Waheed Ekun shot to table tennis limelight in the 1970s and was a regular fixture of the game into the 1980s. He established his fame at the 1st National Sports Festival when as a teenager, he faced off against the more experienced and fans’ favourite, Sunday Eboh in an epic final match in front of the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. Now 67, Ekun shares some of his memorable moments in table tennis with OLALEKAN OKUSAN.
If Lagos were to host the National Sports Festival today, athletes from the south-west would feel they are still on their home turf and expect Lagosians to back them accordingly, especially if pitched against non-South Westerners.
But time was when Lagos was ‘hostile territory’ to non-Lagosian athletes from the south-west like the 1973 men’s singles table tennis champion, Waheed Ekun, who starred for the Western Region at the 1st National Sports Festival held in Lagos that year.
Such was the ‘hostility’ Ekun faced from the Lagos crowd in the final encounter against homeboy, Sunday Eboh (though a non-Yoruba, was playing for Lagos) as the otherwise surefooted, teenage table tennis sensation blew a solid 2-0 game lead.
Fifty years on, Ekun recalled what transpired quite vividly and had then Military Head of State and Special Guest of Honour at the sports festival, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, to thank for helping him regain his confidence and composure with an accidental pep talk right in the middle of the battle against Eboh.
“At the National Sports Festival in Lagos, I had won my way to the final match and my opponent was Sunday Eboh, who would become my lifelong friend,” Ekun recalled in an exclusive interview with NationSport. “It was an epic final with all its suspense and surprises.
“The atmosphere was tense and intimidating for me. In those days, playing in Lagos was like playing in another country since those of us from western region and from the hinterlands were considered as outsiders.
“Anytime we played against Lagosians, we were always treated as strangers or enemies. Psychological warfare was in the air. Worse for me, I encountered and defeated some Lagos-based players along the way to the final game.
“However, what we didn’t have in home support, we gained with our technical abilities and never-say-die spirit. Against Eboh, I knew I had to put in my very best. He was a great player. I won the first two games convincingly. Then I lost concentration in the third set. Eboh rallied back and beat me in the set. 2-1. He went ahead to take the fourth set 2-2 and we had to play the fifth game to decide.
“The atmosphere became highly charged. Our supporters were few so they were overwhelmed by the Lagosians. I was almost on the point of losing but I summoned more courage. Every move became so calculated in the midst of so much noise by the Lagos fans.
“In the fifth game, I was like the opposition playing against Nigeria, with little or no advantage. Then something happened. During the last set, I went to retrieve a loose ball, and sighted General Yakubu Gowon, the then Head of State, very close to the spot where I retrieved the ball. Gowon was the Head of State and the Special Guest of Honour. In a moment, as I bent to pick the tennis ball, the Head of State whispered to me: ‘Take it easy, boy, take it easy.’
“That was all I needed. His words, so comforting, were like the tonic I needed. Somehow, I found both the energy and the rhythm to win the decider, 3-2.
“A part of the hall erupted into jubilation. The supporters and other players carried me shoulder high and started singing my praise as an original Ibadan boy!”
It was a life-changing moment Ekun would have missed if the sports authorities in the then western region had not played a fast one on their young table tennis prodigy. This is because before the National Sports Festival, Ekun was already in Lagos preparatory to a trip to China, which he preferred than to the sports festival. But then providence stepped in, and in a way the teenager could not defect.
Again, Ekun volunteered: “My participation at the first National Sports Festival was a matter of divine intervention. At the 1973 Coca Cola Championship, I won the intermediate singles and during the All Nigeria Open of the same year, I won the junior singles event. Therefore I was invited to the national camp with a view to traveling to China – the Mecca of table tennis then.
“The list had been sent to China and we were in the last phase of our preparation when suddenly I saw the Western State Volleyball Coach, Mr. Omilabu, now late, appearing in our training hall in Lagos, obviously to finish a job they had planned for me. He went straight to Coach Lassey Wilson of blessed memory and they discussed. Later Coach Wilson called me and said they wanted to see me in Ibadan and I can go.
