Lema Jibrilu: Frustrations led me to golf
With a beautiful smile on his face, Alhaji Lema Jibrilu, an Industrialist and a former Presidential Aspirant reeled out a moving tale of how he was frustrated out of the game of tennis which he helped found in Kaduna and without much of a choice moved into golf.
With fond memory, Lema recalled the good years he had playing at the Kaduna Tennis Club clay courts. In most cases, he was relating in excellent tennis to that of some world greats of the game. At the time of conducting this interview at his sprawling Palace home inside the Ungwar Rimi GRA, Kaduna, his eyes were all glued to the television watching the Australian Open. Even the interview was becoming a sort of distraction to the Katsina born businessman who shared same classroom with late Murtala Muhammed and General Yakubu Gowon at the Barewa College, Zaria.
The interview dragged a bit. Then the man came back to life again when he recalled the beauty of Roger Federer’s tennis. He says Federer plays total tennis but he wouldn’t agree to what most tennis followers believe… that Federer has the best backhand in tennis. Lema would give that to the Frenchman, Gasquet. Then, you make mention of the world no1 and no2 in tennis, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, and the big man total disinterest. He said both tennis talisman lacked color and charisma. He claimed that their tennis was somehow ‘mechanical’ and quite boring. He hates watching both men play. He said their game could induce sleep.
Lema Jibrilu was now fully charged. He was now all smiles. He mentioned Boom Boom Boris Becker and his unbelievable forehand game. This is how he loves tennis to be played. With a big forehand and he had such huge forehand as well. All of a sudden, sometime in 1964, the tennis world of Lema fell apart. He lost his weapon, the big forehand. He practiced tirelessly to regain his form but all to no avail. Irritation soon set in. In no time, this paved way for frustration. He stopped playing and quietly, he detested tennis.
But he must play a game. Grudgingly, he moved to the golf course so he could try his hands on a new game. He quickly recalled how he had hated golf when his tennis was flourishing. He recalled how he was referring to golfers as lazy men who would not engage in a game that was challenging. Now he was on a golf course waiting for a Professional golfer, Godwin Omogo, to line out initial golf lessons before he could advance into proper golf game. He was amazed and somehow confused.
“The truth is I never believed there would be a day my path would cross with those of golfers,” Lema said. “While in Tennis, I never considered golf a game. I looked at it like a fruitless exercise. But when I came in through frustration, I discovered a new lease of life, something akin to a breath of fresh air. With time, I could see the game is about the most challenging of all games, even better than football. Instantly I regretted to coming to the game earlier.
“You see, golf is a leveller. The game is there for both the rich and the poor. It has rules and regulations that that border on strict discipline. And you must respect those rules. The game is so fascinating and that is reason everybody in my household plays it.
“Besides, I encourage and sponsor youths who want to play. The game is good for proper upbringing of kids and this is why I love sponsoring tourneys for kids. In fact, I will play the game till I drop”.
It is very clear Lema Jibrilu is enjoying his golf. He drives the ball a whole distance and putts amazingly. He used to loft it out clearly from bunkers but these days, he detests, he detests playing it out of the sands. Reason? He claims Bunkers at the Kaduna course are almost rocky and so bad you could injure your shoulders while trying to get out of them.
He laughed at his ‘trailer’ load Handicap of 28 and quickly went on the defensive that he was not getting younger. As Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Katsina Golf Club, he said he would do all in his powers to get tourneys to the course in the new year so golfers from across Nigeria could see what a great course lies in Katsina. And yes, Lema Jibrilu is indeed proud of mean feat he has achieved in golf. That of playing a Holein-One, which is the zenith for any golfer in the world. Amazingly, he achieved this feat twice right at the golf course in Kaduna. He first did it on March 26, 2004 on Hole 10 of the course and repeated it on February 6, 2006 on Hole 8 of the course. This is the dream every golfer waits for.
‘I used to be so hot in those years’ he said, laughing out aloud.