“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can.”-Sydney Smith
Undoubtedly, this is a ‘critical time hard to deal with’ following the spate of protests all over the country due to the removal of petroleum subsidy by the government, so how do we usher in Year 2012 on this page without some of the vexed issues bothering on the administration of sports?
Today, the beautiful game of soccer often regarded as the king of sports, would even take the back burner as we share something refreshing, please join me in saluting the new faces behind sports’ philanthropy in the land.
There is nothing new on this earth and my paradigm shift is actually based on an old edition of Time Magazine with the caption story -The New Philanthropists-where the like of Bill and Melinda Gates and Ted Turner were celebrated for giving a slice of their wealth to the society.
“ Many of Today’s tech millionaires and billionaires are applying to philanthropy the lessons they have learned as entrepreneurs ,” noted Karl Taro Grenfeld in the July 24, 2000 issue of Time,“ they want to make sure that their ultimate ‘customers (those in need), don’t get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.”
From Sokoto to Sabongida-Ora; from Lafia to Lagos, we have so many sports enthusiasts who are really putting their money where their heart is in supporting one cause or the other. Several Super Eagles players including Nwankwo Kanu of the Kanu Heart Foundation fame, are showing an uncommon benevolent spirit which should be highly commended.
But my focus today are on these three musketeers : Dr. John Abebe( the gentleman of Cricket with his giant stride with the AAA Foundation);Mr. Wale Edun (the former Lagos State Commissioner of Finance with his uncommon devotion to pugilism) and Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas( the big man behind the annual Asoju-Oba Table Tennis Championship which recently marked its 43rd edition).
These ones are gradually following the legends of people like the late business mogul, Chief M.K.O Abiola who spared nothing in advancing the development of football as well as other sports which appropriately earned him the honour as the first Pillar of Sports in Africa ; Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the burly Masquerade behind Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland FC); Alhaji Ibrahim Hamza and late Prince Dokun Abidoye who both bolstered the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria(YSFON) ; The Howzat Cricket Foundation and several others.
While we remember the ‘old philanthropists’ with fond admiration for their service to football especially, what is so special about the ‘new philanthropists’ is the fact that they supporting what is generally regarded as the lesser sports.
“I look at how God has blessed me during my working years and raising my family, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come to these homeless shelters and heard people say, ‘My children haven’t had a bite to eat today,” the then 81-year old Morris Pope said of the art of giving. “Everyone should feel the pleasure of giving to others if they knew that, they should give too.”
The same reason can be ascribed to the charitable gifts to sports by Abebe, Edun and Okoya-Thomas consequently my searchlight on them.
We’ve had cause to celebrate some of these gestures in the past and I recall the sentiment expressed by Okoya-Thomas on the 40th anniversary of the Asoju-Oba Table Tennis Tournament in 2008: "The question of why I chose table tennis has been answered several times. When I was made the Asoju Oba of Lagos by HRH, the late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, I was the youngest among the honoured white cap chiefs.
“But there is a friend of mine, Alhaji Anibaba, who was then the chairman of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association and he suggested that as part of the one-week celebration to mark my capping as the Asoju-Oba. He promised to organize it and I agreed with him. I bought some silver trophies and that was the beginning of it all in 1968."
Okoya-Thomas like Edun and Abebe fit the bill of people regarded as philanthro-capitalist -somebody with a business-like approach to charity- because ‘the new breed of philanthropists scrutinises each charitable cause like a potential business investment, seeking maximum return in terms of social impact.’
We can therefore understand Okoya-Thomas’ outburst over recent decline in standard and spectatorship of the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship: “The story of Nigerian table tennis has been one of an inexorable decline. There is currently no Nigerian player – male or female – ranked in the top 100 in the world,” the septuagenarian who started the sponsorship of the championship at 33, said as he reinforced his commitment.
“Once again, I promise to continue the sponsorship of this annual event as long as I live. Let me say in a nutshell that the annual Asoju-Oba Championship will outlive Molade Okoya-Thomas. In Nigeria, I don’t see anybody doing anything except for government because in the United States and United Kingdom, people set up foundations for sports development. So, I am calling on people to please help the society by using their wealth to support others in all endeavours.”
In an earlier tribute, I noted that those charged with the responsibility of administering sports in Nigeria should count themselves very lucky to have people like Okoya-Thomas with genuine love for development of other sports than football. What would be the state of table tennis, cricket, squash as well as other lesser sports without the benevolence of a willing philanthropist?
Gamaliel Bailey, American journalist (1807-1859) stated: ‘Never respect men merely for their riches, but rather for their philanthropy. We do not value the sun for its height but for its use.’
