By Jerome Obuninta
It was germane that in celebration of its 60th anniversary, the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), decided to honour a number of its members with special awards.
Virtually all the awardees are worthy for their contributions to the development of sports, the growth of sports journalism as a profession, and the progress of SWAN as an association, but I testify for Fred Edoreh, former two-time Secretary and two-time Chairman of the Lagos Chapter, now Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori.
As an active member and long standing goalkeeper of the Lagos SWAN team, I witnessed and benefitted in several ways from his service to SWAN, his passionate commitment and phenomenally purposeful and transformational leadership.
Professional Practice:
He was part of the pioneers of Internet journalism in Nigeria, with Nigeriansports.com, before floating Sportstalkafrica.com. He was excellent as Producer/Presenter at Silverbird TV, as Weekend Sports Editor at National Mirror, and in the syndication of independent productions on radio and TV.
His write-ups and analyses are usually deeply loaded with facts, head on powerful and compelling.
As an ordinary member of SWAN, he was active and expressive in contribution to conversations and debates on the affairs of the association and advocacy on Nigerian sports.
Leadership of Lagos SWAN:
His intelligence, resourcefulness and energy showed more when he became Secretary under the chairmanship of late Emeka Enechi, and Niyi Oyeleke, both of whom, I believe would readily agree that their tenures were energised by his Secretaryship.
The Lagos SWAN Secretariat:
Edoreh especially took the completion of the Lagos SWAN Secretariat as a personal challenge, initiating and driving strategies to raise the needed fund. I remember his engagement to convince Dr Amos Adamu, then DG of the Sports Commission, to further support the project beyond allocating the land space, and his audacious and tactical invitation of former Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola to a lunch, at which he earned the commitment of the state to fund the project to finish.
Not only was the Secretariat finally completed and fully furnished under his tenure as Chairman, he redesigned it to include an additional private mini conference room and a Work Station, complete with computers, free Internet services, research and editorial facilities for members. It was such that the facility naturally became the Main Media Centre for the Eko 2012 National Sports Festival.
The redesign also entailed reconceptualising the main hall and the carving out of additional offices for commercial purposes. That activated regular internal revenue generation not only for the maintenance of the facility and the funding of new projects, but especially for the provision of welfare to members in need.
Members Welfare:
Such welfare provisions ranged from interventions for payment of members’ children’s school fees, house rents, medical bills, support for marriages, burials etc etc.
With the revenue inflow, he insisted that rather than solicit such things as Christmas gifts from outsiders, the association should maintain its pride and dignity by not only directly providing for members from its resources, as a form of stakeholders dividend, but also sharing with friends, partners and supporters of SWAN, as a form of public relations, as well as reaching out to the less privileged in society, in exercise of corporate social responsibility.
SWAN City Project:
Edoreh initiated the Lagos SWAN City, a members’ housing estate project situated at Siun Village, about five kilometres from the Lagos/Abeokuta Interchange. His reason was compelling: that Lagos sports writers should systematically pull away from being rent payers to becoming property owners and landlords; that inasmuch as they may not be able to afford the cost of owning property in Lagos, they can do so in the fast developing environs with the expectation of property appreciation in the future.
He set up a committee for the purpose, which later registered a cooperative for the subscribers. He argued that the project should be in the control of the subscribers, not the EXCO of the association which he even was heading at the time.
With deft negotiations with the landowners, he made it easy for members to make the purchase by only making an advance payment of 30 percent, and to balance up in instalments over eighteen months.
The funding strategy also entailed opening up subscription to non-members at higher cost, the margin of which was to be ploughed into the development of the estate.
True to his vision, a number of members now have and are developing their plots, and the Lagos/Abeokuta Interchange axis has become a sprawling industrial area, giving higher value to the property.
Defence of New Media:
At a point when new media was developing, there were resentments by mainstream journalists about admitting the new media practitioners into SWAN. Perhaps with the benefit of his experience at the pioneering Nigeriansports.com, he expressly pointed out that new media was the future, and defended the place of the new practitioners in the association.
Training Programmes:
Understanding that the young new media practitioners needed professional training, he committed to enrolling a number of them into a retraining programme at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism ran in partnership with Deji Omotonyibo.
Interestingly, he sourced funding for the programme through individual and corporate sponsorships, and not a few Lagos SWAN members benefitted from year to year.
At another point, he also raised funds to sponsor a number of members to the Lagos Business School for added certification.
Foreign Language Courses:
Ahead of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, he introduced Spanish and French Language courses, advising members on the benefits of acquiring passable multilingual knowledge in global journalism.
Compilation of “Heroes of Nigerian Sports”:
He also instituted the publication of “Heroes of Nigerian Sports,” a compendium listing and detailing the performances of top Nigerian sports men and women in international competitions, which he funded through various institutional partnerships.
He took the publication to the London 2012 Olympic Games and brought the proceeds to support various projects in Lagos SWAN.
