Athletes and coaches numbering more than a dozen from nations including Cameroon, Guinea,

the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Ivory Coast said to have “disappeared” from the Olympic village before the closing ceremony are yet to return home. Meanwhile, of the twelve athletes

from Eritrea, four have already filed for asylum in the United Kingdom.

While most of the asylum-seeking athletes have refused to make any public statements about

their decisions, one of such athletes, Eritrea’s, 18-year-old Olympic flag-bearer, Weynay

Ghebresilasie, has revealed that he claimed political asylum in the United Kingdom on the day

of the Games’ closing ceremony to avoid returning home to the country he had just

represented in the Olympics!

Ghebrebresilasie, a steeplechaser, had finished tenth in his first –round heat and did not

advance. Although he called his trip to the Olympics “a dream come true” he blamed his

disappointing performance on “mismanagement and politics.”

In his words, “The truth is that we are not treated as athletes. For example, there were times

when we went to other countries to compete and I was denied medical treatment by the

Eritrean officials in charge, some of them high ranking-army officers.”

FROM UNIVERSITY OF BENIN TO STUDENT UNION PRESIDENT AT ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY.

Francisca Chiedu, a Nigerian master’s student at the Robert Gordon University, United Kingdom

assumed office as the President of the student union after her victory at the polls, in a

campus wide voting barely five months after commencing her course at the university. Her

victory surprised many, but to the young lady who has a track record of strong leadership,

commitment, hard work, passion for service and excellence, this is a victory well deserved and

an opportunity to further showcase her stand for excellence in service.

This development is another proof of the potential and the relevance of the Nigerian youth to lead

innovative changes within and outside the country. It is a testimony to the capability of the new

generation of Nigerians to be the change they seek and champion worthy causes.

After completing a Bsc.(Ed) degree in Computer Science at the great University of Benin in 2007,

and consequently did her National Youth Service in Lagos state in 2008 where she was

awarded state commendation for her community development project on E-learning and ICT

education for secondary school students in the Apapa Local Government Area. She was also a

member of the NYSC Lagos state Editorial Board with several published articles on development

and politics. Francisca worked with the New Nigeria Foundation before she was awarded a

scholarship by the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) in 2011 for a  master’s program in

Information Engineering and Network Management at the Robert Gordon University, United

Kingdom. Prior to her election as the president of the student body she was the Vice-

President (International).

Olakunle O. Bolarinwa,

Is a Nightline Family Member Of The Voice Of America {VOA}.  

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