Gadzama blasts NSC’s neglect of distance running, accuses Dikko of empty promises

African and Olympic Games gold medalist Tafida Gadzama has launched a scathing attack on the National Sports Commission (NSC), accusing its leadership under Shehu Dikko of abandoning distance running and failing to live up to its own rhetoric.

Just over a year ago, Dikko was handed the reins of the revamped NSC by President Bola Tinubu, promising a new dawn for Nigerian sport.

He declared: ‘We cannot continue to run in a cycle. Competition is consumption, but we have to go back to production, which is Sports Development. We must set the structure right, create the framework, and put together good parameters to have sustainable sports development that will naturally give us a solid economy.’

He outlined three pillars: treating sports as a national asset, building strong foundations and regulations, and investing in world class infrastructure.

But Gadzama insists those lofty words have amounted to nothing. Instead of delivering on development, he argues, the NSC has been consumed by power struggles, international junkets, and a fixation on taking over the running of sports federations.

Crucially, he says, distance running has been completely sidelined, despite Dikko’s February pledge to unveil plans for the discipline, a promise that has remained unfulfilled ten months later.

For Gadzama, this neglect is not just sporting mismanagement but a national tragedy. He points to Kenya’s transformation of distance running into an economic powerhouse, reducing unemployment and contributing significantly to GDP.

Nigeria, he argues, could replicate that success if athletes were properly developed and supported to compete in global road races. Instead, Nigeria will not even feature at the upcoming World Cross Country Championships in Florida, a foundational event for elite runners.

‘Distance runners in Nigeria have always earned much more than other track and field disciplines and that should have been a pointer to its potentials. Imagine if our athletes can be developed to run times that will qualify them for elite status, which will also mean the opportunity to run in road races across the globe to earn money and recognition.

‘This would have created a revolution of sort where our youths across the country, and especially in the northern part of Nigeria, would have taken to distance running, thereby ensuring they are no longer available to be recruited by bandits and terrorists,’ Gadzama said.

He further condemned the NSC’s obsession with age-grade medal counts, arguing that such short-term targets ignore disciplines capable of delivering long-term economic impact.

On infrastructure, he accused Dikko of failing to deliver on his promises, noting that Nigeria still lacks world class tartan tracks and CAF/FIFA-approved stadiums outside of Uyo’s Godswill Akpabio Stadium built by the Akwa Ibom state government.

Yet, he said, the NSC had the audacity to bid for the 2023 Commonwealth Games, a failed attempt that he believes warrants a probe into how much was spent.

Gadzama ridiculed Dikko’s trip to Europe to inspect pitches, calling it unnecessary and embarrassing.

‘You don’t need to junket around the globe for something that could be done through technology. If all you needed was good grasses approved by CAF and FIFA, why has the NSC not been able to get one in over a year?’ he asked.

He also blasted the creation of the Elite Podium Board, which he claims has usurped the jobs of the technical and performance departments of the federations while excluding genuine experts.

‘The Elite Podium Board has taken over the jobs of the technical and performance departments of the various sports federations and curiously, none of the members of these committees made it into the board.

‘Imagine having somebody like Daniel Igali, a world and Olympic champion who singlehandedly developed wrestling into a major medal-winning event for Nigeria, or chief Tony Osheku, an accomplished track and field coach who is well respected internationally by coaches and manager not made a prominent member of the elite podium board,’ Gadzama lamented.

For him, the NSC’s current trajectory risks turning Nigeria into a laughing stock internationally. Without a clear plan for distance running, a proper plan for development of major sport disciplines in conjunction with the sports federations and genuine investment in infrastructure, he warns, Nigeria will continue to squander opportunities to harness sport as a tool for economic growth, youth empowerment, and national pride.