OPINION: AFN has become a case study in dysfunction. Mismanagement. Missed deadlines. Lost dreams
OPINION: AFN has become a case study in dysfunction. Mismanagement. Missed deadlines. Lost dreams
In the story of Nigerian athletics, one might be forgiven for thinking the villains were rival nations or performance-enhancing drugs. But in the unfolding drama surrounding Favour Ofili, it has become heartbreakingly clear that the true saboteur is within the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and, by extension, the National Sports Commission (NSC).
This isn’t just a sports story—it’s a national crisis. One decorated athlete after another has walked out of the country, not because they lack passion or pride in their heritage, but because they’re left with no other choice. Favour Ofili is the latest casualty of a system defined by dysfunction. Her reported move to Turkey is not a betrayal of Nigeria—it is a symptom of deep, festering institutional rot.
Twice denied her Olympic dreams—once through anti-doping compliance failures, then through a ‘technical oversight’—Ofili’s journey has been less about the hurdles on the track and more about the bureaucratic ones off it. Her experience echoes the stories of Francis Obikwelu, Glory Alozie, and Annette Echikunwoke—all of whom fled a system that abandoned them, only to shine on global stages under other flags.
And what has the AFN done? Botched entries. Missed deadlines. Zero accountability. Even when faced with credible evidence of malpractice—like Samuel Onikeku admitting he knew Ofili was omitted and chose silence—they respond with tepid reshuffles and delayed dismissals. Tonobok Okowa still sits at the helm of a ship taking on water. Why?
But the shame doesn’t stop at the federation’s doors.
The National Sports Commission, the body charged with overseeing and regulating sports federations, has become an enabler through its silence and inaction. By failing to decisively intervene, the NSC is not just complicit—it is culpable.
It has watched, time and again, as the dreams of its finest talents were extinguished under its watch. To offer another apology or ‘investigative panel’ at this point would only add insult to injury.
This is not merely about sports. It is about national identity. Every time a talented Nigerian dons another country’s jersey, we lose a piece of our pride—and we tell the world that Nigeria does not deserve the talents it births.
The AFN doesn’t need another committee. The NSC doesn’t need more headlines. What they both need is a reckoning. A clearing of house. Real reform. Not cosmetic changes. Not excuses wrapped in bureaucracy.
If we fail to act now, Favour Ofili will not be the last. She’ll only be the latest headline in a tragic exodus that could have—and should have—been prevented.
It’s time to stop celebrating our athletes only when they win and start fighting for them when it matters most.
NOTE: This piece was sent in by a former track and field star who does not want to be named
