 Welcome back. 90% more preparation for the Olympic Games was clear for the world to see. When 10 athletes were stopped from competing, it was also due to the failure of the authorities back at home to administer enough drug tests. Then there was the issue with basketball teams kids arriving late. The Federation blamed it on lack of documentation and miscommunication between ministries of finance and sports. The Puma controversy also comes to mind. Joining us this morning are two gentlemen. We'll start with our in-studio guest, Esar Ogane Oguma, who is an athlete, and a chief executive officer of AthleticHeat. And also we have Lécon Chouyeton, who is an athletics coach and statistical analyst. Good morning to you both. Good morning to Mr. Oguma. Good morning. Good to be here. Mr. Chouyeton, thanks for joining us. Good morning to you, sir. I think we're going to reconnect with him. We're going to start with Mr. Oguma. Well, most of the reactions to the current Olympic Games would say disappointed. Definitely, we could have done better. But from your perspective, in the preparation to the Games, were you expecting anything different? In terms of personal preparation from the athletes, I think they were getting set. I had high hopes on a few of them and they didn't disappoint. Someone like Inokadegoki, Grace Wonkocha, and a couple of others who didn't run, but would have done the nation proud. I think, personally, they were well prepared and they were in camp for a period of time. They were also in the US, which I don't think favored them. So they came back after, I think, a month to get back to camping in Abuja. Usually, camping should be, in my opinion, a long period of time. But we are used to fire brigade preparation of probably a month, two months, three months. Which is really not enough, honestly. I'll take an example from the world juniors, which is coming up later this month. There's a country who has been in camps since March. Nigeria just got into camp about three weeks ago, or two weeks ago. When you talk about preparation, we can't really compare what other people are doing in other countries than what we're doing here. I think we just need to improve on that aspect. Because three weeks' camping, four weeks' camping, it's really not enough to have these athletes in that shape that you want them to compete for. What would you blame for starting camping so late? The Federation is in charge of things like this. When it comes to the games, definitely the ministry. Games like the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, African Games is funded by the ministry. When it comes to the World Championship, the World Junior Championship, they are all by the Federation. So both parties should be blamed. It depends on where we're looking at it from. We know that this Tokyo 2020 Olympics is a third that Nigerian teams will be basically missing. I think the last was the Beijing 2008. When you look at where we're coming from and what it seems to be now, what participants can you make? Really, not so good. It's really sad that we are where we are today. Just like USA in the 1996 Olympics, we had a lot of Nigerians. We won six medals at that Olympics, and we haven't gone back to that level. The last time we won medals, besides this Olympics, Okie was 2016 in the men's football, then Okagbari in 2008, where she won, obligated to silver in the women's long jump. I don't think we've done so much. I think we need to really do better in terms of funding for the athletes, preparation and caring for these athletes, because the athletes welfare is very important to the success of these athletes. But when you don't give proper attention to that, the things just keep going down the drain. I want us to talk about this whole jersey embarrassment. We know that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria were commissioned to go out and look for sponsors. They eventually did. They got the German company FOMA. But eventually, Sunday Dari came along and went on to say that there were some discrepancies. We're not going to go ahead with it. They went on with one Africa for Africa Indigenous brand that was well celebrated. But what really can you say about this issue? Because the DSS got involved. It took this whole matter to court. It was a big story back to 2019-2020. But then, when we look at the fact that we've been struggling to get sponsors, eventually we did. And then they said that the agreement doesn't hold water. How do you think this might affect our prospects in the future of getting sponsors for our football games? Well, Athletics, it's difficult to really dissect into this matter because the Federation was in two factions. One led by engineer Ibrahim Gusso. And then the other by Alamedi George. And obviously one had the support of the Ministry, while the other had the support of the World Athletics body. And I think the one who the World Athletics recognized is more or less like the one who should be on board. But there was a back and forth toss on who should have the power. So, Ibrahim Gusso got the deal. But then other members of the board were like, you didn't come to us. You didn't tell us about this deal. So this deal doesn't hold water. But though they used it in 2019 at the World Championship in Doha, where Ezebrouma won in bronze medal. But then, I think it's just political. Exactly. What does political come to us mean? Pardon? Let me help me understand what that is. Okay, so if you have a board as the President, it's right that you go to your board and tell them, okay, this is the deal that was brought to the Federation. This is that board. From what we have, or what we have heard so far from the news, is that not Alamedi now. Honour Gusso and the TD, Mr. Sunday Adelaer, didn't come to the board to tell them more about this deal. You mean the board in the Ministry of Sports? No, no, no. The board of the Athletics Federation. I think I saw an interview with Adelaer where he showed that there were signatories from the Ministry of the Board, that basically meant that they were aware. They knew everything about the deal. So yeah, it might be personal issues, it might be... That's what I said. It's a whole lot of politics. It seems like a political issue. Yes, it is. Let's invite our next guest, Janine Osweiser, Mr. Léco Choudhon, Athletics Coach and Statistical Analyst. Good morning. Thanks for joining us again. Thanks for having me. Alright, so we've been analysing Nigeria's performance, especially preparation leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. Do you think that Nigeria could have prepared better and gotten out on more results? Well, I agree with Ezra Genem. We are all into this. We feel athletic, we feel it. And as a coach, actually, we could have done far more with our athletes ranking in the world. Please, that is ranked between the first and second in the world is a prospect. And we have also hit on the rank. So if we have a performance like we have, which is short of the expectations to at least a good medal, then two silver medals at the end. To me, in Doha, we won bronze. And everybody said we didn't perform well. I was in Doha. And I was missed of the... of the Ruha. The 10 we didn't perform in Doha. I wonder now, in Doha, we had won bronze in position. Can we say of that? How bad the understanding was in the final race? You should ask the person. I didn't go to the place in seventh. I didn't go to the third position because I increased our ranking. So to me, if we had a good preparation, if good age is united, and a board, again, by the ministry. Ministry of Youth and Sport is all federations. We all know that. They are into holding the sports. So to me, I didn't