Why I dumped Nigeria for Canada-Daniel Igali

Daniel Baraladei Igali, the Canada based World Wrestling Champion was in Nigeria not too long ago on vacation. The Bayelsa State born matsman, 'Don' as he is popularly called by his fans, spoke exclusively to Nigeriasports.com on his roots, his switching of allegiance to the Canadian wrestling team and many other things he has never told the world about.

On his background.
I come from Eniware in the Bomo East local government area of Bayelsa state. My name is Daniel Baraladei Igali, my middle name Baraladei means 'I got all I wanted'.

I strive for Perfection.
I am striving for perfection. I don't think I have got everything I want yet. But I have achieved a great deal of what I set out to achieve.

Been the first Canadian to become a world and Olympic champion is no mean fit.
My desire to wrestle and watch other good wrestlers thereby disobeying my father's admonition, to go other villages to watch wrestling and to get spanked on various occasions by my father for not obeying his orders, I think were indications that somehow I would be stuck to wrestling. From every indications, whenever I talk to my mom and grandma even the circumstances of my birth they think gave an insight into what I'll probably become in life.

My mom usually tells me that the day I was born she and my grandma knew almost simultaneously that I was going to be born. She saw a vision of a big man climbing through a window and my grandma almost at the same time had a similar dream-where she saw a big man who was sitting with his legs crossed. According to my grandma, in those days it was the clerks that would come to the village and sit with their legs crossed. They were the big men then and she on the strength of her dream thought they have a big man in the family. I don't want to think of myself as a big man but been the first Canadian to be a world champion is no mean fit. I think if you reach that height you'ev not only gone there but you'ev arrived.

[photo alt="Daniel in Canada colours" align=left]igaliolympics[/photo]

Why I dumped Nigeria for Canada
I did not just wake up one day to forget about and say I am going to forget about Nigeria and move on to Canada as my adopted country. It all started in 1992. I was barely 18 years old then but I had made the Nigerian team. We wre going for the Olympic qualifiers in Senegal. At the time, I was weighng about 70kg but was wrestling at 62kg. So you'er cutting down 8kg. it is no mean fit. If you cut your weight downn you'll know what I am talking about.

We were at the airport ready to go Senegal when our chairman came to tell us that there was no money to travel. This is a time you'ev been in camp for almost three months snd you were getting ready to travel internationally. So, you'ev given away some of the kits and other things you were given in camp on the belief that you'll get replacements when you'er given your estacodes for your overseas travel.

You'ev already written letters to all your friends back home, telling them you'er going abroad for the Olympics. The criteria then was that if you'er top 3 in Africa you'll make the list and there is no way a Nigerian athlete(wrestler) will go for the African qualifier and not win a bronze medal. So, you knew in your mind that you'll go to the Olympics and for all of you to come crashing down in one fell swoop. Right at the airport somebody just comes and tells you ' you'er not going because we don't have money' meanwhile there was money freestyle to travel, I was in Greeco Roman, so the freestyle team went.

That was the day i decided that I won't wrestle in greeco Roman again that I was going to be stuck to freestyle wrestling henceforth. That was the first main blow to my ambition to become a good wrestler. You never know where you'll end up but at least you want to have the opportinuty.

When I wasn't able to go to Senegal then, it was was a big blow. I never went on a wrestling mat for two months thereafter. I contemplated quitting the sport for good, but I love the game too much to want to quit. After that I represnted Nigeria a couple of times in 1993-94 in Egypt and South Africa respectively and won gold medals. And then, I was at the University of Jos where I got admission in 1993, I wass in my second year and I was carrying over nine courses not I failed but because I was always travelling while they were writing exams and there were a couple of times the National wrestling Federation sent me down with my foriegn coach to go and meet the Vice-Chancellor of the University to give concession because of my commitment as a national athlete, but school authorities would have none of it, saying they don't want to favour anybody. So, I was carrying over nine courses going into my second year because I couldn't write exams.

