Official negligence wipes out African athletics records—AFN and CAA in the eye of the storm

The track and field world is grappling with a glaring administrative failure that could cost rising stars their rightful place on the global stage.

Athletes who set personal bests and championship records at both the 22nd National Sports Festival and the CAA U18 and U20 Championships in recent weeks now face the harsh reality that their achievements may vanish into statistical oblivion—simply because these events were not uploaded to the World Athletics competitions calendar.

Investigations by Sportsnow.com.ng revealed that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) failed to register the Festival as an official calendar event. That omission means all performances—no matter how historic—will not be recognized globally.

This is not just a clerical error—it’s a failure of duty. Shockingly, the former head of AFN’s technical committee, Samuel Onikeku, was responsible for ensuring the Festival’s proper listing before the change of guard in the Federation.

Onikeku, already under scrutiny for his role in the Paris 2024 Olympics fiasco—where Favour Ofili was excluded from the 100m despite qualifying—has once again come under fire.

While the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) did properly list the Championships, the execution was riddled with errors. Kenyan officials found one of their female athletes listed in a men’s heat, triggering outrage and questions about the integrity of the event’s results system.

One journalist fired off a biting remark:

‘Unless Boko Haram interfered with Timetronic…’

That level of dysfunction at a continental championship speaks volumes.

Prestina Ochonogor’s record-breaking 6.71m long jump gone as only the 6.67m she jumped in Texas in May is recorded as her personal season’s best.

Same applied to Ezekiel Asuquo (45.83) and Victor Sampson (45.87) who saw their performances wiped from history, replaced by outdated stats from April and May.

The time would have been lifetime bests for the duo. As it is, according to World Athletics, the duo’s personal best remains the 4726 and 46.55 achieved in April and May respectively.

So far, World Athletics has not responded to inquiries about whether the lost performances will be reinstated. If this blackout continues, entire seasons—and career-best moments—may disappear from official archives.

This is more than a paperwork problem. It’s a breach of trust that threatens the credibility of African athletics and the visibility of young talent who deserve global recognition.