Walking through Onikan Road during the early hours of Saturday morning, I laid sight on what should be one of Nigeria’s monumental sports sights, the Yoruba Tennis Club, a symbol of our identity and brotherhood; a treasured possession we would fight to protect in the years leading to our independence.
However, the washed out paint on the walls and relics tell a story of a place that has not seen such glory like in its early days, when members of the club fought to see that the narrative around Nigerians was different.
Life as a Nigerian in the early colonial days was one of severe prejudice where discrimination was the order of the day in a society dictated by European overlords. In sporting activities, the whites segregated themselves into a club which no Nigerian, no matter how well-accomplished in the society, was allowed admission into.
It was due to this that the founding fathers of the Yoruba Tennis Club sought to show the rest of the world that Nigerians had more to offer than remaining on the sidelines and watch as we were relegated to the background year after year.
In the early twenties, lawn tennis was only second to football, and trust the Nigerian spirit, we were quite exceptional at this sport but we had to create our own environment if we had to compete anywhere. It was consequent on this that the idea to create the oldest indigenous club in Nigeria was conceived.
The Beginning
The Yoruba Tennis Club started out quite small, with only just a handful of patriots who had their first meeting probably in the early part of 1926. A second meeting was held at 75 Tokunboh Street, Lagos on Thursday, 15th July 1926. At that time the Club was known as Orelodun Tennis Club. Still, what is a lawn tennis club without a court or clubhouse?
So an approach was made to the then Colonial Government, under the leadership of His Excellency the Governor, for the allocation of a piece of land, a request which was granted. The pioneers were given a land at Onikan Lagos on which they built a clubhouse and two tennis courts. It was small at the time, but it was a progress. The clubhouse was formally opened and activities began therein in the latter part of 1936.
Though the name, Yoruba Tennis Club, was chosen amongst many others as the club’s official name, it was not the intentions of the pioneers to restrict the club to only those of Yoruba heritage and this was well proven as days turned into months and months years up till date.
An Appeal
There are many awe-inspiring sights like this around the country that have been left to the harsh hands of time, but this should not be so. These places are a part of our culture. And it is our core duty to keep them in good condition so that our children and children’s children will know how hard we fought as a nation to preserve our identity.
Feature image: pmnewsnigeria.com