Seriously, I do not think many of the
modern day internet users will know/ remember the name, Dele Udoh.
I doubt if many of the older generation
will remember him too or if they ever knew him.
I had heard of a Nigerian student based in
the United States of America and married to an American.
He was an athlete and his name was Dele
Udoh. He was from Ozu Abam, Arochukwu L.G.A in Abia State.
Since 1979 he had been our best prospect at
winning the 400m gold at both the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
He had returned home with his wife in 1981
to prepare for a championships with the Nigerian athletics team.
Word has it that his wife pleaded with him
not to return but he did.
He was driving in Lagos with his wife and
son (still a baby then) when he was shot dead by police at a check point near
Ojuelegba following an argument (possibly over money).
Funny enough, after shooting to death the
most promising Nigerian athlete of his generation, the police displayed his body
like that of a common criminal, placing wraps of Indian hemp in the boot of his
car and claimed he was an armed robber.
If he was, then what were his wife and son?
The burial ceremony at the national stadium
in Lagos was shown live on NTA news and my nine year old eyes cried along with
Dele Udoh’s wife but Nigerians soon forgot him.
I ask, do we even know the name of Dele
Udoh’s wife? Do we know where she is? Do we know the name of Dele Udoh's son?
and do we know where he is?
Do we remember Dele Udoh had a son? Do we
know what he has been doing? Does he know he is from Ozu Abam and a Nigerian?
What ugly stories of Nigeria did his mother tell him? Has he forgiven Nigeria
for what they did to him and his father?
All these questions that require answers but
who will give them to us?
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