TOKYO 2020: A PANDORA BOX OF SCANDALS

TOKYO 2020: A PANDORA BOX OF SCANDALS
By Enefiok Udo-Obong

The Games are at the half way point but it seems the Nigerian Sports fans have had a full dose of events. It has been story after story as each day brought a new point of discussion for the Nigerian team. From the opening ceremony, where observers complained of the non-uniformity of masks in the Nigerian team to the less significant ceremonial outfits worn by the athletes, the team lacked colour and our usual dab of rich cultural expressions, an observer complained. The outfit seemed like a rushed contract executed poorly for a country rich in clothing expressions. We could have exposed our regal Tiv mode or dressing, or the classy Fulani style, or perhaps the elaborate Efik attire or the boisterous Yoruba agbada. We are even spoilt for choice with the appealing Igbo dressing or perhaps go into deep national history and express our royal history with Majestic Benin dresses complete with beads. We failed to show the world what a rich culture we have in our dressing.

The opening ceremony dress was not the only clothing on watch. Long before the Games, the long running battle of what the track and field athletes would wear was on the lips of many. After the factional President of the AFN, Ibrahim Gusau had, as reported, ‘clandestinely’ signed a deal on behalf of Nigeria with sports kitting company, PUMA, and had the kits delivered to him personally, the government backed AFN feigned ignorance of the contract saying no details of it were made available to them as such the Nigerian team was under no obligation to wear PUMA. Instead, it opted for use of a locally manufactured kit in line with the Federal’s Government policy of ‘Buy Nigeria’. Well as Nigerians wait to see if there is any consequence for that, the news that half of the Nigerian athletic team had been barred from taking part in the Games filtered in.

Due to its high cases of doping violations amongst their athletes, Nigeria had been placed along with eight other countries as a ‘Category A’ country in athletics. The consequence of which was that all our athletes expected to take part in the Olympic Games had to have had at least three Out-of-Competitions tests, spaced at least within three months apart. This was not done. As a matter of fact, only athletes that had been very active in the professional circuit were fortunate enough to have had those number of tests. So some of our young, bright athletes missed out and were denied a chance to be called Olympians. It also denied us chances to compete in some events that we had real medal prospects.

This unfortunate incident led to some of our athletes holding a protest march around the Games Village and sporting areas in Tokyo. The world media were reporting it as sad to see athletes who just want to compete denied by no fault of theirs.

While the counter accusations are traded on whose fault it is between the lack of funding and action of the ministry and the negligence and intentional sabotage by the rogue federation president, the AFN through its Secretary General, Adeniyi Beyioku was quick to send a statement to educate Nigerians that this was an administrative blunder and this error was followed with a knee-jerk reaction to appoint Prof Ken Anugweje as the head of the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission of the Federation. This action has been criticized as it was the same person in charge during these infarctions and was supposed to oversee these out-of-competition tests. The Federation put out a statement that read “A few athletes in the American collegiate system were tested but those tests were deemed not to have complied with WADA sample collection and analysis standards.” It went on to stress, “It must be noted that no Nigerian athlete tested positive to prohibited substances.”

Just a few hours after that statement had been released, the bombshell came. Nigeria’s biggest athletes and most decorated sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, was disqualified from the Games for failing a drugs test. The presence of HGH (Human growth Hormone) in her system meant she was denied a chance to compete and provisionally suspended immediately. That was a hard one to take for Nigerians. Bitterly disappointed and downcast, the Olympics, though in its early days, already seemed like a daily dose of scandals and disappointments in equal measure for Team Nigeria.

Disappointments had started with table –tennis. While not much was expected from Funke Oshonaike and her feat of 7 consecutive Games appearance was commendable, everyone had hoped her experience will enable her win a couple of matches. But the news from the ping pong table was that our top player and World Number 21, Aruna Quadri who was expected to at least equal or go better than his laudable quarter final placing in Rio four years earlier, lost to a player almost ranked 40 places below him. His comments afterwards on social media revealed there was more than met the eye. He complained of his coaches (or rather lack of coaches) unlike the case of 2016 and that he was not guided well due to selfish administrative reasons.

The Basketballers, after giving us so much hope in defeating USA and Argentina in a warm up tournament, fell like a pack of cards losing all three matches played. Immediately, basketball player Chimezie Metu, an NBA player, shifted his disappointment from being eliminated from the Olympic tournament to outright disdain and disappointment at the Ministry and Nigeria Olympic Committee.

According to the Boston Globe newspaper, Metu ripped the country for what he called ‘mistreatment of athletes’. He complained of the ‘off-court things’ and how athletes are disrespected.

As the Olympics goes into its final week from today, Nigerians are praying that the scandals come to an end as hopes are now hinged mainly on the wrestlers who have been free of any scandal so far. It is no wonder that global best practices are in place in the wrestling federation: Daniel Igali, an Olympic gold medalist with Canada run the show as President and coach. Coming from an environment completely different from the chaos here, no one expects anything less. Medals from Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborodudu will be fitting compensation for Igali’s efforts on the wrestlers.

Related Articles