You broke your own world record in Rio. How would you describe your performance?
I feel excited with the win and it is something I am proud of. Winning a gold medal and also breaking a world record to win it does not happen every time. It took me a lot to get to that stage because I have been aiming to do it a long time ago. So, I am very happy with my achievement and that of my teammates in Rio. I am grateful to God, who made it possible, and to my coach, Feyisetan Are, who kept telling us we could do it, and every other person who supported me.
Was your performance a sign that the sports ministry adequately prepared you and the other Paralympians?
I will say that the results we had did not reflect the preparation we had for the Games. The preparations we had were not too good but everybody can see how it turned out. I believe we were able to achieve this as a result of the competitions we attended in the past – the World Championships, the All Africa Games and some other competitions – and the determination of each one of us in the team. It wasn’t the preparations we had before going to Rio that brought out these results.
So, what is next for you after your Paralympic triumph?
What I am waiting for now is the reward from the government because sports is the only thing I do, I don’t have any other source of living. After getting the rewards, I want to intensify my training because I believe that I can go for another Paralympics at Tokyo 2020. The government should do something worthwhile for us after this victory because if it goes like that, we will have to start from the scratch and see if they will reward us again. The reward should be something that we can point to and tell people that this was what I achieved after the 2016 Paralympics. Any form of help that comes to us now will be appreciated because many of us have no house of our own. Some of us are lucky to have rented apartments where we stay but others have no house and only believe that their lives will change after this Games. We also need good facilities to help us train better. When we won gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the former President Goodluck Jonathan gave us national honours: the Member of the Order of the Niger. I have a national honour but that has not translated into something concrete for me. When people see me on the street, they don’t see the MON but rather they will assess my life from what I wear and what I have in my pockets. The reward we want is something that will last long and be there for us.
Were you born with your disability?
No. I had polio, which affected my legs when I was very young. My mother said I wasn’t more than three years old when it happened.
What were the challenges you faced growing up with your disability?
Growing up as a person with disability was not easy at all. I am from a polygamous home and my mum has three other children apart from me. I am the only one of my siblings with disability and the challenges I faced are too many to say. My parents were the only ones supporting me because they gave birth to me and they kept encouraging me, even before I began sports, till date.
What inspired you into powerlifting?
Powerlifting started for me as a hobby. I would join some guys in our area in Ikorodu and lift weights. In 2005, someone I can’t remember now told me that there was a competition for people with disabilities which I could take part in. It was the person who told me to go to the National Stadium, Lagos, that I would meet people like me there. That was how I began training at the stadium from Ikorodu. I went for my first competition in 2006 – the National Sports Festival in Ogun State, where I finished fourth representing Lagos State.
Was it easy as a sportsman in the beginning?
When I started, a lot of people made jest of me because they couldn’t understand how a person with disability like me would be lifting weights. The challenges were quite enormous as I had difficulty getting transport fare from Ikorodu to Surulere every time I had to train. I do train everyday back then because if I didn’t train for two or three days, I felt like I had lost a lot of grounds. At times, I had to beg for money from people to go for training. Moving around was another challenge because drivers do not have enough patience to carry us but now I am grateful to God that I am even a source of inspiration to many people – even able-bodied ones – that I pay their transport fares to the stadium to enable them to earn a living through sports.
What do you think could be done to encourage more people with disabilities to come into sports?
There are many things like what the Lagos State Government is doing now. The Bus Rapid Transit is free for people with disabilities and there is enough room for us to stay in the buses because all we have to do is find our way to the bus station. The government should ensure that we have the right facilities to train with because that is another area we are lacking in. At the Games in Rio, we only competed in three sports, if there are enough facilities for us to train, many more people will come into sports and we can bring back more medals in other sports like shooting, swimming, football and many others. I have encouraged some people to come into sports and now they are doing quite well too. With enough encouragement and the right attitude, more people will do sports.
Do you see yourself breaking your record again?
Sure. I have decided not to rest on my oars because I believe I have the ability to lift more than I did but I have to reserve it for now and train harder. I only implore the government and private companies to assist us in going to more international competitions. When we attend these events, we can compete with the best in the world and get better.
This is Nigeria’s best performance at the Paralympics. What was the team’s driving force in Rio?
I remember that when we were going to Brazil, the team captain, Lucy Ejike, told the Minster of Sports, Solomon Dalung, that we would redeem Nigeria’s image in Rio after the Olympians won only a medal. She told all of us to believe in ourselves and that we could do it. Our motto is ‘there is ability in disability.’ If you follow the Games, you will see that those who did not win medals were not happy about it because we all believed that we could win as many medals as we wanted.
Have you suffered any form of discrimination as a person living with disability?
Discrimination is a thing almost every person with disability in Nigeria faces daily. It comes from anybody and anywhere. It comes from family members and the general public. People find it difficult to get accommodation even when they have their money; some of us find it difficult to get married; there are so many other forms of discrimination. I am used to it because now that I am a little bit successful, people see me in a different light.
If you weren’t doing sports, what would you have been doing?
I don’t know any other thing I could have been doing. Maybe I would have been dead because sports has been the only thing that has brought meaning to my life.
Did your disability affect your education?
Not really. I still managed to have the Senior Secondary School Certificate. I stopped because no one wanted to sponsor me. But I plan to have at least a university degree when I can afford it.
What is your advice for people with disabilities who want to come into sports?
They should persevere because they will face a lot of challenges. Many of my mates, who we began sports together, got frustrated and left. They are now either touts or beggars on the streets. The situation is tough and there is little hope but if they believe in themselves and keep going with their inner strength, they will get a meaning out of their lives at a point.
What stopped you from begging like other people with disabilities?
Begging is a very complex issue in Nigeria because not only people with disabilities beg. I have even had situations when able-bodied people come to us, who are living with disabilities, to beg for money. But I knew it took God’s grace for me not to end up as a street beggar because that is what Nigerian people with disabilities are noted for. I think it is my persistence that made me stick to sports and not to go into begging.
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