Seven years after winning two silver medals for Nigeria at the 2015 African Games, Nigerian weightlifter, Rasaq Tanimowo, says he is still being owed outstanding allowances and bonuses.
Tanimowo won silver in the men’s 56kg category of the Clean and Jerk for Nigeria, who placed second in the final medals table of the event.
Prior to that feat, Tanimowo placed sixth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland after he had won gold at the 2011 Commonwealth Junior Weightlifting Championship.
Tidesports source gathered that the 29-year-old, who now works as a correction officer in the United States of America, said he had to take up another job to survive with his young family.
“I won two silver medals for Nigeria at the African Games in Congo Brazzaville and I was not paid my allowances and bonuses during that championship,” Tanimowo said.
“I don’t even know exactly how much I’m being owed for achieving that feat. I was just focused on making my country proud at the time.
“But when things became so tough after that event, I left the country to take up a job as a correction officer in the US, so I could survive because I did not want to beg anyone to feed.”
Tanimowo also took a swipe at the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation for their poor treatment of athletes.
“The NWF is no longer serious with the welfare of their athletes, which has seen the sport decline to this level. You can imagine that we had no representative at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics despite the array of talents in the country,” he added.