With Igali's resignation, RIP Nigerian wrestling.

Igali, you did your best, left your comfort zone to serve your fatherland. Posterity and history will not forget you.

Nah wah ohh. Things dey happen for this country

Bobloco:



Did he successfully replicate what he did in Canada

how can he do that successfully without funds?

naptu2:
Honourable Daniel Baraladei Igali took up wrestling after Olympian Macauley Appah visited his village in the mid-1980s. He won his first national championship in freestyle wrestling in 1990 and repeated that feat in 1991, 1993, and 1994. He was also the Nigerian Greco-Roman champion in 1991 and 1993 and African freestyle champion in 1993 and 1994.

He represented Nigeria at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He stayed back in Canada after the games and sought political asylum there.

He wrestled for Douglas College, and then Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia and was undefeated over 116 matches at the collegiate level through 1999. Along the way he was the Canadian national Greco-Roman welterweight champion in 1997 and, after gaining his citizenship, national freestyle champion in 1998 and fourth in that division at the 1998 World Championships. He gained serious attention in 1999, however, when he took gold and bronze in the category at the World Championships and Pan American Games respectively, in addition to being national champion in both styles of wrestling. He was then selected for Canada’s delegation to the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he defeated Russia’s Arsen Gitinov in the finals to capture the gold medal, the first ever in wrestling for a Canadian. That year he won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete.

Igali focused on freestyle wrestling for the remainder of his career and was Canadian champion again in 2001 and 2002. Switching to the middleweight division, he earned gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and competed at the Summer Olympics in 2004, but was defeated by eventual bronze medalist Iván Fundora of Cuba in the quarter-finals and placed sixth. He retired from active competition after the Games.

He ran for political office in British Columbia in 2005, but was defeated. He then returned to Nigeria. In 2006 he was injured in a robbery incident in Nigeria.

In 2009 he was appointed a special adviser to Governor Timipre Sylva on sports. He was elected into the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.

He has also served as a coach for Nigeria’s wrestling delegations to the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. He served as technical director of the Nigerian Wrestling Federation and he was eventually elected president of the federation. He currently also serves as Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports.

Very rich profile. Dude is smart, but I don't believe his story of not receiving a dime. Was he not paid salaries

adedayoa2:
how can he do that successfully without funds?

Tinubu refused to fund the NWF

Nigerians generally like fun in everything- sports if you market it correctly.

For example, if you set up giant speakers in your neighbourhood and you have food, you don't need to invite people before they show up. It is only lazy people who expect government to fund everything.

To head a sporting federation in Nigeria, you need to have a strong network of friends.

If you pitch a good idea to your friends or corporate organizations, they'd put good money down to help you. Nigerian Bottling Company, for example, would put money down, and you'd attract international funding if you play your cards well.

It is only lazy people who expect government to fund everything. Banks are making humongous profits, where do they channel the funds to?

To those aspiring to head sporting federations, prepare a strong proposal, identify your focus areas (Niger Delta for swimming for example), and plan local competitions. Make it attractive, and people would come. Have some side attractions, like comedy and music. Once you succeed at the local scene, move it to the national scene. Once you are seen to be serious, a big corporate organization would want to go into spnsorship with you and you'd have so much sponsorship money that you can pay salaries and even arrange more competitions.

How did FIFA become a global power house?

Sponsorships!

Who are those sponsoring BBNaija, Miss Nigeria, Miss Universe? Why are they successful? How is government involved?

Sports is big business. We just have people without talents thinking that the government must fund everything, including salaries. We have the talents who are athletes, we need the sponsors who are waiting for the right minds to approach them. Once the athletes start making waves, they get individual sponsorships and the federations can get a percentage based on mutually-agreed terms.

That is how you keep making money.

Nigerians will like to watch wrestling, football, archery, and even people quarelling (assuming it is a sport). To excite our people is very easy. In developed countries, people actually go to school to learn sports management.

We need to stop complaining and start thinking.

Bobloco:


Tinubu refused to fund the NWF

for 12 years?

Bobloco:


Tinubu refused to fund the NWF

For 12 years! We are in 2024 and 12 years ago was 2012.

This is funny.

If you were not giving Kobo as you said, then why did you spend 12yrs?

naptu2:


For 12 years! We are in 2024 and 12 years ago was 2012.

This is funny.

Tinubu have been president for more than fifteen months now, Why didn't he fund NWF

Bobloco:


Tinubu have been president for more than fifteen months now, Why didn't he fund NWF

1) Why should he fund the NWF? Isn't it a pro-sports body?

2) Daniel Igali said that he didn't receive a dime for 12 years, was Tinubu president for 12 years?

3) Daniel Igali did not say that government has not funded the NWF. In fact, he actually said that government has provided funds to the NWF. Read what he said and understand what he is saying.

naptu2:
Honourable Daniel Baraladei Igali took up wrestling after Olympian Macauley Appah visited his village in the mid-1980s. He won his first national championship in freestyle wrestling in 1990 and repeated that feat in 1991, 1993, and 1994. He was also the Nigerian Greco-Roman champion in 1991 and 1993 and African freestyle champion in 1993 and 1994.