Education had always been a big thing in my family; my dad was a chartered accountant trained in England; my mom is a teacher of proven ability trained in England. So, it was preached to us 'you'ev got to go to school'. And so I wanted to be educated. I knew I had sports but I knew the limitations. I knew that if I broke my leg it would be over in one day. I wanted to be educated but I didn't see the atmosphere in Nigeria allowing me that opportinuty to go to school. When I went to Canada and I saw the opportinuty to go to school and still compete because they made it conducive for athletes to do that, i grabbed it. At the time we (in Nigeria) had a millitary administration I knew what was happenning. I remember been jumped on by mobile Policemen once and got beaten up for no apparent reason.

And I started having the feelings that this is not the society where any sane person can live and survive. So, going to Canada and seeing that I had the opportinuty to go to school, where you have full rights and nobody can touch you; where the law and human rights are respected, I knew that I would be able to accomplish most of dreams and goals I set for myself and I stayed back.

When I left for Canada in 1994, I didn't do it with the intention of switching country. I stayed there and got my green card in 1996 and the first thing I did on getting my green card, was to write to the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, stating that I could travel legally out of Canada and I could represent Nigeria. I informed them that I wanted to be given the opportunity to come to Nigeria for trials. That was my first letter. It was not answered and my coach and I cowrote another letter to the wrestling federartion saying that my club in Canada was willing to pay for my ticket to come down for the Olympic trals. They not only refused me to come, but did not even bother to reply. I knew my abilitities at that time. Then I was just second in my weight category in Canada but I was improving by leaps and bounds. And I knew that with more exposure to top level International competitions I would get to the top.

Nigeria really never gave me the chance or opportinuty. That was not the end, in 1997 before the world championship, I wrote again to the Federation, I was then the National champion in Canada. I sent them video tapes of about 60 of my matches and some that I lost. Of course I won about 95 percent of the fights. In the letter I stated that I wanted to represent Nigeria at the Word Championship and that in 1998 I would be due for Canadian citizenship. I wasn't looking for automatic place, I wanted to come for trials and prove mysel. Again, they did not response.

in 1998 I was adjudged the best the best wrestler in Canada. I won the National Championships and was given outsatanding wrestler award at the 1998 Canadian Wrestling Championships. By then I had my citizenship. If you were in my position what will you do? Now you'ev written four letters to the authourities in your country of birth to represent them, but you'ev been ignored. You now have the opportinuty to represent your naturalised country.

In Canada their citizenship processing takes about eight months to a year. my citizenship was rushed through in six weeks. You know that this a country that has an interest in you and wants you to succeed. I mean, they went through a lot of the red tape and I was able to get my citizenship on time for the World Championship. I thus represented Canada for the first time in 1998. In 1999 I became their first ever World Champion and later their first ever Olympic Champion. I have no regrets on this step I took and looking back at the circumstances, i think if the need arises again, I'll do it all over again.

I have never experienced rascism in Canada
Racism is everywhere and in most cases is very disguised and so I cannot come here and say there is no racism in Canada. There is and most of my friends have told me about it. But to be candid, I have never been a victim, at least openly. but that I have never experienced it does not mean it does not exist. There are daily cases of racism but not as widely reported in other countries.

I Love Giving
One of the things my schooloing has afforded me is the opportunity to set time-to be able to manage my time. I train twice a day. It is incumbent on me to do community service a couple hours every week and it is incumbent on me to go to elementary and high schools and teach young kids how to wrestle. There is this feeling that you wre thought how to wrestle. So,you should give back. During my undergraduate days this is what I did and if it was actually more demanding than it is now.

After my Olympic and World Championship success getting enrolled in a masters degree programme in Criminology is a busy job, but it is not the same with undergraduate progarmme, where you have to meet up. Now, I have finished all my courses, I am writing my thesis so I am kind of on my own. I do meet with my Professor on a bi-weekly basis. Sometimes, if I am not there we'er able to talk on the phone or I can email him what I have written for corrections. Now, the pressure is not that much.

