I don’t use charms for wrestling – Dan Ibo
Weekly Trust: How and why did you venture into traditional wrestling as a profession?Emmanuel Keku: After my primary and secondary school education, I left Bayelsa for Lagos to fend for myself. There, I eventually ventured into traditional wrestling. I made that decision due to the fact that traditional wrestling is not restricted to Hausa people. […]
Weekly Trust: How and why did you venture into traditional wrestling as a profession?
Emmanuel Keku: After my primary and secondary school education, I left Bayelsa for Lagos to fend for myself. There, I eventually ventured into traditional wrestling. I made that decision due to the fact that traditional wrestling is not restricted to Hausa people. In our locality, we too practice a version of it, with a little difference from the Hausa’s. I’ve been wrestling since my childhood days, so when I came to Lagos and news reached me that Hausa people were staging a wrestling tournament, I searched for the venue and applied to participate. I am now one of the top-shots among the wrestlers and some even fear to meet me whenever I throw a challenge.
WT: How do you relate with Hausas even though you do not understand their language?
Keku: I do not encounter any problem in communicating with them despite my inability to speak the language. We normally interact in English. You know a Hausa man is simple, loves peace and is very generous. That is why all is well between us. They, too, enjoy my company. An aspect of the sport I like is the way people ‘spray’ money on any wrestler who wins, without discrimination.
WT: Why were you nicknamed ‘Dan Ibo?’
Keku: It’s due to the popular notion that anybody that comes from the South-South is Igbo. Not many of my colleagues know there are many tribes apart from Igbo in our area, like Ijaw, Ikwere, Itsekiri, Ibibio and others.
WT: It is said that most of the wrestlers dread you. What’s your secret?
Keku: All wrestlers in Lagos do fear to challenge me because they know I will defeat them. In my record, I’ve defeated almost all the wrestlers in Lagos and I do not use any charms or amulets as they tend to do.
My secret is doggedness, expertise and other wrestling techniques and tricks. Once a wrestler possesses all these, he can beat anybody. Charms and amulets mean nothing to me. Once you’re not a good wrestler, there is no charm or amulet that can help you. I lay my fate before God.
WT: What do you hope to achieve in the future?
Keku: I want to excel in wrestling internationally. I would like to represent my country, Nigeria, in world wrestling competitions. By God’s grace, I shall make a name for myself internationally in the near future.