Nigeria’s table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, has lamented the lack of support he has received from the federal government throughout his career, despite his consistent international performances.
In a post on Facebook on Sunday, Aruna recounted his journey over the past 15 years, highlighting how private individuals and sponsors played a greater role in his development than official backing.
“15 years ago, I arrived in Portugal to play as a professional table tennis player in the Portuguese Super League, and almost every weekend I played league matches for my club.
“Internationally, I was playing a minimum of one tournament in a month with the support of Barrister Wahid Enitan Oshodi, the present president of the Africa Table Tennis Federation, and this financial support from him made me improve rapidly,” he wrote.Aruna noted that he played most tournaments without a coach due to a lack of government funding.
“With zero support from Nigeria government, I played 99% of the tournaments without a coach, and I travelled most of the time alone,” he said.
The athlete recalled how former sponsors stepped in at crucial moments in his career.2014 World Cup in Dusseldorf, my former sponsor (Joola) supported me with a German coach called Adomeit, while Barrister Wahid Enitan Oshodi paid for my flight ticket and hotel, and the coach presence got me to quarter finals,” he wrote.
He added that Oshodi later secured his only Nigerian sponsor, stating, ”Years after, the same Barrister Wahid Enitan Oshodi got me the only sponsor ever I had from Nigeria, Babajebu for three years, and this played an important role in my 2016 Rio Olympic Games preparation where I got to quarter finals.”
Aruna criticised Nigeria’s limited contribution to his competitions, saying he kept playing without a coach because Nigeria refused to support him.
“If I feature in 12 tournaments in a year, Nigeria only pay for one tournament, which is mostly an African tournament, and rest of the tournaments are self-sponsored and support from my sponsor GEWO,” he saidSpeaking on the 2025 World Championships in Doha, Aruna revealed how he had to finance himself again.
“I bought my ticket myself because Nigeria refused to buy my ticket on time, and I had to be in Doha days before my participation.
“I played my first two matches with coach Dotun Omoniyi, and I felt totally comfortable with his words while playing.After winning my first two matches, Nigeria said coach, Dotun could not continue to coach me because there was no money to change his flight, that he had to return to Nigeria.
“I later paid a friend from Togo to change his flight to coach me in my round of 32.
“With the help of Fanny as my coach from Togo, I got to round of 16 in Doha World Championships,” he wrote.
Calling for greater investment in upcoming talents, Aruna stressed, ”It’s time, it’s very important Nigeria starts to invest in the present young players to attend tournaments regularly.”
Aruna ended his post appreciating supporters for their support over the years.
Newsmen had reported that world record holder in the women’s 150m, Favour Ofili, accused the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Olympic Committee of negligence at the Tokyo 2020 and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, noting that the disappointments motivated her switch to Turkey.
Ofili’s confirmation of her nationality switch comes almost three months after it was first rumoured.