At 40, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports, Prince Okpukiri Jones-Ere, can easily pass for an undergraduate in a Nigerian tertiary institution. His youthful can be attributed his life-long participation in sporting activities, especially football. Lucky to be taught the nitty-gritty of the game from the cradle by famed Nigerian football coach, Monday Sinclair, Jones-Ere's early start was, however, punctuated by a psychological trauma occasioned by the leg amputation of a childhood friend. But bent on playing the beautiful game, the former captain of Kalongii Football Club of Port Harcourt recovered early enough to lace boots for his school, Government Secondary School, Amassoma, Yenagoa.Currently the vice captain of the football section, Port Harcourt Club, Jones-Ere, who is also a member of the Bayelsa All-Stars Football Club, says that Sinclair's influence in his football life is unquantifiable. The commissioner, who also made it to two traditional wrestling finals - where he lost one and won the other as a junior wrestler, told ENO-ABASI SUNDAY that he is currently organising the second edition of football competition for secondary schools in the state in order to provide a platform for budding stars in the state to display their endowments. This year's edition ends tomorrow in Yenagoa.NOT many kids would further indulge in any type of fun-filled activity that once led to the shedding of blood, let alone one that led to the amputation of a leg. But a strong desire to salvage a hostel that was trailing in an inter-hostel football competition as well as the courage to overcome the trauma induced by the amputation of a close friend after a severe football injury, propelled Prince Okpukiri Jones-Ere on.Jones-Ere took to football very early in life because his family was quartered near the residence of the iconic coach, Monday Sinclair, who used to ferry his offspring and some kids from the neighbourhood to the stadium for the purposes of exposing them to the rudiments of the game.'I was fortunate to live close to coach Monday Sinclair in B4, D Line, Port Harcourt, so he started taking us as kids to what was then called the temporary stadium, which is part of Port Harcourt Club now, where he taught us the basics of football. So it was at this time that I started playing football as a growing up child at Sea Shell Model Primary School, Port Harcourt,' he recalled.'One of my older brothers, Tekena, used to be a very good friend of Komboye, one of Sinclair's sons. Unfortunately, Tekena came home one day very moody and when I asked him what was wrong, he said that Komboye had been amputated and that it was as a result of an injury he sustained on the football pitch. When we visited him at the hospital, I was psychologically traumatised.'I never in those days believed that a football injury could lead to the amputation of such a talented and skilful player, who was like an elder brother to me. Since this happened to him, I was utterly devastated, especially in those days when there were limited information on how sports injuries could be adequately taken care of.'For a long time in his primary school life, Jones-Ere was afraid of taking part in competitive football as he battled to overcome the trauma. And the fears of cupping a life-changing injury persisted until he gained admission into the Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, where the Camerounian principal, Eyong, used to play football with the students. There, he still found it difficult to lace boot for competitive games.The abundance of budding stars, some of whom ended up playing for the Super Eagles, did not help matters either, 'because we had the likes of Super Eagles' former winger, Finidi George, Ernest Egbayor, Chinwe Anwuri,and Davidson Adiele, who recently passed on.' However, at a point in his secondary school days, he managed to overcome the phobia and gradually returned to the game when he was about 13 years old, having been convinced that if well handled, no injury would end tragically.'Having been made to come to terms with the fact that injuries would surely come while you play football, and having also been made to understand that most football injuries could be effectively taken care of on time, I summed up courage and decided to resume my football career at Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Borokiri, Port Harcourt.'Though he laid lowupon arrival in Yenagoa, that did not continue for long as he soon gave himself out. He explained: 'There was this period we had inter-hostel football competition and my hostel was trailing. I was convinced that I could help my hostel out, so since we were on the verge of losing the match, I asked to be introduced into the game. By the time the match ended, I had given a good account of myself.'But my hostel master and the rest were unhappy with me that I did not put myself forward for selection knowing that I was good in football. It was at this point I explained to them the trauma I went through. However, students were advised to always bring to the knowledge of their parents, and in good time, any injury sustained while engaging in sporting activities as this would curb situations that could turn ugly if not checked on time.'Soon after I arrived in Yenagoa, then in the erstwhile Rivers State, I represented my school, Government