“Obviously there had been discussions between my coach in Ibadan, Coach Mufutau Oduntan, and Coach Wilson that Western State couldn’t afford to let me travel to China because the National Sports Festival was to take place at the same time. I was in the dark of what was happening around me and off I went with Mr. Omilabu to Ibadan.
“In Ibadan, we went straight to the Director of Sport, late Chief Emiola Adesina’s office. On seeing me, he was asking me questions contrary to my expectations and what Mr. Omilabu told me. It was in his office that I realised that I have been tactically brought back to Ibadan. The director then asked the vehicle to take me to Government College, Ibadan where the region’s contingent was camped. When they saw me, it was jubilation galore that I had been brought back!
“ For a few days, I didn’t cooperate, particularly when I heard that the Nigerian team had departed for China. That was how I lost the chance of going to China in 1973. So I had no choice than to do my best possible to win the National Sports Festival singles.”
Ekun fell in love with table tennis at an early age. It was a love which nearly derailed his education as he played truant with schooling just to play the game.
Reminiscing on how it all started, the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) graduate said: “My romance with table tennis started early in life in Ibadan and despite my dedication to table tennis, I couldn’t escape the call of education as my father insisted that I go to coaching classes before getting admission into secondary school, a command I followed half-heartedly.
“Most times, I would leave my books at the coaching centre and rush off to Liberty Stadium, a routine that continued until one day my father decided to check on my attendance.
“Though fear gripped my heart inwardly, I was still bold enough to take him there. A mischievous smile was playing on my lips as we both walked down to Baba Osho’s Coaching Centre. Baba Osho was a teacher at Methodist Primary School, Agbeni. But I confessed before we reached the coaching centre. I knew both of them, teacher and father, would beat the daylight out of me if they found out without my confession. Just before we reached the coaching centre, somewhere in Ita Maya, I told my father the truth: I had been a truant!”
Such was Ekun’s love for table tennis that his truancy persisted: “Despite this confession, my education took the backseat as years passed. My father didn’t press the matter, and I didn’t take any school entrance examinations. I was content playing table tennis and occasionally helping my father at his bricklaying job. My mother, without formal education herself, worried but didn’t interfere.”
However, fate, again, stepped in and Ekun made his way back to the classroom to continue his education, even as table tennis was also the pull to this return to his educational career.
Ekun said: “But my routine changed in 1971 when I decided to enrol at the Islamic High School in Basorun Quarters of Ibadan. I enrolled actually because of table tennis. I wanted to participate in a tournament that was only open to secondary school students.
“Therefore, I obtained a form, passed the exam, and even managed to attend the interview despite a conflicting table tennis match. On the day of the interview, a Western State final game between Yisa Ayesoro and Muyiwa Oni was scheduled to be held at Obisesan Hall.
“Seeing how confused I was, one of the coaches advised, “Go for your interview, lad! If you finish on time, you can still come to watch the game.”
“I thought about it overnight and decided to go for the interview in Basorun. Completing it, one of the examiners announced, “Wait for your results before you leave!” That announcement got me on the edge of my seat as all I wanted was to be in Obisesan Hall, a fairly long trip from the eastern end of the city to the inner northwest edge of the city!”
Although he was back in school, the young Ekun had his challenges still: “Getting admission into Islamic High School was the easy part. Paying the fees was another story. My family managed to scrape together enough money for the first term. I was still focused on table tennis and I was not paying as much attention to school work at all. My commitment to the game was total. I played day and night, quickly becoming proficient in the game. Soon enough, I found myself representing Nigeria. I was rated as the No.1 junior player in the country.”
Looking back over the last five decades, Ekun stated that the maiden 1973 National Sports Festival in Lagos was the turning point for him in life: “For me, 1973 was the golden year of becoming a national star. I had the great privilege of shaking hands with General Gowon, the Head of State.
“Winning at the festival was the beginning of many things to happen to me in table tennis. I was the undisputed champion in that category and this opened the door for me to the national team.
“After the championship, I was immediately given a call up to the national team. Other players of my group were also invited. We had to train extra hard in order to get a placement in the senior category at the national level. In 1974
“We went on tour Europe for about three months despite the fact that I was still in secondary school; Obisanya led the team to Europe and that was the core national team then.”
