I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria - Sports - Nairaland
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| I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by MeGaStReEt: 5:19pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
1996 Olympic gold medallist, Chioma Ajunwa-Okpara, has said that though she have had a fulfilled life in athletics, she would ever regret retiring from the sport prematurely. Ajunwa, who is also a police superintendent with Zone 2 Command in Lagos, further dropped a bombshell, saying that she would ever regret her decision not to join the like of Gloria Alozie and Francis Obikwelu to change her nationality. Speaking to Daily Sunsport in Lagos recently, Ajunwa said she would have still been in active sports if she had changed her nationality. She stressed that Nigeria does not know how to take care of her stars. "I don’t know why I refused to change my nationality when I was still in the height of my formative days. I believe that if I had done that, I wouldn’t have retired from sports when I did," the former athlete began. "I left active sports unceremoniously as a result of injury. I was strutted with a kneel injury after the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, where I won gold medal in long jump. In fact, it was immediately after that moment that I began to have a real battle to regain my fitness. http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/sports/2008/july/23/sports-23-07-2008-001.htm |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by Ibime(m): 5:55pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
I don't blame her. Does Naija know how to treat its athletes? They all retire broke and injured. |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by doyin13(m): 5:59pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
And one of the images seared into my brain from the 90's was Ajunwa on her knees in front of Alex Akinyele when he was chairman of the NSC. She wouldn't have had to do any of that if she was representing some other country. |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by dominictj(m): 6:23pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
Chioma deserves more than she got from Nigeria being the first and only Nigerian athlete to have won an individual gold medal at the olympics. Nigeria does not encourage her athletes to committ their future to the country, a reason why the country will continue to lose its olympic hopefuls to Eureapean and some smaller African countries like Liberia. How else would you described a situation where sports administrators drag over grants released by sports commission for the payment of athletes who particpated in various meetings to enable them qualify to represent the country at the olympics? |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by JeSoul(f): 6:41pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
Ibime:I second that. Infact take a look at most nairalander's locations. . . most of us have "dumped" naija already  |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by manmustwac(m): 6:52pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
well at least now i understand why many of our nigerian athletes don't like to run for their country. I used to think of them as traitors but now i can't blame them. |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by MeGaStReEt: 6:58pm On Jul 23, 2008 |
Its really bad for this country to keep loosing gr8 and future sport ambadors I am glad Ajunwa was BOLD enuf to hit the nail on the head without leaving any stone unturned she even went as far encoraging other young lads to change there nationality when they find themselves in her shoes, thats to show how painful it is to be abandoned. |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by kainos76(m): 12:16am On Jul 25, 2008 |
I am not surprised at all, Nigeria is not a nation its only a geographic location. Little wonder some pundits address the country as the "Nigerian project". LOL |
| Re: I Regret Not Dumping Nigeria by Akolawole(m): 4:07pm On Jul 26, 2008 |
Oh Lord! Only one Athlete is better treated by Nigerian that Chioma and that is Mary Onyali. Both of then dont even had mouth to paint the country bad at all. Unlike football, what value do athletics brought to Nigeria? Even after she uses drug! Some people dont even know shame at all. Thank God for Jamaican athletes. |
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