Former
Athletics Federation of Nigeria president, Dan Ngerem has queried why local
coaches are not getting the necessary support in their quest to scout for
talents for the country but huge sums are paid to American coaches who add
little or nothing in the
development of our athletes.
And one of the local
coaches who have been left to languish is Tobias Igwe with the moniker Toblow.
Toblow was in tears last week when he called Sports Vanguard to appeal that it
should help him talk to the authorities to support him as he was still capable
of discovering talents for the country.
He couldn’t
stop reeling out names like Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Davidson Ezenwa, Uchenna
Emedolu, Tina Iheagwam and Charity Opara, among others, whom he discovered and
nurtured. These athletes went on to make great impact in the athletics world,
giving the Americans a run for their money.
Today, Toblow is jobless not
because he is lazy or tired of working but because those who should deploy him
are not interested in developing athletics. As a grass-root coach, Toblow
should be working with local and state governments.
He has done
that in the past from where he was recognised and drafted to the national
level. Regrettable though, Toblow was sacked by the Enugu sports council. Why,
he was asked?
“They said I am not an indigene of the state. But they have
refused to pay me my entitlements,” he said. From Enugu he journeyed to Abia
where he discovered young talents that are also making waves today. Again, the
Abia government laid him off for the same reason as Enugu, not an Abian. Again,
his entitlements remain unpaid. Where is Toblow from, he was asked again?
From
Imo, he replied. But with a man who is not really keen on developing sports as
governor, Toblow’s dream of helping Imo state discover and nurture world
beaters in athletics will remain in the pipe.
However, if all the Igbo states
which Toblow have described as “unfair to me” turn blind eyes towards a man
with the Midas touch to turn rookies into stars, what is the national sports
authorities doing to use him in making Nigeria great in athletics once again?
Toblow told Sports Vanguard that if he gets a quarter of the US$22,000 monthly
pay the Sports ministry splashes on the two American coaches purportedly
manning the non-functioning High Performance Centre, the US and Jamaica will be
scared of Nigeria in athletics once again. Vanguardngr
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