Former African men’s 100m record holder, Olusoji Adetokunbo Fasuba has sent out a terse charge to the current leadership of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to fashion out ways of reviving track and field in the country.
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Sports247 reports that Fasuba, who is now based in the United Kingdom, after graduating with a degree in cyber security, pointed out that Nigeria is currently facing a drastic decline from the heroic status the country had during his heyday.
The fleet-footed former sprinter pointed out, “They need to take Nigeria’s athletics to where it was before and where it needs to be. Doing that does not require a lot of effort, and it’s a small thing to do.
“It’s all about maintaining the right focus, draw up a plan, and work out what you want to achieve for the year. You should not look for immediate results.”
Fasuba, who has worked as a naval officer, police orderly and football club coach in the UK, added that the AFN’s current leadership also has to develop a long-term programme that would include sourcing talents from various schools across the country.
He added, “Bringing in athletes from America is looking for immediate results. So, they need to draw a long-term plan, without which we would achieve nothing.
“It’s not proper for us to continue looking for a sudden change. If we expect Nigerian athletes at home to run nine seconds in 100m or a 400m runner to get less than 44 seconds in a year, then we are wrong.
“We need to give them some time for them to do that. But, that does not mean they should sit on their chairs and do nothing.
“They need to organise competitions. A minimum of four or five major competitions a year, plus other minor ones, will keep the athletes in shape.”
Fasuba concluded by charting out for the AFN a progressive strategy that would be based on youth development ideas and programmes linked to academics all across the country.
He stressed, “We have to get enough training camps for the country’s athletes. We have to imbibe schools sports, educative programnes and involve all the states.
“We have to revive regular inter-house sports competitions in all schools. Those are the ways through which talents are found and developed for the future.”
