The Vice Captain of the golf section of the Ikoyi Club, Dr. Innocent Meckson Okoro has chided the Nigerian government over its nonchalant posture towards the game of golf, which if properly tapped into, would have been of great benefits to the economic value to the nation.
The golfer who claimed to be a golf activist, while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan during one of his outings at the Ibadan Golf Club (IGC), lamented how the government has been neglecting the big economic potentials embedded in golfing cycle.
His words: “The government of Nigeria does not understand what golf is all about. If you travel out of Nigeria to Ghana for instance, you will see that their government pays so much attention to golf because it is not a game for the small boys, but a big tourism affair. Our tourism ministry is supposed to invest in Golf so much and ensure that it is well utilized to the advantage of the nation”
Within the clique of golfers, he continued, “there are investors, industrialists, employers of labour and high players in the nation’s economy, but unfortunately Nigerian government does not understand the power of golf to improve the economy”. He opined that the politics of golf, its entrepreneurial strength, as well as other opportunities that abound in the golfing community were not being effectively tapped into.
Okoro, who is the CEO of M. I. Okoro and Associates, was of the opinion that the Hon. Minister of Sports was not doing well at all as far as Golf was concerned in Nigeria. He explained that there was no reason why the Minister should not be at such a great event as the one going on at the Ibadan Golf Club then to give credence to what was happening because the crème of the society, the movers and the shakers of the Nigerian economy were all in attendance at the occasion.
While speaking about his home club and other golf clubs in Nigeria, Okoro described golf course at the Ikoyi Golf Community Nigeria Association (IGCNA) as the biggest golf course in the whole of Africa. He described the corporate world that exists in Ikoyi Club as a huge one that could make any nation’s economy buoyant if such a nation knew how to tap into the goodwill.
Having played on so many golf courses around the world and here in Nigeria, Okoro said that every golf course was unique, and so no one was preferred to the other. He noted that Ikoyi club had different terrain from Ibadan, while one experiences new terrain in Lakowe, smoking hills. The IBB golf club in Minna for instance also experiences new terrain. All courses are unique on their own but that is not my worry, the golfer said.
Okoro said his worry was how government would derive benefits from golf by buying into golfing community and using it effectively to change policies in the economy and influence great employers of labour the world over who are found in the golfing community. An intelligent government of any nation should key into golf club activities, Okoro concluded.
While speaking on his vision for his home club, the renowned Lagos based Estate Surveyor identified course maintenance as his first priority, saying the “primary investment is in the golf course itself, that 18 holes golf course; whatever one can do to make it the best in the world, one has to show it there”.
He further explained that his vision was to contribute and add his own experience and capabilities to what all the past captains had done. He noted that they had done quite a lot to bring the club to what it was, and by the grace of God, by February 2021, when he would be installed as the Captain of IGCNA, it will be a turning point in the history of golfing in Nigeria.
I have a lot in my brain that I want to show within that one year, and people will see a new beginning that never existed before; one I have a great wealth of contacts and goodwill in Nigeria that I will tap to the advantage of that place. Again I have the audacity, what I mean by audacity there is nothing in this world that shakesme, if am focused to do something, if there is a mountain ahead, I’ll climb the mountain to achieve my will”.
“It took me solid ten years to become the vice captain of Ikoyi club, but I can assure you that knowing my antecedents and my capabilities, I am going to be one of the best captains that club will be proud of. I’m a change agent, I can never come into any environment without leaving a mark, if there’s no opportunity; I create one to make my presence felt”, he enthused.
