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‘Tana Aiyejina
Nigerian tennis legend, Nduka Odizor, is saddened by the state of the sport in Nigeria and wants those saddled with the responsibility of administering tennis to wake up to their primary duties of developing the game.
The Duke, as Odizor was fondly called during his playing days, blamed the retrogression of the game in the country to a lack of consistency on the part of the Nigeria Tennis Federation.
During his playing days in the 1980s, Odizor, alongside the likes of David Imonitie, Tony Mmoh and Sadiq Abdullahi, competed successfully on the world circuit and brought glory to the country.
He won one career title in singles (Taipei, 1983) and seven doubles titles. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking of world No.52 in June 1984 and reached No.20 in doubles in August 1984.
Despite his vast experience, knowledge of the sport and membership of important global tennis organisations, Odizor says he is yet to impact tennis in Nigeria because he was never welcomed.
“I made moves and I tried to help, but the bad system in Nigeria would not welcome people like me who know and understand the game but not ready to play dirty politics. Its been difficult to get into the tennis federation because those of us who are based overseas have been shut out,” Odizor said.
“You wouldn’t believe that several years after being voted into office, nobody in the Nigeria Tennis Federation has reached out to me to seek my contribution. It’s a shame.”
Odizor, who had a part of his secondary school education at New Era Secondary School in Benin City, featured and won titles at the glamorous Ogbe Hard Court in Benin, which has now gone into extinction for decades.
Odizor, who started playing tennis in Benin City, hinted that he was in talks with the Edo State Government to revive the once glamorous Ogbe Hard Court, where he won titles.
“It will be quite busy for me this year because I had a meeting with Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and we are planning to restart the Ogbe Hard Court tennis championship in Benin. Besides that, I will be running and funding at least six different tournaments in all the geo-political zones of Nigeria and that will be my little way of helping Nigerian tennis.”
Odizor established a tennis foundation in 2004, which he runs from his base in Houston, the United States and offices in Abuja and Asaba.