S/South Tennis Boss Angry Over Neglect Of Tennis, Other Sports

He expressed his displeasure on arrival in Calabar from Agadir, Morocco, where Team Nigeria won a silver medal in the just concluded African Inter Club Table Tennis Championship.

He said throughout the championship which took place between 27 and 30 June this year, Team Nigeria did not receive any form of assistance from the Federal Government or even from Nigeria’s Consular office in Morocco, adding that if it was football, the support from everybody would have been overwhelming.

According to him, “We were nominated as the past winners of the Table Tennis Club Championship in the female category to represent Nigeria in Agadir,  Morocco. Offiong Edem and Funke Oshonaike represented Nigeria in the female category of ITTF Africa for the Gold Cup, while in the male category,  it was Aruna Quadri and Segun Toriola. But Toriola was injured and he did not participate.

“The Federal Government did not sponsor us at all. We were left to our own devices by the Federal Government. We managed to participate in the championship with the support of the Cross River State Government. And out of the 54 countries that took part in the event, we got to the finals and lost to Egypt.

“In the singles Cup, Funke Oshonaike lost to Egypt, while Aruna Quadri picked the gold. The whole tournament ended up as being a direct combat between Nigeria and Egypt.”

Going down memory lane, Duke said: “In 2011 in Rabat, we picked gold by defeating the same Egypt. In 2012 in Germany, we picked silver in the Intercontinental Championship. In 2013, we managed to come back with bronze. Egypt came first and Congo came second because they had five Chinese players in the team. In 2015, we could not participate because of lack of funds.

“When tournaments of this nature are handed over to state governments, there is need to include state governments in the list of those who benefit from waivers for the importation of sports equipment. It cannot be when it is time for sponsorship, they will say, ‘most of the players are from your state. Look for sponsors for them.’ It is time the Federal Government should come out with a list of states sponsoring competitions so that they also are considered in the area of granting of waivers for the importation of sports equipment. Waivers should not be for those few people they know.”

He further stated: “We hope to get the reception promised by the state government before we reach out to others. We intend to reach out first to the South-South governors, talk to Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Chairman of NDDC, and Nsima Ekere, MD of NDDC, and also see how we can consolidate because whatever we are doing now, the only training venue we have now for table tennis is in Lagos. And if all the medals in the female category have been won by South-South citizens over a period of 18 years, there is need for us to establish a training centre in the South-South region.

“I intend to go round with the players to meet South-South governors to appeal to them to establish a training venue in the region. Besides, we don’t even have a professional referee in Table Tennis in the region. We will ask the six South-South states under my administration to nominate people for training as professional referees.

“We will also talk to Chinese people in Akamkpa and in parts of the South-South region to key into our training programme by helping to sponsor our junior players to China for training.”