I remember the good old days (Don’t bother to ask how old I am) when listening to late Ernest Okonkwo could be enough reason for one to forget the day’s meal. Those were the days when it was a delight to watch the likes of Christian Chukwu, the one popularly known as Chairman, Mathematical Segun Odegbami and the rest entertain the Nigerian public with their skills. Those were the days when if Rangers International Football Club and Abiola Babes were to lock horns, the tension will be felt in the air. The days when if IICC Shooting Stars, Spartans, Leventis United, Sharks and others were to meet, you dared not go to the market to buy anything, because you will see nothing to buy. How could you, when all the shops will be under lock, key and the owners drumming support for their various teams.
Those were the days when if a team was playing, you can point at the middle of the pitch and declare that the man moving with the ball was Adokiye, Yekini, Omokaro, Shofoluwe or any other known face then. Now the story is different. Apart from those playing professional football abroad, one can hardly identify Nigerian players plying their trade within the country. Some factors can be held responsible for the ability of soccer followers to recognize their heroes then. One of such was the commentaries of legendary Ernest Okonkwo of blessed memory. Okonkwo is better experienced than imagined. No one and I maintain, no one (I stand to be corrected) has gotten close to him, before and after.
But Ernest Okonkwo did Nigerians one good favour. He trained one young mind that has passion for soccer. One young man whose passion for soccer brought a different dimension to the way the business of commentaries is done. A young man who sleeps, drinks and eats soccer. That young man has from enjoying himself and having the fun of his life put smiles on the faces of millions across the world and of course smiled to the bank. He has raised young entrepreneurs and leaders through his passion. That young man is our role model and change master for this week. That young man is Larry Izamoje.
Born in Onitsha in 1962 to a family of nine, Lawrence Osadomey Izamoje, who is the second son of his parents, is a native of Ekpon, a town in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State. His education started at Dogho Primary School, Warri, Delta State in 1968, from where he got admitted to Orerokpe Grammar School and then University of Lagos in 1981 where he obtained his first and second degrees in Sociology.
He grew up in Warri where as a teenager he hawked plantain on the streets for his mother who was a petty trader. Hawking is an experience that should be discouraged. Talking from experience, it’s painful. Yours truly engaged in hawking then in Abakaliki to help my mother who was a petty trader. When Larry was not hawking for his mother, he will assist the father in his cosmetics distribution work.
He grew with one thing in mind – to become a star. That dream of becoming a star was what led him into playing table tennis for his school at the secondary level. When tennis could not lead him to his dream of becoming a star, he, like former tennis champion, Boris Becker, who dropped soccer for tennis, dropped table tennis for soccer. Then, soccer stars were more respected. He kept playing even after admission into the higher institution. It was in 1982 while playing for his hall in one of the inter-hall matches as the sports secretary of Makama Bida Hall that tragedy struck. This marked an end to his playing career. Though he played and earned monthly, playing for WRECA (Water Resources Engineering Construction Agency) during his NYSC days, but it was not for long. According to him, breaking his leg was spiritual. It was a misfortune that became fortune.
Most others would have stopped right there and with masters degree could have opted for a job in any of the blue chip companies, but not him. That option was totally rejected. He had a dream, a passion boiling inside of him to do what he enjoys doing most. Like he said, “Since my leg could not play the game, hope God would allow the mouth to carry it on”.
The mouth did carry it on. He went to Yaba market, bought a cheap microphone, carried his cassette deck, went to the University of Lagos playing field, and started running commentaries while other students were laughing at him. Some thought he had gone crazy. He paid little attention and persisted in what he loved doing. It was during one of his commentaries that somebody suggested, “If you can do this well, why don’t you go to Ernest Okonkwo, Nigeria’s legendary football commentator?” And so to Ernest Okonkwo he went, after his masters in 1985. And within 20 minutes of talking with Okonkwo, he took him and gave him all the polishing he needed. During his national assignment, he served as Editorial Board member of Kano State NYSC Newsletter, before joining Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in 1985, from where he was attached to the Outside Broadcast Unit as an artiste earning N15. Between 1986 and 1990, he held several positions at the Concord Press on the invitation of Trigo Egbegi who was the Sports Editor of the group then. He rose to become the Deputy Group Sports Editor in Concord. He later that year joined The Mail as Sports Editor and after one year joined DBN Television.
