FG doles out N3m to Okagbare

Blessing Okagbare

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday announced a cash reward of N3m for Blessing Okagbare, who won medals in the long jump event and 200 meters race at the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federation World Athletic Championships in Moscow.

The President also doled out N3.5m to her coach, Daniel Esebinimo and said that the duo will also get national honours during the next award ceremony.

Jonathan said this during a short ceremony before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, where he received the medals won by Okagbare at the championship in Moscow.

He asked sports administrators and athletes to put their acts together and ensure that Nigeria wins gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

The President warned that the poor performance of Nigerian athletes in past Olympic Games would no longer be tolerated.

He said, “We have taken a decision that in the next Olympics, we must get medals, gold medals. In the last Olympics, that we could not get any medal, except the Paralympics that we were able to shine, was a bad story.

 “We have challenged the Ministry of Sports and of course, the Finance Ministry to do all what it can to make sure that we support that sector so that our young men and women will do our country proud. So Blessing, we congratulate you. We thank you for this uncommon success and the uncommon dedication to our fatherland.”

 Jonathan noted that Nigeria was once a sports powerhouse, but said that the sports sector had slid.

Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi observed that Nigeria had been achieving successes in sports in the past two years because of the “transformative and unprecedented leadership and support of President Jonathan.”

He said, “Nigeria is again becoming a force to reckon with in sports. In athletics, just like in football and weightlifting, we have become the number one nation in Africa. Never in the history of Africa athletics has a nation been a winner of the senior, junior and youth championship at the same time until Nigeria achieved that this year.”

Responding to the Presidential directive to win medals in the next Olympics,  Okagbare said that it could not be magically achieved except through hard work and appropriate support.

She said, “Well, I always try to work very hard with the support of people around me. It also depends on the people, on what they have to do to actually support sports. There is no magic in supports. Let me tell you, there is no magic. As much as they give to us, the athletes are ready to work hard. We will work with what you give to us and whatever comes out of it, you should expect.”