‘I don’t want to be involved in any trouble,’ Onikeku’s reason for not reporting the ‘hint’ and ‘rumor’ of Ofili’s non-registration for Paris 2024 Olympics 100m event
The technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, has told the Investigative Committee set up by the former Sports Minister, John Enoh to unravel the mystery behind the non-registration of sprinter, Favour Ofili for the 100m event she qualified to compete in at the Paris 2024 Olympics, his reason for not escalating to the appropriate quarters the ‘hint’ and ‘rumour’ she had about the disgraceful act.
According to the Investigative Committee in its report, Onikeku revealed that ‘he knew as early as the 11th or 12th July 2024 that Favour Ofili was NOT REGISTERED for the 100
meters.
‘He claimed that he got the information as a “hint” from a source that he could not remember. But on the 19th or 20th July 2024, he said that “hint” became a “rumour” on a Whatsapp platform of coaches to which he also belonged.’
The Investigative further wrote in its report thus: SURPRISINGLY, the Technical Director did not report the “hint” nor the “rumour” to any official of the AFN or the NOC. When the Investigative Committee demanded to know why he did not report it, he said partly because “I don’t want to be involved in any trouble.”
The Investigative Committee revealed in the report that had Onikeku reported the hint or rumour, the issue could have been resolved when the ‘top officials of the Ministry of Sports Development and the NOC held their Final Delegation Registration Meeting (F-DRM) online on 14th July 2024.’
‘Perhaps if he (Onikeku) had shared his information with the AFN secretariat, the AFN President or other Board members, intervention proceedings might have commenced during the F-DRM on 14 July to address Ofili’s omission rather than wait till Favour Ofili came around to discover the omission by herself very late on 28 July, 2024,’ wrote the Committee in its report.
Instead, he (Onikeku) said ‘he didn’t report what he heard about Ofili’s omission because he didn’t want to be involved in any trouble and that, as a para-Military officer, he only obeys the command that he is given.’
The Committee says it was strongly of the view that the AFN Technical Director made a POOR JUDGEMENT by not reporting such an important “hint” or “rumour” about his own athlete’s omission from an Olympic Games event, even if only to cross-check its veracity or otherwise.
Based on this, the Investigative Committee recommended in its report that Onikeku ‘should be sanctioned by the Board of AFN – of which he is also a member – for not reporting the “hint” and “rumour” respectively that he heard about the non-registration of the athlete, Favour Ofili, for the 100 meters event.
