By Ben Efe

Former Nigerian 100m hurdler, Taiwo Aladefa has urged sports administrators to engage the services of veteran coaches who produced the golden generation of Nigerian athletes.

Aladefa, submitted that it was because persons like Tony Urhobo, Harrison Momoh and Tobias Igwe, who were the ones who discovered and nurtured the best athletes in the 1980’s and 90’s have been sidelined that the the country’s fortunes in the sports have dwindled , especially in the men’s category. He said the coaches were fundamental in the country’s sports development.

“Talents abound in Nigeria. But what is missing is that the right kind of nurturing for to make these talents superstars. We need to engage, motivate and reward coaches who will scout for the talents and are willing to dedicate themselves to coaching these athletes to attain success for themselves and the country..

“In the past this was what coaches like Momah, Urhobo and Toblow did. But it is just so sad that we ignored the efforts that these individuals put in,” said Aladefa.

She won gold at the 1995 All Africa Games with a championships record of 12.98 seconds. She also won silver at the African Championships in 1993. She was a member of the Nigerian team to the Atlanta’1996 Olympics. Aladefa who is now retired and living in the USA has a personal best of 12.72 seconds.

She added that apart from empowering the veteran coaches, it was important that regular training of local young coaches was carried out.“Charity begins at home. We must have regular training workshops for the upcoming coaches so that they will be equipped for the tasks ahead”, she said.