NAWIS members in Abuja for the election
On Monday, June 9, 2025, Mariam Suleiman, a professor of Human Kinetics at Ahmadu Bello University, and the executive members of the board of the National Association of Women in Sports (NAWIS) murdered democracy at the stadium named after the hero of June 12, MKO Abiola, during the NAWIS Election to elect a representative into the board of AFN. The beneficiary of the fraud was a lady we all used to revere, Fatima Yusuf, an Olympic medalist and national heroine, Olukayode Thomas, who witnessed the fraud reports.
Introduction
Dateline: Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, was a bountiful day for treachery, deceit, rigging, harassment, fraud, and everything that is anti-honesty as the Nigeria Women in Sports (NAWIS) elected its representative to the board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
On the ballot were Fatima Yusuf, an Olympics medalist and Nneka Anibeze, a seasoned broadcaster. Two other contestants, Maria Wophil a member of the outgoing board and Chinedu Odozor a former jumper cum sprinter had been disqualified.
Though an athletics aficionado, my hunch told me the night before that I should not go to the venue because the election wouldn’t be free and fair.
But a friend of about three decades convinced me to attend.
‘You know I can read about injustice, watch it on television and hear about it, and I won’t do anything, but if I witnessed it, I no go gree fa’ I said.
‘Kayus, please come’. She insisted, despite my illness, I decided to honour her.
As I approached the MKO Abiola Stadium, the venue of the election, memories of my participation as a volunteer in the June 12, 1993, election flooded back to me.
It then dawned on me that the NAWIS election is not just on the eve of the celebration of Democracy Day, June 12, the venue is named after MKO Abiola, the man who symbolises that day.
I reasoned that NAWIS Excos would have the fear of God, respect what the date and stadium symbolise and would not murder democracy and Abiola again, but that was exactly what they did; they not only murdered democracy again, they took the electoral fraud to another level.
Suleiman’s outlook was the first sign that all would not be well.
My Yoruba people will say, to oba fe je osaka, je osaka, to oba feje osoko je osoko, osakasoko ko ye omo eniyan (This simply means Yorubas abhor dual personality.)
My impression of Suleiman, the first person I saw when I arrived at the Media Centre at the National Stadium, Moshood Abiola Stadium, the venue of the election, was that of an individual with a dual personality.
Someone who is not straight as a tree but is capable of doing good or bad based on motivation and circumstances.
I can’t image an old woman dressed in flowing gown that covers all parts of her body from neck to toe, on her head was a hijab, the one Muslim women wear which symbolizes holiness and piety but the only part of her body that was visible, her face, was laced with very heavy ‘marquillage’, which made her look like a deity.
Could her virtuous dress and heavy makeup symbolise virtue and vice? What happened shortly after proved that she was capable of any vice instead of being a virtuous woman.
Conflicting signals on the eve of the election
On the eve of the election, there were media reports that some aggrieved members of NAWIS called on the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) not to recognize the body’s election that will produce it representative on the board of AFN if Yusuf was elected.
The aggrieved members accused the leaders, whom they called the ‘Zaria Mafia’, of disqualifying Wophil because they see her as a threat to their preferred candidate, Yusuf.
The members who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the election guideline is clear on Yusuf’s ineligibility to contest.
“The guideline is very clear that whoever wants to contest to be a member of the board must be resident in Nigeria for at least six months before the election. Yusuf lives in the USA, and so allowing her to contest is a clear violation of the guideline.
“The reason why Wophil was disqualified was that she is the only person who can beat Yusuf.”
They alleged that the ‘Zaria Mafia’ had been calling delegates, promising them free accommodation, feeding and travelling allowances to vote for Yusuf.
It was further alleged that members who refused to vote for Yusuf could face disqualification from participating in other federation elections.
“They put all sorts of obstacles in the way of contestants so that Yusuf will be the sole candidate. Hitherto, the NAWIS election form was N20,000, they increased it to N250,000; they moved the election to Zaria before the NSC ordered them to bring it to Abuja; the last straw was the disqualification of Wophil because of an ineligible Yusuf.
“We are calling on NSC and NOC to act if Wophil is disqualified because she has not been paying dues and is not an active member. Yusuf, too, should be disqualified because she doesn’t live in Nigeria. If they get away with this, all of us will move to AFFAN’’ said an aggrieved member.
But in swift reaction, NAWIS dismissed the group’s claims, saying it has a set of strict guidelines that govern its electoral process, particularly the requirement for timely payment of annual dues. Failure to meet this condition results in automatic disqualification.
NAWIS said their guideline was the basis for the disqualification of Wophil, who has reportedly not paid her annual dues since 2017. Her attempt to hurriedly settle outstanding debts just before the election was deemed non-compliant with NAWIS regulations.
Doubting Thomas defeated Believing Thomas
Though I see myself as Believing Thomas but I should have followed the Doubting Thomas who warned not to be anywhere near the venue of the election.
As I sat with my colleagues outside the venue, the news filtering out was not palatable.
The first unpleasant news was that all the delegates who intended to vote for Wophil and Odozor, but could now vote for Anibeze, had been disqualified.
Odozor, a card-carrying member of Abuja NAWIS who was not owing dues like Wophil, was not only disqualified from contesting, but she was also banned from voting.
Some delegates from Niger, Gombe, Bayelsa, Benue and others states who were considered ‘stubborn’ because they didn’t agree to vote for Yusuf but opted for Anibeze were also disqualified.
