Two AFN Board Members Dressed As Coaches For 2019 All Africa Games

Two members of the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) have been named among 12 coaches invited to camp in Kaduna in preparation for the 12th All Africa Games which will take place from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco, Completesports.com reports.

The members, a Police Corporal, Sunday Adeleye and Patrick Estate Onyedum, representing the South East region on the board of the federation were incredibly dressed as coaches in the list signed by AFN president, Ibrahim Gusau and Secretary General Ademu Elijah and released to the media Thursday.

While Adeleye is listed as the 400m hurdles coach, Estate will take charge of the throws alongside Gabriel Opuana and Chris Ameh.

Both AFN board members, Completesports.com can report, are neither trained coaches nor accomplished athletes when they were active on the track.

Adeleye, the athletes representative on the board of the AFN who was bizarely named technical director of the federation albeit he was neither trained as a technical official nor a coach holds a personal best of 51.48 seconds in the quartermile barrier run and his greatest accomplishement was placing sixth (52.26) at the All Africa Games in Abuja in 2003. He was never a national champion throughout his career as an athlete.

If Adeleye’s inclusion as a 400m hurdles coach is incredulous, that of Estate defies any logic as he was nowhere near the throws when he was an athlete. He was, at his best an 11.4,11.5 100m runner and was always around the now late Paul Egonye at the National stadium in Lagos.

Local athletics watchers have called on the Federal Ministry of Sports to remove the names of the two board members and give the slots to qualified coaches who can add value to team in Rabat next month.

Other (qualified) coaches listed are two other board members, Brown Ebewele who will coordinate the relays and Gabriel Okon who has attended three Olympics and three IAAF World Championship as a coach will be in charge of the 400m.

Also listed by the AFN are Deji Aliu, winner of the 100m gold at the 2003 Games who is doing marvellously well at Making of Champions and Endurance ‘Booster’ Ojokolo, the seven-time national 100m queen will be in-charge of the sprints.

Respected Police officer, Solomon Aliyu and veteran coach, Gad Onumaegbu will take charge of the sprint hurdles.

The AFN also listed 47 athletes led by sprint stars, Enoch Adegoke and Rosemary Chukwu for the camping exercise while 20 year-old Praise Idamadudu, silver medallist in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2018 Commonwealth Games was conspicuosly missing.

Idamadudu, it would be recalled was suspended by the AFN without giving her the chance to defend herself after the IAAF World Relays in Yokohama, Japan in May. Her suspension was lifted when Honourable Olamide George acted briefly as acting president of the federation.

By Dare Esan