Erstwhile captain of the cricket national team, Endurance Ofem, speaks candidly on how the sport has impacted positively on his life, as well as the current efforts being put together by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) to unearth many more gems for the bat-and-ball game in this interesting conversation with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.
Sport, they say, ‘is more than life’; and Endurance Ofem, erstwhile national captain, reckons cricket has indeed given him many good things to be cheerful about.
Though he grew up at a time football was about the only fascination for the youths, a facetious event during his days in the secondary school gave him the unexpected breakthrough in the bat-and-ball game.
“Well, I wished my mother saw me play cricket,” Ofem, who is currently the players’ representative on the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), told The Nation. “I actually started playing cricket after she left.”
“Honestly, my early years were not easy; lost my mother at 12 so I saw cricket as an opportunity to get better in life. A visit to TBS (Tafawa Balewa Square) cricket oval during a school game and I loved the ambiance and beautiful looking kits and dress code, then white!
“That endeared me to the game that gave me lots of mentors. Augustine Iya Nya, Ewa Henshaw and Doctor Michael Ayivor had great impact on me while I was growing up.
“So, I practically got all the support away from a traditional Nigerian Home. These men made growing up easier and that is what I will always be thankful for.
“Dad had always backed my decisions, but growing up away from him made that (playing cricket) possible. Always wanted me to have a good name for myself and family; he gave the little he could in my early career.
“I remember going to him to say: ‘dad, I have an opportunity to play sports and need an international passport’, and I recollect him managing to find the funds even with the low end then. But we are good friends and staying that way has helped.”
Yet, Ofem could hardly forget the man who actually introduced him to the game in his younger years, adding that his engagement with cricket underlined his general outlook about life.
“I came in contact with cricket during my days in the high school. Answar-Ud-Deen Grammar School gave me the opportunity to have a go at something new,” recalled Ofem, a graduate of History and International Relations from Lagos State University (LASU). “I met the game in my JSS 2, ironically during a football training session.
“I was left out of the starting 11. Of course, young me was grumpy and there was this gentle coach Austin Iya Nya who was watching me and he just said: ‘you could spend your waiting time playing cricket and here you go, have a bat’. And I tried my first shot and he said: ‘you got good hand and eye coordination, you will make a good cricketer.’ From then, I believe the rest is history now.”
Regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Ofem, who will be 37 in July, featured in several international matches including the International Cricket Council (ICC) League in 2013 and 2014 where he distinguished himself.
“Well, best memories (with cricket); I had many of them as a player,” recalled Ofem who had an impressive 90 runs during the 2014 ICC World Cricket League match against Cayman Island in Kuala Lumpur.
“In fact, there are three great memories on my minds.
“One was my third wicket partnership with Dotun Olatunji’s Ghana in Botswana; we were down 11 runs for three wickets when he joined me. We were chasing 250 or there about and we both went on to 211 for 3. That was a 200 runs partnership and we eventually won the game.
“Second, was my opening stand partnership with Segun Olayinka’s Cayman Islands in my last tournament for Nigeria in 2014. It was a record braking opening stand of 180 between us.
“The third were the big moments of qualifying to the world league for the first time in 2008. I was player of the tournament held in South Africa with three man-of-the-match awards. Earlier that year, I had bagged the player of the series awards in a North West Africa tournament held in Nigeria.
“The worst moment, for me, is having to retire from on-field business; if you ever have that feeling of actually letting go your family. The players, coaches, the dressing room atmosphere, the friends made, I miss those moments but I am always grateful for the opportunities provided by the game between 2002 and 2014.”
His repertoire also included playing for the West Africa U19s in 2001; Nigerias Cricket Club and Black Heath Cricket Club in the United Kingdom; Howzat Pioneers, GCI Old Boys Cricket Club, Ibeju Lekki Cricket Club and currently Lagos Asians Cricket Club.
Still, Ofem is not perturbed that he doesn’t command a celebrity status often bestowed to even average footballers that never attained a measure of his achievements as a cricket player. “Well, I wish I could be that popular (like footballers). But guess what? I still enjoy the respect once people come to know who I am and things I had done for the country.
“The only wish is to have been as rich as the footballers. Always every sportsman’s wish. I think that’s actually what makes Nigerians see you as a celebrity.”
Of course, cricket has its currency following the stellar performances of many players at the global level and Ofem has, in the meantime, named two international players that shaped his love for the game.
“My sporting idols are the former Australia captain, Steve Waugh, and the former West Indies Batsman, Viv Richards,” he revealed. “I had Google loads of videos to be able to see the mental toughness of these cricketers; their approaches and way of life.
“I love to watch them play and like to read what other players have to say about them and my saying and take away from them is that ‘life will not serve you meals but it has all the ingredients to make your meals, you got to fetch them yourself’.
“This is my personal submission about cricket and the brain behind the pocket of successes.”
