In order to examine the unfolding disgrace in Nigeria’s athletics space, it is important to establish the facts.
In May 2017, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) transferred the sum of $150,000 to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) as payment of the annual grant due to all member federations.
The trouble is that this amount transferred was in error. In fairness, it is a common enough sort of error: an extra zero was entered, and suddenly the AFN was $135,000 richer than it should have been.
They did not, as one might expect, point out the oversight, choosing to hold their peace. With the approval of the Sports Ministry, the money was promptly appropriated for purposes which, to this day, remain unclear. Read more