Nigeria (Commonwealth) _A seven-person committee has been established by the Nigerian Federal Government to look into the nation’s dismal performance at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. On September 25, the panel will be officially opened at Abuja’s MKO Abiola Stadium.
Nigeria sent 88 participants to the Olympics; however, they were unsuccessful in taking home any medals. On the other hand, the 24 competitors that made up the Paralympic squad won two gold, two silver, and three bronze medals. Due to these records, the African nation’s sporting community now prioritizes the necessity for an analysis.
Under the direction of Complete Communications Ltd.’s Group Managing Director, Mumuni Alao, the committee will look into “various negative exposures to the country during the Games.”
Members from many regions will be involved in this effort, including Christy Opara (South-East), Godwin Enakhena (South-South), Abubakar Ango (North-East), Aliyu Mohammed (North-West), and Hajia Rakiya Muhammad (North-Central). The terms of reference for Victor Okangbe (South-South)’s secretaryship will be disclosed during the inauguration.
A post-Games audit and review meeting has been scheduled by the Ministry of Sports Development for September 24 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The President and Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria (PCN), along with the presidents, general secretaries, technical directors, and coaches of all 12 Olympic sports and the four Paralympic sports that Nigeria competed in, were called to the meeting, according to the Ministry’s Director of Information and Press Relations, Mrs. Kehinde Ajayi.
Heads of the Ministry’s technical departments as well as members of the Ministerial Podium Performance Committee will be present. This conference is the start of an extensive assessment aimed at figuring out what caused the dismal Olympic performance. Senator John Owan Enoh, the minister of sports, has stressed the importance of this endeavour in responding to criticisms levelled at Nigeria’s performance.
Nigeria’s medal hopes at the Games fell short of pre-Games expectations, with the country failing to produce a medal haul for the first time since 2012. Similar to past Olympics, it appears to be a criticism of the nation’s recurrently poor sports administration.
Athletes from Team Nigeria have crashed out of ten events they entered at the ongoing Paris Games, with the exception of the women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, who advanced to their first-ever Olympic quarterfinal after a thrilling 79-70 win over Canada in their final group B match on Sunday.
For the first time since London 2012, the nation failed to secure a single medal, which appears to be proof of the hasty removal of Favour Ofili, the national champion and lone medal contender, from the women’s 100-meter race.
For the first time since the 2012 London Olympics, the Giant of Africa failed to return with any medals, while smaller countries on the continent returned with many. Even with a team that included continental champions like 100-meter hurdles record holder Tobi Amusan, the most populous country in Africa fell short of Olympic standards.
Former and present Olympians attacked the nation’s sporting federations the day after the games ended, demanding changes to institutions they claimed had failed their players. “I have to apologize to our fellow citizens and take stock.
Following the Paris attacks, Sports Minister John Owan Enoh posted an apology to his fellow citizens on social media and took some time to consider what went wrong.
He stated that when he took the ministry less than a year before the Games, he realized that Nigeria’s Olympics preparations had not yet started. “He stated that we as a nation deserve more. Let’s make the terrible 2024 Olympic results work to Nigerian sports’ great advantage.
In Atlanta in 1996, Nigeria’s Olympic performance was its greatest, taking home two gold medals, one silver, and three bronzes. Beijing brought five medals to London four years later, but none to Beijing in 2008.
Olympic sprinter Favour Ofili claimed that even after qualifying, officials at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria had disqualified her from the Paris 100 meters competition because of administrative errors.
The International Basketball Federation stated that Rena Wakama, the squad’s “incredible run” and recipient of the Best Female Basketball Coach award at the Games, led the women’s basketball team in Nigeria, which was a shining spot. They defeated Canada to advance as the first African team to the quarterfinals, when they were defeated by the eventual gold medallists, the United States.
