By Juliet Nnoje, Lagos
A former Hammer thrower, Gabriel Opuana, has urged detractors to refrain from disparaging the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) but focuses on fostering unity of purpose to aid sports development in Nigeria.
Opuana, offered this strong admonition on Saturday in Lagos, after a former board member and spokesman of the AFN, Dare Esan, made some baseless claims against the federation and its President, Chief Tonobok Okowa.
Opuana, a seasoned sports coach and prominent figure in Nigerian athletics, demanded a cessation of baseless and unsubstantiated claims by Esan and his ilk. He said that someone like Esan who had long benefited from the goodwill of the AFN should not be crying wolf where there is none, adding a campaign of calumny against the AFN should stop.
"It is deplorable and utterly disappointing that critics who are not actively involved in sports administration, fail to recognize the achievements of other sports administrators except when they are in charge,” Opuana said.
The former Nigeria's US athletes liaison official, stressed that while it is necessary to expose and address corruption in sports, it is also important to praise and encourage those making significant contributions to sports in Nigeria.
He continued: “The AFN needs sponsorship to support athletes' welfare and help them to perform at their peak but detractors are bent on scaring away potential sponsors with their baseless and unfounded claims and I think this should stop henceforth.
“It’s imperative to state that all the claims made by Mr. Dare Esan in his article published in Sports Now on Friday is false and it's capable of driving away sponsors as well as discouraging well-mean individuals from coming closer to athletics or sports in general.
“If Mr. Esan is sure of his facts as published in Sports Now, how come same was not published on a credible platform such as Complete Sports where he’s still an Editor?” added the 63-year-old former Team Nigeria athlete.
Meanwhile, the former national champion has called on the leadership of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), to call Mr. Esan order as his reports and actions in the last 30 months towards the AFN negates the ethics of journalism profession and disservice to the growth of athletics in Nigeria.
Opuana enjoined detractors to sue for peace at a time stakeholders are gathered at the Yabatech Sports Complex in what has been a celebration of the country’s finest at the All Nigeria Athletics Championships which doubles as the National Trials for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
THE MAN - GABRIEL OPUANA
Opuana’s passion for sports began in his primary school days, and he has since developed a robust career as a coach.
Over the years, he represented Nigeria on numerous international platforms, coaching athletes in prestigious competitions like the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games, and various African and regional championships.
In addition to his coaching career, Opuana, now resides in New York, USA, where he works as a Correctional Officer.
Despite his career shift, he remains actively engaged in sports, contributing significantly to the Nigerian Coaches Association (NCA), which he leads as president.
He is dedicated to improving the training and development of Nigerian coaches, focusing on adopting global standards and innovative practices to elevate the country’s athletes on the world stage.
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