United States-based athletics coach, Chris Onwuzurike, whose son, Udodi, is one of Nigeria’s brightest hopes for medals in this year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, has declared that it will be a huge setback for Nigeria if it loses sprinter Favour Ofili to Turkey.
Ofili, who is the current 150m world record holder, has reportedly switched allegiance to Turkey, less than three months before the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Ofili’s switch was made public by Jamaica-based journalist, Kayon Raynor on his X handle late Saturday.
Speaking with The Guardian from his base in the United States, Coach Onwuzurike described Ofili’s decision to dump Nigeria for Turkey as disturbing.
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“I just arrived in the United States after a long journey only to read the breaking news of Ofili switching allegiance to Turkey. If she is allowed to go, I see it as a major setback for Nigeria. No, we must not allow it. The National Sports Commission (NSC) must act fast and prevail on Ofili to change her mind since she has not represented Turkey in any competition yet.”
To Coach Onwuzurike, the issues that led to Ofili’s decision were not properly handled by Nigeria.
I feel Nigeria failed to handle this Ofili issue very well. If what happened to Ofili at the last Olympics in Paris had happened to an American athlete or Great Britain, I am sure there would have been a major protest on the streets. It is so painful for an athlete to go through the rigour of training to qualify for the Olympic Games only for some persons to truncate her effort. No apology, no sanction.
“Even a panel that was set up to investigate the matter indicted some people, but Nigerians in their usual way of sweeping important issues under the carpet, failed to act. I feel for Ofili, but I still believe the NSC can do something before it is too late.”
Onwuzike said that the federal government made a mistake by allowing those indicted by the ministerial panel on the issue to return to the AFN board. “I am sure that is what angered Ofili more. The NSC should look into it carefully,” Coach Onwuzurike stated.
Also speaking, retired athlete, Seigha Porbeni, described as “unfortunate” Nigeria’s penchant to allow issues to get out of hand before looking for a solution.
“This Ofili issue has been on since Team Nigeria returned from the Paris Olympics. If we were a serious country, some key members in the current AFN board shouldn’t have been allowed to contest in the first place. They caused so much pain to Ofili and now the girl has decided to switch allegiance to Turkey. To me, the first step the NSC should take is to force some top officials of the AFN to resign. It is as simple as ABC. They have no business running Nigerian athletics anymore. We should call a spade a spade.”
Asked if Nigeria would be able to get a replacement for Ofili if she stuck to her decision to join Turkey, Porbeni said: “Yes, it is possible, but it will be difficult to do so within a short period.
“Right now, we have an athlete called Tima Godbless. She can step into Ofili’s shoes. But as I said, the NSC can still do something by prevailing on Ofili to have a rethink. That can only be done if the NSC can force some officials in the current AFN board to resign for working against Ofili and Nigeria at the Paris Olympics. If we should allow Ofili to go, I am sure some other athletes may follow suit, and that won’t be good for our country.”