As the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships begin in London this weekend, it is tough to point to any Nigerian athlete of note outside of Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor.
Okagbare-Ighoteguonor, the 28-year-old sprinter and long jumper, stands as the singular outstanding medal prospect for Nigeria at this, or any other championships over the last decade or more.
For a country which has produced the likes of Chioma Ajunwa, Innocent Egbunike, Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, Enefiok Udobong, Chidi Imoh, Deji Aliu and others, it is a sobering reflection of the state of decline of Nigerian athletics.
At the last two Olympic Games Nigeria won a combined total of one medal, a bronze in the football event at Rio 2016.
It was the latest episode of the country's continuing descent into athletics doldrums.
From two gold medals, one silver and three bronze medals in 1996 to one gold and two silver medals in 2000, and two bronze medals in 2004.
Sadly, there appears to be no light at the end of this dark tunnel.
Following the zero medal outing at the 2012 Games, then Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi set up a working group and came up with a document to change the country's approach to training and development of its athletics talent.
Those initiatives have been buried with Abdullahi's departure. Nigeria's National Sports Festival, a hunting ground for talent in the past, has not been held since 2012.
The National Athletics Classics, sponsored by Mobil, last took place in 2011. Since then, there has been little or no organised athletics events to identify, develop and train athletes.
While privately-run events continue to exist, few have the funding to succeed. Athletes, left to their own devices, suffer from poor nutrition, lack of facilities and structured training programmes.
For most of her career, Okagbare-Ighoteguonor has been backed and funded by the Delta State government where she hails from. The rest are not so lucky, depending mostly on winning scholarships to US Colleges in order to get access to quality training and competitive exposure.
Their cases have not been helped by administrative bungles and political in-fighting within the athletics federation. Those issues are on their way to being resolved with the recent elections.
But it has been a slow start. The junior team, which had been in training for months ahead of the Youth Games in Bahamas, were denied transit visas by the UK and US embassies. Out of 26 athletes, just one was approved for a transit visa no less.
For these World Championships in London, only Okagbare-Ighoteguonor had arrived by Wednesday when the entire contingent were scheduled to have bedded in. Again, the trouble was visa issues.
Apparently the AFN sent in their visa applications late, reportedly forcing the IAAF to intervene.
Between the lack of grassroots talent-spotting events, absence of major national meets, non-existent funding of national athletes, lack of long term planning and an inability to right the ship administratively, Nigerian athletics is set for a long dark night.
NIGERIA'S LONDON 2017 SQUAD
Women: Yinka Ajayi (400m, 4x400m relay), Oluwatobiloba Amusan (100m hurdles), Margaret Bamgbose (400m, 4x400m relay), Ese Brume (long jump), Abike Egbeniyi (400m, 4x400m relay), Emerald Egwim (4x400m relay), Aniekeme Etim (4x100m relay), Patience Okon George (400m, 4x400m relay), Wisdom Isoken (4x100m relay), Lindsay Lindley (100m hurdles, 4x100m relay), Jennifer Madu (100m, 4x100m relay), Glory Onome Nathaniel (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor (100m, long jump, 4x100m relay), Maria Omokwe (4x100m relay)
Men: Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (shot put), Edose Ibadin (800m), Samson Nathaniel (400m), Tosin Oke (triple jump)