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Tuesday, August 11, 2015
EXTRATIME
EXTRATIME
INTERVIEW
Traditional wrestling coach of Team Rivers, Dickson Tompreye Idowu Omoro, has opened up on the plight of coaches and athletes ahead of the National Sports Festival in Calabar. Speaking exclusively to Extra Times duo of ANDREW EKEJIUBA and KENNETH ADEYEMI, the highly travelled former Chairman of Traditional Wrestling Referees Association talked about his career rise, pains, expectation for Team Nigeria at the upcoming All Africa Games in Congo and the future of the sport in Nigeria. Excerpts:
H
ow prepared is Team Rivers ahead of the upcoming National Sports Festival holding in Calabar, especially in the traditional wrestling event? I will say for now, there’s no preparation because of the current situation in Rivers State. This is because they have not paid us our salary since last year. And it is almost 16 months now since they stopped paying our wages. We pray that since Governor Wike Nyesom is a good man, I hope he’ll pay us as soon as possible so that we can commence the full training of the athletes. What is the mood of the Rivers State governor towards your plight? For now, I don’t have anything to say. Although we pray that he should assist us because he has been assisting other sectors since he emerged as the governor of the state; he has settled the salaries of Sharks FC and Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt, even the pensioner are also smiling. We, the coaches and the athletes are pleading for his assistance because he’s a loving person. I believe he is God sent and a man for the people. He loves sports and we are ready to serve and support him. We believe that for this upcoming National Sports Festival, we are ready to maintain our first position again, especially in traditional wrestling. In the last National Sports Festival which was held in Lagos in 2012, how did the Rivers State fair? We came finished second position, but at the same time we are not happy with that because of some reasons. Like Delta State, they had about five sports consultants ahead of Eko 2012 National Sports Festival, while we had only one. But that one we had till date, I believe is the best sports consultant in Nigeria. He is Mr. Fatula Samuel; a very hardworking person. I believe with his assistants, we are a formidable entity and that we are going to emerge victorious at the upcoming National Sports Festival in Calabar. Why are you so optimistic this time? It is because, since other states have not entered camp; we in Rivers State have entered camp once before the athletes were decamped. And when you look at the caliber of athletes we have in all other sports, you will believe that what I’m saying is true. Till date, Team Rivers are having a large number of experienced coaches in the team who are ready to impact positively on the athletes. No shaking! Let’s go back to your experience in Ghana as their traditional wrestling coach. Can you share with us your
experiences over there before your journey to Rivers State? Actually, when I went to Ghana, we discussed on the issue of handling their wrestling team, but we could not be reach an agreement. So I decided to come back home. But this time, I have received several calls from them inviting me for negotiations and possibly handling their national team towards the All Africa Games. I may join them if I have the chance, but if I’m not able to reach a reasonable agreement with them, I will stay put. The All Africa Games is around the corner, what are Team Nigeria’s chances in wrestling? And can you beat your chest and say Nigeria will come tops in the wrestling competition in Congo Brazzaville? I believe Nigeria will come tops overall in Congo Brazzaville, especially in freestyle wrestling. With the caliber of wrestlers we have in Nigeria, I am sure we are going to emerge first position in Congo with the likes of Amas who is fighting in the 60kg, Melvin in the 74kg, Sosu from Delta State and some females from Ondo and Bayelsa States. I believe all these wrestlers are going to emerge first position in Congo Brazzaville. One of your wrestlers Sinivie Boltic; have you heard anything about him recently? Yes, he is based in Bayelsa State. He featured in the last trials we held in Abuja and he came first position in Super Heavy Kilogramme class. I think he is still going to represent our country at the All Africa Games. Can you let us know some of the wrestlers that have passed through you? Most of this wrestlers that have passed through me are from the traditional wrestling event and not in the freestyle. We have somebody like Friday Agumenei Owei who is based in London; at the same time we have Sunday Opiah who is based in London as well, but back in the country. We have Patrick Agada and Lucky Opiah representing Delta State in traditional wrestling. Other of my athletes are Godfrey Jacob who is representing Team Rivers and Jonathan Undoku. I have a lot of my products representing other states in the trado wrestling event. Why is it that some of the products which you raised from the grassroots end up in other states? You know I cannot handle them alone, since I brought them from childhood I had nobody to help. So what I do is that, if a state requests for any of
Idowu Omoro (left) led Team Rivers traditional wrestling squad to a victorious outing at the Eko 2012 National Sports Festival in Lagos.
