Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare
Aug. 10, 2021
The Minister of youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare says the performances of Blessing Oborodudu and Ese Brume at the just concluded Tokyo Olympics were inspiring, for they affirmed “we can and should compete at the highest levels across the full range of sports events”.
The minister in a post on the ministry’s Facebook page noted that it had wished and worked for more medals, but “we must also put things in perspective. The medal outcome at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stands as Nigeria’s best result in the last 13 years”.
“Team Nigeria broke the 13-year-old jinx of no medal in Long jump and 25 years of no finalist in the men’s 100 meters, and secured a medal in wrestling for the very first time. Overall, our performance was good, and more importantly, it is headed in the right direction”, he noted.
Dare’s statement is coming few days after the end of the Tokyo games which left Nigeria 74th on the medals table and 8th among 52 African countries that participated.
Following the controversies that trail team Nigeria’s participation at the games, he said, “Not wanting to add to the public distraction, I have deliberately waited until the end of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games before making any observations regarding the various reports on Nigeria’s participation in the quadrennial games”.
“This was out of respect for our athletes who had committed so much effort and made such considerable personal sacrifice in order to represent our nation as best as they could. Overall, we should be proud of Team Nigeria and the effort they made. The bottom line is that these games should always be about the athletes and the spirit of friendly competition and excellence the Olympics are meant to engender”.
“Sadly, some people seem not to have embraced either the good cause of our national athletic pursuits or the collegial and noble spirit that the Olympics promote”.
“The rancour and confusion some people seem intent on sowing are terribly out of place given the impressive performance of our team and good spirit with which they performed. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are now over, which means we can begin to honestly and objectively assess what was accomplished as well as what we must do to improve performance for future contests”.
“Nigeria succeeded with two (2) medals – a silver in wrestling won by Blessing Oborodudu and a bronze in long jump won by Ese Brume”, he said.
He noted that the athletes of Team Nigeria did the nation proud, adding that many of them reached the finals of their respective sports and, competing with all they had, were in contention for medals until the final moment.
In the statement titled: On Nigeria’s Participation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the minister said he bears some institutional responsibility for the lapses encountered during the games.
According to him, “I also had to depend and expect that each person in the long and often technical chain will perform their role expeditiously and with precision. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, someone failed in their responsibility and as Minister, I bear the responsibility and brunt of criticism”.
“But that is not enough. I must move to ensure that Nigeria never experiences another such moment. I have ordered a full investigation that will not only uncover what happened but will also, recommend a process where such lapses can never occur in the future and initiate leveraging compliance monitoring technology to guardrail this”.
“I have personally apologized to the affected athletes. Here and now, I personally apologize to all Nigerians for this ineligibility episode. The AFN has also taken responsibility and apologized to the athletes and to Nigerians”, he added.
