…,Wants national honours for Toriola
At 85, Musliu Anibaba still follows sports with a lot of passion and his interest in sports started at Methodist Boys High School (MBHS) in Lagos when he was part of the ‘technical team’ that inspired MBHS to clinch the maiden edition of the Lagos Principal’s Cup in 1948.
The ex-scribe of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) is also clamouring for a national honour for Africa’s most decorated table tennis star, Segun Toriola, who will be making history at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the first African to feature in seven Olympic Games.
The octogenarian, whose life revolves round table tennis and who for more than a decade was part of the team that created the system that produced national stars like Babatunde Obisanya, Lateef Sunmola and Atanda Musa.
A not-too-happy erstwhile Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) believes government at all levels has continued to pay lip service to sports, adding that this has continued to affect the fortune of sports in the country.
“It is unfortunate that Nigeria has never had the government that gives sports what it deserves. The government generally has not been fair to sports and what the government has been doing is to cater for politician in terms of what they will benefit from sports. They don’t make arrangement for sports. What they only do is to celebrate success. Look at what China is doing with sports. There is mass participation in sports in China and they are reaping the results now. If government gives sport the needed attention, there will be few criminals. In China there are not many young criminals because they are in sports and they are not available for vices,” he said.
The former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), however lamented the neglect of the likes of Toriola and Atanda Musa when awarding national honours. “I am surprised that with what the likes of Toriola and Atanda Musa have achieved in table tennis, no government has deem it fit to honour these stars. “I think Toriola deserves an honour having sustained interest in the sport up till now and at several occasions has put Nigeria on the world map and he is going to do that in Rio Olympics as the first African to attend seven Olympics. Players like Toriola and Atanda Musa deserve national honours because they played with their talents and they have put Nigeria on the global map for several times. In Africa, Toriola has conquered the continent and with this, he should be rewarded for this feat,” Anibaba said.
With few days to the kick-off of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the former chairman of Island Club said: “It is a shame that most people who run sports since the military took over in 1966 are not sportsmen but people who went into sports to take the benefit. I know there are still those who really love sports. From the performance of the sports federations, you will understand those in charge of the sports. Before 1966, you must show interest in sports before becoming a member of the association because you will spend your money and time for the sports. So preparing for the Olympics is a four-year plan. Most advanced countries prepare Olympics gold medalist for 12 years. Immediately they spot the talents, they start preparing such athletes with support from the private sector as well. But in Nigeria we don’t do that and it is a shame that four months to the Olympics, they start talking about preparation,” he said.
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