pay them more. They are capable of handling, especially the kids. How bad the penalties. How would they be able to say they want to battle with being sponsored already? So to me, and everything that they have done to this performance, been working from the beginning. So they have nothing to lose. Anyway, it's win-win. Won bronze in athletics, and to me, it's a success story that is better than we are coming back with. So to me, it would have been better. Preparation that we have, they took some really hard leads to meet the qualified standard they hope to have met in. A cheap one in Poland that you hope that for you. That's nothing. They came back to Nigeria, they took some events and some events were come to the Godet village in their own Nigerian way that you can bend and lose. So to me, it's not anymore any progress right now. And we have done that in preparation of operating the way we have been operating from 2018 when we went for the Commonwealth Games. Alright, Mr. Sioto. We have challenges with the network but I think we can work with it. Do you think that the ministry maybe has too much to handle at the same time? Because we are talking athletics here, we are talking long jump, short put football, basketball. Is that too much to handle? Because first of all, the football teams didn't even make it to the Olympics. That's why we are speaking about, I say, Brumae and blessing Umberu Dudu as the only winners. You know, there's other sports that we didn't even make any strong attempt in. So would you say the ministry has too much to handle or they are distracted by their own internal crisis? And that's one of the reasons we didn't go anywhere here. The ministry themselves are the distractions. The ministry is dealing with the operations of the federation. If you listen to many of the federation's leaders they will tell you the ministry are faring too much. You have to supervise not to run the federation for them, not to dictate who will lead. A faction will dictate a science. So to me, they are distracted. Not that they have too much to handle. You can have nothing to handle for Christ's sake. And you will see the committee. So the federation is just acting perfect to the minister. The minister has a politician who wants to be seen as working and he knows he has advice as who are not really professional in this field. There is not a court who has an experience of exposure. We should miss out to the way we were hinting or we are hinting as a do-be-rich nation. The minister even has advice as that the professional to say. So to me, they don't have anything to be. They don't have anything much to hover but they are still distracting. Okay, let's find out what exactly the problem is. Alright, so it's showing it out. Let's find out what the problem is. I want to bring Mr. Oguma here. Adelaia mentioned that the problem is the sports ministry and the sports minister under his administration saying that the problems of Nigerian athletics have never been worse under the person of Sunday Dari. Truth or false? Could you answer that? Let's get your opinion so I feel like things have not always been right but then I feel at this point government interference is just so much in this particular but I don't think in time past in my years of competing or falling out the sports in general I don't think there's been any point where any of these ministers would really interfere or choose a party I feel like when the father has two of his sons fighting he shouldn't pick side with one. He should bring the two and be able to table the matter on the best way to go about it and not siding the senior one or siding the junior one against the other. So I feel like that's where the minister got it wrong. Alright, how about you? We had you think the problem lies. Do you agree with Adelaia that the problem is with the sports minister and the ministry itself? Yeah, I agree with Adelaia since you can't have who is ego-driven who wants to make sure it counts. In Doha there were there were athletes that were built to run in Sape Nebe and you came back you set up a committee a committee you set up up to five of the members of in Tokyo you brought in your friends to come and meet. Check the needs set up at Doha there and with the Tokyo sports scientists where is that done for friends to come and judge a performing federation. So to me it's quite clear driven by ego that I want to remove this and talk us without checking it. So to me the minister is he has always been a problem because games they will tell you the only games in your family members and on trips they will drop coaches for their girlfriends and it has always been like that so when you have a a court there are tracks down you will fight back that's what they do Mr. Sheraton because we are trying to avoid further embarrassment would you advise anybody to resign after the olympic games well to me even resigning they should set up committees to really buy a warm room from the very beginning there must be a place that can it should be able to sell ideas what funds public funds is not are advising to really to stick to this huge pattern even just looking until it's done so to me it's not just about reason, beyond that some people know how come ten athletes lose up how can I train my athletes and eventually learn how to really be so performed and telling me somebody who just resigned and they should be brought to book so you know it's more than just resignation there have to be actual questions answered because if we move on from this and nobody gets punished or nobody gets to answer these questions then we're going to have a repeat very likely in the next international competition that we attend so how can we ensure that this doesn't repeat itself do you want somebody to be fired, do you want a whole department to completely be fired or what exactly do you think must be done somebody needs to be ashamed of themselves Mr. Shorito do we still have you there okay let's pass that oh Mr. Shorito can you hear us ah the answer now the minutes and the entire transport should be overhauled what they should do and not to do especially when we are called ladies with the federation setup church should be given chance to to come up and they abide by them the minute abide them when they are not speaking to the arrangements so it should be total overhauled okay Mr. Shorito we apologize Mr. Shorito we apologize we may have to end that here because we're not getting the audio clearly from you but quickly to get your final thoughts Mr. Oguma do you agree that there should be a shake up in the ministry of sports and maybe anyone getting sanctioned for this performance at the Olympics yes I feel there should be an overhaul first of all I feel people who are people who are passionate about the sports not putting people who really don't know anything about the sports I think over time we have not really had a sports minister who did the sports when you don't do something you really don't know the into the depth you know so I feel the first thing which is coming from I think the presidency should be to put somebody who did the sports who understands pardon yes who understands the sport I really thought would have been the minister and not an minister you know I feel if someone in that capacity can lead us in the sports ministry or you know it will go a long way it will change certain things that we are facing today fantastic thank you very much thank you as well as Mr Sheraton who came in earlier this is where we will take a break on the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 we will take a break here we will come back to discuss the games proper and review Nigeria's performance stay with us