Some of the sports administrators who spoke to P.M.NEWS Sports early today described the death of the late Asoju Oba of Lagos as a huge blow to Nigerian sports.
Lagos
Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Enitan
Oshodi who also doubles as the President of Nigeria Table Tennis
Federation, described the late Chief Okoya-Thomas as a true gentleman
whose commitment to youth and sports development was in a league of its
own.
“Chief Okoya-Thomas set himself apart with his
eagerness and unflinching commitment to give back to society, thereby
creating a benchmark that we can all aspire to emulate. I owe a huge
debt of gratitude to the late Chief Okoya-Thomas, whose support,
encouragement and advice will never be forgotten.”
Director
of Sports, Lagos State Sports Council, Dr. Kweku Tandoh who said he saw
the late Okoya-Thomas a week ago, was shocked to hear of his death
yesterday morning.
“There was no sign that we would
lose him so early like this when I saw him a week ago. It was a great
shock to hear of his death. We’ll definitely miss him in Lagos. His
contribution, to say the least, transcends Lagos State and I believe
Nigerian sports will indeed miss him.
“He was a
philanthropist who was committed to what he believed in. He solely
sponsored the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship in the last 46 years, a
record which will be hard to break in this part of the world. He took
active role in the development of Nigerian athletes. He was always there
for Team Nigeria with his moral and financial support. I believe this
great icon of our sports was a great man we would dearly miss,” said
Tandoh.
Super Eagles coach, Adegboyega Onigbinde said
he was shocked when he heard that Nigeria has lost a sports
philanthropist whose achievements in sports cannot be quantified.
He
stated that late Okoya- Thomas has contributed immensely to the sports
development in Nigeria especially Asoju-Oba Table Tennis tournament that
he had been sponsoring for the past 46 years in Lagos.
“His
death will create a big vacuum and I pray that the Lord Almighty will
give the deceased’s family the fortitude to bear the loss,” he said.
Okoya-Thomas
was born in Lagos on 8 June 1935. He studied at Princess School, Lagos,
1946; Balham and Tooting College of Commerce, London, 1956–1959;
Columbia University, New York, US, 1981. He was appointed Director,
Transcap Nigeria Limited; Director, Niger Motors Industries Limited;
Chairman, Studio Press Nigeria Limited and has been the Chairman of CFAO
Nigeria Limited since 1987.
Until his death, he was
the Chancellor of Lagos State University, chairman of many organisations
including CICA (Nigeria) Ltd., Transcap Nigeria Ltd., Oktom Investment
Ltd., Itochu Nigeria Ltd., and Chiyoda
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