While working in DBN, one or two things did not go down well with him so he decided to resign. As you can see, dear reader, in life, there are three Rs that must happen in your life. The first R is that one day you will wake up to discover that you are not enjoying what you are doing. The second R is that if you do not resign, one day you will be retrenched. Lastly, even if you are the best worker with all the energy in the world, one day you will retire. Now, the question is, when any of the Rs takes place, how prepared would you be to move on?
After leaving DBN, he decided to set up his own office. He looked for a small room at Ijaiye, opposite the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Ogba. With no money for furniture, he went to Ikeja market, bought a table, two chairs, and an old typewriter for N2000, all second hand and drove everything to the office in a second hand Volkswagen Beetle. They then got some second hand planks which they repainted and used for partitioning.
One of the problems he faced going solo was how to come about a business name. Then, they decided to take the first three letters from the wife’s name (Bridget) and two letters from his name (Larry) to form BRILA. That was how they started the first business called Brila Sports Video Club in 1992. It will interest you to know that for close to two years of running the sports video club, only one student of NIJ became a member of the club. Not until 1994 when somebody recognized him that he suddenly realized that his status had started changing and then decided to stop patronizing second hand boutiques otherwise known as bend down boutique (BDB).
The dream of being on air was not realized until 6 months after the company took off, because, in his words, “We needed money to pay Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC)”. As a man who does not accept rejection, he paid with his own money for the first 6 months. He traveled from Lagos to Abeokuta everyday on his own expense to present just a 15-minute programme because all the companies he approached for sponsorship rejected it instantly. None believed they could do sports on radio. OGBC rejected the idea of sports on radio because they couldn’t imagine an FM station talking sports in the morning. And that’s how Brila married sports with music. They played music and talked over it while standing. OGBC liked it, everybody liked it and that was when Cadbury took over the sponsorship in October 1993, and Bournvita Sports Special on OGBC 2 FM was born.
He plied Lagos – Abeokuta route for six years and in the process the Beetle he was using those days caught fire three times. When he later changed to a Volkswagen Passat car, one day, while he was travelling with his friend, Mr. T. K. Sulaiman, they decided to park and ease themselves and in the process of opening the door, it fell into the gutter. There was also a time someone placed his hand on the boot and the body of the boot gave way. He had to use a sticker to cover that spot. To make ends meet, he became a cab driver (Kabu Kabu driver). While going to OGBC to present programmes, he would pick passengers on the road for a fee.
Izamoje who was the only African journalist to cover the historic Hagler vs Leonard bout in Las Vegas, USA, in 1987 and the only African to attend the Global Sports Radio Conference, San Diego, USA, in 2002, is the CEO of his own leading sporting communications company. On the 1st of October, 2002, the first all sports radio station in Nigeria and Africa, Brila Sports Radio 88.9 FM, a.k.a. The Fans Assembly, started operations and is fast spreading to other parts of the country. The company also publishes Sports People International magazine and owns a printing press which is managed by his wife.
Dare to dream (Larry dreamt of becoming a star as a child). Have passion for your dreams (Larry can die for soccer). Put your dreams into action (All that he has achieved today is because he took action). Always be willing to start small (A cheap second hand microphone, a small room, one table, an old 14-inch television, etc). Though I belong to the school of thought that preaches focus, if need be, change direction (When he couldn’t play soccer, he decided to talk soccer). Establish and maintain a solid relationship with others (Most of the people they interview on their station are people who they encouraged when they were down. He calls it Emotional Bank Account, EBA. Such words like “We are sorry you were given a yellow card in England. Sorry, we are praying for you” got most of the stars wanting to talk to Brila anytime any day). Get a mentor (Larry was a mentee to Ernest Okonkwo). Be committed to your vision (Larry is devoted to self-improvement and stays current by watching sports programmes and reading constantly). Believe and trust in God. There is no alternative.
Dear reader, now you see that there is no excuse for failure. You can turn anything in your hands into gold. Believe. Take action. Ask questions. The key is in your hands. Use it!
Let us thank God for blessing Nigeria. I love this great nation. How about you? Together we can make her greater.
Yes, we can.
Shalom!