He represented Nigeria at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He stayed back in Canada after the games and sought political asylum there.

He wrestled for Douglas College, and then Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia and was undefeated over 116 matches at the collegiate level through 1999. Along the way he was the Canadian national Greco-Roman welterweight champion in 1997 and, after gaining his citizenship, national freestyle champion in 1998 and fourth in that division at the 1998 World Championships. He gained serious attention in 1999, however, when he took gold and bronze in the category at the World Championships and Pan American Games respectively, in addition to being national champion in both styles of wrestling. He was then selected for Canada’s delegation to the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he defeated Russia’s Arsen Gitinov in the finals to capture the gold medal, the first ever in wrestling for a Canadian. That year he won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete.

Igali focused on freestyle wrestling for the remainder of his career and was Canadian champion again in 2001 and 2002. Switching to the middleweight division, he earned gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and competed at the Summer Olympics in 2004, but was defeated by eventual bronze medalist Iván Fundora of Cuba in the quarter-finals and placed sixth. He retired from active competition after the Games.

He ran for political office in British Columbia in 2005, but was defeated. He then returned to Nigeria. In 2006 he was injured in a robbery incident in Nigeria.

In 2009 he was appointed a special adviser to Governor Timipre Sylva on sports. He was elected into the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.

He has also served as a coach for Nigeria’s wrestling delegations to the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. He served as technical director of the Nigerian Wrestling Federation and he was eventually elected president of the federation. He currently also serves as Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports.

Mehn!! What a resume!

So many wins in the man's career o!
Like wtf!

DJ Yk

emkz:
Nigerians generally like fun in everything- sports if you market it correctly.

For example, if you set up giant speakers in your neighbourhood and you have food, you don't need to invite people before they show up. It is only lazy people who expect government to fund everything.

To head a sporting federation in Nigeria, you need to have a strong network of friends.

If you pitch a good idea to your friends or corporate organizations, they'd put good money down to help you. Nigerian Bottling Company, for example, would put money down, and you'd attract international funding if you play your cards well.

It is only lazy people who expect government to fund everything. Banks are making humongous profits, where do they channel the funds to?

To those aspiring to head sporting federations, prepare a strong proposal, identify your focus areas (Niger Delta for swimming for example), and plan local competitions. Make it attractive, and people would come. Have some side attractions, like comedy and music. Once you succeed at the local scene, move it to the national scene. Once you are seen to be serious, a big corporate organization would want to go into spnsorship with you and you'd have so much sponsorship money that you can pay salaries and even arrange more competitions.

How did FIFA become a global power house?

Sponsorships!

Who are those sponsoring BBNaija, Miss Nigeria, Miss Universe? Why are they successful? How is government involved?

Sports is big business. We just have people without talents thinking that the government must fund everything, including salaries. We have the talents who are athletes, we need the sponsors who are waiting for the right minds to approach them. Once the athletes start making waves, they get individual sponsorships and the federations can get a percentage based on mutually-agreed terms.

That is how you keep making money.

Nigerians will like to watch wrestling, football, archery, and even people quarelling (assuming it is a sport). To excite our people is very easy. In developed countries, people actually go to school to learn sports management.

We need to stop complaining and start thinking.

If u think Coca-Cola will sponsor freestyle wrestling in this country then ur mistaken o.

Them never finish to sponsor football na wrestling they want sponsor.

Who will watch the wrestling.

Some sports are just more appealing and lucrative than others.

Even chess and table tennis will generate more interest than the wrestling.


How do u begin to tell high profile people, including business men and politicians in Nigeria that u want to put freestyle wrestling on the map?


Which corporate organizations or banks will jump in.

U need to understand the mindset of sponsors too. They will also want to be promoted as a brand.

This is Nigeria where people prefer to build clubs and hotels than cater for the community or masses.

naptu2:
Making of Champions @MakingOfChamps

I'm sorry but this is hard to believe
If he didn't receive anything he would have gone public earlier
What would be more accurate is that he didn't receive enough funding
Simple

Bobloco:



Did he successfully replicate what he did in Canada

Igali became president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, creating the highest morale athletes for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and highest medal hopefuls for Nigeria at the Games.

3 things that Daniel Igali said

1) He personally did not receive 50 kobo in 12 years as NWF president.

2) Government usually provides money for competitions, but they need money for long term training.

3) Government should encourage corporate sponsors to provide money for long term training. That is the biggest problem of the federation.

robosky02:


Get sense

This man is an Olympic gold medalist with Canada, as a Canadian citizen


He only came to Nigeria to replicate what he did in Canada


And he has done well

Are you minding that one? As if he'd come online to tell a lie when the whole world would see it... One even said he should swear with ogun. Some Nigerians are so blind to the issues in the country.

