Oduduru: ‘I wonder how we will tell our unborn kids that the same country we gave our all couldn’t stand by us when we needed them’

Nigeria 200m record holder, Divine Oduduru, says Nigeria, the country he served as an athlete and won global laurels for, has abandoned him following the six year ban he got from the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, in October 2023 for committing two anti-doping rule violations of possession of prohibited substances and the attempted Use of a prohibited substance or method.

The 2019 NCAA double sprint champion was also ordered to pay World Athletics US$3000 towards its expenses regarding the case.

Oduduru revealed early this year he attempted suicide four times after he could not get help from both the State and the Federal Government, as well as the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.

‘Thanks to everyone, to my lovely fans who have been supporting me right from the beginning of my career. I know a lot of you have been waiting to hear from me about the issue that happened.

‘I have been quiet all this time due to my mental health. I attempted suicide 4 times, just wanted to end everything, because all these things that happened is still a shock to me. After all the years of sacrifice,’ he wrote on his social media pages.

He also revealed how he was betrayed by those he trusted and were expected to help him actualize his dream.

‘A tenant denied the chance to showcase his dream, held back by individual selfishness. This is what I have worked for all my life,’ he also wrote in another post.

Now, the 28-year-old is lamenting the use and dump regime that has become the hallmark of Nigeria’s sports administrators.

‘I wonder how we will tell our unborn kids. That the same country we gave our all couldn’t stand by us when we needed them,’ Oduduru wrote in his latest post on Friday.