Ajibade Olusesan 
The National Sports Festival officially begins today, but sadly, the build-up to Nigeria’s biggest sporting event has been marked by poor preparation and confusion.
Reports from the host city show that the situation is far from ideal, New Telegrapgh reports. Athletes and officials are complaining of hunger, while accommodation problems remain unsolved.
Many teams have arrived, but some athletes are not getting the best of hospitality as promised by the organisers, and food is either delayed or completely unavailable in some camps.
Even the opening ceremony scheduled for Sunday is still being worked on with no clear direction. As of yesterday, key preparations were still incomplete, and there is growing fear that the ceremony may fall short of expectations.
Several state officials and athletes say they are in limbo, unsure of what to expect next. One team official who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “We are just here hoping things will fall into place.
Nobody is saying anything concrete. We’re just managing ourselves.” The major issue at the centre of the crisis is lack of funding. It is clear that money meant to support logistics, feeding, and proper accommodation has either not been released or is insufficient.
The poor planning has left many teams frustrated. Athletes, who have trained hard and travelled from across the country to compete, say they feel abandoned.
“We were excited to be selected, but this is not what we expected,” one athlete said. “No proper food, no clear information, and no proper place to sleep.”
This year’s festival was meant to celebrate national unity and promote sports development. But the current situation raises serious questions about how seriously the organisers and government authorities have taken the event.
