30Thirty years after Nigeria’s historic run at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the heroes who delivered the country’s most celebrated athletics and football as well as other landmark medals have taken different paths. ABIODUN ADEWALE looks at where Nigeria’s 1996 Olympic heroes are today and how their lives have unfolded since that historic Games
GOLD MEDALISTS
CHIOMA AJUNWA — LONG JUMP
Before athletics, Ajunwa had a football career and was part of the Super Falcons team to the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was unused in that tournament. A year later, she was banned for four years over doping despite maintaining her innocence.
In 1996, she returned to the Games in Atlanta and, to date, remains Nigeria’s only individual Olympic gold medallist. She was also in the Nigeria Police Force and retired as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in 2023. She is now a retired police officer.
She now runs a foundation dedicated to lifting young Nigerians through sports and education.
FOOTBALL
EMMANUEL BABAYARO
Babayaro was the first-choice goalkeeper but lost his place to Dosu Joseph in Atlanta. The 1993 U-17 World Cup winner’s international career ended at that level. He turned to the entertainment industry on retirement.
He released his debut album, Best of Both Worlds, courtesy of Rectitude Records in 2010. In 2015, he was named General Manager of National League outfit Kaduna United while he ran his own team, Pioneers Academy. Recently, he delved into digital media by hosting the Special Delivery Podcast on YouTube.
CELESTINE BABAYARO
Celestine, Emmanuel’s younger sibling, struck in the 28th minute to cancel out Claudio Lopez’s opener as Nigeria went on to beat Argentina 3-2 in the final at Sanford Stadium, Athens, and claim a first-ever football gold medal, the first by an African team. That was his second goal at the tournament, having also scored during the quarter-final win over Mexico.
Cele, as he is fondly called, went on to play for Chelsea, where he won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1998), UEFA Super Cup (1998) and the English FA Cup (2000), as well as Newcastle and LA Galaxy. He was at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and captained the U-23 team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where they crashed out in the quarter-finals.
The left-back announced his retirement from football on July 8, 2010, and was declared bankrupt just seven months later. He has led a quiet life since then, rebuilding his life after football.
TARIBO WEST
The hard-as-nails ex-defender had a glorious club career, where he played for crosstown rivals AC Milan and Inter, Kaiserslautern, Derby County and Partizan Belgrade. He quit the national team in 2005 after playing at the ’98 and 2002 World Cups and reaching the 2000 AFCON final.
He turned pastor on retirement and operates a church, Shelter in The Storm Miracle Ministries of All Nations, in Lagos.
NWANKWO KANU
Kanu was the golden boy of the ’96 Games, grabbing three crucial goals — in the opening 1-0 win over Hungary as well as the equaliser and winner against Brazil in the semi-final.
He remains one of Africa’s most decorated footballers after winning the U-17 World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, three FA Cups, EPL (two) and two African Player of the Year awards, amongst others.
Papilo is involved in private business, which spreads across the hospitality industry and other sectors. He also owns a football club, Papilo FC, as well as kit-making outfit King Kanu.
He was appointed chairman of nine-time Nigerian champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners Enyimba in 2023.
Aside from his numerous trophies at club level and a few with Nigeria, Kanu is a two-time African Footballer of the Year, winning the award in 1996 and 1999.
UCHE OKECHUKWU
The publicity-shy Okechukwu has largely withdrawn from the limelight, preferring to live a quiet lifestyle since he called it quits in the mid-2000s.
When asked recently about what he was doing on retirement from the game, Gentle Giant said, “I’m doing very well and I’m very fine but I don’t play football anymore.”
Recently, he was said to have been appointed Sporting Director of Enyimba, but that was disputed due to the lingering leadership crisis at the team.
EMMANUEL AMUNEKE
Amuneke seemed to be a specialist in showing up when it mattered most between 1994 and 1996. The ex-Barcelona man grabbed the winner to enter the record books as the man who handed Africa its first Olympic gold, before injury cut short his promising career.
Amuneke has since gone into coaching, assisting Manu Garba in 2013 as the Golden Eaglets won a fourth world title, before leading the team to a record fifth title in Chile in 2015.
His coaching career became more famous for giving Super Eagles star striker Victor Osimhen a 15-minute chance to prove himself during trials for the 2015 U-17 team in Abuja. He was promoted as Flying Eagles coach, but his side crashed out of the qualifiers for the 2017 U-20 AFCON.
After guiding Tanzania to their first AFCON appearance in over 40 years in 2019, Amuneke left the job. He was an assistant coach with the Super Eagles in 2022 and was among the candidates for the Super Eagles coaching role in 2024.
