Gateway Games 2024:  Blackout during race adds to organisers’ embarrassment

The MKO Abiola Stadium was plunged into darkness mid-race on Saturday, bringing the men’s 10,000 metres to a chaotic halt in a moment that starkly symbolised the broader failure of the Gateway Games 2024.

The blackout, which occurred during the 19th lap of the 25-lap endurance event, left athletes bewildered and forced to break stride in what is meant to be one of the National Sports Festival’s blue-ribbon races.

No immediate announcement was made on whether the race would be invalidated, further fueling outrage from coaches and officials.

“This is a national disgrace,” said an incensed Professor Ezra Guning, Director of Sports for Plateau State and former national long-distance champion.

“In all my years in Nigerian sports, I have never seen such an embarrassing spectacle.

My state was competing in that race and I cannot accept any results from such a farce.”

Guning’s outburst reflects growing discontent with what many now describe as one of the most poorly organised editions of the NSF in recent memory.

Despite a glitzy opening ceremony filled with pyrotechnics and fanfare, the actual sporting events have been plagued by mismanagement, poor infrastructure, and logistical headaches.

Venues are scattered across Abeokuta and its environs, making transportation a nightmare for athletes, officials, and fans.

The situation is compounded by the lack of basic amenities—like the under-equipped media centre that has hampered coverage of the games—and a seeming lack of coordination among organisers.

What should have been a showcase of Nigeria’s sporting promise has instead turned into an exhibition of chaos, confusion, and national embarrassment.

For many participants and spectators, Saturday’s blackout wasn’t just a power failure—it was symbolic of a festival completely out of its depth, poorly prepared, and far removed from the standards expected of a national event.

If no urgent action is taken, the 2024 National Sports Festival may be remembered not for its triumphs, but for the lights that went out—both literally and figuratively—on Nigerian sports.

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