Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, has described UFC welterweight champion, Kamarudeen Usman, as a beacon of hope for Nigerian youths.
Dabiri-Erewa said this while receiving Usman in her office on Friday in Abuja.
Usman, best known as the Nightmare, is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler, who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the reigning welterweight champion.
He is the winner of the UFC welterweight, which is a division that has wrestlers weighing between 156lb and 170lb (71kg to 77kg).
The UFC welterweight division is between the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions.
Dabiri-Erewa said Usman was worthy of commendation for coming back home and agreeing to give back to the youths as a Nigerian.
She said: “Your coming to encourage the Nigerian child/youths in sports that you all can succeed, when you believe in yourself, is commendable.
“When I go to the social media to congratulate you, people ask me if Usman was in Nigeria would he have succeeded?
“I tell them I do not know, but the fact that he is a Nigerian, he has contributed to his country.
“That is why we have the Diaspora Commission to celebrate Nigerians in the Diaspora.
“When you won, you held the belt to show you are a proud Nigerian.
“Lastly, you are not just a winner but a kind human.
“You are a champion original telling the young ones that you all can be champions and also you are doing all you can to breed other champions.
“For us in the Commission, we say we are the best in what we do and you are an example of that.
“I’m sure it is the Nigerian in you, the Auchi blood in you, that has the resilience of ‘I no go carry last, I no go gree,’ which has helped you.”
Dabiri-Erewa urged all Nigerians to believe in themselves and be proud of their country wherever they may find themselves.
Responding, Usman said he was humbled by the goodwill message from the NiDCOM CEO/Chairman after his win and that he returned home to give back to the youths in the country.
He added that it saddened him seeing the country on the verge of unrest and that it was hard for him as a Nigerian abroad watching these happenings around the country.
He said: “I had a lot of feedback from people telling me not to come home due to the unrest and it made me very sad on the inside, but I told myself I needed to come back home and see for myself.
“One of the main purposes of coming home is to give back.
“It is very easy to say as long as you believe you can achieve anything, especially the youths.
“But it is not easy to achieve anything just because you believe, especially when there’s no opportunity, so that is what we are here to do, to build that foundation where we can create that opportunity.
“That when they do believe and put their minds into it they can achieve it because that opportunity is being created for them.
“Once again, I am truly humbled and I know the position that I made, I do not take that for granted.”