By our reporter 22.4.2026
Nigeria’s renowned high jump and grassroots athletics coach Johnny Igboka has lamented that lack of qualified coaches in his home state Anambra was hindering the development of talents.
Anambra is a catchment area for athletics but over the years the State that produced great athletes like Innocent Egbunike and Mary Onyali has been unable to develop its athletes and the ones that managed to escape the bottle necks are either snatched by other states or move abroad; a case in point is 400m runner Salwa Ed Naser of Bahrain. She was discovered by coach Igboka.
Speaking during an interview with NAN in Awka the Anambra State capital, Igboka, founder and chief coach of All Sports Foundation Academy, Nimo, said it was regrettable that only four athletics coaches in the State were nationally certified.
According to him, the shortage of technical manpower is affecting grassroots development and athletes’ exposure in the state.
“Currently, I can say we do not have coaches in Anambra. Some of our best coaches, who were also athletes in the past, have retired from service, and the state is not interested in tapping into their experience.
“As I am talking to you, just four athletic coaches, including myself, are known at the national level; most sports in the state do not have coaches,” he said.
Mr Igboka, who retired from the Anambra Sports Development Commission, therefore, called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to pay more attention to sports, “by appointing a passionate chairman who would genuinely work for the progress of the sector and development of athletes”.
He advocated for the special recruitment of coaches with both playing and administrative experience, against the culture of using civil servants as sports coaches.
The governor, who was sworn in for his second term on March 17, has yet to appoint a chairman for the commission.