Amuneke won the African Player of the Year Award in 1994 and currently works with Heartland Football Club of Owerri.
TIJANI BABANGIDA
Babangida played all the matches in Atlanta and scored one goal — the 82nd-minute opener in the 2-0 win over Japan in the group stage.
Having played most of his career in Holland, he called it quits in 2004 after a season at Changchun Yatai.
He worked as an agent but has experience in coaching, having led FC Taraba to a first-ever appearance in the elite domestic league. He was special assistant and liaison to ex-Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh.
In 2024, Babangida was involved in a fatal accident along Kaduna–Zaria Road, where he lost his then one-year-old son and his brother, Ibrahim Babangida, who was a 1993 U-17 World Cup winner.
Since the incident, Babangida has spent most of his time in The Netherlands, where his former clubs have risen to help him recover from the mental stress of the losses.
He also published his autobiography, ‘Between Sun and the Shadow’, which chronicles his life and contributions to Nigerian football.
WILSON ORUMA
At the Olympics in 1996, Oruma didn’t feature for Nigeria until the semi-final against Brazil and the final against Argentina. He came on as a second-half substitute in both games.
Since he retired from football in 2010, former Marseille midfielder Oruma has been reportedly ill and largely out of the scene. In 2018, he opened up about how he was defrauded of almost N2bn in an investment.
TESLIM FATUSI
Fatusi wore the No. 9 jersey in Atlanta and featured in three games during the tournament. He came in as a second-half substitute in the 1-0 defeat against Brazil during the group stage, the 2-0 win over Mexico in the quarter-final and the 4-3 extra-time win over Brazil in the semi-final.
Although he didn’t become as famous as many of his teammates after the tournament, he had a decent career at club level and featured for Nigeria. He scored on his debut, from a late penalty in a friendly against the Czech Republic in 1996.
Fatusi has had a nomadic career, playing for at least 18 clubs in 12 countries. He last played in the Vietnamese second division league. He relocated to the US and was at Miami Dade FC till 2016.
AUSTIN OKOCHA
Arguably the most gifted footballer to have ever come out of Nigeria, Okocha’s career has transcended his flashy skills since scoring two goals at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Football event, as he continues to build a prosperous career outside football.
Okocha was a Frankfurt player in 1996 but joined Fenerbahçe, PSG, Bolton, Qatar SC and Hull City afterwards before retiring in 2012, six years after he left the national team, having been captain since 2002.
Okocha’s post-playing career has seen him dabble in administration, becoming the chairman of the Delta State Football Association in 2015, but that journey infamously ended over allegations of maladministration.
Since then, he has been focused on building his brand’s engagement while also serving as a pundit on TV during major continental and international competitions.
In June 2025, he rallied 2,000 fans across Nigeria to join him in setting the Guinness World Record for the most number of people juggling the ball at the same time in one venue.
VICTOR IKPEBA
Ikpeba scored one of Nigeria’s 12 goals en route to triumph in Atlanta. The then Monaco striker was on target in the dramatic 4-3 semi-final win over Brazil, scoring in the 78th minute to reduce the deficit to 3-2 and hand the Dream Team a lifeline in the game.
Since retiring from football in 2005, Ikpeba has been active as a member of the Nigeria Football Federation’s technical committee, a pundit on SuperSport’s Monday Night Football and also features occasionally for CAF.
Nicknamed The Prince of Monaco during his days, Ikpeba won the African Player of the Year Award in 1997.
He also runs a grassroots football tournament to uplift upcoming stars.
ABIODUN OBAFEMI
Obafemi was involved in all the qualifiers for Atlanta ’96 but played just one game, the team’s final group game against Brazil, at the competition proper.
Obafemi, who began his career at Stationery Stores, played mostly in Germany, featuring for Köln, Düsseldorf, Reutlingen and Augsburg, where he retired in 2001.
He has been involved in grassroots football development ever since and is the Technical Director/Head Coach of Youth Sports Management, a Lagos-based academy reputed to have produced players for the U-17 team and the local league.
GARBA LAWAL
After the Olympic Games in 1996, Lawal moved to Dutch side Roda JC from Esperance in Tunisia. At Roda, Lawal had his most successful time, making 155 appearances.
In 2007, he returned home to end his career in the NPFL with Lobi Stars after playing for Julius Berger.
Lawal, now 52, was successful at the national team level as well, playing at the AFCON four times between 2000 and 2006 and winning bronze on three occasions. He has since transitioned to a coach and now an administrator.
