By Emeka Obasi
It is no coincidence that Sadiq Abdullahi will be opportuned once again to talk about his hero, Arthur Ashe. Tennis development connects both men, one a former world champion, the other an African champion and Olympian.
The gulf between Ashe, three times grand slam singles winner and Abdullahi, Nigeria’s best, three times consecutively, is wide. The age difference is huge but they struck a chord and remained close until the latter died in New York 30 years ago.
They first met in 1976. Abdullahi was a Ball – Boy at the Lagos Tennis Club. Ashe was defending Wimbledon champion and was visiting Nigeria for the second time. The first was in 1970, at the instance of the the American Embassy which packaged a Goodwill Tour.
On November 16, 2023, Abdullahi will be in Washington, DC for Ashe. It is a grand occasion dubbed, ‘Ashe in South Africa, 50th Anniversary, Honouring the Past, Envisioning the Future.’ Organised by The Arthur Ashe Legacy, it will be hosted by the South African Embassy.
Patricia Turner, Director of the Arthur Ashe Legacy Project and a Research Professor of African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles believes Abdullahi knows enough to be part of the occasion.
Abdullahi is therefore invited ” because of his expertise on the impact of Arthur Ashe in the spread of tennis in Africa so that he can share his wisdom at the South African Embassy and the Junior Tennis Champions Centre,” Turner wrote.
As US Open champion in 1968, Ashe fought for inclusiveness in sports. In March 1970, he was denied visa by apartheid South Africa. That led to the expulsion of the country from the Davis Cup. The African American won the Australian Open, same year.
In November 1973, the John Vorster regime granted Ashe visa and he landed in South Africa. It is now 50 years after the trip, that explains the event organised by the Arthur Ashe Legacy Project in Washington DC.
Ashe’s love for Mother Africa brought him to Nigeria in 1976, for the second time. He emerged tops at Wimbledon in 1975 and encouraged the recognition of the continent through the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Professional Circuit series.
The Lagos Tennis Classic tournament, Black Africa’s first professional tennis championships, was a huge investment. Ashe and 13 other stars from across the globe landed in Lagos for the 60,000 United States dollars show.
It was in February 1976. Two Nigerians, Lawrence Awopegba and Yemisi Allan, enjoyed Wild Card entries. Abdullahi was one of the Ball – Boys and had known Allan since 1967 when he jumped their Onikan home to pick balls for the player.
It would be great, Allan against superstars. Abdullahi was thrilled when the Head Ball – Boy, Kehinde Ajayi won a racket from the Big Boys in a demonstration game. All went well at the Lagos Tennis Club, until Day Four.
On February 13, 1976, General Murtala Mohammed was assassinated in an abortive coup led by Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka. In the madness that followed, soldiers, led by a captain, invaded the tennis courts. It was an unfortunate situation.
What the soldiers did not know was that Ashe was a US Army officer and had retired as a First Lieutenant in 1969. He would have served in Vietnam but his younger brother, Johnnie, also a combatant, chose to extend service so that the player could go on with tennis.
As a soldier, Ashe won the US Open in 1968 but did not get the 14,000 dollars prize money because of service. He was okay with a 20 dollars daily stipend. Dimka was Head of Nigeria Army Physical Training Corps and passed out from Portsea, Australia seven years before Ashe won the Aussie Open.
Perhaps, the only sane officer on February 13 was Lt. Col Ibrahim Babangida who was ordered by Army Chief, General Yakubu Danjuma, to level Radio Nigeria, if need be , to foil the coup. What it meant was that many innocent souls around Ikoyi would have died.
Babangida, unarmed, went into the studio, cajoled Dimka to leave or be destroyed. That act of bravery saved the lives of Christopher Kolade, Roseline Ogunro, Soni Irabor, Ben Egbuna and Steven Akiga ( the later day Sports minister) who was a young Prisons officer at Alagbon Close.
Football legend, Pele, was also in Lagos at the time for a Pepsi sponsored Promotional. All the stars lodged at the Federal Palace Hotel. The coup separated them. US Ambassador, Donald Easum, had to walk back to his residence, from Onikan.
It was also in 1976 that Reggae man, Jimmy Cliff, played into trouble in Nigeria for breach of contract. He hurried away. The man who nearly nailed him was one Sadik. In Ashe’s case, the Wimbledon champion did not run away. He went back to court four days later, to play before leaving.
Abdullahi is coordinating the Tennis Nigerian Vision Network (TNVN), from Miami, Florida. It is all about development. Ashe was International Tennis Director at Doral Resort and Country Club, Miami and had the Nigerian as Head of Coaching.
