Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which saw the country return home without a single medal, has sparked criticism and reflection on the management of the sports sector under Sports Minister John Owan Enoh. The last time Nigeria ended an Olympics without a medal was in London 2012, and the streak of underachievement seems to have resurfaced in Paris.

The Games concluded with a series of heart-wrenching defeats for Team Nigeria. In one of the final blows, wrestler Hannah Reuben lost her Women’s Freestyle 76kg match to Mongolia’s Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan with a score of 5-2, extinguishing any remaining hopes for a medal. This loss epitomized the lackluster performance that plagued the West African nation throughout the event.

Nigeria’s Olympic campaign was marred by a string of disheartening results and apparent administrative missteps. The country had previously demonstrated prowess in qualifying events, entering 12 disciplines at the Paris Games. However, the team struggled to replicate their continental success on the global stage.
Historically, Nigeria’s performance in the Olympics has had its highs and lows. The nation’s poor showing in Paris echoes previous underwhelming performances in the 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 1968 Mexico, 1980 Moscow, and 1988 Seoul Olympics, where no medals were won.

The Nigerian government allocated a substantial budget of N12 billion for the country’s participation in both the Olympics and Paralympics, with N9 billion dedicated to the Olympics and N3 billion to the Paralympics. Despite this significant investment, the anticipated returns did not materialize.
Team Nigeria had pinned its hopes on track and field events, an area where the country has historically excelled. Notably, Favour Ofili made history by reaching the semi-final of the 200m for the first time since the Atlanta 1996 Games. However, despite achieving a season’s best time of 22.05 seconds, she could not secure a podium finish. Similarly, athletes like Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike and Ezekiel Nathaniel fell short in their respective events, and the men’s 4x400m relay team faced disqualification due to a rule violation.

In response to the lackluster performance, Sports Minister Enoh issued what some analysts describe as a “watery apology at best”, acknowledging the shortfall in the team’s performance compared to expectations. He outlined the challenges faced during his tenure, including the tight schedule of international competitions and the inadequate preparation time for the Olympics.
Minister Enoh detailed his efforts to boost Nigeria’s sports performance, which included forming the Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee and arranging both onshore and offshore training camps in Germany and Spain. However, despite these measures, the results did not meet expectations.
He wrote “I accept that our performance should have been a lot better. It fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians. I must apologize to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024(August 28- September 8th).”
Some sources say the Minister’s relationship with the Sports Federations has been anything but warm in the build-up to the Olympics. He wrote, in part “I convened a series of meetings involving the Presidents of the National Sports Federations, their Technical Directors, and Secretaries General. These meetings examined the preparations for the competitions.”