The Chairman of Aso Table Tennis Club, Dr. Olusegun Ajuwon has said too much attention being paid to football by sports ministries and administrators is detrimental to the existence of other games.
Speaking recently in Abuja, the table tennis enthusiast reiterated the need for corporate organisations and individuals to sponsor more table tennis tournaments. Ajuwon also spoke on efforts his club is making to develop the game in the FCT and beyond.
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You’ve been so committed to the game of table tennis. Where do you draw your inspiration?
I can’t tell exactly what the motivation is all about. All I can say is that I like the game. I like the game of table tennis. It is a game that is easy to play. What I mean by this is that you don’t need costly gadgets to play table tennis. I started playing table tennis in my school hostel. The school built concrete slabs for us to iron clubs. But that became our first table tennis board. We would put two tins of peak milk and a stick to make a net. We would then use kpako (wood) or cardboard to produce bats with which we played the game. Balls were always available for us to play. I think that is where I derived my inspiration for the game of table tennis. I had the opportunity to play golf but I think it is for rich people. So I settled for table tennis due to its simplicity and effectiveness in terms of exercise. Table tennis is one of the safest games one can play.
Would you say enough effort is being made by the appropriate authorities to develop the game of table tennis in Nigeria?
I am not a fan of Big Brother Nigeria, BBN, but I can see that in their last edition, they promoted table tennis. Anytime they were free they played table tennis. It is wrong for the ministry of sports at both the federal and state level to concentrate only on football. I think it is wrong because it is not everybody who can play at the highest level. But table tennis can keep so many people engaged. Paying too much attention to football is wrong but it has become a tradition. And where we copied football from, there is so much pool betting in Europe, especially in the UK. There is so much betting around the game that is why it is so popular. Here in Nigeria, we are so blessed with talented youths in table tennis so we should be able to domesticate it. It is easy to start. And we can engage so many people at any time. This is my appeal.
Would you say there are enough tournaments to keep the players busy?
We should pay more attention to hosting more competitions at regular intervals. It doesn’t have to be so big like bringing together all the states like Aso Table Tennis Club is doing. It can be local but let it be a constant thing like every month or every two months, there is a competition. Among other benefits, this will help keep the kids away from social vices.
How much is Aso Table Tennis club contributing to the growth of the sport in the FCT?
Before we involved other states, this competition was exclusively for the FCT. After some time, we began to involve neighbouring states. At the moment, what we do is to get a coach in the FCT to go round the secondary school to publicise this competition. Ajoke Ojomo and three of her mates graduated from a secondary school here in the FCT. They were discovered through this tournament. So the Aso table tennis championship is for the FCT and Abuja people should take full advantage of it. The tournament is not going to leave Abuja.
Are there any concrete plans to ensure that this tournament is held annually?
What I know for sure is that it will continue to hold because we are getting more and more people who are interested and have the means to support us. They are willing to give. It may also interest you to know that what we use in hosting this competition, big as it may sound, is not so much. Our budget is below N5m. And I am sure one year is enough to raise N5m. So there is every assurance that the Aso table tennis championship will continue to hold every year.
At the moment, how many corporate organisations are sponsoring Aso table tennis tournament?
For the 2021 edition, we got a big sponsor but we are not mentioning his name. Hopefully, we would get more sponsors so that we wouldn’t have to worry when the competition is near. We are also hoping that if the economy improves, we would bring on board more corporate sponsors. Three years ago, we were hopeful but the economy has been bad so anywhere we go, they say well you know what is happening. However, we hope to get corporate sponsorship that will be constant.
How much support is Aso table tennis and the game in general enjoying from the FCT Sports Council?
I think they can do a little better because the players that went to the recently concluded National Sports Festival in Benin City didn’t have enough support from the FCT Sports Council. I think we can do better. There are so many talented players in the FCT waiting to be discovered and nurtured.
