Mohammed Jimoh Daudu is the Chairman of Kwara Ladies FC. In this interview with MIKE ADEYEMI he x-rayed the performance of Kwara Football Association leadership as well as speak on the need for incoming government to make as a priority the development of female football in the state. Excerpts:
What informed your participation in sports?
I was a sport officer of St. John African Primary school. After that place, I went to school in Sokoto State where I met a coach who introduced me into crickets.
That time, I was in the state college of Arts and science in Sokoto. I left the school in 1982 and came back to Ilorin where I took up a teaching job at Banni Secondary School. I became the school’s first game master. That was where I picked interest in many sporting activities. Later, I realised that it’s only the male that people always concentrate on at the expense of the female. Then, I started grooming the female for diverse sports and that was how I discovered Patience Lawal that is now the chief coach of weightlifting – Kwara Sports Council.
Later too, I discovered that there should be some female to play football. I called some of my game master friends to start the girls team together then at Baboko Community Secondary School.
We named it Kwara Ladies under the watchword of pro game promotion. From there we produced Laitan Yusuf that played for Nigeria. She is now in the US. We have Sherifat too.
(Cut-in) In a nutshell, Kwara Ladies FC was your initiative?
Yes, I owns it.
How did you come about the name Kwara Ladies?
It was our conception to name the club Kwara Ladies with the hope that any government that comes in would perhaps be attracted and take it over.
Unfortunately, despite all our efforts to get the government to take it up proved abortive. We ‘ve represented Kwara State in Gboko and won. We played challenge cup against Oladimeji Tigress, we beat them.
When Dr. Bukola Saraki was the governor, we were approached that his wife had interest in female football that we should name the team after her. Initially, I declined. But we later concurred and named the team Toyin Saraki Queens. And that was the time we play FA cup and got to the semis.
Prior to the time, Bukola left the government, there wasn’t assistance from the state government to fund the team any more. We had to revert to our normal name.
So you have been solely funding the team all along?
Yes. Except for some like minded friends and individuals who assisted me some times. If not for that, I have been running it with my meagre salary as a teacher.
What are the challenges before the team?
I cannot mention the obstacles without mentioning some things. For example, why is the team called sure babes? Dr. Mike Omotosho came to Ilorin to participate in hockey game. It was there we had discussions and he showed interest in our female team. And that was why we named the club after him when we staged five aside competition at Sheikh Abdukadri. He donated coaster bus to us then. So, majorly the challenges have been that people made pledges to the club but failed to fulfil it. Like the scenario of Omotosho I mentioned earlier, he later backed out and even retired his bus from us. Up till now the club remain with the NFF, but we have resolved not to name it after anybody again.
How many trophies and medals have Kwara Ladies won so far?
We have participated in many soccer events. We participated in the Ajiroba of Erinle competition, we won the cup. We won Unity Cup too. We played U-16 Nigeria national team. We participated at the pro league playoff and we came second with young talent of Lagos and that is why we were promoted to pro from there we qualified for tell premier.
Are you saying the previous Kwara State government did not show interest in female football?
Yes. I will tell you why. Even when a female was a commissioner ,she tried but to no avail. That is Alhaja Ramat Abaya. I went to meet the SA Youths and Empowerment then to put those girls under KWABES, they refused. They did not have interest at all. We hope the new government would do thing differently.
How would you rate Kwara FA comparatively with other states?
They have performed woefully. Because there was no grassroots sports developments in their scheme. The FA can’t bite well in the sense that they do not seek for sponsorship as regards most of their programmes.
If they play FA cup, they will only present the trophy. No medals, no awards for the other teams. And that is the reason some people refuse to register for the FA cup.
(Cut-in) Perhaps they were starved of fund?
They did not drive for it. They do not look out for sponsors. There was no committee on sponsorship in Kwara FA. So, they are not performing.
Can you attribute this lacuna to the leadership style?
Yes. The leadership is not cooperative and he is not listening. He believes in himself alone and you tell him, he wouldn’t listen to whatever anyone tells him. He looks at you as if you are a nobody. So that is the journey so far as regards Kwara FA.
Kwara FA elections is imminent, what should we expect?
We expect a good leadership from those vying for the stool. But we don’t want a situation where by they said somebody has political antecedent.
This is a person who had once organised 5-aside competition as SA sports that could not complete the tournaments since the first tenure of Megida up till now. And he was given money.
He created Megida talents hunt too, nothing came out of it. So that person want to contest. People should shine their eyes and know who to vote for.
(Cut-in) Do you have a preferred candidate among them?
No. What I only have is that we should do it right. There is one other thing I always say. If the central have occupied a sit, the south have also occupied same sit. Why not allow the north too?
(Cut-in) But is this your rotational argument justifiable by the constitution of FA?
No. It’s not stated in the constitution. But, if you look at it – five people from the central have occupied the seat, two people from the south, nobody from the north.
Are they not part of the state? And some of the north now came out to contest and you want to block them up?
That is how it should be. All these are the reasons why the people of south eastern Nigeria often complain of maginisation.
(Cut-in) Have you in any time propose this rotatory arguments before the FA congress?
Yes. I have said it to them.