DANIEL AMOKACHI
Aged just 23 in 1996, Amokachi’s international career only lasted till 1999 and he also called it quits at club level in 2000 after a fulfilling club career at Club Brugge, Everton and Besiktas.
Since then, he has mostly worked as a coach, especially in Nigeria with Nasarawa United, Enyimba, FC Ifeanyi Ubah and Lobi Stars. In between that, he was also an assistant coach with the Super Eagles during the 2013 AFCON triumph under late Stephen Keshi.
In 2020, Amokachi was appointed by late President Muhammadu Buhari as a Special Assistant on Sports. He has also worked with CAF as a member of their technical study group and as a commentator during the Africa Cup of Nations.
SUNDAY OLISEH
Oliseh, like a few of his teammates in Atlanta, was already a mainstay in the Super Eagles before 1996.
After the tournament, he went on to captain the Super Eagles and had a successful club career at Ajax, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund before ending it at Genk.
He has also landed coaching jobs, including leading the Super Eagles between 2015 and 2016. His last coaching job was at SV 19 Straelen in Germany.
Since he stepped aside from coaching, he has been an active voice in football punditry through his Global Football Insights podcast and also working with bodies like the Confederation of African Football.
KINGSLEY OBIEKWU
Obiekwu didn’t get any minutes during the 1996 Olympic football gold triumph but played a major role in qualifying. His ferocious long-range stunner against the Egyptian U-23 team in Lagos helped knock out the North Africans in the final game to Atlanta.
In a hard and least expected twist of fate, he became a commercial bus driver many years after retiring from football. In 2022, he received a donation of N2m from former Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa, as well as other donations from Nigerians who were moved by his predicament.
He was playing his trade with Go Ahead Eagles in the Netherlands when he was invited for the tournament. He ended his career at Rangers International in 2006 before serving as a coach at the club between 2009 and 2013.
After his ordeal on the dusty motor parks, he is now back into coaching and mentoring young players.
MOBI OPARAKU
Oparaku played at the 1996 Olympic Games as an Anderlecht player. After the tournament, he played at two other clubs in Belgium, moved to the US and Jamaica before returning home to feature for Gateway FC and Enyimba International before ending his career.
In 2025, he was the Technical Director of newly promoted Nigeria Premier Football League side Kun Khalifat FC. The club would also retain their NPFL status and are set to play their second season in the top flight.
DOSU JOSEPH
Despite being involved in a ghastly accident that cut short his career, Dosu has made the most of his career as an administrator, establishing one of the most successful football academies in Nigeria, Dosu Joseph Football Academy.
SILVER MEDALISTS
WOMEN’S 4x400M RELAY
FALILAT OGUNKOYA
Ogunkoya ran the last leg of the relay final as Nigeria clinched a historic 4x400m silver medal. She also won a bronze medal in the women’s 400m, behind France’s Marie-José Pérec and Cathy Freeman of Australia, in a personal best and former African record of 49.10s.
Ogunkoya, who is the first and only Nigerian athlete to win two medals in one Olympics, was a board member of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and is still active within the athletics scene in Nigeria as a veteran.
FATIMA YUSUF-OLUKOJU
She ran the second leg of the final, coming from behind to emerge in first place before handing over the baton.
Fatima, married to another retired Nigerian athlete, Adewale Olukoju, resides with her family in California. She’s a health and wellness professional and mother of two kids.
In 2025, she was elected as a board member of the AFN as representative of the National Association of Women in Sports.
BISI AFOLABI
Not much has been heard of Afolabi since she quit athletics. However, it was learnt that she resides in the US.
CHARITY OPARA
After Atlanta, Opara won silver and bronze respectively in the Grand Prix Final in Moscow and Doha in 1998 and 2000. On retirement, she relocated to Owerri.
BRONZE MEDALISTS
MARY ONYALI — WOMEN’S 200M
After winning bronze in the 4x100m relay at the 1992 Games, Queen of the Tracks then won the 200m bronze at Atlanta. In 2004, she became the first Nigerian to compete at five Olympics.
Onyali has been engaged with the nurturing of new athletics talents for Nigeria through the Making of Champions/MTN partnership.
DUNCAN DOKIWARI — BOXING
Dokiwari won bronze in Atlanta but never truly lived up to his potential in the professional ranks despite his impressive form as an amateur.
In December 2006, he won the WBC USNBC heavyweight title with an impressive fourth-round knockout of Willie Palms in Laughlin, Nevada. He is resident in the United States.
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