Nigeria Judo Boss, Oshodi Makes Historic Visit NIS Dojo In Lagos

IKPO IGBINOBA 

President of the Nigeria Judo Federation, NJF, Dr Musa Oshodi on Thursday added another feather to his cap when he paid an unscheduled visit to the dojo of the Nigeria Institute of Sports, NIS in Lagos.

By the visit, Dr Oshodi became the second helmsman in history to visit the dojo which is being run by former national coach, Edokpolor Ihaza.

Mr Ihaza is the lecturer in charge of judo at the Institute.

The first Federation chief to visit the dojo is late Mr Adolphus Okafor in 1997.

Oshodi who was in Lagos to attend a meeting of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC showed up at the dojo sending the coaches and students into ecstasy.

He admonished his hosts to be committed to the sport because a new era was being ushered in by the new board.

Coach Ihaza and his assistant, Dickson Egbowon thanked the President for the visit.

Earlier on, Dr Oshodi told Radio Nigeria’s Metro FM that his board’s aspiration was to reposition Nigerian judo and reclaim the country’s pre-eminent position.

He said “The immediate task ahead of the new board is to restructure the sport in the country.

“When I say restructuring, I mean we need to get it right. There’s the need for us to know what actually went wrong.

“How did we get to where we are at the moment? Right now, we are addressing the question and also proffering necessary solutions”.

Dr Oshodi said there must be a standard procedure of raising a national team for international engagements instead of the practice of picking judokas from different states without adequate preparation.

He explained “Before we send a team out on international duty, we must know the strength and capability of the judokas.

“The judokas that will make the National team in the new dispensation are those ready to go through the furnace of training and not those who will be complaining”

He frowned at the practice of picking athletes from different states without adequate preparation to represent the country, stressing that the practice won’t be accepted by the new board.

The President also hinted at his board’s plans to set up a Committee to address the critical issue of funding.

According to him, “For those conversant with my manifesto, adequate funding is at the heart of my cardinal agenda.

“Without adequate funding, whatever brilliant ideas you have upstairs will never come to fruition.

“For that reason, we are reaching out to personalities, parastatals and corporate organisations to help with funding for the federation and we are getting very encouraging responses.

“As I speak to you, we are trying to constitute a very strong committee of persons of high net worth to spearhead the issue of raising adequate funds for the federation.

Oshodi said with the talents available, it won’t take time for Nigeria to reclaim her lost glory.

“The country has always been blessed with talents. What was missing was responsible and responsive leadership. Now that leadership that has been missing is here