Her outburst immediately ignited outrage on social media, with fans recalling Nigeria’s history of poor athlete welfare and citing the recent nationality switch of sprinter Favour Ofili, who chose to represent Turkey.
Meanwhile, many Nigerians have been making comparisons of Tobi Amusa’s video clip with the video below, which shows a US athlete revealing the kits provided to her for the same tournament.
‘Nothing Wrong With The Kits Given To Amusan’ – AFN
However, AFN President Tonobok Okowa has berated the athlete, insisting that Amusan’s claims were misleading, stressing that the kits were supplied free of charge by Hiracer, a global sportswear sponsor supporting 20 nations at the championships.
“There is nothing wrong with those kits. Tobi Amusan only brought out one pack out of the pack that she was given. The items came in batches, so they were told that the following day they would receive the rest of the kits. She just brought out only that one kit and displayed it to the world,” Okowa told PUNCH during an interview on Sunday.
He added that the distribution was uniform across countries and denied that Nigeria was shortchanged.
“They even received spike shoes. They received covers made by the same company. And this company gave us all these things free of charge. We did not pay one naira to them,” he said.
AFN Admits Missing Bags, Offers Medal Bonuses
Okowa admitted that the only missing item was a travel bag, but explained that the World Athletics body had already provided bags to all competitors.
He further revealed that Hiracer promised podium bonuses as incentives.
“This same company said they would give any gold medallist $30,000, silver medallist $20,000, and bronze medallist $10,000. So they should concentrate, work hard and try to win, and then they will win their money,” he said.
The AFN boss disclosed that these details were shared with athletes at a team meeting in Tokyo on September 11.
Amusan Demanded Business Class – AFN Boss Asserts
Okowa also accused Amusan of enjoying preferential treatment compared with her teammates.
“All other athletes came on economy class, but Tobi alone flew business class. We got business class for her because that was what she demanded, that we must buy her business class,” he claimed.
He, however, clarified that the flight upgrade was her only special request.
“She did not demand any other thing apart from that,” Okowa said.
In its own statement, Hiracer confirmed that it is kitting 20 countries at the World Championships, including Nigeria, Algeria, Zambia, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. The firm insisted that all federations received identical distributions.
Naija News reports that the situation between Amusan and the federation underscores the longstanding friction between Nigerian athletes and sports authorities, often revolving around welfare, preparation, and transparency.
Amusan, who famously won gold at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon and set the world record in the 100m hurdles, has consistently spoken out against poor athlete management.
“We need them to concentrate, shun all distractions, and focus on their competitions,” Okowa appealed on Sunday.