On the strength of this, Dr. Abebe deserved a big pat on the back. Through his AAA (Triple A) Foundation, indigent students who play cricket are awarded educational scholarships and just recently there was good reason to celebrate the feat.
Similarly, it is not every day that you find somebody sold on figures like Mr. Edun on the terrace at the stadium. A devoted lover of polo which many considered too elitist, Edun has shown equal tremendous support for the art of pugilism- boxing.
The former Lagos State Commissioner of Finance has solidly supported amateur boxing in Lagos State and as the chair of Starcomms Plc, he is instrumental to the company’s support for boxing and this was highly praised by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) during a special edition of the Monthly Boxing show-an initiative of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame.
“We have revived amateur boxing in Lagos State. Looking at today’s programme, I see a lot of boxing clubs. From Epe to Ikorodu, we can see that everybody is involved in amateur boxing,” stated Governor Fashola.
“I will want to thank specifically, as I have done continuously, Mr. Wale Edun for leading this initiative. I hope that our state will see more of Wale Eduns to support and drive inspiration in other sports like table tennis, swimming, athletics, judo and karate, and our government will provide the means whenever we see these organisational supports. But it has to be a people-driven thing. There must be passion behind it,” he added.
What else than passion and philanthropy would have motivated Abebe, Edun and Okoya-Thomas endowment to sports? Nigeria needs more of these charitable gestures for the uplift and development of lesser sports; we would be here to hold the trophy for such jolly good fellows.
Messi: Matters arising
Stand up for Lionel Messi. Proud winner of 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or and the first player to win the world’s best player award three times in a row since Frenchman, Michel Platini scooped it between 1983 and 1985.
“I’m very proud to have won it three times, especially one after the other. It’s hard to win one, let alone three,” stated Messi decked in Dolce and Gabbana tuxedo at the gala.
Everybody loves a winner and I’m so happy for this bright boy from the land of Diego Maradona.
Comparison between Messi and Maradona is inevitable and most purists are of the view that without the efficient and effective machine that is FC Barcelona, the Little Flea( as Messi is fondly call), would not be where he is today.
Maradona led an ‘average ‘Napoli FC to win the Italian Scudetto twice in 1987 and 1990;and it was his guiles and goals the helped Argentina to win the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. At youth level, Messi has won gold for Argentina at the Under-20 World Cup and Under-23 Olympic Football Tournament, yet the jury is still out.
"Messi will always be great with or without a World Cup — but the World Cup is something special. The World Cup will stay in the mind of the people," Platini reportedly said.
Would Messi be remembered as the genius that Messi-merized the world with only Barcelona without holding aloft the real thing which is the FIFA World Cup for his native Argentina? Only time would tell.
Henry and Scholes: Perfect Duo For keen followers of the English Premiership, it seems like stale news reporting the shock return of Thierry ‘Igwe’ Henry and ‘gingered-haired’ Paul Scholes respectively to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Yet there are lessons to be learned from the dramatic comeback of the duo after ‘walking away’ from the Emirates Stadium and the Old Trafford not too long ago.
It’s been some three years since Henry went in search of greener pasture to FC Barcelona despite becoming Arsenal’s all-time goal scorer just to satisfy his long-held dream of winning the UEFA Champions League Trophy.
When the Frenchman was leaving the Emirates in 2007, I dedicated apart of this column published on June 30, 2007 (under the headline: Henry, Obagol… and integrity!) saying: “All said, it was the manner of Henry’s departure that really touched me. He truly showed that he’s a footballer with a difference. How many footballers would be leaving a club and still requested for a final interview to explain why they are leaving? “
Like Henry, Scholes too was a loyal servant at Old Trafford and just last year, he was given a rousing ‘pull out’ after many meritorious years in the Red half of Manchester where he won so many titles including two UEFA Champions League Trophy in 1999 and 2008.
No wonder it’s these battle-hardened legends that Arsenal and Manchester United had recourse to during the January transfer window in order to beef up their arsenal for the task ahead in the coming months. Whereas Scholes played significant part in ensuring that Manchester United overcomes a resurgent Manchester City 3-2 in the FA Cup Third Round Fixture on Sunday, Henry also came on as sub to score the winning and the only goal against Leeds to send Arsenal to the next round of the FA Cup.
These are indeed something that could have existed in the realm of imaginations some few months ago but Henry and Scholes are worthy examples of people who mastered the ‘ Exit Strategy’ in Bob Harrison’s Power Points for Success: ‘How can you better make exit-strategy thinking a part of your daily life and negotiating strategy?’ asked Harrison.
Henry and Scholes proved the truism that ‘doing a thing well never is trouble’ and the manner of their return to help their respective teams is instructive indeed.
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