SPORTS PERSONALITY: ‘Summit, only way forward to sports devt in Kwara’ – Jimoh Oke

Jimoh Oke Mohammed is the current Kwara United Team Manager, in this interview with MIKE ADEYEMI he speaks about the performance of Kwara United in the ongoing abridge league as well as the need for sports summit to bring about paradigm shift in grassroots sports developments in Kwara State. Excerpts:

How did you came into football management? 
Precisely, I come into football administration in March 1996. That time I was secretary to many association at the Kwara State sports council.
I was secretary to Badminton, boxing, waist- lifting and table tennis.
So there after, when the purchase of exile football club by the Kwara State Government, the then FA secretary Mr. J. F Rotimi was assigned to go and handle Kwara United.
Immediately he left that time, I was seconded to handle kwara Football Association. I was there for so many years and up till date no one has measured up to what I did.
After my retirement, the sports council deem it fit not to let go my wealth of experience and I was contracted by the FA.
Thereafter, when the current  board of Kwara United came in, they requested for my relief from both the sports council and the FA.
The sports council and the FA chairman find it difficult to releases me. But for the interest of developments of football in the state ,they agreed to let me go and take up as the team manager of Kwara United FC.
How has your appointment so far impacts the Club positively?
I think I assumed office in 2002. And ever since then, I have played my role diligently.
You see, football is not meant for individuals. It’s a collective responsibility that matters, and on that note we have worked on.
With the cooperation of our chairman, we are working as one family. Every body including the players and the bathroom staff, we have find it easy because we carried ourselves all along.
How would you compare Kwara United of today with that of yesteryears? 
Let me be very specific. I’m not saying the former board had not done well, because as at the time I was then the secretary of FA, I had privilege to have assessed some performances of the then board.
Chief Okafor of blessed memory did a good job. But what I noticed that time that is different to the present management is that, the present board are after results.
The present chairman is after results -whereas most of people looking for Kwara United job, with special apology are interested on how to enrich themselves.
And that has been given us negative results and behavior. So that is the different that I can see from the former organizations and now.
Cut-in-(The former board are interested in?… 
They are interested in their pocket, while the present board are after results.
What is your assessment on Kwara United performance at the abridge league? 
So far we are not performing so badly. However, we have lost some matches, but at that we are still comfortable.
What policy would you proffer to bring about paradigm shift in sports development in Kwara?
I retired as a deputy director organizing at the sports council and we have been agitating for sports summit.
If that is been put in place and they exhibits whatever resolutions reached at the summit, honestly the sky will be the beginning of sport developments in Kwara state.
You will see that most of our athletes when they are fairly put, leave the state to other states. And with the present situation no athletes we want to stay in such a situation.
Cut-in-(Why do they left)?
Principally it’s poor welfare by the State. There is hardly any state you go today in Nigeria where you will not see one or two athletes with Kwara origins.
Cut in – (And you think with sports summit these lacunis would be addressed)? 
Yes. Whatever the resolutions from the summit would take care of that. If the resolutions are strictly taken into, it will put sports developments at the grassroots forward.
As Kwara United team manager, what have you done rightly to allow for posterity to put aright? 
The legacy is already on ground. So many of it.
Football supposed to be an open policy of a thing which I have severally demonstrated.
Football management is not about what you want to gain for yourself, rather what you want to do to develop the game. That is,  what you want to do to make people happy.