Former African record holder in the men’s 100m,Olusoji Fasuba and Seun Ogunkoya, a two-time African champion, have urged Nigerian athletics stakeholders to focus more on grassroots development and avoid over-reliance on athletes from the United States’ National Collegiate Athletic Association ahead of major competitions.
Nigerian athletes from various NCAA institutions have been making strides in the indoor season, setting personal bests and breaking a few records, but Fasuba and Ogunkoya have warned against an impending burnout, which will hampered the country’s performance at big championships.
Last weekend, Ezekiel Nathaniel of Baylor University set a new African record in the 400m indoors, running a blistering 44.92s at the Jarvis Scott Invite just as athletes like Kanyinsola Ajayi and Tima Godbless have set one record or the other this season.
While the form of these athletes suggests they are in good shape ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, Fasuba and Ogunkoya have warned that it might not translate into a podium finish for the country due to the nature of the NCAA.
“The problem we have in Nigerian athletics is that we are focusing too much on the NCAA,” Fasuba told newsmen
“Is that a bad thing? Yes and no, if I may say that. The NCAA is a route for our athletes to get that exposure but what the NCAA does is train them for their own championships. When we fail to train our own, we are making a fundamental mistake.
“During my time, we had the NCAA athletes, the Nigerian-based athletes and the foreign-based athletes. So that gave a balanced mix in the camp and they know it’s going to be a battle for spots. But now, most of the athletes come from the NCAA. How many countries in the world take mostly NCAA athletes to the World Championships? So, we have to develop our own.”
Ogunkoya also noted that the athletes must find a balance between their routines to stay fresh for the country.
“In the 60m, I believe those guys can perform very well because they have opened their season well. But with the condition of being in school, if the schools don’t moderate their competitions, they will run out. It’s been happening a lot. The schools gave them scholarships and they compete back-to-back,” Ogunkota told newsmen
“So, if the athletes can manage themselves well too, I think we can expect something special from them during a major championship. For instance, Nathaniel who has just run a new African record in the 400m should just try to keep his shape and not try to go lower than 44s for now.”
Nigeria’s first major outing this year is expected to be the World Athletics Indoor Championships which will be held from Friday, March 21 to Sunday, March 23 in China while the 2025 World Championships is billed for Tokyo in August.
