A tribute to the military in Nigerian sports

Last week, I had a very brief encounter with the 18th Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, OFR. His words were, however, enough to evoke some recollection, reflection and nostalgia.

I am, therefore, retreating into history to pay some little, well-earned tribute to some special Nigerian soldiers in sports whose footprints are etched permanently in the sands of time.

This is not an academic excursion into the history of the military in Nigerian sports. It is my very humble experiences since I became a part of the Nigerian sports scene in the early 1970s. So, I apologise for its limitation.

To me, the military has always been an integral part of Nigerian sports. The story of a soldier as the first Nigerian to win a medal at any international sport (the Commonwealth Games) was common. Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna holds that distinction even though his role in the 1966 coup d’etat made him a pariah.

When I joined the national football team’s camp after participating in the 1st National Sports Festival in 1973 (the first and largest domestic sports event in Nigeria’s history) the military were in power. Their influence and presence were everywhere within sports.  They had the numbers in trained personnel, good facilities in their barracks, disciplined officers, an established tradition in physical training, and the power of government fiat to get things done with military precision and ‘alacrity’ (as my late father would say) without any bureaucratic bottlenecks to worry about.

The Military was well ahead of its time in vision. It had some absolutely brilliant, well-rounded and well-educated soldiers in sports administration. That’s how the military government after the Civil war in 1970 decided to unite the country’s youths by organising (amongst other things) the National Sports Festival and several national and international competitions. The by-product of hosting these major international sports (and other social and cultural events) is to catalyse and fast track rapid infrastructural, social and sports development, not only within military institutions but in the country as a whole.

The first names I heard about in sports administration, apart from that of Isaac Akioye, who was the civilian Director of Sports, were those of Henry Adefope, Alabi Isama and Joseph Garba, closely followed by Samuel Ogbemudia and David Jemibewon, my own governor in Western Nigeria.

It was Major General Joseph Garba, however, that was the most famous and glamorous amongst national athletes. He was a tall, handsome basketball ‘freak’, a player himself and a promoter. He handled the affairs of national basketball from Dodan Barracks, the official seat of government at the time, assembling the best players in the country to form a team that became the core of the national team.

He indirectly kick-started elite athletes development in Nigeria with the recruitment of an African American basketball coach to handle the team in the barracks.

That’s how Oliver B. Johnson came to Nigeria.

At the time, major events were being organised back to back – the 2nd All African Games, the Nigeria/Ghana Sports Festival, and the 1st National Sports Festival, all happened in one calendar year immediately following the opening of the National Stadium, Surulere, a beautiful, state-of-the-art edifice, a sports complex that was the pride of the nation in 1972.

The stadium was home to world-class facilities for over 20 different sports in the portfolio of the National Sports Commission (NSC) that existed at that time. It was also a massive sports and social hub, the headquarters of the National Sports Commission, thronged by athletes every day in various sports, driving an emerging sports eco-system.

There was the new National Institute for Sports in the premises, a ‘copy’ of one of the most advanced sports institutes in the world, the German Sports Institute in Hennef, Germany. The NIS had very advanced science research laboratories and a world class gymnasium that was the best such facility in Africa. The mangled skeleton still exists in Lagos for all to go and see and shed their own tears.

The model of using sports events as a tool for development-beyond-sports has become fashionable in many parts of the world in the 21st Century, confirming the visionary outlook of the military in charge of Nigerian sports at the time. That’s what is happening in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Australia and even Morocco presently – using sports to drive national development agenda outside sport. Nigeria was on that path over 50 years ago, inspired by the military.

It was smooth sailing through the 1970s and some parts of the 1980s. By the middle of the 1990s, corrupting influences set in, undermining the rich established foundations. They eventually halted and eroded all the previous good work.

So, Oliver B. Johnson came, and brought world class basketball to Nigeria. The octogenarian still lives and works in the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to this day.

He discovered and guided Nigeria’s greatest basketball export, Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon, to the USA.

His greatest contribution, however, was the smuggling of his friend, African American legendary athlete, Lee Edward Evans, into the country under the guise of hiring another basketball coach.

Lee Evans, also African American, was at the time, one of the greatest and most famous Track athletes in the world. He was a 400 meters runner, double Olympic Gold Medalist and World record holder in eleven different sprints events.

Lee moved temporarily to coach athletics at the University of Ife before settling down as Chief Coach of athletics for Nigeria. He started a world-class track-athletes development programme that produced Nigeria’s first world class runners from the mid-1970s. Nigeria’s most gifted athletes grew into some of the best in the world with programmes through the Collegiate systems in some Nigerian Universities and the USA, made possible by Lee and many other foreign coaches from USA, China, Cuba, Yugoslavia, Germany and so on, brought in by the military government to lay Nigeria’s solid foundation in sports development.

The military also offered gifted young Nigerian athletes the incentives to join any of the armed forces, to become soldiers and to compete for the military. Many of the athletes were NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and represented the country, enjoying the benefits of two careers – sports and the military.

The years from shortly before the Civil War and for about two decades after, were glorious years for Nigerian sports with the military on the driving seat. The memories then have become nostalgic.

To do justice to their contributions, I attempt here to recall some names of some of the military actors in acknowledgement of their outstanding service to the military and to Nigeria.

This is not in any particular order of merit or period.

Major General Henry Adefope; Major General Joseph Garba, Major General Shehu Musa Yar Adua (Hockey player), Brigadier General Alabi Isama; Brigadier General Samuel Ogbemudia; Major General David Jemibewon; Major General Sho-Silva; Major General Mamman Kontagora; Major General Ishola Williams; Major General M S Toki; Major General Y Y Kure; Major General Akeju; Lt. Colonel Yèmi Akinyanju; Admiral Jubril Ayinla; Commodore Sojirin; Commodore Olumide (squash); Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah; Air Commodore Anthony Ikazaboh; Air Commodore Bayo Lawal;  Group Captain Brai Ayonote; Squadron Leader Patrick Olalere; Brigadier General HOD Eghagha; Group Captain John Obakpolor; Brigadier General Dominic Oneya; Colonel Maharaja Mamudu; Colonel Abdulmumuni Aminu; Major General Emmanuel Okaro; and many more that don’t come easily to mind as I write this.

These officers served Nigeria as administrators and few as athletes.

The military also produced several outstanding athletes that represented Nigeria at major international events including the African Cup of Nations in football, the All-African Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics and the World Military Games.

The following represent a few of those I can recall from my experience. They were across various sports:

Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna; Alfred Bell (Navy); Colonel Jaiye Abidoye; Kola Abdullahi (Airforce); Edward Akika (Airforce); Major Tunde Panox; Warrant Officer (WO) Inua Lawal Rigogo; WO Olusegun Olumodeji; WO Samuel Opone; Sergeant Kadiri Ikhana; WO Emmanuel Tetteh; Colonel Taiwo Ogunjobi; Abass Mohammed; Yohanna Waziri; Rufus Ejele; WO Ganiyu Salami; WO Kenneth Olayombo; WO Eyo Essien; Sergeant Emmanuel Obasuyi (1001) and others.

On behalf of all these great administrators and athletes, I salute the new ‘Sheriff in Town’, the Defence Chief of Staff, General Christopher Musa, for his present mission to revive the sports tradition in the military and, by extension, the Country.