Ofili: Re-election of Officials Who Truncated My Olympic Dream, Fear of 2028 Repeat Drove My Allegiance Change to Turkey

Favour Ofili has told The Guardian that the re-election of officials who truncated her dream of running in the 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, in addition to other administrative and technical errors, was the final straw that led to her decision to change allegiance from Nigeria, her country of birth, to Turkey. She said she has no regrets.

Ofili was reacting to a report that the National Sports Commission (NSC) had said she would not be released to compete for her adopted country at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

She revealed that it was precisely to avoid lightning striking not just twice but thrice that she made the switch, adding that Nigerian sports officials have demonstrated their lack of capacity with such reckless and unprofessional statements.

She told The Guardian she has changed to an environment where elite athletes are treated as elite athletes and valued, and has run away from a system where officials not only compromise athletes’ futures but also feel they are doing athletes a favour.

Responding to Mary Onyali’s comments that she once rejected offers to switch allegiance to France and Sweden out of love for Nigeria, Ofili said the circumstances were different.

‘Anybody can say anything, but I never heard that Onyali was denied the chance to compete in the Olympics by those who were supposed to look after her. It started in Japan when some of us were stopped from competing in the Olympics because some officials failed to do what they were paid to do.

‘After that, there were no apologies, and people behaved as if nothing happened. They did the same thing to me at the Paris 2024 Games when I was not registered for my race, even when I had laboured to qualify for it.

‘They set up a panel to unravel the circumstances, but nothing happened afterwards. The same officials were given a fresh mandate to continue with their blunder. So, I had to run to save my career. It was never about the money,’ she told The Guardian though her coach, Dennis Shaver.

Shaver expressed disappointment at suggestions that Ofili’s decision was financially motivated.

‘Unless someone has walked through the exact pain and disappointment Ofili experienced, it may be difficult to fully understand the weight of her choice,’ he said in a veiled reference to Onyali’s statement.

Shaver added that missing two Olympic cycles due to negligence was devastating for any athlete. He noted that even an investigative committee set up under former Sports Minister John Enoh found elements of negligence in the handling of the Paris situation, yet nothing was done in terms of reprimand.

Ofili’s decision is part of a wider exodus of Nigerian athletes to countries such as Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain.

Favour Ashe and Sunday Akitan are among the latest to leave, with Akitan currently ranked the second-fastest man in the world over 60m this year at 6.48 seconds, behind only Jordan Anthony’s 6.43.

The departures highlight systemic failures in Nigerian athletics.

World champion hurdler Tobi Amusan complained about poor kitting at the World Championships in Tokyo last year. Shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi was forced to wash his only competition kit at the Tokyo Olympics because he was given just one.

Elite athletes have also decried the paltry training grants of just $4–5k paid to them, compared to over $100,000 received by their counterparts globally, a clear sign, they argue, that those managing Nigerian sport know next to nothing about elite athlete management.

Coach Shaver said he has always encouraged Nigerian athletes to represent their country proudly, but acknowledged that Ofili’s emotional exhaustion and fear of history repeating itself made her choice inevitable.

‘It is not a rejection of Nigeria, but rather a response to repeated heartbreak,’ he said.

Ofili’s move, and the growing list of athletes leaving Nigeria, reveals a troubling reality: mismanagement and neglect are driving talent abroad, leaving the country at risk of losing its brightest stars to nations willing to provide the support and respect they deserve.