The event was not ordinary, but clearly historic. And therefore embarking on the trip from the United States of America to Lagos was worth the while for Olympian, Ruks Bazunu.
 
Bazunu, the two-time Government College Ughelli (GCU) Relays ambassador, was one of the many star athletes that painfully turned their backs on the Montreal ‘76 Olympics.
 
From the late sixties, through the early seventies, fleet footed Bazunu had emerged as one of the few schoolboys sprint sensations, with his anchor dominance in the relays.
 
Going through the All Africa Games in Lagos, 1973, the Montreal Olympics in 1976 was to be his crowning glory and a parting path to a memorable sprint career.
 
But then, the Federal Government anti-apartheid policy of the seventies ensured that the Nigerian contingent to the Games would be withdrawn from the Athletes Village and asked to head home.
 
47 years later, it will take the concerted efforts of former Green Eagles Captain, Segun Odegbami, and the sponsorship of Chief Allen Onyema’s Air Peace to finally recognise and reward these selfless nationalists, with the Wall of Fame induction and the other several monetary benefits.