… Hosts Alia Summer Tennis Camp in Makurdi
The Chairman of the Benue State Lawn Tennis Association, Benue State Sports Council Makurdi, Victor Hemba, has stated that the benefits which sports particularly Tennis, attract are massive and are too numerous to mention.
Hemba made the statement on Saturday, ahead of the first edition of the Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia Summer Tennis Camp for a 6 to 16 years old and Tournament, which will begin from Monday, 10th to 24th August, 2026, at the Aper Aku Stadium Makurdi. He said, “we are looking forward to hosting His Excellency, Rev Fr Dr Hyacinth Alia, the Governor of Benue State and also telling him of the massive benefits that tennis attracts world wide”.
“Benue is one of the states that anywhere we go for a tennis tournament, we are acknowledged and that is why we are going to invite the Governor, Rev Fr Dr Hyacinth Alia, for the youth tennis event to come, partake and see what we are doing. We are looking forward to hosting him and telling him the benefits that tennis attracts world wide”. The Commissioner of Finance, Hon Michael Oglegba with whom we have been in touch, has given us his word that His Excellency, will honour the closing ceremony”.
The member of the Board of the Nigerian Tennis Federation, representing North-Central who said most of them started playing tennis at a tender age of four and they had developed into playing to international level, assured that, “the tournament will be under the mentorship of great tennis coaches and resource persons who will mentor the children on developing their interests in tennis because some of them start very well and along the line, they become very big and feel they are local champions. Through this programme, they will receive mentorship training on what sports is all about and it will also prepare their minds to know that it is no longer a bird course because the birds have flown”.”.
“We have been continuously grooming players independently although, it has been very tough for us and that is why we are trying to bring the government into the fold to partner us because funding sports is not easy and the benefits are enormous”.
He informed that, “we have groomed tennis players here locally who are now playing Professional tennis in countries like, Oman, the USA, Britain and other countries beyond the shores of this country and by tennis ratings in Nigeria today, our junior category tennis players fall within the top six in the country, even my son, Victor Hemba Jnr was at the age of 12, one of the top four tennis players in the country. Last year, he played in Accra Ghana, in the JTF tourney”.
The ex- international said “after our partnership with the government, we intend to also host all the states of the north – central zone, for the tournament in Makurdi “. He explained that, “since I came back to Benue State in 2000 from Lagos, we have been working hard to boost tennis in the state and seeing the benefits that the game attracts, I have been trying to set up a formidable team and that was why we were able to win a Gold medal in tennis at the National Sports Festival (NSF) in Lagos through the efforts that I deliberately worked hard for”.
He appealed to parents who deny their children the opportunity of participating in sports to have a rethink, saying, “you will be making the biggest mistake for denying your children the opportunity to participate in sports because it is where the world is shifting to now. Sports is a Multi- billion dollar economy business”.
