World record holder Tobi Amusan has criticised the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for providing substandard kits to Team Nigeria ahead of the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Afrosport reports.
The 28-year-old hurdler, one of Nigeria’s top medal hopefuls, expressed her frustration over the continued neglect of athletes by the federation.
Amusan compared Nigeria’s preparations to those of countries like Jamaica, whose athletes received extensive boxes of training and competition gear.
In a video shared on her social media on Friday, the 100m hurdles specialist did not hold back in her assessment of the AFN’s performance.
“This country will steadily embarrass you,” she said. “As it is now, I have to wear an adidas black tight.”
Switching to Nigerian Pidgin, Amusan added: “I go show una wetin Jamaica give their athletes. When I say Jamaica dey the same WhatsApp group with Nigeria, but dem still better.”
She went on to highlight the disparity in athlete support: “All the other countries gave their athletes top gears, but look at what Nigeria packed for us. And you people will tell athletes not to switch allegiance to other countries.”
This is not the first time the AFN has come under fire for its treatment of athletes. During the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi was seen washing his own competition kit due to a shortage of official gear.
Despite the controversy, Amusan remains the headline act in Nigeria’s 15-athlete contingent set to compete in Tokyo from 13–21 September at the Championships.
