Shola Akinyele
Nigeria’s greatest threat on the global athletics stage may not be rival nations it may be its own system.
A wave of elite athletes born and raised in Nigeria have switched allegiances to other countries over the past two decades, and the results have been staggering: Olympic golds, world records, and historic achievements all for foreign flags.
At the center of this mass exodus is the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), whose years of mismanagement, negligence, and poor athlete welfare have driven some of Nigeria’s most promising talents to greener pastures. The cost? Zero medals for Nigeria at the Paris 2024 Olympics—while athletes with Nigerian roots climbed podiums for other nations.
One of the most celebrated examples is Salwa Eid Naser—born Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu in Onitsha. She left Nigeria for Bahrain at just 16 in search of better support. Since then, she’s become one of the most decorated 400m sprinters in history, winning World Championship gold, Olympic silver, and setting the third-fastest time ever in the event. Now a naturalized Bahraini and a converted Muslim, her story is a bittersweet reminder of Nigeria’s loss.
Annette Echikunwoke broke Nigerian and African hammer throw records but was disqualified from Tokyo 2020 due to poor drug test scheduling by the AFN. She returned to compete for the USA and delivered a historic silver medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics, the USA’s first ever in that event.
Francis Obikwelu, who began his career as Nigeria’s brightest sprint prospect, turned to Portugal after being abandoned during injury. He made history at the 2004 Athens Olympics, becoming Portugal’s first Olympic sprint medalist with a 100m silver something no Nigerian sprinter has achieved to date.
There’s also Glory Alozie, who after enduring personal tragedy and administrative chaos during the 2000 Olympics, left Nigeria and found success with Spain, winning gold at the European Championships.
The list goes on:
Femi Ogunode, dropped by Nigeria, switched to Qatar, broke Asian records, and won multiple Asian Games titles.
Daniel Igali, once Nigeria’s wrestling captain, sought asylum in Canada and went on to win their first Olympic wrestling gold in 2000.
Florence Ekpo-Umoh, Kemi Adekoya, and Favour Ofili—all turned their backs on the AFN, choosing countries that offered structure, support, and dignity.
In one of the latest heartbreaks, Favour Ofili, a top sprinter from Port Harcourt, was inexplicably left out of the 100m at the Paris Olympics despite qualifying. Frustrated, she switched to Turkey in May 2025, marking yet another blow to Nigeria’s dwindling Olympic hopes.
The message is clear: Nigeria is producing world-class athletes but losing them to countries that value them.
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