Umo Eno At Yoruba Tennis Club

Etim Etim

Yoruba Tennis Club (YTC), Onikan, Lagos was founded in 1926 by a group of 25 young Nigerians to provide sporting, recreational and social facilities for Nigerians who were not admitted into similar facilities owned and managed by the colonial authorities then. Lagos was then a highly segregated town, with the British colonial officers working on the Marina and living in Ikoyi. Nigerians were not allowed to go near Ikoyi. The closest they came close was Onikan, some three or four kilometres away.

This year marks the centenary anniversary of YTC which, expectedly, has grown in membership from the initial 25 to over 2,000 today. It is one of the most prestigious social clubs in Lagos, in the same league with Ikoyi Club, founded in 1928 and Ikeja Country Club. A series of yearlong activities have been designed to commemorate the milestone anniversary, including anniversary lectures to be given by a reputable thought leader. The first was delivered by Prof. Wole Soyinka in February, the second by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State in April and the third by Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom on Thursday, August 8.

A member of the club, Air Commodore Demola Onitiju (rtd), said Governor Eno was chosen ‘’because of his exceptional performance in office in the last three years; his grasp of the concept of good governance and public administration, and understanding of the ideals of what the Yoruba refers to as ‘omoluabi’ which emphasizes openness, good governance and transparency’’. Eno’s presentation was titled ‘Democracy and Good Governance: Renewing Hope in Challenging Times.’

The hall was packed full. The presence of Eno’s predecessor, Udom Emmanuel; Governor Babajide Sawon-olu; business leaders and politicians, as well as leaders and members of the club added considerable prestige to the event. From Akwa Ibom State came a large delegation of government officials; politicians and elders, among whom were Atuekong Don Etiebet; Paul Usoro (SAN); Emmanuel Enoidem (SAN); Senators Effiong Bob; Aloysius Etok and Ekong Sampson. There was a colourful contingent of members of Akwa Ibom community in Lagos, as well as Lagos business class, prominent among whom was Mr. Tony Ndah, a renowned quantity surveyor and project management consultant.

Eno opened his lecture with a philosophical look at the circumstances that gave birth to the Yoruba Tennis Club. He said: ‘’The Europeans in this city had their own club, and no African, however educated, however accomplished, was thought fit to walk through its doors. Our fathers did not stand at that gate and beg. They went and built their own house. They approached the colonial government for a piece of land at Onikan. They raised money for the first court from their own pockets, in cash and in kind, and they opened it before that year was out. At a general meeting in September of that same year, several names were put forward, but the members chose the Yoruba Tennis Club, a name it still answers to today.

‘’A group of citizens looked at an injustice, organised themselves, raised their own resources, built an institution, wrote rules for it, and handed it down so faithfully that one hundred years later we are seated inside it. And having called it ‘Yoruba’, they deliberately kept its doors open to Nigerians of every origin who could keep its creed of honesty, integrity and industry’’. Eno then paid tributes to the founding fathers of the club as true visionaries. ‘’Vision is common. Vision that outlives the visionary is rare, and that’s what this club embodies,” he enthused.

Delving into his lecture, the governor argued that democracies around the world are going through severe stress tests as never before in a generation by economic pressures, insecurity, climate shocks, youth unemployment, technological disruption and a steady erosion of public trust have made citizens everywhere anxious and impatient. Nigeria is also experiencing these problems, but it is in a moment like this that nations are being rebuilt, he noted. To that extent, leaders have a responsibility to not only preserve democracy, but to also make it meaningful. ‘’A citizen does not experience democracy on Election Day alone. He experiences it at the hospital gate, in his child’s classroom, on the road to his farm, and in the price of what he eats. A democracy that never reaches those places loses its moral authority long before it loses an election,’’ the governor deadpanned. He received a sustained applause.

In other words, democracy must be measured by the quality of governance it produces, guided by participation, transparency, accountability, equity and rule of law. Nigerians, the governor continued, should choose their leaders wisely and peacefully and hold their leaders accountable. He then concluded by illustrating how his administration apply these principles through the ARISE Agenda with investments in education, health, youth empowerment, infrastructure and compassionate homes.

The lecture ended with a Q&A session with club members asking questions on incentives for investments in the state; the new Ibom International Hospital being constructed and how the governor ensures there’s integrity in what he does.

The Yoruba Tennis Club provided a national platform for the Eno administration to tell his story, and he did so brilliantly in 50 minutes, even with all the applauses.

* Etim, a journalist, writes from Abuja