Osaile Taunts Team Nigeria, Says They Are Going To London For Tourism

A member of the Association of Veteran Sports Administrators Forum, Martins Osaile, has taunted the Nigerian contigent to the London 2012 Olympics, saying they are going there for a jamboree.

The fomer boxing promoter said on Brila FM that the present crop of Nigerian athletes have nothing to offer and will end up dashing the hopes of sports loving Nigerians of winning medals at the games.

“We are going to the London Olympics for tourism and not to win medals. I believe we don’t have the athletes that are capable of winning medals for the country at the games. I believe they are only going there for sight-seeing,” said Osaile.

The sports enthuisiast said that Nigeria no longer parades the array of stars that used to win laurels for the country at past Olympic Games.

“We had people like Innocent Egbunike, Mary Onyali and Falilat Ogunkoya that used to do the country proud at the Olympics. But we do not parade athletes of their calibre at the moment. That is why I don’t expect anything great from our athletes at the games,” added Osaile.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, Tunde Popoola, has disagreed with Osaile’s notion that the Team Nigeria to the London Olympics have nothing to offer.

The NOC scribe explained that some associations under the aegis of the sports commission have begun to prepare their athletes for the games.

“People are only looking at the preparations that Team Nigeria are making. What is there is that some of the associations are also making their own preparations. They have begun to prepare their athletes for the games,” said Popoola.

Popoola added that the athletes have begun their personal training in preparation for the games.

“Some of the athletes thave begun to make personal preparations apart from what their associations are doing. They have started their training because they want to win medals at the Olympics,” he said.

—Bimbo Ajayi