Nigeria’s first and only individual Olympics gold medallist, Chioma Ajunwa, in this interview with PRESTIGE OTABEN, talks on the state of athletics in Nigeria, the AFN crisis, 2018 Commonwealth Games and more
You just organised the Chioma Ajunwa athletics competition for U-16 athletes. What’s your motive for organising it?
It is to fish out the younger ones, the champions of tomorrow that are going to take over athletics in Nigeria and to avoid the recycling of athletes, which we have indulged in recently and I am happy we are moving in the right direction.
What was the reaction of the young athletes who competed at the event in Umuahia, Abia State?
It was awesome because after Orji Uzor Kalu’s tenure as governor of the state, we were told that there had never been anything like athletics in Nigeria; that’s about 16 years ago. It is like track and field; when you go into the gym, nobody cares and athletes cannot help themselves. There are no tracks for them to train or compete on. The governor of the state (Abia), seeing that the youth can be empowered through sports, that it can take them out of the streets, gathered the youth and made sure that they are involved in athletics, which they combine with education in order to make them useful to their families, the state and Nigeria.
Did you identify any talent for the future?
We saw a lot of them. The way the youth embraced it was like something they had been hungry for, for so many years. Despite the fact that some of them were still in school, sitting for their exams, while those that had finished their exams came out in large numbers, they were so happy. You could see it in them that their talents were wasting away.
There’s a decline in the rate of athletes produced by the country. What do you think is the cause?
What’s your take on the Athletics Federation of Nigeria crisis? Do you think the right people are in charge of the federation?
Yes, the new AFN president was there before as the vice-president, but we were told that he wasn’t really involved because he wasn’t happy the way things were going. But I believe that now that he has become the president, there’s going to be a great difference. I will also like to advise him to mind the kind of people he is going to bring to work with him so that they will not jeopardise his efforts and goodwill.
Nigeria’s Bobsled and Skeleton team to the 2018 Winter Olympics received a lot of support from the corporate world. Why has the AFN not been able to get the right sponsorship for their athletes?
When the right people are there, the right things will begin to happen. When (Solomon) Ogba was there (as AFN president), he tried. Sometimes, he used his personal funds, but I believe that using his own money could not really bail Nigeria out. The most important thing is to meet the right people there by giving a good account of whatever you got as sponsorship. That has been the problem the AFN has had. When an oil firm was sponsoring athletics, there was no proper accountability and they pulled out. I will advise the (AFN) president to make sure the people he is working with are the kind of people that will give him good advice.
What is the difference between your time as an athlete and now?
During our time, the majority of us were not thinking about money; we just wanted to wear the national colours. But today, athletes want to make money even from secondary school. In doing that, they put themselves under pressure. Now, sports have become a global business and so many people don’t want to suffer before they start enjoying.
You are Nigeria’s only individual Olympics gold medallist till date. How long do you think it will take for the country to produce another individual Olympics gold medallist?
I don’t think it will take a long time; the issue is the way we are going about it. It is just like business; if you want to start, you must do a feasibility study. After that, you will know the kind of business you want to go into and then, you invest in it. In Nigeria, nobody wants to invest; they don’t want to invest in their athletes. They don’t want to motivate them. They don’t want to take care of their daily issues, to make them put in their best. This will make them to be fully committed. If you take a look at football now, they are putting so much in it but they don’t do that in athletics. Athletics and other sports can give the country more than one hundred gold medals, but football is just one medal. I’m not against football, but at least, the right things should be done.
The police and the army used to produce top-class athletes for the country. Why has it stopped?
The problem is money and management. The police have not been given what is due them. By the time the Federal Government starts taking care of them, the money will be channelled into sports. The same thing is applicable to the army because they are really good at investing in sports.
What are your expectations from Nigeria’s athletes at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games?
I am not expecting much from them. I’m not expecting much in the sense that last year was really a tough one for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria; so many issues, so many challenges. We didn’t give them the chance to really concentrate on their athletics competitions to help the athletes prepare ahead of the Commonwealth Games. So, nobody can really expect much from the athletes because their training was nothing to write home about.
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