Many Nigerian sports lovers have expressed anger and disappointment over the disqualification of 10 Nigerian athletes at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The PUNCH had reported that ten Nigerian athletes were disqualified for not meeting the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 governing National Anti-Doping Federation.
While some of them called for the sacking of the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, others asked him to resign.
They recalled how Dare sacked a former Technical Director of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Sunday Adeleye, for registering two Nigerian top athletes, Blessing Okagbare and Divine Oduduru, under “wrong” categories at the World Athletics Championships, held in Doha in September 2020.
During the championships, Okagbare and Oduduru faced disqualification scare for not partaking in the men’s and women’s 100m race.
Some of the fans, who called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), described the disqualification of Nigerian athletes as embarrassing.
Abiola Fakoyede said, “No thanks to our Minister of sports and his ministry. Next time appoint professionals to manage our sports ministries and not politicians who are good at not following rules.”
“The minister should resign with immediate effect,” Awotunya Aderemi added.
Tunde Stephen also said, “Their handlers and the Minister of Sports should have done the needful by now and that is to resign.”
Ajanson Peter lamented that “We should not have wasted our time to go in the first place. This is a total disgrace, I am shocked that simple testing requirement, we couldn’t meet up to.
“What were they expecting, for the IOC to allow them to compete after not meeting the minimum standard for testing? They must be jokers.
“Table tennis, we didn’t pass the three rounds in both male and female categories. Football, we didn’t qualify. Basketball, we have lost two matches. Taekwando, we didn’t qualify.
“Our only hope was in athletics, even this one too, we couldn’t do the right thing to enable us to compete. Our sports ministry is in total shamble.”
“Sunday Dare must go,” Babanginda Kubura posted while reacting to the news of the athletes’ disqualification on Facebook.
Olawale Adigun requested that “When is Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, and Athletics Federation of Nigeria President going to resign after this national disgrace.”
On Twitter, KPK @kpumpin0007 said, “Sunday Dare should be receiving his sack letter this morning.”
William @_SirWilliam_ wondered if “Sunday Dare will still have a job after this.”
@InnieNuell said, “It’s bad. Shameful! And to make it worse when these men make atrocious mistakes nobody is sacking them, nobody is coming for their heads.”
@Abu “Buhari, it is getting too late to sack Sunday Dare,” another fan, identified as Abu, posted.
