
“I am wired up to succeed. But, sitting at the Paris games, as the games ticked by, I waited for medals that never came,” said Enoh at the post games review.
A statement issued by his spokesperson, Diana-Mary Nsan says Enoh described what transpired at the 2024 Paris Olympics as unfortunate and a tipping point in the evolution of sports in the country, and charged all present at the meeting to engage in unfettered exchange of ideas that will not only chart a new path forward but assist in writing the next chapter in the nation’s sports development.
“In my pre Olympic meetings, Federation after Federation made possible podium projections. What happened to those projections? Were they founded on objective reality, or were those projections simply made to please me?” Enoh queried during the ‘no holds barred’ session.
‘Were your projections simply made to please me? – Enoh to Federations
Furthermore, he added what was of utmost importance, that the athletes and stakeholders accept the fact that Team Nigeria performed poorly at the games and to immediately commence a rebuilding process based on unfettered analysis of what went wrong and put forward fresh ideas that would spark a positive change.
He stressed that the outcome of the meeting would be determined by how purposeful and intentional the Sports Ministry and sports stakeholders were in tackling the challenges that continue to stymie the growth of sports in the country.
“Why we may not have planned for the outcome we had, the failure at the games is maybe a rude awakening, a tipping point that should spur everyone here present to commit that never again will we have to be where we are after the abysmal outing.
The Sports Minister stated that everyone present in that meeting must take responsibility at the level they function if progress would’ve to be made.
Various federations gave a recap on the games, what went wrong, and recommendations for the future.
Professor Ken Anygweje of the podium performance team gave a critical analysis on athletes’ performance, a scientific perspective of Team Nigeria’s state of preparedness for the games and recommendations.
The Director, sports medicine of the ministry and the anti-doping committee were not left out.
Although Team Nigeria did not win medals at the Olympics, there were events that signaled hope for sports in Nigeria. Events upon which the sector can spring forth from, both in Olympics and Paralympics.
The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary, and Directors of the Sports Ministry, Presidents of the NOC and NPC, the different Sporting Federations along with their Secretaries, technical directors, the Athletes Commission, Podium Performance Team, the Anti-doping Committee, critical stakeholders.
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