Former international hurdler, Henry Amike has aired his view regarding the recent defection of female sprinter, Favour Ofili to Turkey, and declared that Nigeria has lost ‘one of its greatest athletes of all time.’
Sports247 gathered that, though Amike admitted that Ofili felt offended by errors committed by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), he opined that the women’s 200m national record holder overreacted.
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Amike stated further, “I must be very honest about the outcome of what we’ve heard in respect of our great athlete, in the person of Ofili and what she stands for in this country.
“Ofili is one of the greatest athletes of all time because she holds the national record in 200m, which is not easy to achieve. That makes her one of the best in the world.”
The outspoken former athlete and coach then turned his attention on a series of issues that led to Ofili’s shock switch in allegiance, especially as errors by AFN’s officials made her miss two different editions of the Olympic Games.
He recounted, “Sadly, there have been some issues surrounding her in the last three years, and that compounded into the Olympic Games.
We heard that issues happened between her and the AFN crew in the respect of her registration, and that led to her not competing in the 100m.
“That was a world disaster for Nigeria as well as an embarrassment for the country and the AFN. However, if I had an opportunity, I would have spoken to her and let her know that your country is your country.”
The ex-400m hurdler, who competed in the 1984 and 1988 editions of the Olympics, then won gold at the 1989 African Athletics Championship in Lagos, concluded with an inference that Ofili should have allowed patriotism direct her reaction, even when she was pushed to the limit by the AFN’s costly errors.
“We have our weaknesses, but together, we can make things better. So, I don’t think this decision by her is the best; but she has a mind of her own.
“Probably she had been pushed to the wall, and I don’t think this is the first time she’s had a confrontation with the AFN.
Having said that, she still has to know that your country is always your own,” the 64-year-old Amike concluded.