Brand and Bond Builder:
Another of his admirable achievements was repackaging the Lagos SWAN Cup and the Lagos SWAN Football team into high class event and instrument for corporate relations and bonding among members.
Leading an effective sponsorship marketing and raising the enthusiasm, fun and value for members, the SWAN Cup became talk of the town in Lagos.
The SWAN team also elicited regular invitations from top brands like MTN, Airtel, Glo, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, etc, to be part of their corporate events, and with sundry huge benefits for members of the team.
There were also regular engagements with various high class recreational clubs like the Lagos All Stars captained by Gov Babatunde Fashola, Managers FC, Ultimate Stars, Nigeria Actors Guild (Nollywood), Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), and FUBS which featured top sports administrators, ex-internationals and sports business people across Nigeria.
The strategy supported easy communication, mutuality, affinity, exchange and partnership between Lagos SWAN and various business and government institutions, sports legends and sports administrators.
He also built and branded the SWAN Ladies team to provide inclusion for women sports journalists in the recreation and bonding process. The likes of Aisha Falode, Nneka Anibeze, Chisom Mbonu, Blessing Nwosu, Kiibati, Tega, Monica Iheakam, and many of the ladies found it so lovely to get involved.
Attraction of Veterans:
The elevation of the SWAN Cup and it’s improved brand sponsorship, first with Merrybet and later more substantially with Bet9ja, attracted various eminent veterans in sports writing, not only back to the fraternity, but to join in the mentorship of young members. The likes of Larry Izamoje, Ejiro Omonode, Chuka Momah, Mitchel Obi, Mumini Alao, the late Fabio Olanipekun, Felix Awogu, Taye Ige, Aisha Falode and more, all ran back to revive and renew their membership of the association.
The SWAN Secretariat soon turned to “the place to go” for many of the “big and successful” in Nigerian sports, members and non members alike. On one of such occasions, the revered Hon Nduka Irabor was moved to donate a 35KVA generating plant to the secretariat.
Dynamic and Transformational Leadership Style:
Perhaps, even more striking was Edoreh’s style of politics and leadership. He indeed led a glorious period in Lagos SWAN and contributed immensely to the growth and stability of the chapter and the national body.
There were only opponents during the four elections he contested and won, there were never enemies nor foes afterwards. He related to every member as a friend, colleague or stakeholder, deserving of all rights and privileges, without discrimination.
He strongly challenged disagreeable policies and actions of the national leadership when necessary, and also strongly supported them when convinced. He was always open to middle grounds for reconciliation and resolution of conflicts.
This openness, spirit of love and unity became contagious not only among Lagos SWAN members, but became the saving grace for national SWAN after the very contentious contest for the Presidency in Yola between then incumbent Olu Amadasun and Tony Ubani, and another between Saidu Abubakar and Frank Ilaboya in Damaturu.
The Lagos delegates not only faulted but were outraged by the brazen misconduct of both elections, such that upon their return, many canvassed the idea of forming a breakaway, factional or parallel body to be called “League of Sports Journalists,” but Edoreh insisted that the pain of such disappointments or temporary loses should never lead to the destruction of the association. He advised, mobilised and had the Congress to let go, for the continued oneness and sanctity of SWAN.
On another occasion when the national body was finding difficulties in organising elections after the long expiration of Saidu Abubakar’s first term and the attendant issues of illegitimacy which the delay raised, he moved Lagos SWAN to fund the election, providing transportation, accommodation and feeding for all the delegates from the 36 states and Abuja. Thus, was SWAN saved from collapse in that period.
Contributions to Sports Development:
Besides the practice of sports journalism and leadership of SWAN, Edoreh’s vocal expressions on issues of sports development, till date, are well known, but beyond words are his commitment especially to the promotion of sports persons with disability.
The nation cannot forget how he shouldered the fund raising for the Nigeria Amputee Football team to attend their first ever World Cup in Mexico in 2018, after missing out on three occasions due to lack of funds.
He followed up by, again, sourcing sponsorship for them to the Africa Amputee Football Nations Cup in Angola in 2019, and to the next edition in Tanzania in 2021.
Sports Administrator and Manager:
Fred Edoreh has many parts. We keep discovering more of him as he arrives different settings. It was therefore not surprising that being back in his home Delta State, he soon became involved in the organisation of the NDDC-sponsored Niger Delta Sports Festival, not as a journalist but as an administrator and Manager, thanks to Dunamis-Icon, the Project Consultants, which saw through him and trusted him with the role of Director of Operations.
The outcome was the delivery of a world class, most colourful, most enjoyable, most impactful and most talked about event in Nigeria’s recent sporting history.
Conclusion:
Edoreh can be quiet, unintrusive, even self-effacing, but he is deep, resourceful, energetic and goal driven.
As they say, gold fish has no hiding place, and the SWAN Fellowship Award conferred on him is an honour well deserved.