Secondary School, Amassoma, in 1986 in the Chairman's Cup Football Competition for secondary schools in Yenagoa Local Council of old Rivers State. I remember in one of those competitions, we finished in second place.'During the era of one Mr. Ayeni, a corps member was our games master. We played quite a number of inter-secondary school competitions, as he usually took us from place to place. My late father, who was a traditional ruler, also used to encouraged us to play the game. The urge to play football in those days was quite high because we had former great secondary school footballers like Benji Nzeakor, Adokiye Amiesimaka and others to idolise.'When we were in school, we used to watch people like these play and we would be longing to play like them. Even my good friend, Alali Halliday, who was in Enitonia High School and also playing for the Great Ambassadors Football Club, was another fine footballer of our days. In those days, every young footballer in Port Harcourt was aspiring to play for the Great Ambassadors because the club, which was like the junior team of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt, was playing in the state football league - the Port Harcourt Amateur Football Association, (PAFA League) handled by Sinclair.'So as a youth, if you made it to the Great Ambassadors, there were strong indications that you would make it big in football. Even the first U-17 team that went to China to win the trophy had three players, including Imama Amakpakabo, was from the Great Ambassadors.These were players that in those days we used to look up to.'The Sociology graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State added: 'Unfortunately, I did not get to play for them because the team was disbanded a year after these players made it to the Golden Eaglets, maybe due to funding problems. The players, who were all secondary school students, thereafter went into clubs like Agip Football Club, Leventis United (which was then in Port Harcourt before moving to Ibadan), Niger Delta Police FC and Pabod Supplies FC, among others.'Years after leaving school, Jones-Eri says that early participation in sports has impacted positively on him and that is the reason 'I want to get more students involved in sporting activities and make sure that we get them conscientised about what they stand to gain from participating in sports.'That is the reason why upon my appointment in July last year, one of the first things I did was to start the first ever secondary school football competition and the final was played on October 1, 2010. Of course, we got a lot of talents from there because it was a convergent point for young and skilful footballers, who were hitherto undiscovered, to show what they have.'In that edition, we picked two secondary schools from each local council area, but this year we did the preliminary stage in all local councils. Then the two best schools were moved to Yenagoa, where we camped and kitted them for the final. Other than the competition proper, coach Sinclair would be on hand to expand their knowledge of the different aspects of the game and also encourage them to develop their skills.'He will also lead the games masters from all the participating schools through a refresher course and give them fresh ideas in the game, which they will in turn impart into the students when they are back to base, thereby improving their knowledge of the game.''Sinclair's influence on my football life is something I cannot explain or quantify. He developed me as a child footballer, saw methrough in my middle age and today as sports commissioner, he is therefor me whenever I call on him for fatherly advice. In fact, when we moved from the group stage of the President Cup Football Competition sponsored by the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, I invited him in.'He came over and watched the boys play and gave his own advice. We ended up winning the trophy and of course a bit of the success of the competition goes to him for his fatherly advice. In summary, I would say that coach Sinclair has contributed enormously to my playing football, understanding the sport as well as administering it.'For Jones-Ere, the social and health benefits that have accrued to him on account of participating in sports early in life are simply enormous, 'because if you work endlessly without exercising, minor health challenges will begin to crop up and with time, they become serious medical challenges.'As vice captain of the football section of Port Harcourt Club 1928, I take part in football training whenever I am in Port Harcourt. And as a member of Bayelsa All-Stars Football Club, I train Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. So socially, playing football two to four times weekly exposes me to a lot of people, including ex-internationals and sports administrators among others.'Meeting with this calibre of people also leads to cross-fertilisation of ideas. Above all, interacting socially in football has added so much to my understanding of sports administration generally, while the training aspect has improved my physical fitness. At 40, I am not going about with a pot-belly as an average politician does, so sports has developed me a lot and has guaranteed me, to a reasonable extent, good health.
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