Nigeria’s minister of sports, Sunday Akinlabi Dare has extended his recent spray of palliatives to the mother of late athletics star, Sunday Bada, as he continues spreading joy to parents who have hitherto been left in squalor while lamenting the early deaths of their breadwinners, megasportsarena.com gathered.
So soon after extending similar largesse to the mothers of late Samuel Okwaraji and Rashidi Yekini, Dare has surprisingly sent another one of his representatives to Bada’s mother in Ijumu local government area of Kogi State to provide joy and succor in the tough days of coronavirus.
This development comes after the minister also extended a similar gesture to the mother of late Okwaraji, who died while playing for Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier against Angola, and Dare’s representative, Bamidele Ajayi left behind at the home of the late Super Eagles’ star in Abakpa-Nike in Enugu State foodstuff, provisions, choice items and N50,000 – all specially for the mum.
This time, the minister was represented by Honourable Toye Olowo at Bada’s family house in Odomogun quarters, Ilaere-Ogidi, in recognition of heroics achieved by the late quarter-miler, won three medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championship titles, including a gold medal in 1997.
Born June 22, 1969 in Kaduna, Sunday Bada, who was a police officer at the time of his death, specialized in the 400 metres event, for which his personal best time was 44.63 seconds, and with 45.51 seconds for the African indoor record.
He set a national record with the nation’s relay team in the 4 x 400 metres at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where the Nigerian quartet’s second place finish was several years later upgrade to gold after the disqualification of the USA.
The Sydney feat came ten years after Bada first hit continental limelight in 1990, with bronze medals in 200 and 400 metres at the African Championships, then stepped up at the 1991 All-Africa Games, where he won a silver in the 400 metres.
Though he fell short in the 400 metres of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, he did better in the 4 x 400 metres, as the Nigerian team finished fifth, after which he improved later same year in breaking the 45-second barrier, running a time of 44.99 seconds in winning the 400m at the 1992 IAAF World Cup.
The amiable police officer, who was at a point the head of Seme Border Command, was Nigerian 400 metres champion at a stretch from 1990 to 1997 and 2001, at the end of which he retired from active competition, then soon became the technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), but he died in December 2011 while driving home in his car near Lagos National Stadium, Surulere.
Nine years on, and the memory of Bada has been brought alive by his name sake, as the sports minister’s gesture to the late athlete’s mother has been recorded for posterity in a number of emotional posts on social media, detailing what Sunday Dare sent to comfort her in Kogi State.
The post on social media A post by Adepoju Tobi Samuel @OgaNlaMedia read: “Minister of Youth and Sports Development @SundayDareSD has extended his benevolence towards the matriarch of Bada’s family Mrs. Fumilayo Bada, whose son, Sunday Bada was a member of the 4×400 relay team that won silver for Nigeria at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games.
“Receiving the items from the representative of the Minister Hon. Olowo Toye at the family house in Odomogun quarters, Ilaere Ogidi in Ijumu LG Area of Kogi state, Mrs. Bada thanked the Minister for his support even as it was years after the demise of her son.”
“@SundayDareSD donated the sum of N50,000 with some food items and beverages to the matriarch as part of his commitment to providing some succour to the mothers of deceased sports stars who made various contributions to sports development in Nigeria.”
