Pharmacist Urges Athletes To Shun Drugs

Nigerian athletes have been urged to shun the  use of performance enhancing substances.

The advice was made by Nigeria’s Certified Doping Officer, Femi Ayorinde in an interview with Tidesports source in Lagos.

He told Nigerian athletes preparing for the October 3 to October 14 Commonwealth Games in India to train well, rest, eat nutritious diets and stay off drugs.

Ayorinde, who is a pharmacist with the Sports Medicine Department of the National Sports Commission (NSC), said athletes did not need to take drugs to improve their performance.

He lauded Nigeria’s athletes to the just-concluded World Junior and the 17th  Senior African Athletic Championships in Moncton, Canada and Nairobi, Kenya respectively for their brilliant performance.

He attributed the athletes’ performance to their determination and the new lease of life in the Athletic Federation of Nigeria.

He reminded the AFN it should not always aim to participate in competitions but  should also work towards scouting for athletes and grooming them.

He noted that there was a misplacement of priorities in the country’s sports as officials preferred to recycle sportsmen and women instead of focusing on breeding and developing athletes.

Ayorinde said poor infrastructure was another problem militating against track and field, adding that many schools in the country lacked training grounds.

He said sports facilities should not be sited only in stadia but in schools and other facilities, including the rural areas.