Nigerian ex-sprinter and former African men’s 100m record holder, Olusoji Adetokunbo Fasuba has opined that the same level of benefits and attention that are always given world leading women’s hurdler, Tobi Amusan, should be extended to other Nigeran athletes.
Sports247 reports that Fasuba, who is now a para-military naval officer and logistician based in England, after excelling during a truly historic career that extended from 2003 to 2010, is of a view that many other Nigeran athletes would bring additional glory home to the nation if they are treated equally like Amusan.
Read Also: Gara Gombe Alleges – ‘People Indicted Over Favour Ofili Blunder Are Still Running Nigerian Athletics’
The 41-year-old Fasuba took his mind back to a couple of months ago in 2024, when Amusan appeared to fade, after setting a world record of 12.12 in the women’s 100m hurdles at the 2022 global championship in Oregon, USA, but he reckoned that her silver medal feat at the year’s edition in Tokyo, Japan was due to massive support she got from various leaders in Nigeria’s sports sector.
Fasuba reasoned, “She started dropping, and the federation decided to treat her well. When they started treating her well, we’ve all seen the result … she has now come out with a silver medal.
“So, they need to offer this same treatment to other athletes as well, and I am sure we will start getting more medals.”
While admitting that Amusan deserves everything she is getting, Fasuba added that the idea of rewards for athletes should not only be for when they break records or win medals, but he suggested using it as a source of motivation that would spur more of Nigeria’s running talents to gun for global glory.
“When you leave doing it until they break a world record, you are going to keep on having failings and people not reaching their full potential.
“So, all I can say is that Tobi is a great athlete, and I’m so very proud of her, but the federation needs to realise that what us good for the goose is good for the gander,” Fasuba concluded metaphorically.
Sports247 recalls that Fasuba broke to limelight at the Nigerian trials in 2003 and went on to win gold at the 1st Afro-Asian Games in the same year, after which he won the African title in 2004 and was part of Nigeria’s silver relay team at Athens 2004 Olympic Games in Greece.
Fasuba also won silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, gold at Algiers 2007 African Games and he was 60m world indoor champion in 2008.
He also held the African men’s 100m record at 9.85sec until South Africa’s Akani Simbine broke it with a run of 9.84 in July 2021, after which Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala lowered it to 9.77 later that same year.
