While other athletes made their countries proud by winning medals although it might be bronze, none of the representatives that flew Nigeria’s flag at the 2024 Olympics in France had anything to show for the more than ₦16b invested in them. In some circles, this shabby output has been blamed on administrative rascality that takes nothing seriously.

During the Paris Olympic Games which started on 26 July and ended on 11 August, credit went to Nigeria’s female basketball team D’Tigress for their remarkable feat of being the first African team to ever advance to the quarterfinals stage of the quadrennial event, whether in the women’s or men’s categories.

In France, the girls were at their best – they showed infectious motivation that spread to the hearts of fans and only hit a brick wall when they faced the United States who had eight successive Olympic gold medals hanging like bells around their waists.

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Now that 16 days at the games are done and dusted, the focus has shifted away from the tracks or the indoor sporting arenas that athletes competed in, to the ₦16b budget that President Bola Tinubu approved for the welfare and logistics of the Nigerian contingents – how everything has been all a waste.

Cracking the numbers and also doing a comparative analysis of how Nigeria performed against a Caribbean nation that invested less than the country was the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election Mr Peter Obi who was not pleased in his X tweet posted on the final day of the games.

This is over N136 million (about $85,000) spent on each of the 88 Nigerian contingents to the Olympics, and no single medal was won while Jamaica, a nation which spent far less than we did, a total of about $2300 on each contingent, won 6 medals; 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze at the Olympics. We must now interrogate the relationship between this huge investment and our dismal outcome.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, it wasn’t the first time Nigeria has attended an edition of the global sporting showcasing without at least winning a medal. The previous competition in London 12 years ago was the same.

Back then, due to planning flaws, the country missed out on having the best possible chance of tasting glory by not fielding highly in-form Nigerian-born athletes like Annette Echikunwoke, a Hammer Thrower who went on to adopt the USA this year and has now won an Olympic silver with them.

In 2021, the disappointment of not making it to the games was still fresh, hence her emotional post on Instagram stating how she felt. On my 25th birthday, I was officially informed that I cannot compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the negligence of the federation I was set to compete for. I can’t even begin to explain how heartbroken I am. This has been the most mentally and emotionally exhausting time of my life.

By not winning any medal in Paris, Nigeria had repeated the same outcomes that were witnessed when the Olympic Games were held in London 12 years ago.

What a country! What a shame! When do we stop these rascalities that always rob our nation of golden opportunities to make a positive change? I call on the government to investigate these gross misconducts and make sure that those responsible do not have the opportunity to do so again wrapped up Mr Obi’s call via X yesterday.

The attention on the failures of Team Nigeria at the Olympics this term will probably stay hot for the week if not longer.

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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, 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.

Re-enacting the 1996 Summer Olympics has not materialised so the sports minister is looking for an opportunity to make things better when the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begins in 16 days. Will the Nigerian populace have cause to cheer the sight of improvement is a question that only time can tell.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.