Nigeria failed Tobi Amusan – Chidi Imoh

Nigeria’s lacklustre performance at the recently concluded 2023 World Athletics Championships in Hungary, Budapest, paints a vivid picture of the current state of athletics and to a large extent sports in the nation. The Budapest outing also stands as an indictment on the leadership of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), according to Olympic silver medalist Chidi Imoh.

In an exclusive interview with Sportsville, the acclaimed TV sports show by Sportsville Communications aired on Channels TV, Imoh shared his views on Nigeria’s showing at the championships.

Nigeria’s team of 23 athletes failed to secure any podium positions, with only Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume making it to the finals of their events. These two athletes had won Nigeria’s only medals in the previous edition in Eugene, USA.

Imoh attributes Nigeria’s regression at this year’s World Championships to inadequate preparation and a federation that was not forward-thinking. He expressed his disappointment with the country’s performance and compared it to the achievements of other African nations in the same event.

“It’s just our zeal towards athletics is totally poor which is showing,” Imoh, 57, told Sportsville.

“Considering we’re in 2023, we should be at the top, winning medals. It’s not rocket science. We have talents. I don’t want to lay blame, but we should be doing better.

“If a small country like Jamaica can produce world class athletes, other African countries are doing better than us in the 100m, we call ourselves Giant of Africa, what is going on?”

“It’s just our poor preparations,” Imoh emphasized.