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Nigerians only participate in sports that don’t need investment – Seun Kuti
Nigerian singer Seun Kuti has criticized the Nigerian government for its failure to invest in sports, particularly highlighting Nigeria’s poor performance in the 2024 Olympics.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Kuti pointed out that Nigeria only participated in sports that required minimal financial investment, while neglecting those that needed more resources.
Kuti expressed his disappointment by saying, “I dey watch Olympic games; look at how poorly we performed. How many sports are we competing in? I saw that it was only sports that did not need investment that Nigerians participated in, like, it was the sports that needed minimum investment that we did.”
He emphasized that Nigerian athletes mainly competed in track and field events because running is inexpensive and easy to do. However, Nigeria was absent in sports that required more equipment and infrastructure.
"Na only the sports wey no need investment na im Nigeria dey"
– Seun Kuti pic.twitter.com/az8bxT2je3
— @πΌπ»π²π·πΌπ―πΉπ²πππ―πΌπ (@OneJoblessBoy) August 10, 2024
“You know, to play football, you need a post and net and other things are added, in some places, boys would use slippers to create a goalpost. But in sports that need things like rackets, nets, basketball courts, and rims, where you can’t easily improvise, we weren’t there. We competed in track and field events because it’s easy to do running. But in sports that need equipment, we are never there,” Kuti remarked.
Kuti proposed that the government should invest in sports leagues and offer significant prizes to athletes, arguing that Nigerians have a strong interest in various sports.
“Nigerians know all these sports and bet on them, so how much would it take to create a good league and gift the winners 25 million dollars? Let there be a minimum of a million dollars per year, after all, this is what boys are earning in Europe,” he suggested.
He also criticized the lack of opportunities for Nigerian talent, attributing the migration of athletes to other countries to the lack of support and investment in Nigeria.
“Nigerians are unable to enjoy the talents of their children, all our big superstars. Which other shows do they play in Nigeria? I was watching the Olympics, and I saw people with Nigerian-sounding names doing incredible things for other countries.
If Simone Biles can be that great, imagine how many young girls with talent are wasting away because people will not invest in gymnastics and train our children,” Kuti asserted.
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