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OH WHAT A SHAME! WHY DOES COMPETING FOR NIGERIA MEAN SELF-SPONSORSHIP?

Just before the start of the Rio olympic games, the internet was agog with news that the sports ministry had asked the athletes to sponsor themselves to the games.

The Nigerian sports ministry is a ministry that is always satisfied with too little.

History has it that after the Atlanta '96 games where Nigeria performed relatively well winning gold in the football event and medals in other sports, Nigerian athletes fell out of favour with the sports ministry. Obviously, they thought that Nigeria had won it all. Since then, preparing for championships has been a major challenge for Nigerian athletes.

From the Nigerian football federation to the Nigerian athletics federation to the national Olympic committee, all of the committees have seriously failed to encourage and prepare athletes for competitions.

Historically especially for Nigerian track and field and football athletes, participation in competitions has always been an avenue for officials to corruptly enrich themselves with funds meant for the athletes to train and prepare.

We have the track and field athletes complaining of inadequate preparation and abandonment when injured, lack of care and proper training on the part of the athletics federation of Nigeria. A federation that is almost comatose whose major responsibility should be touring the length and breadth of the country scouting for talents to represent Nigeria at top competitions but whose only duty right now is taking the glory whenever Nigerian athletes miraculously win a medal at any competition. No wonder Nigeria is loosing all its talents to foreign countries who take better care of them.

The Nigerian football federation is also guilty although it is better than the AFN in that it at least scouts for talents and provides them with a coach. It 's own crime is refusing to pay match bonuses to footballers at competitions.

It has become a show of shame whenever athletes compete for Nigeria in any competition as scandal after scandal emerges when athletes from other countries are busy concentrating on the games.

One can only wonder when this will come to an end.

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