Okoya-Thomas: End of journey of a sportsman

HE saw his departure coming. In November 2013, billionaire businessman and sponsor of the longest running table tennis competition in Nigeria, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, announced his withdrawal from the organization of the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship. 

   The competition had gone uninterrupted since the first edition was staged in 1968. But in 2013, Okoya-Thomas decided to hand the organization of the tournament to his son, Deji. 

  “My decision is not unconnected to ageing,” Okoya-Thomas said at an event to herald the 2013 edition of the competition. 

  “Let me assure that I will continue to sponsor and attend subsequent editions of the competition and will bear the full running cost since I am the Asoju Oba and not my son (Deji). It is hoped that, the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Competition will remain till when it pleases God to allow it,” he said.

  Today, Okoya-Thomas, the man of many titles is no more. He passed on yesterday at the age of 79.

  He was the Asoju Oba of Lagos, Babasuwa of Ijebu-Remo, Odofin of Ife, as well as Chancellor of Lagos State University and chairman of CFAO Nigeria Limited.

  Since 1968, the late Okoya-Thomas made the Asoju Oba Table tennis championship the eve of Nigerian sports with its formidable prizes. 

 The first tournament in 1968 produced Babatunde Obisanya as winner. Obisanya build on his success in the Asoju Oba competition to rule African table tennis. He later became a coach and he produced many top stars for the country. Another big gainer from the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship is the sensational Atanda Musa, who also became one of the dreaded players in African table tennis. 

  Indeed, the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship has remained the breeding platform for players in Nigeria, as it laid the foundation for the career of other Nigerian players, including Toyin Okenla-Ojeaga.

  At the 45th edition took a new style, when Okoya-Thomas offered two Chevrolet saloon cars as prizes for the winner of the Men’s single and Women’s singles event. The car gift was in commemoration of the 45th year of the competition. One other innovation at the 45th edition was the inclusion of the para-table tennis category. 

 Last year alone, the Asoju Oba table tennis Championship had a total of 17 titles for grabs in three categories; junior, intermediate and senior. There was also the veteran category. The sponsor always set aside a category for sports journalists covering the championship to exhibit their table tennis skills.

 Last year, Okoya-Thomas said his wish was to see Nigeria must regain its lost glory, not only in table tennis but in sports generally. His gospel was the return of country’s sports to the grassroots.

   “The grassroots development programme embarked on by the Lagos State government some years ago has yielded results,” he said. “The hosting of the African and world table tennis championship in Lagos last year has given the opportunity for our players to compete well with top foreign players. One of such successes is seeing Aruna Quadri moving up from being 73rd to 30th in the world.”

  One dream Chief Okoya-Thomas could not live to see in Nigerian sports was his call for the hiring of top rated coaches from either Sweden or China for Nigerian table tennis.

  He side the hiring of a top rated coach would save the country’s table tennis from the embarrassing defeats Nigeria experienced in the table tennis events at London 2012 Olympic Games.

  “We have to agree that the level of achievement of our players on the international scene has dropped drastically despite the determined efforts and occasional sparkling performance of our topmost player, Segun Toriola,” he observed.

 “In order to revive our dwindling fortunes in sports, particularly table tennis, we should go back to the grassroots. And to keep abreast of the standard of the game that has gone very high, we need to turn to either the Swedes or Chinese to help coach of players.” 

  Outside the game of table tennis, the late Chief Okoya-Thomas played a key part in many other sporting activities in Nigeria. He was part of country’s delegation to Sri-Lanka, Colombo, for the bid presentation for the hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Despite what was described as ‘best presentation’ by Nigeria, the hosting right was lost to Glasgow, Scotland.