In this clime, cricket is often regarded as an elitist sport but Ofem said the sport is more than a way of life. “I don’t think that narration (that cricket is elitist in nature) has changed. It actually depends on how you see or understand the statement.
“Presently and as always been, the game is a character moulder and you are expected to be a gentleman by the time you begin to play and are in contact with the sport.”
It is in this respect that the Nigeria Cricket Federation instituted the NCF/PWC Naija Kids Cricket project in order to increase awareness and appreciation of the sport by Nigerian youngsters.
Last January, the second phase of that campaign reportedly took place at TBS Oval where more than 250 kids gathered to receive sets ofmodified cricket equipment to practice their new-found sport at their respective schools.
“I think number one factor limiting against the steady growth of cricket in Nigeria as compared with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya for instanceis the level of popularity of the game,” admitted Ofem who was a wicketkeeper in his heyday. “People don’t really know the game here and this is because only the elite schools played the game a few decades back. This is a key factor militating against the present growth.
“Sponsors in Nigeria also don’t understand the grassroots picture, hence the setback. If you visit South Africa, from the immigration, they know cricket even if they don’t play actively. This is clearly as a result of the bakers Mimi cricket which started years back with plan to just involve kids.
“One thing we have to drive home is to try and impact as many kids in primary and secondary schools as much as we can and this way you have a growing followership for the game; the press has an important role to play.
“Football seems to be the only sport in Nigeria, leaving out the other non-Olympics sports.
“Once this can be achieved, then we also build an age group tournament pathway for continuous involvement and this will help you grow numbers, enlighten families and the growing population of the game; and also create opportunity for potential sponsors to become part of the success stories.”
Ofem further elucidated on the efforts of the NCF: “We already started that initiative mentioned earlier and the plan is to take the game to all 36 states plus FCT.We have partnered with PWC in the 9ja kids cricket initiative.
“We have reached 19 states currently and looking forward to the remaining 18 states while encouraging states to set up Cricket Association where there is none to sustain such initiative. We have reviewed targets to reach 10,000 kids this year through this programme with a follow up with the organisation of a youth tournament yearly.
“It is a continuous process of kids’ involvement, coach education training, community cricket initiatives and local administration. We are trying and have continued to motivate states to get them involved in such partnerships and we are so far happy with results recorded.”
The resurgent efforts of the present board of the NCF has started bearing fruits and during the week the national U-19 team impressed at the Africa Division 1 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers held at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Windhoek (Botswana).
“We have a few potential from the U19s and if properly managed, we should start seeing results within two to three years,” hinted Ofem who hails from Cross River State but was born and bred in Lagos.
“Taiwo Muhammed (Lagos-based left arm fast bowler);Okpe Sylvester from Kaduna, Aho Peter from Edo, Rasheed Abolarin from Ilorin, Olaleye Elijah and Runsewe from Oyo; I think they will go places. The senior boys will need this infusion in not too distant future.”
Of course, Ofem is enamoured about the tasks before him as a representative of the players on the board of the NCF and there is no shade of doubt that he knows his onions as far as cricket is concerned. “As player representative on the board, my basic constituency responsibility is to look after what affects players. This is not limited to the national teams but players of the game across the country.
“This explains my mission in making sure I drive home my views in relation to players’ welfare, facility development, elite players’ development and player management initiative in order for them to have a better life after cricket.
“It’s a huge responsibility as it borders on building and sustaining the trust between the players and the board. If they fail on the field, we fail on the board because on field result is an extension of the board room decision.
“This message needs to be clearly passed across in the right language. And the players also need protection and guidance. They need who they can trust. They need to be able to access you as an individual and trust they can share life changing challenges and decisions. I am also involved in the technical policies in line with our development goals.”
Of course, it is well said that ‘there is a dutiful woman behind every successful sportsman’ and Ofem is more than thrilled that he was led to the woman of his dreams inadvertently through his routine with cricket.
“We met in church,” he explained. “The moment you see a friend who later becomes a partner. She became interested in what I did and planned my private trips to club cricket in the UK; and the rest is history you already know.
“Well, she’s a complete guide and angel. A graduate of Business Management currently a ticketing and reservation professional with customer relations experience. Loves her travels and family,” offered Ofem who is currently an assistant administrative manager at Spectranet Limited.
OFEM IN QUANTITIES
- The number of International Cricket Council (ICC) League tournaments attended by Endurance Ofem with Nigeria. In 2013,he helped the team finish second in the Division Six Tournament played in Jersey (Bailiwick of Jersey)to earn a slot in the subsequent ICC Division Five League Tournament in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 2014 where the team ironically placed fourth.
- The highest number of runs reportedly scored by Endurance Ofem against Cayman Islands at Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur on 9thMarch 2014, yet he reckons he might have even done better in other matches with the national team ‘because I started playing when statistics were not very strongly collated in Nigeria!’
