Sensing exclusion from Team Nigeria squad to the Paris Olympics due to their ‘show of shame’ in Douala, two U.S.-based Nigeria sprinters, Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma, have allegedly gone on their knees appealing to some ‘influential’ Nigerians to help them talk to the Sports Minister, Sen. John Enoh and top officials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to temper justice with mercy.

   
The duo of Ofili and Chukwuma threw caution to the wind at the just concluded 23rd African Senior Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, by refusing to show up for the women’s 100m semifinal after competing in the heat event a day earlier. Their action, apart from causing Nigeria some gold medals (100m and 200m), also painted a picture that the country could not control its ‘stubborn’ athletes at international events.
 
Top officials of Team Nigeria to Douala, including the Sports Minister, Enoh and AFN President, Chief Tonobok Okowa, allegedly expressed their anger over the show of shame displayed by the two athletes.
 
It was learnt that the AFN had issued Ofili and Chukwuma a strong worded query, and was expecting the reply as at yesterday (Friday). However, it was gathered yesterday, that the two athletes, on receiving the AFN query, became terribly afraid that they might be left out of the party to Paris Olympics, and decided to reach out to some ‘influential’ people back home to help them appeal to the federation for pardon. Before then, they were said to have sent several text messages to some top officials in the team explaining that fear of being injured due to poor organisation forced them out of the championships.
 
It was not clear, yesterday, if the AFN had received their response to the query issued to them. A source hinted that the two athletes might be pardoned considering the short period to Team Nigeria’s departure to Germany for training tour ahead the Paris Olympics.
 
“They might be lucky to escape sanction, which could have led to their exclusion from the team to Paris,” the source stated. No official of the AFN was ready to comment on the issue, yesterday.
 
Two athletes in the Liberia squad to Douala as well as one from Ghana team were suspended immediately and their allowances sized for similar offence at the championships.
 
The Guardian recalls that Ofili won the National 100m title on June 16, during the AFN National Trials in Benin City, Edo State, where she ran a new Personal Season best of 11.06secs. Apart from winning the 100m title, the time also secured Ofili a place in the 100m event at the Paris Olympics. Efforts to speak with the duo of Ofili and Chukwuma, yesterday were unsuccessful.