The sports crew of Silverbird Television (STV) has taken another historic and unprecedented giant step in showcasing the exploits of two teenagers, Daniel Hassan Adeshina and Desmond Ojieh, who are growing fast through the ranks of table tennis, chess and athletics respectively.
While they are both still attending Will-B Excellence Secondary School, Ikotun, Lagos, Adeshina is a 13-year-old senior secondary one (SS1) student that is steadily making waves in chess and table tennis, while Ojieh is in SS3 and doing well in 100m, 200m and relay races.
They were on Wednesday both granted audience by Silverbird Television and got a huge avenue to reveal themselves to a wide public view, as they fielded questions for 15 minutes on the mid-morning programme, Sports Café, anchored by Blessing Nwosu-Ukegbu.
It was such a rewarding and revealing time on live television, as the female sports broadcaster fondly called ‘Bouncing Blessing’ took both youngsters through a series of questions about their hobbies, academics, mentors, sports and general aspirations in life.
Before going on air with Nwosu-Ukegbu, who is a renowned personality in the comity of Lagos State chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (Lagos SWAN), both lads had the privilege of special counseling and broadcast drills from a young member of the STV sports’ desk, Gbemi Popoola, who recently graduated from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
While encouraging the lads on how to combine academics with sports, Popoola pointed out that he is able to work as a broadcaster, despite having read economics at the university, due to his zeal to always excel in many fields of human endeavour and be involved in various walks of life.
Popoola, however, admitted that he was unable to embark on a career in professional football because the school authorities warned him when it was time for examinations that he must always pick academics first, which eventually prevented him from participating at a major soccer competition that could have exposed him to scouts from Europe.
In a similar vein, Nwosu-Ukegbu took the lads through some exciting enquiries on the live sports programme, during which she advised them to think more about Nigerian stars as their role models, rather than keep mentioning foreign ones.
That came after Ojieh, who is the new games’ prefect at Will-B School, mentioned now-retired Jamaican ace, Usain Bolt as his role model, but confessed that he did not know anything about Chidi Imoh, Innocent Egbunike, the Ezenwa brothers, Falilat Ogunkoya and others.
Same was the case for Adeshina, who plays table tennis and chess, but could not mention Aruna Quadri, Funke Oshonaike or Offiom Edem as his role models in the ping-pong sport, nor could he talk about Wellington Jighere in the game of intelligent grandmasters.
Adeshina, though, did single out largely unheralded Bode Abiodun as a Nigerian table tennis player he looks up to, while also mentioning two Lagos State tacticians, Coach Ope and Coach Lawal, as his current mentors during his training sessions at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
Adeshina revealed: “I am 13 years old, going to 14. I got the inspiration to play table tennis and chess through my older brother, David. He was two years ago the head boy at Will-B School and he is now in Osun State University, but he also plays table tennis and chess.
“I gain more inspiration in chess from Magnus Carlsen. He’s an international player from Europe, but I made him my role model because we share the same date of birth, November 30, and we often chat on social media. He told me to always take my education very seriously, but that I can play chess when I am less busy.
“That’s why I have two targets for myself in the next five years. I believe that I will be in 100 or 200 level at the university by that time, yet already playing chess and table tennis for Nigeria. Even now, I am hoping to start playing for Nigeria and hopefully be at the next Olympic Games.
“I am not too young for that, because it’s all about the skills I can give, not my age, and I believe that the support I am getting from Will-B School’s proprietor, Elder Williams Olaoye, and the principal, Mr Gboyega Adeuyi, as well as all the teachers will help me a lot. Thank you.”
Ojieh also revealed similar ideas, but posited a four-year target for himself, and he added: “My own view is that I am not too young to represent Nigeria, even now that I am just 16. In fact, I hope to be at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“I have started receiving training under Coach Dennis at Teslim Balogun Stadium and he is really directing me very well. Sometimes I feel that the training is too hard, but I know that it is what I need in order to grow and become a sports star.
“I am working on it and I know God will help me to succeed. I am also working on how to combine academics with sports. I am already making my impact felt in competitions with my school and around the nearby community. I believe that I will soon start running for Nigeria.
“At the same time, I am not allowing training to affect my education. That’s why I spend Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday going to school, and then I go to training only on Saturday. I believe this will help me to become something in future with both of them.”
