Nigeria May Not Do Well At All Africa Games

National Super Middleweight champion, Mojeed Okedara, in this interview with ADEBOBOLA ALAWODE predicts a poor outing for Nigerian boxers at the All Africa Games coming up later this year in Maputo, Mozambique

You’ve been off the scene for a while, what is responsible for this?

It is not my making but because there are no shows for now. However, I still train regularly because I don’t know when a fight would come my way.

How have you been coping without fights?

Well, it’s not been easy but with God, my family and some friends, I have been surviving. I know with God, I won’t lack.

How will you rate the current board of the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, NBBofC?

So far, they have shown they have the interest of professional boxers at heart. From what I gathered they are about staging a show next month. This means they are prepared to take the squared roped sport to the next level.

What is the future of professional boxers in the country?

The future of professional boxers in Nigeria is very bright because we have talented boxers in the country. Nigeria is blessed with a lot of professional boxers and I think some of us are doing well outside the country. Go to America and Europe, you will find Nigerian boxers doing great things.

How was it when you were an amateur boxer?

I won’t lie to you, amateur boxers in Nigeria are suffering. I went through hell when I was an amateur boxer. It wasn’t easy at all because after training, most times there was nothing to eat and when I have, it wasn’t enough to supplement the lost energy let alone lost nutrients. It was the worst time of my career.

The All Africa Games is around the corner, do you think Nigerian boxers can do well?

To be frank, not that I am a prophet of doom but going by the preparations ahead of the games, I don’t see the boxers getting to the medal zone.

The boxers are not aware of modern boxing techniques. Secondly their training programme is not comparable to what is expected of a team that wants to do well in a major tournament like the All Africa Games.