Nigeria’s basketball team, D’Tigress, Minister of Sports, John Enoh
By Victory Oghene
The Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has apologised to Nigerians for Team Nigeria’s dismal performance during the 2024 Paris Olympics as the country did not secure any medals.
His apologily came despite the approval of a staggering N9 billion funds from the federal government to the National Olympic Committee.
More worrisome is the fact that the country officially concluded its participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, without winning a single medal despite winning
two medals (silver and bronze) at the last edition in Tokyo.
Nigerians had expected that the Team Nigeria would improve on its last outing by winning more medals but the reverse is the case.
The country featured 88 athletes in 12 sports and came off empty-handed, making it a chastening Olympics for Nigerian Sports, the country’s worst outing at the Olympics since London 2012, as notable medal prospects Tobi Amusan, Blessing Oborududu, Favour Ofili, Ese Brume, and Quadri Aruna fell short in their respective events.
Hannah Reuben was Nigeria’s final hope for a medal on Saturday, but she was defeated 5-2 (by points) in the second round of the women’s freestyle wrestling 76kg by Mongolia’s Davaanasan Amar Enkh.
In a statement signed by the Sports minister on Saturday, Enoh said:
“The Olympic Games, Paris 2024, have ended, and I accept that our performance should have been a lot better. It obviously fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians.
“I must apologise to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 (August 28–September 8th).
“When I assumed office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was confronted with the task of executing four international competitions, namely the AFCON, the African Games, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a matter of a few months.
“I was also reminded that the Olympic Games is the world’s supreme sports competition, and countries require at least four years to prepare for it.
“I held extensive discussions with the management staff of the Ministry and got to know that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not started.
“In the true Nigerian spirit, it was our view that we should spare no effort to sustain the international sports image of our country.
“Our target was to re-enact the Atlanta 1996 performance or even improve on it. To this end, we embarked on a progressive approach to drive forward the performance of our athletes and coaches.
“In my first week in office, I requested all National Sports Federations furnish me with plans and programmes. I also embarked on a nationwide inspection of our sports facilities.
“In all these, the President and Commander in Chief of the Federation, HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ensured that funds were not a limiting factor. Athletes’ competition requirements were provided, allowances were paid early, and training grants were disbursed to all athletes.
“I made myself readily available to deal with any issue throughout the competition. Therefore, the underwhelming performance of our team is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation.
“There must be a lot of lessons to learn from our performance and improvements must be made in all ramifications. The last time we returned from the Olympics without a medal was in 2012.
“The next two Olympics after that, we had a bronze medal in 2016 and a silver and bronze in the 2020 Olympics. As a country, we deserve more. Let’s turn the disastrous outcome of the 2024 Olympics into a huge positive for Nigerian sports.”
Sports analysts posited that Nigeria deserved more than what it experienced at Paris 2024 Olympics considering the controversies that trailed the team. For instance, as been noticed in almost all international outings, Nigeria’s campaign was dented by controversies. Ofili’s name was inexplicably omitted from the women’s 100m roster for which she had qualified. The age-old kitting crisis reverberated as athletes had two kits separately supplied by the Athletes Federation of Nigeria and National Olympic Committee
Only D’Tigress gave Nigerians something to cheer about as Rena Wakama’s team braced the odds to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball Tournament, becoming the first African team to reach that stage of Olympics basketball.
Their laudable performance lent credence to the objective selection of players by a coach with tactical and technical savvy.
Their adventure ended with an 88-74 defeat to eventual winners the USA, but Wakama made her charges totally outplay the Americans in the last quarter, being the only team to have put them on the back foot in many years.
The resonating outing is hinged on Wakama’s infectious passion for the game, being proudly Nigerian, and belief that leading the team is more than just a job.
“I’m so proud. We did this in one year, and I’m so happy. This is just the beginning. I’m Nigerian; this is home. I wanted to take the job because I wanted to inspire and build where I’m from,” said the record-making coach.
