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Amid the flourishing achievements in the new generation of Nigerian athletes are bitter pills of doping scandals, making many now doubt the authenticity and regard for these successes - a significant dent in the image of the sport for Nigeria globally.
Athletics in Nigeria has experienced a significant boom in the past few years, as the athletes have attained iconic successes at all age group levels, of which many now believe that the glory days of the sport are back.
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These recent iconic feats include Tobi Amusan becoming Nigeria's first World Record (WR) and outdoor World Champion at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon and Ese Brume winning a medal at every major championship since Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
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In performances, the sprinters are running world-class times, with the men blazing at least 10.0s and sub-10s marks conveniently, and their female counterparts also doing the 11.0s and sub-11s. Consequently, Nigeria is now considered a vital threat in the relays, which used to be one of the country's fortes in the past at winning medals at international championships.
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College athletes aren't exempted from these successes, as they are the most dominant nationality in the NCAA, after the USA and Jamaica. In fact, most of them are their school record holders, winning several conference and national titles.
So for every athletics competition or meet where a top Nigerian athlete is competing, the spotlight won't be far away for a brilliant performance in that event.
Doping cases cast a shadow on this new positive image
Amid the flourishing achievements in this new generation of athletes are bitter pills of doping scandals, making many now doubt the authenticity and regard for these successes - a significant dent in the image of the sport for Nigeria globally.
Without further ado, here is a look into the recent cases by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which made them classify Nigeria in 'category A' of countries with doping cases. They are countries where enough doping tests aren't carried out on athletes - suspicion of cover-ups by their administrators.
Okagbare leading recent doping offences
During the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, the AIU announced that Nigeria's track queen and face of the sport Blessing Okagbare was suspended from competing further at the games due to failing a drug test.
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They would later declare her ban from athletics for ten years commencing July 30, 2021, for multiple breaches of World Athletics Anti-Doping rules, following a hearing that found her to have taken both human growth hormone and EPO over an extended period. The ban was then extended by another year, as the AIU cited more anti-doping offenses and failure to cooperate with the investigation.
Then shortly after the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, another doping scandal was associated with Nigeria’s women's 100m champion, Grace Nwokocha, who was provisionally suspended for the use of banned substances Ostarine and Ligandrol, though her B sample is yet to be confirmed positive.
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A surprising case would be David Aya, a minor in his teenage years, who wasn't allowed to compete at the World U20 Championships in Cali last year, as he returned a positive banned substance in his urine test done in Nigeria before travelling.
Also Yinka Ajayi, who is one of the country's best quarter milers in the past few years was served a four years ban by the AIU in 2022, but it was never made public by Nigerian doping authorities for reasons best known to them.
Finally this year, the country's 200m record holder Divine Oduduru, was provisionally suspended concerning Okagbare's doping scandal case, which he is alleged to be 'Athlete 2'.
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The AIU released a statement on its website saying they have notified Oduduru of "two potential Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and is seeking a six-year ban against the Nigerian.
Though Okagbare and Oduduru's cases were no fault of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) or Nigerian doping authorities, theirs are the most popular as the leading faces of the sport in the country.
Who takes the blame for these scandals?
Several questions need answers on this situation such as, is the AFN doing enough with constantly re-orientating the athletes and coaches? Are those in charge of the anti-doping system in Nigeria doing enough with taking stiffer measures of public scrutiny of guilty athletes? Is it a case of the athletes willingly using these drugs as a means to an end and believing that 'everybody dey use am, na who dey catch be thief'?
The truth is the issue is more systematic than what seems to be on the surface. From coaches to athletes and administrators, everyone is to blame.
Instances of corrupt practices by the administrators, who fail to carry out the right amount of tests even when there's financial allocation by the sports ministry or cover-ups for those involved until the AIU does so, are key factors to these scandals.
While others may argue that it's about athletes unknowingly using illegal substances, what they do not understand is some of these athletes are knowingly doing so and throwing caution to the winds hoping not to be a victim. After all, everyone is doing it, so it's better to join them and be careful not to get caught.
Another insightful point is the silence amongst coaches, athletes, and stakeholders when news of doping situations hits the media, as they shy away from talking about it or proffering solutions for unknown reasons, and when journalists or athletics reporters try to do so, they're bullied or face some sort of backlash for airing their opinions on the topic.
So you see it's not just a directional blame, but a series of different problems going round in a circle with no visible end point.
What is the way forward?
Doping is endemic at the local level, which many term as 'supplements'. Most importantly, a lot of transformation needs to be done at that stage before it can become visible at the national level.
Also, actions that are to be taken need to be done fast, as the recent feats of the athletes are already having a positive influence on Nigerians and athletics enthusiasts globally, so it won't be right to have this stigma stick for a long time where doubts will now be raised on the exceptional performances of the clean ones.
The Nigeria Anti Doping Agency and AFN should necessitate working together and not ignore the dangerous side and long-lasting effects of doping, which brings embarrassment and possible overlook of scholarships for the younger ones by US colleges.
Nigeria athletics is currently experiencing a tipping point of significant milestones with this generation of athletes; it would be wise to maximise this opportunity and not let it go down the drain with doping scandals.
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