The Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut, has warned weightlifters and wrestlers preparing for the 11th All-Africa Games to be ready to pay the full price if caught doping.
Yakmut who gave the warning on Monday in Abuja while addressing the athletes during their training said they had no reason at all to go into doping.
He also said he was ready to ensure better athletes welfare and the development of a database to ensure athletes’ post-career life was made better.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the NSC Director-General was on a routine visit to the camps and training venues of all the teams preparing for the Games.
“A number of our athletes have been caught doping in recent years, especially in your events, and this had greatly affected the development of these sports.
“But we don’t want this again, because we know you can do better and perform excellently without drugs,’’ he said.
Yakmut who then asked the athletes to pledge not to be involved in doping at all, to which they responded positively, said the Commission was ready to punish those caught doping.
“Now that you have made a pledge not to be involved in doping, you should know that this is a pledge that should stay with you for life and can haunt you for life if you go against what you have pledged.
“We at the NSC will however ensure that, for bringing dishonor to our fatherland Nigeria, you are not only punished by the international sports federations.
“We will ensure that you are made to pay for it here in Nigeria with all available sanctions and the full weight of the Nigerian laws in respect of those who bring disgrace to their country,’’ he said.
The NSC director-general said the Nigerian athlete now have no reason to be involved in doping and no reason also not to excel.
He said the Commission had been doing all it can to ensure the lot of all athletes in general, and especially those preparing for the Games scheduled for Brazzaville, Congo.
“Going by what we now have on ground, I have been envying what you now have. I wish I had this kind of opportunity when I was an athlete like you.
“This is because, as the Director-General now, I believe that all athletes must be treated fairly, and that s what we are doing now.
“With all due respect to others before me and without taking anything away from them, I can say the NSC is now seeing all athletes as kings and queens.
“The athletes are now the number one citizens in the area of sports in Nigeria now. In the five-level hierarchy, the athletes are at the apex.
“They (athletes) are number one, coaches are number two, facilities number three, athletes number four and I the director-general number five,’’ Yakmut said.
He said it was now his responsibility to ensure that all the Nigerian athlete needed were provided to him or her before anyone or anything else.
“This is why I ensured that the Athletes Hostel was completed and put in good shape for use.
“I cannot imagine a situation where we were spending about N7,500 on putting athletes in hotels and paying them N500 to N1,000 as allowances.
“Henceforth, no athlete will be left behind in the scheme of things in Nigeria, and this is why we will now ensure we have an improved database.
“This will be for better welfare for all athletes, and ensuring all contacts were gathered so that athletes will not be abandoned and neglected after competitions.
“We should be able to monitor athletes in their post-career lives, for us to be able to make inputs ad guide them and ensure none of them walk the streets jobless after serving this country,’’ Yakmut said.
In a response, President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali who is an Olympic wrestling gold medalist, said the NSC director-general’s show of concern was unprecedented.
“Without the athlete, there cannot be anybody in the NSC, but what we have seen over the years, the athlete has always been at the lowest rung of the ladder.
“Things have now changed, and we now promise that we will do all we can to ensure that we meet all the targets you have set for us.
“We will clear all the available gold medals at the AAG. You will have 150 per cent commitment from us,’’ the Chairman of the
Technical Commission of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), said.
Ekanem Ekanem, Head Coach of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, in his own response, said the weightlifters and wrestlers were ready to do the nation proud.
“There will be more dedicated performance from us, especially in view of all that has been made available to us now,’’ he said.
Also, Sinivie Boltic, the national wrestling team captain, assured that both teams of athletes would ensure they did not disappoint.
“We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring we do our country proud in Congo, and we will do nothing that will bring dishonor upon our country,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the athletes are preparing for the 2015 All-Africa Games scheduled for Sept. 4 to Sept. 19.(NAN)
