By Victor Kanayo
Barely two days to the kick-off of the 2025 African U18/U20 Athletics Championships in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, up to 33 countries are said to have arrived.
Though the organisers have been torn apart in the general organisation and operations regarding the continental competition, countries like South Sudan, Seychelles, South Africa, and Congo have reportedly arrived in a competition scheduled between July 16 and 20, 2025.
Clouds Over Organisation
There are also arrivals of athletes from Egypt and Botswana, with organisers refusing to disclose full details of arrivals and other contingency plans.
Heritage Times HT reports that since Nigeria was announced as host of the big athletics events, only one skeletal press briefing has been held in Abuja, with the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, who is also the Chairman of the Championships Local Organising Committee, suppressing answers to questions brought before him by Sports Journalists.
Accommodation Bottlenecks
This medium gathered that amidst growing tension, accommodation has become another big mess, with the organisers planning to provide makeshift places as far as 100km to Abeokuta, venue of the competition.
This means that some countries’ contingents will have to travel as much as nearly two hours to catch up with their competition schedules, a situation that is already building anxiety.
Unprofessional Approach
Another growing concern regarding the Championship, which the NSC leadership reportedly forced on the Nigerian government after initial host nation Algeria bolted out, is that virtually all professional responsibilities of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), the official body meant to regulate athletics events have been hijacked.
“The AFN has been relegated to the background by the NSC leadership, particularly the Director-General’s office. Different committees were set-up to do things that professional athletics officials should normally do. We don’t know what is the cause of this sudden change to how things are done even under the then Ministry of Sports,” a top AFN official quipped.
A middle-official of NSC who preferred anonymity also said, “The NSC Director-General, since assumption into office, recruited some strange persons who are gradually hijacking the work meant for the staff of the Commission. Even when we join in doing anything, it is as if our inputs are no longer needed.
“Also, appointments into committees which the NSC DG usually handpicks are laced in nepotism.”
Declined Clarification
When Heritage Times HT approached some non-NSC officials who were randomly appointed by the NSC Director-General into committees for clarification on Monday, one after the other, they declined response.
One of them, who preferred to lie low but reportedly works directly under Olopade, muttered, “Everyone is quite busy now, and I don’t really have enough information at my disposal regarding happenings.”
When Heritage Times HT made efforts to reach Olopade, the LOC Chairman, he neither answered his calls nor replied a message sent to him.
Olopade had during the continental Congress of the CAA boasted that Nigeria was always ready to host international competition.
He had also made similar boasts when stating that the soon-to-kick-off Athletics Championship is well-funded.
Contradictory Claims, Consequences
His unguarded remarks are against the backdrop of numerous issues mounting in the development of sports in Nigeria.
Findings by the Heritage Times HT revealed backlog of debts owed in various quarters.
For instance, security personnel working at the government-owned sporting facilities including those who work at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, are usually owed months of salaries.
Again, some staff of the NSC confided in Heritage Times HT that the inability of the Commission to fix power issues, which affect offices within the stadium for the past nearly six months is another clog in Nigeria’s sports wheel of progress.
“Those incharge had in the past months submitted a number of memos for the power problems to be fixed, yet no response,” an anonymous NSC staff told Heritage Times HT in Abuja.
Also, Sporting Federations including basketball, football and others struggle to attend competitions as well as organise grassroots talent-discovery programmes, even as existing athletes and technical officials who represent Nigeria at international events are owed allowances.
Failure in the Making?
From time to time, analysts have posited that if the recurring issues are not addressed, Nigerian Sports is headed to the woods, perhaps worse than what it used to be.
Their concerns rear up despite over N70 billion naira annual budget earmarked by the Federal Government for sport development in Nigeria for 2025 fiscal year.
With seven months already going in 2025, it remains to be seen if the trend of happenings will turn a new leaf.
