The Chairman of the Benue State Handball Association, Tony Oyih Inalegwu, has said in an exclusive interview with VoiceSports’ Terfa Alaghga, that his passion for handball drove him into developing young talents and also promoting the game. He said parents should be encouraging their children to participate in sports. He also spoke on other issues.
Excerpts:
VoiceSports: Did you do sports in your youth?
Oyih: Yes I did and I was good in almost all the sporting events but I had to start with football, which I played for my school at the St Francis Primary School Otukpo, and rose to become the schools’ football team favourite No 7 (right wing). I was also very good at goalkeeping. When I graduated from elementary school, I went to the famous Mount Saint Michael’s Secondary School, Aliade in Benue State. That was where everything turned out for good for me in sports because the school had facilities in almost all the sports including Rugby. This gave me the opportunity to develop myself in all the sporting events. I started learning how to play basketball with a lawn tennis ball and as time progressed, I ventured into handball, basketball, and badminton as well.
VoiceSports: In which sports did you make a name in your school?
Oyih: Basketball. I became a household name in St Michael’s because of my mesmerising skills in basketball and my House was unbeatable in the junior basketball Inter-House competitions. I later started participating in other sports like badminton, 400m race, Discuss and Javelin and in these sports, I represented my school at the All Catholic Secondary Schools’ Games under the Makurdi Diocese and also at the All Secondary Schools Games. I was presented with several certificates from the Inter – House sports and at the All Catholic Schools’ Games. It was for my unwavering commitment and superlative performance in sports that I was appointed Games Perfect of the School and I performed my duties very well to the glory of God.
VoiceSports: Was there anytime you represented the state in any competition?
Oyih: Yes, in1995, I featured in the four states badminton championship and later, I represented Nigeria in the U – 18 Handball Championship held in Sweden and we won a Gold medal. So, it has been sports all through my life and now as veterans, we come out every Saturday, to shake up in order to keep the body fit. In fact, my love for sports did not start today, but from the onset
VoiceSports: Did your parents support you for doing sports?
Oyih: My parents did not have any problems with me doing sports. Although, my father passed along the line. For my mother, each time I came home with the certificates for participating in the Inter – House competitions and other state and national events, she was very happy and doffed her hat to me.
VoiceSports: Why did you stop playing Handball, rather than strive towards going to play Professional Handball abroad?
Oyih: In the course of playing active handball, I got a job which for me, was better because looking at my life and considering my background where I had a lot of dependants on me, I felt taking up the job was best for me. That was the reason I couldn’t think of going out to play Professional Handball but to tow the path of working and it has been successful for me all these years.
VoiceSports: How did the job opportunity come?
Oyih: At the same time that I was playing for the Benue Dynamite (Junior Handball team), I was also undergoing a Diploma programme at the Makurdi campus of the University of Jos and during my mandatory Industrial Training (IT) programme which I did with the GBO/MDS where the Chairman of the Benue State Handball Association, Mr Harris Okoh worked as the company’s Manager, I was made the invoicing clerk of the company which sold drinks at the New Garage Makurdi. After my three months of successful completion of the IT programme, I returned to school and five months later, I heard there was a job vacancy at the company and they were looking for me to fill the vacancy. In September 1999, I was offered employment as a casual staff in the MDS, as an invoicing clerk with a monthly salary of #1,500. After working with the company for some time, I left and joined the makers of Cowbell milk and from there I joined the Mayor Group of Companies and finally got a job with the International Breweries. That was my chain of progression from the Handball Court of the Aper Aku Stadium Complex Makurdi, to where I am today.That is why I always say handball made me what I am today.
VoiceSports: “How would you explain the clause, “Handball made me what I am today?
Oyih: Because it was from the handball court that I met Mr Harris Okoh, and it was because he knew me from there that he also accepted my letter for the IT programme with the company. When I started work with the MDS, Mr Okoh gave me all the needed encouragement that a father would give a child such that after the close of work, I would go for training and when there was also a competition either within and outside the state, he would permit me to travel for it. That was what transcended into what I am today.
VoiceSports: What drove you into initiating programmes that will develop young talents and also promote Handball in the state?
Oyih: My passion for sports and specifically, Handball drove me into it because that was where the steps came from. From when I joined the league four to five years ago, we have initiated a series of programmes through which young players have developed their talents in handball and we have also promoted the game to a very high level in Benue state. We are now playing in the Handball Premiership. Last year the U – 12 and U – 15 teams participated in a Championship that was held in Umuahia, Abia State, where the U – 12 women team won a Gold medal. Now, we also have a Beach Handball team in the state and it is doing well. In fact, most of our players are now playing Professional Handball abroad in Tunisia, Benin Republic, Israel and other places, courtesy of what we are doing here at the Handball Court of the Aper Aku Stadium Complex Makurdi, and I thank God that I have been able to achieve what I intended to because if we were not doing well, we wouldn’t have been where we are today.
