It is no longer news that the action of the minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare against the leadership of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) led by Engr. Ibrahim Gusau has resulted in the embarrassment the most populous black nation in the world, Nigeria received a few days ago in Tokyo.
The Minister ahead of Olympics preparation engaged Gusau, the AFN President in a mother of all battle for the soul of the federation. Despite all effort by Gusau to reconcile with the minister proved abortive as his mind was made up, including hiding a letter from the Department of State Security (DSS) in 2020 exonerating Gusau from any wrongdoing in the PUMA kits contract.
Mr. Dare took charge of the Olympics preparation through the use of the caretaker committee of federations, a situation every information about the Olympics fund is shrouded in secrecy.
This action of the minister has not only brought shame to the country but is giving every reasonable Nigerian an opportunity to ask questions of what actually going on in the sports sector. Also, the action has reduced Nigeria to a laughing stock.
Recently we reported how the female Basketball team (D’Tigress) asked Dare to explain to them what happens to the N2bn, the federal government allegedly gave Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) President, Musa Kida through him.
It was alleged on that report that Dare gave Kida N840m and N740m respectively bringing the total to N1.58bn.
Yet the D’Tgress keep asking the federation to upset their four-year-old debts which up to date the Minister or NBBF President, Musa Kida is yet to put the record straight and now another issue has just cropped into the front burner. This time around, it is athletes that are protesting in Tokyo over the ministry handling of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) which has caused them the hope of winning medals at the ongoing Olympics.
On Friday photos of Nigerian athletes in Tokyo were trending on social media not for winning medals but lamenting over the crisis in the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) which of course the Minister, Dare is seeing as the drummer cum and the dancer.
The 10 athletes out of 23 barred from competing at the Olympics took to social media to register their displeasure with the happening in the AFN, a federation that has not known peace since the 2020 crisis erupted as a result of leadership tussle which Dare was prominently fingered.
These were various inscriptions picked from the placards the protesting athletes were holding, “WE’RE NOT JUST ALTERNATES BUT POTENTIAL MEDALISTS. ALL WE WANTED TO DO IS TO COMPETE. 10 OUT OF 23 WE CAN’T CONTINUE THIS WAY.” Dream of 10 out of 23 shattered.
In all these, the actors either failed to realise that in every battle there is always a consequence or deliberately ignore it. Perhaps the disqualification of the ten athletes and Blessing Okagbare “the queen of sprinter”
This unholy battle, however, has produced the intending result and now disgrace, embarrassment is Nigeria’s second name at Tokyo Olympics.
President Muhammadu Buhari has worked so hard to redeem Nigeria from being a relatively corrupt nation but some of his appointees are not really seeing it from that angle as such have continued to paint the country black at all cost, just like is happening in the ministry of sports.
If I may ask, what is the offence of Gusau that Dare was bent on destroying him? Unfortunately, this fight might not be far from one taking control of the Olympics funds, it has also shattered the dreams of 10 Nigerians’ potential medalists at the ongoing Olympics.
Buhari should as a matter of urgency gets the anti-graft agencies prepared ahead of Nigeria contigent’s return from the Olympics because there are a lot of questions begging for answers-starting with the N2bn released to upset the D’Tigress four years debts to the alleged N5bn released for the Olympics, among others.
Unfortunately, unlike before the Olympics funds were made public, this time around one hardly know what was voted for the Olympics, a situation that has given rise to insinuation around different quarters.
