The imbroglio between Nigeria’s star athlete, Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor, and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, took another dimension on Wednesday after the athlete’s older brother, Felix Okagbare, accused the AFN of not appropriately managing the crisis.
The National Sports Commission on Tuesday reportedly banned the African 100m and 200m women’s champion from the country’s team to next year’s Olympic Games after she failed to race in the 200m event at last month’s IAAF World Championship in Beijing, China, and opted out of the ongoing All Africa Games in Congo.
Okagbare, at the time, said she was injured, citing a sore hamstring. But a few days after the conclusion of the World Championships, she took part in an IAAF Diamond League event in Zurich, Switzerland, on September 3. Director General of the NSC, Al- Hassan Yakmut, believed that Okagbare’s refusal to race at the World Championship and the All Africa Games, “rubbished our country before the international community.”
But the athlete’s sibling, Felix, in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph, felt otherwise and blamed the AFN for the poor results in Beijing, where Team Nigeria failed to win a single medal. “I believe the AFN should be probed for not knowing how to manage their athletes. Why are the athletes complaining? Blessing is complaining, (triple jumper) Tosin Oke is complaining, and other athletes are complaining too,” he said.
“Does the team have an athletes’ manager? Do they have a psychologist who works with the athletes? I must confess that Blessing needs help. The pressure is too much on her. The stress is overwhelming for the entire country to expect her to deliver at all times.
“Why can’t the AFN attach top ex-athletes like Chioma Ajunwa, Mary Onyali to act as mentors to the athletes? These ex-athletes can inspire them when on national assignments and not a situation where every board member of the AFN talks down on the athletes,” he said.
Okagbare, at the Diamond League meet in Zurich, ran an impressive 10.98 seconds to finish in second place behind Jamaica’s Shelly Ann Fraser- Pryce in the women’s 100 metres. “Blessing has been nursing an injury for a long time, what role did the AFN play in her healing process? A lot of things have transpired in the past but all these were not well managed,” he continued.
“When Blessing wins, the country celebrates but what happens when she failed to perform? Rather than help her to rise up again, the officials castigated her like an orphan as they forgot all the glory she brought in the past,” added Felix.
The University of Nigeria NSUKKA graduate however also faulted her sister’s approach on the issue. “As for Blessing, I don’t think channelling her grievances through social media was the right thing to do. I also fault the AFN who failed to give these athletes guidelines to checkmate these wrongdoings. The athletes have so much time to spend on social media.
“Above all, I know Blessing as a strong-willed character who says the truth no matter whose ox is gored, but I would have expected her to be diplomatic in her approach because she had a point but did not channel it properly.” He further stressed that Blessing had never toyed with the idea of representing another country.
“Blessing will never dump Nigeria no matter the circumstances; it is a vow she has made and banning her is not the way out of this unwholesome quagmire as that can only escalate the crisis. “If an athlete is having an issue with his sporting federation, I expect the NSC to set up a commission of enquiry and ascertain the root cause rather than acting on sentiment. “Can an athlete who is not psychologically ready compete in a competition? Usain Bolt was not 100 percent fit for the World Championships but he was mentally psyched up because he wanted to beat Justlin Gatlin,” he added.
But the athlete’s sibling, Felix, in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph, felt otherwise and blamed the AFN for the poor results in Beijing, where Team Nigeria failed to win a single medal. “I believe the AFN should be probed for not knowing how to manage their athletes. Why are the athletes complaining? Blessing is complaining, (triple jumper) Tosin Oke is complaining, and other athletes are complaining too,” he said.
“Does the team have an athletes’ manager? Do they have a psychologist who works with the athletes? I must confess that Blessing needs help. The pressure is too much on her. The stress is overwhelming for the entire country to expect her to deliver at all times.
“Why can’t the AFN attach top ex-athletes like Chioma Ajunwa, Mary Onyali to act as mentors to the athletes? These ex-athletes can inspire them when on national assignments and not a situation where every board member of the AFN talks down on the athletes,” he said.
Okagbare, at the Diamond League meet in Zurich, ran an impressive 10.98 seconds to finish in second place behind Jamaica’s Shelly Ann Fraser- Pryce in the women’s 100 metres. “Blessing has been nursing an injury for a long time, what role did the AFN play in her healing process? A lot of things have transpired in the past but all these were not well managed,” he continued.
“When Blessing wins, the country celebrates but what happens when she failed to perform? Rather than help her to rise up again, the officials castigated her like an orphan as they forgot all the glory she brought in the past,” added Felix.
The University of Nigeria NSUKKA graduate however also faulted her sister’s approach on the issue. “As for Blessing, I don’t think channelling her grievances through social media was the right thing to do. I also fault the AFN who failed to give these athletes guidelines to checkmate these wrongdoings. The athletes have so much time to spend on social media.
“Above all, I know Blessing as a strong-willed character who says the truth no matter whose ox is gored, but I would have expected her to be diplomatic in her approach because she had a point but did not channel it properly.” He further stressed that Blessing had never toyed with the idea of representing another country.
“Blessing will never dump Nigeria no matter the circumstances; it is a vow she has made and banning her is not the way out of this unwholesome quagmire as that can only escalate the crisis. “If an athlete is having an issue with his sporting federation, I expect the NSC to set up a commission of enquiry and ascertain the root cause rather than acting on sentiment. “Can an athlete who is not psychologically ready compete in a competition? Usain Bolt was not 100 percent fit for the World Championships but he was mentally psyched up because he wanted to beat Justlin Gatlin,” he added.