Some of Anibeze’s delegates were ‘stolen’ at the venue with the promise of accommodation and financial inducement.
Right at the venue, Suleiman and other members of the Exco were campaigning for Yusuf.
After the presentation of the manifesto, the delegates were not allowed to ask questions.
Delegates were told clearly that elections into other sports federations and associations will be done at a later date and that anybody who wants to be allowed to contest elections into them, especially elite federations and associations like basketball, tennis and others, must vote for Yusuf
Members of the electoral committee who are supposed to be neutral umpires were equally allowed to vote.
Once you have agreed to vote for Yusuf, you must take a photo of your ballot paper to show that you voted for her, then you will get the balance of your full package, the honorarium, the package includes hotel accommodation, transportation, feeding allowances and others.
Suleiman and Yusuf are nonchalant about the implications of their actions
While news of the shenanigans going on in the hall filtered out, what was bothering this reporter was do Suleiman and Yusuf cared about the sociological implications of their actions, or they didn’t care.
To become a professor is to get the peak of learning and knowledge, and being an Olympian is the peak of physicality.
Yusuf is not just an Olympian; she is a silver medalist with an African record in 4x400m, a Commonwealth champion, an African Champion, a sub-50 runner in the 400m, a national heroine, yet she is comfortable being part of a fraudulent exercise.
I kept wondering like Steve Wonder would probably wonder, ‘A professor fa! Does Suleiman know what it means to be a professor and the societal expectations? Does Yusuf know what it means to be an Olympic medalist and a role model to many?
How will Suleiman and Yusuf feel when their friend, families, students and those that see them as role models read about their shenanigans in the media, do they have conscience, how do they sleep at night, how will Yusuf feel at board meeting when colleagues tell her to keep quiet,’ we know how you entered this board through the back door’.
How do Suleiman and other members of the NAWIS sleep at night knowing they intend to crown Yusuf, yet they made other contestants go through a lot of financial and emotional hardship? do they still have the nerve to call on God?
What could be Suleiman’s motive to put fellow humans through all the above? Could it be pecuniary gains? Could it be that she sees Yusuf as having the magic wands to take our athletics back to the top?
In terms of pedigree, Yusuf’s career as an athlete and administrator and coach travels in opposite directions. Since her retirement, Yusuf has been a volunteer coach, it’s just about two years ago that she became an assistant coach at the University of Riverside, California.
She has never produced or coached any athlete of note, not even a top ten-ranked runner.
I could not help but ask myself, where is Florence Adeyanju, also a professor of human kinetics and founder of NAWIS, in all these? Yorubas will say, ‘Agba ki wa ni oja, ki ori omotuntun wo’ (meaning things don’t go wrong when we have elders).
Where was Adeyanju when her house was burning? Why watch and allow Suleiman to destroy her legacy? Some members insinuated knew about the plot to crown Yusuf and that she was at Serob Hotel, in Wuye, Abuja, remoting the operation.
I don’t want to believe this, but if it is true, then it’s sad, very sad, because after what happened on Monday, things won’t be the same with NAWIS again; the confidence of members and the general public has been eroded.
My question for Suleiman, which rattled her
All these and many more were running through my mind when they told us they were ready to announce the result: At the end of the drama, Yusuf was crowned the winner with 30 votes and 15 votes for Anibeze.
If Suleiman had stopped with just announcing the result, it would have been better, but he started telling us how free and fair the election was and how they had complied with the international best practices.
Everybody in the hall, including Suleiman herself, knew she was lying, but the irony was, nobody challenged and pointed out her lies.
The moment they called for the closing prayers, I raised my hands to speak, and they graciously allowed me.
I told Suleiman that if Monday’s election was organised by the NURTW and all the shenanigans that took place happened, it would not matter, but in a gathering of educated people, she should stop insulting our intelligence.
That Yusuf, the lady she worked for and coerced many to vote for, was not eligible to contest. Section 7 of the electoral guideline states the eligibility criteria 7.1 (10) for one to be eligible to contest, he/she must reside in Nigeria for six months preceding the election.
This is written in simple English that pupils in primary schools can understand, so how can a professor not understand this?
Some said that was the AFN and NSC guidelines, not NAWIS guidelines, which was even more of an unintelligent statement in a gathering of educated people.
If I am an APC member and I am 30 years old, I want to be party flagbearer in a governorship election, and the guideline of INEC says I must be 35 before I can contest, but a leader in APC says I can contest because our party guidelines supersede that of INEC. Does that make sense?
Another said Yusuf has been in Nigeria in the last six months, then let her show the world her passport and ticket.
At the end, the whole thing became rowdy, but thank God I made Suleiman know we are not fools to be taken for granted.
Outside the hall, Odozor, who was disqualified from contesting and voting without any justification, wanted further explanation about what transpired.
I made her understand that the law is the law, and until it is repealed through constitutional means, it must be obeyed.
I made her understand that Yusuf is a big stakeholder in athletics in Nigeria, but the NSC and AFN guidelines bar her from contesting this election.
If she is honest, she will work with the Athletics Commission and the Olympians Association and petition the NOC and NSC to repeal the section that stipulates that you must be a resident in Nigeria for six months before the election, and not to induce Suleiman and the NAWIS Exco with whatever to foist her as the body representative on the board of AFN.
My conclusion is that the shame is not on Odozor, Wophill, and Anibeze; the shame is on Suleiman, the NAWIS Exco, our icon Yusuf and others who conspired to murder June 12 and MKO Abiola again.