VoiceSports: Have any of these players you have nurtured and who are playing Professional Handball abroad, come to identify with their roots and are giving back to the society what it sowed in them at all.
Oyih: Very well. As we speak, one of them is around to organize a Handball Academy and we are giving him the maximum support that he needs because it is at the developmental stage that it is best to start and not when they are adults and sometimes the issue of age crops up. Some of them also came around to represent Benue State at the just concluded Championship. They are doing well and are happy to visit home and identify with their roots and also give to their society what it sowed in them joyfully.
VoiceSports: How do you feel when you see the players you have nurtured through your developmental programmes, playing Professional Handball abroad?
Oyih: I feel great. It is just as a father, who when he sees his people doing well, he thanks God for everything He has done for him and his people. That is why I always advise young and upcoming stars by using myself as a case study. I started from somewhere and became what I am in the Handball circles. So my advice to them is that they should look at the impossibility in order to strive towards attaining greatness in life. My prayer for the Handball players too is to achieve greatness.
VoiceSports: Since you became the Chairman of the Benue State Handball Association, has the Handball Federation of Nigeria at anytime, hosted a Championship in the state?
Oyih: Thank you for that question, Terfa. Of course we have because of our undiluted commitment to developing the game in Benue State. We have hosted twice in four years, the North – Central League we hosted the 4 by 4 Handball Championship for the North – Central. The new creation away from the normal time Handball in its entirety, is an innovation by General Ishola Williams and he has been supportive of it to ensure that the style of Handball meets the taste of time. It is the first of its kind in Nigeria and the entire continent and we had the privilege of hosting it in Makurdi, and we won as first timers. It might also interest you to know that the standard Beach Handball Court that was built, is meant for that purpose.
VoiceSports: Were you the one that lobbied for the hosting rights of the Championship in Makurdi?
Oyih: I did not lobby for it. When you are identified for being passionate about a particular thing, you are encouraged and given the opportunity of doing it in a manner that you feel is better. That was why when the North-Central representative of the Handball Federation of Nigeria, Jubril Saidu and the President noticed that Benue State had been doing a lot in the development of young talents and promotion of Handball, they decided to award us the hosting rights for the Championship in Makurdi. I received with plaudits their decision, for recognizing me and the honour done me. On our part, we ensured that the Championship was beautifully organized throughout the duration and was held in an atmosphere of peace, love and happiness.
VoiceSports: What benefits did hosting of the Championship attract to the state?
Oyih: We have constructed a Beach Handball Court to a standard that a lot can be done here in Makurdi, it is where national players can be camped, it can attract the hosting of both local and national Beach Handball Championships, boost tourism, be a source of inspiration to young and upcoming players who are endowed with talents in their own chosen career and also nurture young talents.
VoiceSports: Would you agree with me that Handball wouldn’t have developed or gained much recognition in the state, if it were not for your efforts as its Chairman in the state?
Oyih: Yes I agree with you but not a hundred percent and the reason is simply because, there were handball veterans like, the late Adole, Coach Ujege, Jacques and others too numerous to mention who did the best they could to see that the game remained solid on the ground. They were doing it based on their capacity and when I came and saw how much they were doing it in their own way to sustain it, I wanted to be their motivating factor, to ensure that handball got to where it was supposed to be as far as the state is concerned. I have always told people that the only support we needed from the government is an enabling environment and we are grateful that we are enjoying their maximum support through the Benue State Sports Council. That is why we have also been doing all we can and in our own little way, in complementing their efforts, for Handball to grow from strength to strength in the state.
VoiceSports: Most parents deny their children the opportunity of participating in sports activities. What is your advice to such parents?
Oyih: Before a child is conceived in their mother’s womb, it is only God that will know and can tell what the child would come out into this world and grow up to become. Therefore, I wish to encourage parents whose children love sports, that when they notice that their child is developing interest in a particular field, all they have to do is to advise, educate and encourage him or her on how to go about it and tomorrow they would see what that child would grow up to be in future.
VoiceSports: What is your philosophy?
Oyih: I see life the way it is and I also judge it the way I see it. That makes me a better person and that is why I don’t wear out but I only try to ensure that the right thing is done at the right time.
