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| Vivian Chukwuemeka...victim of a bad system? |
You will ever know, read and continue
to hear all manners of irresponsible conducts that ordinarily abuse the rights
of athletes by officials of the sports Federations who flout the laid down
processes in the rules.
It is authoritative that sexual assault
of female athletes is a way of life in the Athletics Federation of Nigeria
(AFN). If you say no, no matter your status in the sport, you will be dealt
with badly. If you gladly open your dirty in-between, you become a favourite
even when you cannot deliver on the track or and field.
Today, I can also reveal that two
serving members of the Federation were accused by Vivian Chukwuemeka of
demanding sex from her. Remember the case of the teenager who was so assaulted
for saying no to the sexual demand from her ‘coach’ and because she could tell
the ‘coach’ (a university drop-out and untrained coach) no, she was openly
abused before other athletes the morning before her event in the world junior
championship in France.
On return, the story slipped, it was
investigated and rather than publish, I opted to seek that the matter was
handled privately to nip the act in the bud. The Federation then attempted to
set up a committee to undertake an internal trial of the athlete who they sent
for and asked her and her coach to fund their way to Abuja with their
evidences.
That was when I went public and the
Federation withdrew their plan. As if that was not enough, the athlete in
question intensified her training and in Calabar shortly before the qualifiers
for the World junior, she returned a better time than ever, qualified for the
World junior but her name disappeared from the merit list. Rather, her event
was not picked. Eventually, they had problems with visa and could not travel.
Now, Chukwuemeka was alleged to have
tested positive to drug, a second time, this was shortly before the London
Olympics. She was, by the rules, banned for life. Ordinarily, she stands to
lose nothing.
Can someone tell this reporter and the
nation. When an athlete sets a national or continental record, it is trite that
such athletes urine sample are tested before the records can be ratified.
Chukwuemeka in Port Novo (Benin
Republic) during the African championship set a new Nigerian and African
record. Her sample was taken but was not tested! Why was the sample not tested?
Was the AFN deliberately working against her? Or is it that the officials who
were in charge of testing the samples who were also involved in her earlier
charges of demanding sex from her now paying her back?
What are the chances that the
‘stubborn’ athlete (I was borrowed in worse descriptions as an athlete. A
principled athlete is always coded as stubborn) did not test positive in the
said result that was used to hang her?
What are the chances that it was not a
case of hanging a stubborn goat to call it a name it was suggested it has? This
is an athlete that was just coming out of a drug ban, she returned, set two new
records, common sense suggests she should be tested to earn the ratification of
the record.
If her Port Novo sample was tested,
what is the outcome? Calabar was just days away from the Port Novo
championships, yet, the Calabar sample proved positive! If like Vivian
Chukwuemeka, two others were sampled as positive, while Chukwuemeka was
instantly dropped from the London Olympic squad, the other two were taken to
London where one of the two was cleared. Why was Chukwuemeka not taken along to
London? This underlines the theory of conspiracy.
Now tell me, if God were to always be
just, the two cases of sexual assault proven here and how they were managed
were to be the basis of prayers answered, if the two oppressed women pray
against the Federation and the nation, would we ever make headways in anything?
Would God not hear the prayer of the just? Millions other prayers will not and
should not cancel that of the oppressed whose anguish and pain should emotional
prick His heart to obliterate ours on the anvil of justice.
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