Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Jim Nwobodo, and Dutch football coach Johannes “Bonfrère” Jo have given conflicting accounts over the rewards promised after Nigeria’s historic football triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the circumstances surrounding the coach’s missing gold medal.
Nwobodo, who served as the first executive governor of Anambra State from 1979 to 1983 before his appointment as Minister of Youth and Sports in 1995 under the late General Sani Abacha’s military administration, oversaw the country’s sporting affairs during Nigeria’s memorable outing at the Atlanta Games.
Nigeria’s Dream Team made history on August 3, 1996, by defeating Argentina 3-2 in the men’s football final to become the first African nation to win Olympic football gold.
The feat came a day after Chioma Ajunwa secured Nigeria’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medal in the women’s long jump.
Speaking to The PUNCH as Nigeria marked three decades since the landmark achievement, the 80-year-old Dutch coach expressed disappointment over what he described as the Nigerian government’s failure to recognise or reward his role in the Olympic success. Bonfrère also alleged that the gold medal presented to him after the triumph was stolen while it was in the custody of a team official.
Responding to the claims, Nwobodo maintained that the military government fulfilled its commitments to the victorious squad and their coach, including the allocation of land.
“After beating Argentina in that historical final, Abacha fulfilled the promise. If there was any delay, it must have been from the civil service,” Nwobodo said.
“Abacha said they should be given lands anywhere they wanted and they were all given, including the coach, Bonfrere Jo. That was the golden era of our football and it was called the Dream Team.”
Bonfrère, however, rejected Nwobodo’s account during an earlier interview with The PUNCH, insisting that he never received the reward promised to him and that his Olympic gold medal also went missing.
Nwobodo further stated that no complaint was brought to his attention during his time as sports minister regarding either the promised reward or the alleged disappearance of the medal.
“Not when I was there. Nobody would have done that if I knew. I couldn’t have allowed it. It was a golden period of our football, and how can I allow somebody who made it possible to be cheated? Something must be wrong,” Nwobodo told our correspondent.
“He did not complain. If he had, I would have solved it. If Bonfrere Jo had complained to me about the fact that they refused to give him his promise, I would have acted fast.
“I didn’t know about his medal either. How can someone take his medal and I would keep quiet? I would not do that. If I knew, I would have acted immediately. He never told me.”
In another interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, Bonfrère insisted that he repeatedly sought the intervention of government officials but was unable to secure any meaningful response.
“I have phoned and written to government people and I have been to the Government House two or three times with some other chief, but he didn’t have time to see me.
“I was there two times in one day at the Government House. I have done many things to contact somebody but didn’t get any reply. And he knows. He was one of the officials who stopped me from going up with my players,” the Dutchman said.
Backing Bonfrère’s claims, former Nigeria defender and member of the Atlanta ’96 gold-winning squad, Taribo West, had told The PUNCH in a 2023 interview that the land allocated to the Dutch coach in Lekki Phase 3 was allegedly taken over by others.
“The Bonfrere land gift in Lekki Phase 3 was hijacked, and as I speak with you, we are still struggling to make sure the land is given back to him.
“It is only in Nigeria that you labour for something but you won’t be allowed to enjoy the fruits. We have nothing to show for the tournaments we went to, the only thing we get is criticisms in the media,” Taribo said.
