Peter Obi criticizes Nigeria’s Olympic spending after Paris 2024 failure
Peter Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate, has sharply criticized Nigeria’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The country’s failure to win any medals despite significant financial investment has sparked his discontent.
Obi took to X.com (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration, pointing out that Nigeria spent approximately 12 billion naira (about $85,000 per athlete) on its Olympic team.
In contrast, Jamaica, which spent around $2,300 per athlete, won six medals, including one gold. Obi questioned how Nigeria could spend so much yet end up with no medals.
He said, “How can one explain that a country like Jamaica spent less than 5% of what we spent on our contingents for the Paris Olympics 2024 and won as many as 6 medals? Yet with our huge financial investments and large contingent, we could not win even a single medal?”
Obi also criticized the mishandling of athletes, mentioning Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili’s exclusion from the 100m event and former Nigerian hammer thrower Annette Echikunwoke, who switched to representing the United States and won a medal.
He accused Nigerian sports officials of “rascality and recklessness,” alleging that some injured athletes and officials who had no reason to be at the Olympics were enjoying allowances while the athletes struggled.
Obi highlighted the case of athlete Ese Ukpeseraye, who had to borrow a bicycle for her event, calling it a “shame” and urging an investigation into the “gross misconduct.”
