22052021

elieved. I did the victory lap. But it’s
like nobody believed I was going to
win any medal, talk less of a gold
medal. It’s a big lesson to our
administrators. Once an athlete is in
the final of any event, anything is
possible.”
Still on that memorable day Chioma
was called to the podium for medal
presentation. Before then she had
seen athletes who were emotional and
shed tears after receiving their medals.
She never understood why somebody
would cry after winning an event. “It
didn’t make sense to me. When I got
my medal, I didn’t feel anything
special. I took it like any other medal
I had won before,” she recalled.
But she was to know the enormity of
her achievement when she got home
in Nigeria. “It all started dawning on
me when we were returning home. We
had a stop over in Senegal. There, we
were welcomed by traditional troupes
who sang and danced. I began to
wonder about what was happening. It
was more when we arrived at the
Muritala Mohammed International
Airport, Ikeja. There was an
unprecedented crowd waiting to
welcome us. Different dance troops.
Government declared a three-day
public holiday and we were treated
specially. It was a wonderful
experience that became even more
real after getting back home in
Nigeria. I never knew what an
Olympic medal meant. But in Lagos I
knew what it was all about.
Today, Chioma Ajunwa, an Assistant
Commissioner of Police is one of the
most celebrated athletes in Nigeria.
Even though her career was earlier
hit by a failed drug test, she would
later re-establish herself and achieve
a lot at a personal level.
Today, the former Super Falcons
forward has initiated a platform, the
Chioma Ajunwa Foundation through
which she can pay back to the society
which made her what she is today.
The Foundation has announced plan
to establish a N6 billion Sports
Development Centre.
Before that, there have been a lot of
other initiatives by the foundation,
which has Henry Amike, another
Olympian as head. The celebration of
the Chioma’s historic jump, 25 years
after, has taken the centre stage.
Athletics, football and taekwondo are
three sporting events chosen to
celebrate the golden jump.
Amike, said that the centre was also
organising Olympics Talent Hunt for
girls. It has already held in Lagos
(May 11-13), Abia (May 18-19), and
would move to Edo (May 28-30),
Anambra (June 7-9), Enugu (June 16-
18), Ebonyi (23-27) and Imo, her place
of birth, (July 6-8) and Abuja (August
16-18). A dinner will be held at the
Transcorp Hotel, Abuja on August 19.
The Chioma Ajunwa Foundation will
launch an N6 billion ultra-modern
Sports Development Centre in Owerri
later in the year.
SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 22, 2021 — 31
Thanks to Femi Otedola, I can walk again
— Coach Charles Bassey
By Jacob Ajom
The philanthropic works of the
Femi Otedola Foundation have
continued to affect the lives of many.
Most of the beneficiaries have been
ex-Nigeria internationals.
The likes of former Nigeria coach,
Christian Chukwu, former Nigeria
goalkeeper, Peter Fregene, Nigeria’s
music icon, late Majek Fashek,
veteran actor Victor Alaotan and
Nollywood star late Sadiq Aba,
retired University of Uyo lecturer Dr
Inih Ebong, among others are some
of the notable names who, at one
time or the other attracted the
sympathy of the Foundation, with
profound results after its
intervention.
The foundation is at it again. This
time, the it has intervened in the
treatment of a former Nigeria
international and renowned football
coach, Charles Bassey, who had been
bedridden for a long time. The Femi
Otedola Foundation has
underwritten all the medical bills and
paid upfront for six-months his
treatment.
A tearful, but grateful Charles
Bassey told Sports Vanguard,
“Thanks to Femi Otedola, I can walk
again.”
He said he had been rendered
immobile with a spinal cord ailment.
“I could not move on my own. I was
helpless as countless letters I wrote
seeking help yielded nothing. Even
my state government, the Akwa
Ibom state government would not
even reply to my appeals. I resigned
to fate, waiting for the worst,” he
recalled.
From nowhere, the Femi Otedola
Foundation got in touch with the
ailing coach, established his location
and before long they took up his
case.
Bassey said he was being treated
at the Ibom Specialist Hospital Uyo
•Otedola
Lee Evans want
anted me to break the 400m
world record --- Egbunike
By Ben Efe
Former Nigeria 400m great Innocent
Egbunike and other athletes have
been mourning the passing of veteran
US-born coach Lee Evans.
Evans shocked the world in 1968, when
he won the 400m gold at the Olympic
Games staged in Mexico. Evans was the
the first man to break the 44.00 barrier
with a time of 43.86secs a world record,
and also he let the world know that ‘Black
Lives Matter’ when he raised his fist to
protest racial injustice during the medals
presentation where he wore a black beret
to buttress his point.
He suffered a stroke on May 19 and
could not recover from it. He died to fulfill
his wish of working and dying in Africa.
His family members are currently
and he has witnessed a lot of
improvement in his condition. “I can
walk now, but I walk with the aid of
a walking stick. The hospital is now
carrying out what they call
Conservative Management of my
ailing spinal cord. I go to the hospital
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
for treatment.
The treatment will last for six
months and at the end of it all, I am
told, I will be able to walk again,
unaided. This has been paid for
upfront by the Foundation.”
The former technical director of
Nigeria Premier League side, Akwa
United said he would continue to
thank God for the life of Femi
Otedola, chairman of Geregu Energy
Group and Femi Otedola
Foundation. “He is godsend and I
wished there were more Nigerians
like him. I am still in shock for what
he has done for me and many other
Nigerians.”
Bassey said that former Nigeria
discussing whether to bury him in
Nigeria to fulfill his wish or ferry his
remains back to America.
After Lee Evans' world conquering
feats, he came to Nigeria in 1973 and
worked with several top Nigerian
athletes, including Innocent Egbunike
who still holds the national 400m record
of 44.17 seconds.
“He encouraged me that I could break
the world 400m record. He was the
greatest quarter miler and a trailblazer.
“I’m grateful to God for all the blessings,
coach Lee helped me to believe in my
God-given talent and understanding
certain things of life,” Egbunike said.
Also 400m hurdler and national record
holder Ajoke Odumosu credicted Lee
Evans with her success in athletics.
“He was a mentor, a role model, a coach
Captain, UBTH
Golf Club, Hon
Mathew
Iduoriyekemwen
presenting the
Inter-Club Match
Play trophy to the
Captain, Ibori Golf
and Country Club,
Alfred Ebreneyin at
the IGCC golf
course, Asaba,
Delta State over the
weekend.
•Charles Bassey at the Hospital
international, Barrister Adokiye
Amiesimaka has also been of
tremendous help to him in his time
of need. “Adokiye has been like a
pillar for me. I want to use this
medium to thank them all for
keeping me alive to this day.”
and a father to me and many more
successful athletes around the world.
“His love for motherland and Africa
made him spend the last of his days in
Nigeria.”
Coach Lee was part of the successful
Cross River grassroots sports initiative
supervised by former 400m runner Bruce
Ijirigho. The programme supported by
former Cross River governor Liyel Imoke
produced a pool of talented athletes
including Patience Okon-George, Mercy
Ntiabong, Fabian Edoki and Nkiru
Iwoha. Lee was soon contracted by Lagos
State but the romance did not last long.
“Coach Lee was like a father figure in
Nigerian athletics,” said Jide Josiah,
former AFN vice president and presently
a royal father in Ikogosi, Ekiti State.
“I remember when he was coaching us
there was a time we were late for training
and he came to meet us where we were
waiting to be fed and asked what the hell
was keeping us from training.
"We told him that we only had Eba ready
but no soup. He thundered "well you can
swallow the Iba and drink the soup later,
come on guys it's time for training."
•Lee-Evans