Okowa Targets Olympic, World Championships Gold After Dakar Youth Olympics ‘Success’

Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) president Tonobok Okowa has set his sights on Olympic Games and World Championships gold medals following Nigeria’s three-gold performance at the 4th Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.

‘Our target is to win gold medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships,’ Okowa declared, describing Nigeria’s outing in Dakar as encouraging and an indication that grassroots development was improving.

Nigeria finished fourth in the athletics medal standings with three gold medals, behind Ethiopia, which topped the table with five gold and three silver medals. China finished second, while Kenya placed third.

‘For us, it was a good outing. Some of the events where we had an advantage did not go our way, and that was not peculiar to Nigeria alone. We went there with about five athletes, and they performed well,’ he said.

The AFN president attributed the results to the federation’s efforts in identifying and nurturing young talents, although he also acknowledged the contributions of the National Sports Commission (NSC), coaches, technical officials and AFN members.

‘We can categorically say that the performance shows that our work in grassroots sports development is getting better. We will continue to work hard, and I will not relent in grooming these athletes until they attain stardom,’ he added.

However, Okowa stressed that Nigeria would need stronger institutional support and improved funding to translate age-grade success into medals at the highest levels.

He disclosed that the AFN plans to bring the athletes into camp early next year, with a three-phase preparation programme already discussed with the NSC.

Next year’s African U-18 and U-20 Championships are a major priority, with Okowa insisting that early preparation will be crucial.

‘We need to bring them into camp again in the early part of next year. As planned with the NSC, we should have three phases of camping. That will always help the athletes,’ he said.

‘We cannot do all this without adequate funding, and we need the NSC to support us so that we can achieve our plans.’