Bobloco:
You didn't receive a dime and you remained president for 12 years

Lol, exactly what I wanted to type

Exousiang01:
That salary is the real reason he kept winning re-election for 12 years.
Trust Nigerians to have fought him out and even protested over his serving for too long as president if money was involved.

We have to give the man his flowers, he tried.
It couldn't have been easy

He has single handedly funded the welfare and training of our wrestlers. He is the reason Nigeria has bagged so many Commonwealth Gold medals.

He has tried. The most selfless Federation head ever, apart from late Aderinokun who headed the volleyball association years ago.

Ogbodavies:
Hard 2 believe.... Nigerians no dey stay long for national position wey money no dey

Not everyone is a lowlife like APC and their supporters

This is sad. Despite how Nigerian wrestlers have been faring in the last decade.

IGALI RESPONDS:

When I see sensational write ups of this nature, it makes me understand why people are reticent to speak to the press.

I had a chat with journalists yesterday (Wednesday, 18th September) in Asaba. I explained that one of the reasons sports has not done as well as it ought to in Nigeria, is because federations don’t have budgets for development of the various sports. Nigeria and the federal ministry of sports development funds some competitions, mostly Games and some percentage of continental championships. But what is lacking is the zero allocation to federations for the development of coaches, referees and programs of the federations.

Comparatively, wrestling has been fared better than 80% of sports when it comes to funding for competitions. That’s not what I told the press yesterday.

I felt I should make this clarification.

I have even seen a publication that said I am bowing out as federation president because the ministry has not given me a kobo in 12 years. That’s patently false.

I have maintained a very good relationship with all ministers and perm secs over the past 12 years of my reign as president of the federation. My tenure expires next year and I cannot seek re election for the same reason presidents obasanjo or Gen. buhari could not go for another term.




Daniel Igali.

Abeg short your mouth. Lies

naptu2:
Making of Champions @MakingOfChamps

Hi Nap! Good morning Brother.

Just this small clarification:

I believe the context matters. Journalists, whose duties it is to inform the public, must update themselves with current trends in the area of their practice.

How can he say Igali is not seeking to be reelected when Igali, even before he contested for his third term, has been STATUS BARRED from recontesting?

This information has been in the public space for almost FOUR years!

Na why he stayed that long and nobody dey follow am drag the post

If money dey, dem for don they protest against him for staying so long as President of NWF

naptu2:
Honourable Daniel Baraladei Igali took up wrestling after Olympian Macauley Appah visited his village in the mid-1980s. He won his first national championship in freestyle wrestling in 1990 and repeated that feat in 1991, 1993, and 1994. He was also the Nigerian Greco-Roman champion in 1991 and 1993 and African freestyle champion in 1993 and 1994.

He represented Nigeria at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He stayed back in Canada after the games and sought political asylum there.

He wrestled for Douglas College, and then Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia and was undefeated over 116 matches at the collegiate level through 1999. Along the way he was the Canadian national Greco-Roman welterweight champion in 1997 and, after gaining his citizenship, national freestyle champion in 1998 and fourth in that division at the 1998 World Championships. He gained serious attention in 1999, however, when he took gold and bronze in the category at the World Championships and Pan American Games respectively, in addition to being national champion in both styles of wrestling. He was then selected for Canada’s delegation to the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he defeated Russia’s Arsen Gitinov in the finals to capture the gold medal, the first ever in wrestling for a Canadian. That year he won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete.

Igali focused on freestyle wrestling for the remainder of his career and was Canadian champion again in 2001 and 2002. Switching to the middleweight division, he earned gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and competed at the Summer Olympics in 2004, but was defeated by eventual bronze medalist Iván Fundora of Cuba in the quarter-finals and placed sixth. He retired from active competition after the Games.

He ran for political office in British Columbia in 2005, but was defeated. He then returned to Nigeria. In 2006 he was injured in a robbery incident in Nigeria.

In 2009 he was appointed a special adviser to Governor Timipre Sylva on sports. He was elected into the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.

He has also served as a coach for Nigeria’s wrestling delegations to the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. He served as technical director of the Nigerian Wrestling Federation and he was eventually elected president of the federation. He currently also serves as Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports.

Imagine nothing good happened to him in Nigeria

Hmmmmm 12yrs and you are still the President fear devil if you do not fear God

Bobloco:


Tinubu refused to fund the NWF

Has Tinubu been president for the past 12 years? Your obsession with Tinubu has become needs medical assessment. Check yourself.

membranus:


Has Tinubu been president for the past 12 years? Your obsession with Tinubu has become an obsession. Check yourself.

So why did Tinubu refused to fund NWF for the past 15 months he has been in office?

Great ijaw man , the likes of oborodudu did well under his mentorship.

Oga so Jonathan no pay you for 2years +8years buhari+ 2years of Tinubu now?
And na now you dey complain you be thief na people like you dey tell people way get pure talent to go bring money first before una go put am for sport
You no get car?
You no get family?
How do you feed your family and service that car you have been using for that 12years
Aragbala barawo
Make I no catch you for junction oo