Sir Lucky Babatunde Omoluwo arrived the Kaduna Golf Club as a Resident Golf Professional in the early 1970s and ever since then there has been this brilliant penetration of paranoia over the great development of the game of golf in Kaduna at that time.
True, it was fun playing golf in Kaduna at that period. You must know that there is something curious about Kaduna… that is if you come once you will always want to come back. But this was happening around a pocket of golfers. Those playing the game then were so few. This could either happen through gross negligence or by outright intent.
Whatever, just very few individuals were playing by the time Sir Omoluwa made his gallant entry into the ancient town. The business tycoon was merely wondering how a town with so much history attached to it could have such wonderful golf course and yet only a few would turn up to play golf. This made him somehow sad and he indeed vowed to turn things around. It was a daunting challenge but Omoluwa was prepared to climb his Everest. He was set to revolutionize golf in Kaduna.
Omoluwa wasted no time in charting his strategies. He knew it by heart that whatever he did, he would have to fill that course with playing members. The first thing he did was to move into the Military zones and stirred things up. The reason behind this was apt enough. Those in the military were usually eager to take up the game. Omoluwa brought in so many of them before moving to hit at the corridors of civilians. Before anyone could tell what was happening, the Kaduna Golf Club was filling up. Omoluwo felt like a billion dollars. To him, mission was already accomplished. He even recalled a situation where some members were agonizing about him succeeding even though self doubt never crossed his mind.
Then an ugly issue cropped up when this was least expected. The people Omoluwo lured to the course had no equipment to play with. Anyone would think what impudence. What colossal loss of man power. But Omoluwa would not give up. He would seek a way where it was difficult to locate a path. If nothing but to place hope in those few arrogant, belligerent and short tempered members who never wanted a crowd in the club in the first place.
What Omoluwa did was so simple… like walking the dog around the park. He simply ordered a stunning 50 Dunlop golf sets from England and made the bags available to the new comers. In his pursuit of truth and the demand for fairness, Omoluwa ensured that the new comers who had unfettered access to the golf sets should be able to take the game to friends and other folks. This intuition worked miracle. Population of the club just swelled overnight. Witnessing the major success, he felt like running through the backyard and yell at the stars.
In a modest gesture, Omoluwa, after his conquest at the Kaduna Golf Club, directed his attention to other areas in Kaduna when he helped to build the course at the Military Staff College in Jaji and the one at the Nigeria Defence Academy. He also contributed to the birth of Tradoc Course in Minna.
“I am delighted I could do all these”, Omoluwa said. “I thank God I was able to impart golf knowledge to several golfers who I believe would do well in the game someday. That was my modest dream and I am proud I accomplished all I came out to do”.
