Nigeria faces backlash as 2025 World Championships trials are held in darkness

Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, took a controversial turn after athletes were forced to run in pitch darkness during the men's 5000m final at the national trials in Lagos.

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The three-day event, held from Friday, 1 to Sunday, 3 August, was meant to be a key step toward selecting the nation’s representatives for the upcoming global meet slated for Saturday, 13 to Sunday, 21 September in Japan.

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While the trials featured moments of brilliance, including Tobi Amusan clinching her fifth consecutive national title in the women’s 100m hurdles and teenage sprint star Israel Okon setting a Nigerian U20 record in the 100m semifinals before storming to victory in the final, Sunday’s final session ended on a note of deep embarrassment.

A now-viral video circulating on social media shows 5000m athletes running the race at around 7:30 PM with no functioning floodlights at the stadium.

In the footage, the athletes can be seen navigating the track using little more than their memory and instinct, while a few remaining spectators desperately illuminated parts of the track with their phone flashlights.

The clip sparked outrage across social media, with hashtags like #RunInTheDark, #Tokyo2025, and #NigerianAthletics trending as fans, athletes, and commentators expressed disbelief at the conditions.

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“This is unacceptable. These athletes are risking injury. How can we hope to compete on the world stage when our trials look like this?” one X (formerly Twitter) user posted.

Many users pointed to the incident as symbolic of deeper issues in Nigerian sports: poor infrastructure, lack of planning, and inadequate support for athletes despite moments of international brilliance.

The contrast was not lost on the public, while the government recently rewarded Nigeria’s Super Falcons and D’Tigress with cash prizes and national honours, critics argue that foundational investment in sporting infrastructure is far more crucial.

“This is not just a logistical failure. It’s a failure of priorities. No athlete should be running blind in 2025,” another X user said.

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Calls have intensified for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Federal Ministry of Sports to investigate the circumstances surrounding the blackout and ensure such scenes never happen again.

With just weeks left before the World Championships in Tokyo, the incident has not only raised safety concerns but also cast doubt on the seriousness of Nigeria’s preparations.

As one frustrated fan put it, “Are we sending our athletes to chase medals, or to keep chasing greatness in the dark?”