The ex-national table tennis champion continued: “It is always a very hard choice for me to pick the happiest day of my life. It is even impossible to tag a day and say it is the happiest, but I have seen happy, memorable and perhaps unforgettable days.
“ I will never forget 1973, the year I won in three tournaments, the year I won the National Sports Festival because that was a unique one on its own.
“Also, the year 1993 remains very special and fulfilling to me. It was the year that I retired from the Sports Council. It was also the year I received special commendation from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for one of my articles which appeared in their bulletin.
“The article was singled out for its originality and its recommendation on how to rate individual player’s services and their points for the games. The article focused on the analysis of matches.”
For Ekun, representing Nigeria was the dream of every athlete of his generation as he reminisced: “Representing Nigeria in those days was the ultimate. Every athlete’s ambition was to play to represent Nigeria and we had to compete in several trials to qualify for a call-up to the national senior team. But then, some top players were always accorded priority in the selection of national players when travelling out. They were referred to as those ‘who had cooked their soup’ already. Those given automatic slots in the team were players considered as capable of playing international tournaments and not just ability to play in Nigeria alone.
“Playing table tennis was very popular and to imagine you playing for Nigeria could be unbelievable. The publicity and the showmanship couldn’t be compared. You loved it, you wanted it and everybody respected you for it. They talk less of your education but your performance only and since recognition was what we wanted, we enjoyed it. You have more money than your mates; you have the latest clothes than most of them also,” he said
On the 50th anniversary of Ekun’s triumph at the 1st National Sports Festival : “The 50th anniversary of my winning the gold medal at the 1st National Sports Festival is the initiative of a committee of friends who felt that we have to appreciate God in my life.
“Secondly, it is to let people know that there are still those whom God has blessed to remain alive and active. We also want to re-awaken or call attention to table tennis as a sport that is not getting enough attention both from the media and authorities.
“We will use the opportunity to unveil a book written by me on my sojourn in table tennis and to establish a foundation for the development of the young ones who might need assistance in promoting their game and supporting their educational pursuit. And importantly, we wish to re-enact the scene of 1973 between Sunday Eboh and myself,” Ekun said.
Ekun has a lot to thank God for as he recalled a near-fatal incident. “Life, however, is not without its ups and downs. One of the darkest days in my life happened in 1974. I had just returned from my European tour and I had decided to sleep at the family house that night. After a heavy rainfall, the house collapsed, and in that tragedy, one of my cousins was killed on the spot. We slept in the same room.
“I was buried in the rubble for hours. The search party was not sure that I was in the collapsed building but somebody had insisted that they saw me the previous night. Finally, when the search party found me, they thought I was dead since the first body, my cousin, was found dead. In the process of pulling me out, I hit my head on stones and metals which resulted in the contours I have on my head now.
“I spent close to six months in the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, struggling between life and death. They said I was unconscious for weeks. When I finally woke up from my long sleep, my first question was, “Where am I? My hands are touching the ground.”
“The room erupted in jubilation. ‘Thank God! He’s woken up’; they cried. I had regained consciousness. I was made to sit in a wheelchair. My survival was by the grace of God and the good services provided by the University College Hospital at the time.
“For months, I became a permanent resident at UCH. I became familiar with the routine of the ward. And I loved the food they used to serve.
“I bounced back from that near-death experience, returning to the sport I loved and clinched victories in 1975 and 1976, when I participated in a contest put together by Ghana and Nigeria.”
Yet, Ekun is concerned that athletes who represent Nigeria and bring honour to the country are not being celebrated enough. He pointed to the exploits of Quadri Aruna across the globe, insisting that the Nigerian table tennis superstar has not received any major national honour or due recognition from Oyo State where Aruna hails from.
Nevertheless, the love of table tennis continues to burn bright in Ekun’s heart: “Table tennis is like Siamese twins to me. Table tennis has been my life-long companion; I stayed with the game as if there was nothing else. I gave my life to it. I gave it my all before I voluntarily resigned my appointment in December 1993 after a thorough analysis of my life in the game and my well-being.
“If love reigns within the rank and file of the sport, the game would be better in all ramifications. But I give God the honour and glory for the doors and opportunities that table tennis has given me in life,” he added.
