Favour Ofili is the latest name on a growing list of Nigerian athletes who’ve walked away from the country after nearly losing their careers to it. According to multiple reports that broke out on Sunday, June 22, the 22-year-old track and field star has switched allegiance from Nigeria to Turkey after a protracted turbulent spell under the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

This is particularly concerning, as it involves one of Nigeria’s top athletes in recent times. Favour Ofili was unarguably among the country’s sports standouts in 2024. And so far in 2025, she’s staying true to the same form, making headline-worthy strides, including setting a world record with an astonishing 15.85 seconds at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in May. Having also qualified for the 2025 World Athletics Championships which is slated to begin in August, expectations have been high for what Ofili could still achieve this year and surely beyond. 

But for all of this, her strides are now bound for glory in the colours of another. 

Ofili’s decision to dump Nigeria for Turkey traces back to a long-standing struggle against institutional failure. In 2020, Ofili and nine other Nigerian athletes who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics were unable to compete after the AFN failed to ensure they met the minimum drug-testing requirements. Annette Echikunwoke, one of the other athletes whose career was also hit by the AFN’s incompetence in Tokyo, expeditiously completed a switch to the USA. She would go on to make history for the country at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning its first-ever medal (silver) in the hammer throw event.

Other athletes, including Ofili, who retained faith in the country and went through the process of qualifying for the Paris Games in 2024, can’t say the same, as they were only repaid with another blunder that saw Nigeria leave the French capital medalless. The Port Harcourt rising star, to the dismay and disappointment of many, couldn’t participate in the 100m dash after the AFN failed to register her for the event.

This sparked a widespread outcry from Nigerian supporters, including the athlete herself, who was vocal about the ordeal on social media. As such, rumours of her decamping began from there. In their defence, an unnamed AFN official tactlessly deepened the damage in an interview with The Guardian, deflecting blame to sabotage the athlete’s image by accusing her of unruliness and insubordination.

“If truly Ofili is considering switching her allegiance from Nigeria to another country, it might be difficult for the AFN to prevent her,” the official said.

“Nobody in the AFN is saying that Ofili should change her nationality to another country, but if she is desperate to go, no one can stop her. What I want Nigerians to know is that Ofili’s ‘unruly’ behaviour is fast spreading to some other athletes, and if care is not taken, the AFN might lose control of the athletes, and that will be catastrophic for Nigeria. As I said, we have other capable athletes who can fill the space if Ofili decides to go. It is better we have a team with disciplined athletes than to parade a squad laced with undisciplined athletes.”

The sports ministry’s attempt to prevent the situation from festering led to a $5,000 compensation offer to Ofili, as well as the proposed indictment of those reportedly complicit in her crushed Olympic dream: Rita Mosindi, Secretary General of the AFN, and Samuel Onikeku, the Technical Director.

The fiasco in Paris might have been the last straw for Favour, but one can only wonder what she and her peers have made of a half-baked justice that hasn’t seen full implementation hitherto. 

According to reports from April 2025, Onikeku still serves as the AFN’s Technical Director. Mosindi, who was removed from her role only after an AFN audit committee flagged her for misappropriation and misapplication of funds, was earlier this year rumoured to be in contention for a return to administrative duties, this time as Secretary General of the newly reinstated National Sports Commission.

Adding to the concern, the AFN President at the time of the Paris controversy, Tonobok Okowa, was re-elected earlier this month. This development doesn’t reflect a federation interested in giving competency a shot. The athletes know this, and like sprinter Olayinka Olajide (AJ Gold) foretold on Twitter after Okowa’s remergence: we should expect more athletes to decamp.

Ofili drove the message home barely 10 days after her colleague’s warning.

Favour Ofili: The Case for Turkey’s Decamp

As an athlete born and raised in Nigeria, nearly everything around you works against the full realisation of your potential. Due to the country’s lack of structure and facilities, more alarming outside mainstream sports like football, breaking through comes down to grit, dedication, immense talent and sheer self-resolve. It’s the classic story of making it in spite of the many limitations imposed by the country.

An athlete’s decision to remain loyal or patriotic to a system that, in most cases, limits more than it empowers is a personal one. And for those who champion patriotism in such cases, there’s only so long one can stay devoted to a country that neither deserves their service nor makes any meaningful contribution to their development.

Ofili’s breakthrough owes far more to the structure and support she received at Louisiana State University where she earned a scholarship in 2020, than to anything from home.

That comfort didn’t deter her from representing her father’s land. But there comes a point when decisions like this must be made. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if there were any semblance of a functioning system available to the athlete.

And the uncomfortable truth is that no one can categorically say the days of Nigeria subjecting its athletes to unfavourable conditions and putting their careers through unnecessary strain are over. Not even President Okowa’s reactionary promises following Ofili’s decision suggest otherwise.

If an athlete still in her prime chooses not to become another cautionary tale, does anyone really have better advice for her than to go where she’ll be valued and properly supported?

Favour Ofili: The Stakes for All Parties Involved

As established in the preceding paragraphs, there’s a clear logic to Ofili’s decision to switch allegiance to Turkey. But there’s still more to be said about all involved parties’ paths hereon.

First, the implication of Favour’s switch to Turkey is that the 22-year-old will be absent from international competition for the next three years. This is in line with World Athletics rules (PDF), which mandate that athletes who change nationality must observe a three-year waiting period from the date their application is filed. During this period, they are not allowed to represent any country in international competitions.

This effectively rules Ofili out of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in August and other major tournaments until mid-2027. It remains to be seen what impact this may have on her chances at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

For Turkey, this marks another step in their ongoing recruitment of embittered talent. After failing to win a gold medal at the Paris Games, their first of such in about 40 years, the country has been wise in their preparations for future tournaments. Ofili now joins a Jamaican trio of Rajindra Campbell (Olympic shot put bronze medalist), Roje Stona (Olympic discus gold medalist), and youngster Jaydon Hibbert, who have also recently decamped to Turkey. 

For Nigeria, as is often the case, it stands to be the biggest loser in all of this. One can only wonder how many more similar cases will be added before the narrative begins to change.