The Latin expression, 'Requiem aeternum dona eis, translated in Eng- lish means, "Eternal rest grant to them.
" That is the song I have this second Sunday of December, exactly 17 days to Christmas for my dear Edo State which once had a collosus, Brigadier-General Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, now late, as a pillar of its prowess in sports in the old Midwest/Bendel State as military governor. Many never knew his love for sports was far more than a mere interest. It was a way of life for him having actually trained as a boxing coach in the military.
The foundation Ogbemudia laid for sports in Bendel State has continued to manifest, especially in one half of the old State, Delta that has not deviated from the structure of excellence backed by professionalism. I don't want to blame the slide in sports in Edo State to democracy with the coming of politicians who paid very little or no attention to sports because Delta State which was created the same time with Edo has equally been run by politicians since the split of Bendel on August 27, 1991. Let's take it side by side since 1999 when the fourth Republic began.
Both Edo and Delta States had two young men, political friends so to speak, as governors, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and Chief James Ibori respectively. None of them could be said to be sportsmen like Ogbemudia and so were not expected to replicate the same level of culture Ogbemudia brought to bear in sports. However, Chief Ibori understood what sports meant to the former Bendel and therefore didn't treat the sector with levity. That accounted for why he chose someone who was passionate about sports and trusted him to deliver on the job.
That was how Chief Solomon Ogba was appointed to supervise sports in Delta State. On his part, Chief Igbinedion chose two novices to head the sports ministry in his two terms as governor. He however, had the luck of having a technocrat who was grounded in sports, fondly called the Juju man of sports, Brown Ebewele as the director of sports. Both Ogba and Ebewele knew what to do to position their states for sports glory and they did it so well that both states maintained a healthy rivalry to remain top in the country. In the first festival under the fourth Republic, Delta State toppled Lagos which won the previous two editions in Makurdi in 1996 and Owerri in 1998, following the split of Bendel in 1991.
After Delta State's victory at the 2000 edition in Bauchi, Edo with the 'wizadry' of Ebewele won the 2002 edition which it hosted after a stiff competition from its sister state. The 2004 edition in the Federal Capital Territory was fiercely contested until the last day and it took an understanding between Governors Igbinedion and Ibori after a meeting with the Organizing Committee for Delta to be announced the winner. That was the last time Edo gave Delta State any stiff competition as appointments of sports commissioners became politicised. Adams Oshiomhole did worse by appointing two women who couldn't differentiate volleyball from basketball during his two terms.
They paid little atten- tion to the welfare of sports men and women which led to the exodus of majority of them to other states. When Godwin Obaseki succeeded Oshiomhole, he reasoned that sports should be run like a business and therefore put in place the machinery to set up a Sports Commission backed by law. One man who sports runs through his veins and had the luck of working with one time Executive Chair- man of the National Sports Commission, Chief Sebastian Babatunde Williams, Barr. Godwin Dudu-orumen was appointed to head the commission. But was he allowed to work? Of course not. Governor Obaseki's deputy would not let go. He believed the sports sector was his baby and must be run by him alone. Barr. Dudu-orumen became a redundant Chairman.
It was like giving him a tuber of yam but the knife with which to cut it for proper cooking was in the hands of the deputy governor. At the 2018 National Sports Festival in Abuja, the sports commission boss didn't know how and when athletes he was taking to the Games would leave Benin nor the budget for the contingent. Edo lost the festival again to Delta but Governor Obaseki asked that Edo bid to host the next edition in 2020 and the bid materials were put together and submitted by the Dudu-orumen led sports commission. At the 2020 sports festival hosted in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dudu-orumen was sidelined.
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Even Ebewele who was appointed to coordinate Team Edo was asked to take orders from the deputy governor's sister inlaw who was just the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob. Nothing, not even the supply of writing materials at the LOC Secretariat was done without her approval. Things got so sour after the festival that Barr. Dudu-orumen had to throw in the towel. Not long after, Gov Obaseki started looking into the operations of the sports commission.
He appointed Yusuf Ali, a renowned ex athlete and former African champion and Dr. Emmanuel Igbinosa to run the sports commission. Edo state sports started breathing again. One of the proofs was the superlative performance of Edo Queens Football Club who represented the country at the CAF Women's Champions League where they became the first Nigerian side to qualify for the semi finals in their debut recently. All the structure put in place during Obaseki's second term is now set to be destroyed. This is because the duo of Ali and Dr. Igbinosa who were driving the sports commission have been replaced with ill-equipped loyalists of the former deputy governor. In fact Edo people should start holding a Requiem for sports in the state.
