Nigeria’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ended without a medal, marking the eighth time the country has failed to secure a medal at the Olympics.
This disappointing outcome has sparked concerns about the state of sports development in Nigeria.
Official statement
In response to the poor performance, Nigeria’s Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, issued an official statement apologising for the team’s failure to meet expectations. “I must apologise to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024(August 28- September 8th). The Minister began.
“Our performance should have been a lot better… it obviously fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians,” Mr Enoh said.
He acknowledged the challenges faced by his ministry, including the short timeframe to prepare for the Olympics. “When I assumed office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was confronted with the task of executing four international competitions… namely the AFCON, the African Games, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a matter of a few months,” he explained.
Despite these challenges, Mr. Enoh expressed puzzlement at the team’s underwhelming performance. “We owe Nigerians an explanation,” he said, announcing a comprehensive review process to evaluate athlete readiness, coach performance, and administrative staff roles.
Mr Enoh stressed the need for lessons to be learned and improvements made, saying, “We deserve more… Let’s turn the disastrous outcome of the 2024 Olympics into a huge positive for Nigerian sports.”
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The Sports Minister also highlighted efforts to support athletes, including onshore and offshore training camps and financial support from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The President and Commander in Chief of the Federation, HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ensured that funds were not a limiting factor,” Mr Enoh noted.
However, the poor performance has raised questions about the effectiveness of these efforts and the need for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s sports development programs.
The minister said, “There must be a lot of lessons to learn from our performance, and improvements must be made in all ramifications.”
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