NSF: Omoro makes case for Team Rivers
them, I don’t have any other option than to release them. That’s why you will see most of them representing other states like Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa and many other states in Nigeria. Even some of them are in Northern part of the country and that is why we have fewer people in our team right now. Can you tell us some of your experiences while you were an active traditional wrestler? Ever before I became a wrestler, my father was a great traditional wrestler. So when I was a little boy, my father use to take me to watch the event. That was how I picked interest in traditional wrestling. Though my father is late, but I want to say that in those days traditional wrestling was popular in Ajegunle here in Lagos. So, my father use to take me down to the arena and wears me his costume at the arena and brings out my age mate to fight with me. At the end of it all, I developed the love of the sport. That was how I started wrestling! It got to a point that even if I am sleeping and I hear the sound of the wrestling drum, I will quickly wake up and join them at the arena. As far as I’m concerned, I take wrestling as the best sport in the whole wide world. I became a champion while representing Lagos State; I started from 62kg and then I later went up to 75kg and I retired from the 75kg. On retirement, I went for my coaching course at NIS here in Lagos. Then, I now decided to have my own traditional wrestling club, which is in Niger Delta Wrestling Club. This club is a well-
known wrestling club in Nigeria! We have been going to places for traditional wrestling engagements, so from there, we got so many champions that are now representing many states. Some are also abroad wrestling. What are the challenges you went through as a wrestler? When I was a wrestler, nobody assisted me. Sometimes from Ajegunle I will trek down to Rowe Park at Yaba for training. After training, we’ll have to trek back again just because I love this sport. But I doubt if the present day wrestlers can make such sacrifice. If you tell our present day wrestlers that they should trek to Rowe Park for training, they will tell you that since there’s no money they will not go. In our days we don’t do that. We did it for the love of sport and that’s what made me a champion. What are you expecting from the Rivers State government? As I said earlier, the governor is a God sent governor. We believe the governor will make things better according to the way it should be. Why I said so is that, Governor Wike Nyesom loves sports and he has shown this by paying those football clubs which the former governor owed; so I’m still hopeful that God will touch his heart so that he can remember to pay the athletes and coaches that represent the state. Nothing much is being done in promoting traditional wrestling in the country. What actually is the problem? It has been two years now since traditional wrestlers stopped travelling
for competitions. When we wanted to travel to Republic of Niger, we were stopped because of the Ebola epidemic. So they later postponed the competition. At the same time, last year, the same issue now came up when we are to go to Senegal for another competition; so we are not opportuned to travel because of Ebola crisis. That was why our traditional wrestlers did not partake in any event for some years back now. But this year, we were told that we are going to represent the country in Dakar in October. That’s the competition we are looking forward to right now. Is there any room for women in traditional wrestling? Yes. We have women too in our wrestling club. I have been putting pressure on the Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria to allow female competitors at the sports festival, but up till now, it has not yielded a favourable result. If they can just include three classes in the female category, I think it’ll be better. Just in a few word, who really inspired you to take to wrestling? The person that inspired is Coach Kali Agogo. He’s the person who made me the person I am today. In terms of traditional wrestling, my role model is Hon. Daniel Igali. The reason I said this is that, he has a lot of skills. Igali wrestles like a cat, because he is very strong and agile. I like his wrestling skills; he was into traditional wrestling even before he switched to freestyle wrestling where he ruled the world.