Reports from Benin, venue of the second edition of the Niger Delta Games, sponsored by NDDC is nothing to write home about in view of our stained credibility before the World which many thought would be corrected in the games.
The Athletic Integrity Unit { A.I.U} had in the past frowned at age cheat and only recently queried the Athletics Federation of Nigeria over discrepancies noticed in some documents submitted by their athletes.
Again there have been questions on win at all cost syndrome which has virtually destroyed sports in the country as administrators perpetrate illegalities to come top, confirming that all that glitters is not gold.
With the noise by the organisers to deviate from the past and put things right, reports indicate that they fell below par in some areas which seriously affected the game, leaving those who could not be smart enough lamenting.
This write up will dwell on some areas that they have been found wanting with the hope that the National Sports Commission gurus will look into them before the next National Sports Festival and National Youth Games.
The essence of embarking on this project by the NDDC which has gulped billions of Naira is to discover raw talents with the hope of nurturing them to stardom. It is, however, worrisome, that the organisers have found it difficult to maintain this line due to the nefarious activities of coaches and administrators.
Over the years, those saddled with screening of athletes have always ended up not doing their job as witnessed in the last youth games in Asaba. The National Sports Commission had promised to take drastic action against those found wanting. Unfortunately, nothing has happened and the same sets of people were in Benin where issues relating to over age reared its ugly head again.
Thus, after several days of competing, 6 athletes were found to have gone against the rules and medals won were withdrawn from them. The issue goes beyond just withdrawing medals, rather, those culprit should be banned from participating in the National Sports Festival, as that will serve as a deterrent to others.
In 2025, the National Sports Commission had secured the approval of the National Council of Sports for a landmark policy that formally criminalises and institutionalises sanctions against age falsification in Nigerian sports.
Endorsed at the 2nd National Council on Sports in Calabar, this decision represents the strongest and most comprehensive reform ever implemented to confront age cheating, a practice that has embarrassed the nation, derailed talent development and damaged Nigeria’s international image for decades.
“The era of impunity is over,” NSC Director General Hon. Bukola Olopade declared, describing age falsification as “a national disgrace and a systematic sabotage of Nigeria’s sports future.”
He cited repeated high-profile scandals that have subjected the country to global ridicule, adding that the NSC will no longer tolerate a system where fraud thrives at the expense of honest young athletes.
“Age cheating steals dreams, destroys careers and tarnishes our flag. These new sanctions send a clear message: If you manipulate, falsify or misrepresent ages in Nigerian sport, you will face the full weight of the law,” Olopade said.
The newly approved sanctions apply to athletes, coaches, team officials, officiating officials, state delegations and administrators involved in any form of age fraud.
Offending athletes will face immediate disqualification, loss of medals, withdrawn records and suspensions ranging from one to two years for a first offence, and longer or permanent bans for repeat violations.
With this declaration, one would have thought that the era of age cheating is gone but it seems we are far away from finding solution to the menace which has practically destroyed our image before the world.
The issue of biased officiating also reared its ugly head in Benin and many who are victim have been complaining but who will bail us out. Who will rescue us from this?
Football in the country has been rendered almost useless by the level of officiating with people already pointing to teams that will win and those that will go down due to one reasons or the order.
It is on record that for the past 17 years, no referee has been found to officiate at the AFCON nor has any been certified to go to the world level.
Aside from the above issues raised, athletes complained of feeding which did not go down well with them despite the hundreds of Millions released by the NDDC. In a sane country, nobody complaints of feeding but we are in a country of anything happens.
“The way we were fed is not good and we cannot complain. This has affected our performance because we are not supposed to be eating any kind of food once the competition starts. If you do, you may not be invited again to participate so we just have to swallow anything they give to us. We are supposed to have a balance diet at this time but they don’t care and give us whatever comes their way” said an athlete who would not want her name in print.
The organisers may have to do more to involve nutritionist whenever there is competition because whatever you exposed them to now will live with them.
The other issue raised has to do with security. Most of the officials complained bitterly that they were exposed to without adequate security, ditto, and some athletes spoken to.
They claimed they were there by the grace of God as no security was provided for them. A situation which has affected officiating as nobody would want to risk his life for what they called “chicken change”.
The bottom line is that there must be a change in the way we do our things in line with international standard as the country has come a long way. We must improve in subsequent games and serious sanctions should be meted out to those who tries to bring the game into disrepute.
