IKPO IGBINOBA
One of the big guns in Nigerian judo, Mr. Tunji Disu has appealed to the contending factions in the judo community to bury the hatchet, make peace and move the sport forward.
Mr. Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP and the Commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos State offered the advice while speaking on a radio programme monitored in Lagos at the weekend.
Currently, the judo community is polarised into factions,a fall-out of a highly controversial and heavily disputed federation election in June which saw the return of Mr. Timothy Nsirim as President of the Nigeria Judo Federation,NJF.
Mr. Disu who is also the Chairman of the Police Judo Association said it was regrettable that the Judo house was divided into factions.
According to him “It is sad that we have factions in our sport. This is highly regrettable and I don’t think it is the way to go for our sport”.
The crime fighter revealed that the elders of the sport were not pleased with the development in the federation adding “under the climate of disunity, there won’t be progress in the sport”.
Mr Disu called on the current leadership of the federation to bring the factions together,reconcile their differences and create a strong, united family..
In his words “If we must move our sport forward and be able to face current and future challenges, the present leadership of the Nigeria Judo Federation must bring the feuding factions together and reconcile them”, adding “It is only when we are united that we can make the desired progress”.
Mr Disu who had a distinguished career as a judoka, with several laurels both local and international to his name,said judo had been his most potent weapon in his career as a law enforcement officer.
He revealed “In my career as a police officer, judo which is a subtle art of self-defence has been very useful to me. I employ the lessons of judo when interrogating suspects and judo also comes in handy in very dangerous situations”.
For the love he has for judo, Mr Disu made it a family affair with all his children currently actively involved in the martial art.
Recently, his two sons were graded by the chief coach of Lagos State, Janet Omorodion.