[tps_footer][/tps_footer]By Etete Enideneze
University education and entry into the core prestigious professions, for instance, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Accounting were seen as the surebets for anyone to rise to greatness and reckoning in society. Thus, they were the delight of many young ones and parents in career choice.
This has however changed drastically. One reason is unemployment arising from inauspicious economic circumstances and governments’ inability to provide white collar jobs or the enabling environment for a booming private sector to engage many graduates.
The second reason is the emergence of new thriving sectors such as Information Communication Technologies, games/sports, performing arts, entertainment and tourism. These thriving sectors have given many young ones platforms to explore and rise to stardom as well as make money.
Many successful persons in these new social sectors, who have achieved even more than some persons in the so-called big-name professions. They have inspired interest in young ones who want to be like them.
Dr. Baraledei Daniel Igali is one of such persons who discovered his path to greatness, not initially in university education and a core profession, but in games. From childhood, wrestling traits shone in him, and he made no mistake. He toed the line of wrestling.
He is the incumbent Commissioner, Ministry of Sports and Youth Development in Bayelsa State. The portfolio is suitable for his vast experience. He is already facilitating institutional progress, for instance, the take off of sports Academy at Asoama and revamping of sports facilities.
His sports and games prowess has led the state’s contingent to victorious campaigns locally, nationally and internationally. And more successes are expected in future outings.
But one aspect that will remain his rubicon test is the reviving of games and sports in communities and schools in Bayelsa State.
This is to engage youths and tackle social vices; catch youngsters and prepare them for future career.
Areas of comparative advantage include traditional wrestling, swimming and other aquatic sports.
If the Governor Douye Diri administration would provide the required financial muscle to do so, Igali might be able to explore the local sporting and games potential of Bayelsans. Such effort would project the state and the people to global recokoning and boost revenues from tourism in these aspects.
Dr. Igali’s meteoric rise to world fame in wrestling began from unquenchable interest and outings in teenage and adult wrestling at his Eniware Community in Southern Ijaw Local Government of Bayelsa State, where he was born in 1974.
The knack for wrestling took him to Plateau State Sports Council as a Programme Athlete in 1990 to1994. He thereafter became Athlete Ambassador to General Mills from 1999 to 2004.
He made waves in Nigeria and Africa in the game, holding grip to the Nigerian National Championship four times from 1990 to 1994, and twice for the African Championship from 1993 to 1994.
Though small in stature, but strong Igali, was not to wrestle in the rings of Nigeria and Africa alone. The talent took him to Canada, where he sojourned for sometime.
Even there, the Ijaw wrestling inspiration gingered him to win and retain the Canadian National Championship for seven times.
Having seen the wrestling prowess in him, the Canadian Government which had been in need of fame in world wrestling, an area it lagged behind, was not to let go Dr. Igali.
He clinched the World Championship for Canada in 1999, and later Olympic Championship in 2000, also for same country. These are besides Commonwealth Championship in 2002.
Igali, while in his robust wrestling career, saw need for tertiary education. He got admitted into the prestigious Simon Fraser University’s School of Criminology, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 2001.
His wrestling streak of victory in all 116 matches, with zero defeat in that university, is yet to be broken by anyone. In inter-university wrestling competitions, he reigned as champion for three years.
Dr. Igali also holds a diploma in Criminology from Douglas College, Burnaby, British Columbia in Canada in 2005. He obtained SSCE in 1988, from Community Secondary School, Eniware.
The tertiary education acquired while in the busy wrestling career, was to further arm himself for other assignments in life.
He was awarded Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa by Kwantlen University College, Surrey, British Columbia in 2007, for outstanding service to society.
The wrestling doyen got many rewards from Canada as he put the country on the gold medals class in wrestling. He was given honourary citizenship of the country. He was also appointed Special Assistant to the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 2006 to 2007.
His athletic pictures and medals are gracing the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame; Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame; Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, all of which he was inducted into at different times from 2000 to 2012.
He also received award as Canadian Athlete of the Year, from 1999 to 2000, as well as Lao Marsh Athlete of the Year in 2000.
These are aside been inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012 for the feats achieved in his world wrestling onslaught against powerful opponents.
Continentally, Dr. Igali the Cat, held the African Wrestling Championship twice, concurrently from 1993 to 1994.
He performs tasks in global administration of wrestling through membership of the Technical Commission of United World Wrestling, a position he has held from 2016 to date. In International administration of wrestling, he is the Vice President of the Commonwealth Wrestling Association, a position he was elected onto in 2018 and still holding it till date.
The patriot was not to entertain or serve foreign land alone. Thus, he often times rendered services to Nigeria, and still doing so till date.
In Nigeria he won the National Wrestling Championship four times concurrently from 1990 to 1994.
His special assignments to Nigeria include Coach to Nigerian Wrestling Team, spanning 2008 to 2013; board member, Nigerian Anti-Doping Agency, 2012 to 2016, and Executive Committee member, Nigerian Olympics Committee, 2013 to date.
Others are President, Nigerian Wrestling Federation from 2013 to date, following his re-election recently, as well as Chairman, Technical Commission, Nigerian Olympics Commission, from 2014 to 2018.
He is equally a member of the Code of Governance Review Committee of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in Nigeria, 2020 to date.
For meritorious services to Nigeria, as well as the continental and global pride he brought to home country, Igali was decorated with the Golden Jubilee Award for Fifty Eminent Personalities in Nigeria, covering the 1960 to 2010.
His administrative track record also earned him, the Nigeria Sports Administrator of the Year Award in 2018.
The Eniware-born wrestling enigma, didn’t forget his roots. He
returned home to serve as Special Envoy on Sports and Educated to the State Governor in 2009, in the era of former Governor Timipre Sylva, a position he held till 2011.
He tested the murky waters of Bayelsa politics, and became a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, two terms, from 2011 to 2019, on the plank of the PDP, to bring global experience to development of the state.
His contributions to legislation and oversight functions cut across bills, constituency projects and leadership as well as membership of various committees including sports/games, his pet area.
On non-legislative platform, he served on many executive committees, among which are Bayelsa State Sports Development Committee and Bayelsa State Association of Traditional Wrestling, all as Chairman in 2011, and the latter from 2015 to date.
Entangled by service of state and politicking, he continued to be in the game, this time, that of politics, and was appointed as Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development in the former Governor Seriake Dickson, from 2019 to 2020. His Political resilience again afforded him the current position of sports commissionership in the state, for the second round.
He has been giving back to society, part of the proceeds of his fruitful wrestling career, through Daniel Igali Foundation. For example, he built a school at Eniware, his community; renders educational support to the needy, trains and sponsors training of young wrestlers and competition in his locale and beyond, to mention a few.
Although, he has made his modest input to sports and games development and human advancement, through personal and public capacities, more is expected of him.
He should therefore, not relent until the targets are fully achieved, even as Governor Douye Diri is also expected to provide more funds to the sector so as to engage many youths and also boost the state’s economy.
And, this is most especially in the aspect of reviving local sports and games at the grassroots and in schools.