By Tony Ubani, Maputo
Technical Director of Team Nigeria’s Boxing event at the All Africa Games, Idika Nsofor has absolved the pugilists from blame but slated the coach, Obisia Nwankpa, for not reading fights and guiding the boxers well. He attributed Nigeria’s free fall to the coach.

Nigeria won three silver medals and one bronze in the squared ropes when little known countries in boxing like Mauritius, Botswana, Cameroun, Algeria won gold medals at the expense of the country that made name in the event in the past.

“Obisia misled our best boxers to defeat in the preliminary stages. Boxers like Taiwo Agbaje, Seyi Adedoyin, Shogbamu Waheed and Akeem were the four boxers we banked on to win gold medals. But Obisia misled them not to even get the medals zone. That was when officials of the National Sports Commission stepped in. Instead of reading the opponents and passing useful information, Obisia will tell them to attack even when it is not necessary. When they decamped him from sitting on the ringside, I guided the remaining boxers to three silver and one bronze. These boxers fought with broken fingers but they still excelled. We have talents but the problem has been getting a good coach. That one was a good boxer in his days does not translate that he would be a good coach. But we need them for their experience. But he is always intimidated when one offers good advice. We are supposed to be united to fight a common enemy and win for our country. It got to a stage that the boxers grumbled at his tactics”, Nsofor said at the Games Village.

Obisia had accused Nsofor of using man know man to dethrone him from the ringside before he was subsequently decamped. “It was for the sake of peace that I allowed him to sit at the ringside with Tony Konyegwachie. If I had insisted to sit at the ringside from the beginning, Nigeria would have won gold medals. I don’t know why he is fighting himself”, Nsofor recounted.

He promised that Nigeria would regain its might in the ring if the boxers are exposed. He commended the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Dr Patrick Ekeji for his intervention that saw Nigeria win three silver and one bronze medals.