The most pressure now is that I am involved in a lot of speaking engagements. I travel to all parts of Canada, and the country is a big. It is about 10 tens the size of Nigeria in terms of land mass, but has a small population. I go across the country speaking to ids and even companies about time mamnagement, staying motivated and overcoming things. I have come a long way from my very humble beginning. That is the thing that takes away a lot of the time. I am someone who is given to help others, to give. Like Mohammed Ali said " the rent we pay on earth here is to be good neighbours to others" and that is what I believe in and do.

I have no regrets about that and thats why my Masters programme is stretching into two years now. There are lots of things I am doing but I am in no hurry. I'll get it done with and move on with the rest of my life when the time comes. I am studying Criminology because I like the legal system, I like how different components of the legal system works. My initial aspiration was to be a lawyer, but looking at what I am disposed to be doing in life, I don't think I need to be a lawyer to be able to accomplish most of the gaols I set for myself. That is why I went for Criminilogy and I enjoy it a great deal. I may even apply for a Ph.D, I like the sound of Dr Igali, yes I may apply for next year or the year after but my immediate plans are a bit different right now

My History making Winning in Canadian Colours
In all honesty, when I won the World Championship in 1999, the Canadian press wasn't aware about my success and infact wrestling is not a huge sport in Canada. And since my success there is a lot more following, So on my arrival from the contest there was no press at the airport to meet me, which was avery disappointing. But they caught on afterwards. But, I think for the wrestling community in Canada it was one of the biggest thing to happen. That was the first time I saw my coach, whom I thought to be a superman, crying. He said he never thought he'll witness such a success until the end of his life time. They had so many close calls and they felt it was a curse.

When I arrived in Canada in 1994, one of the main attractions for me was seeing the way their wrestlers wrestled. The gap between us back in Nigeria and here was so much, and I was wondering if I could ever wrestle like them-that was my dream. Only to find out later that they had never won a World Championship. It was terrifying realization to think that these are the people you want to be like, and they have never won a World Championship, so what are my chances. To sit back and be the one that won it and see thousands of kids in Canada wanting to be like you. You have your posters in little kids rooms and every day they wake up and greet your poster. And they want to be like you because you have done something that they'ev never done and you'er still the only person that has done it. It is very satisfying.

My Regrets
In Wrestling the two biggest trophies that you can ever have is winning the World Championship and winning the Olympics. I have won both tournaments. I have won the Common Wealth championship, and the African championship a few times, I have also won alot of grandpix meets and a complete array of championship and medals. So, in terms of laurels, I don't have anything that I am looking forward to anymore. But it would have been nice to win the world Championship at 74kg and it would have also been great for a time in my career to be adjuged the Best Wrestler in the World. These are two things that I wish for and when I look at it there was a big disfavour done to me when I wasn't given that at the O,ympics, because I felt I deserve to get it Being the first Canadian to win an Olympic wrestling medal and looking at the fact that my weight class was the toughest. And the way I came from behind in every match and how I dominated it in the final, I deserve to get to it then. But if wishes were horses..............Even if I don't get it my career is so complete.

I'll go into Politics After my retirement.
Recently, I got a call from the Liberal Party in Canada to be nominated for a seat in the legislator and I accepted it. I'll be running for the elections, I am going to be politician. Not in Nigeria yet but in Canada. That is why I don't know how long I will be wrestling for. It may be another few months, it could be a year. I could still wrestle while in the legislator. But I would rather give it up. I'll probably have many things to do. My pending obligation is to be a congressman in Canada.

If Called upon to serve in Nigeria by your people
It would depend on what and who is asking me. Then it would depend on what they (my people) are asking me to do. I come back home about three times a year and that is not because I am a tourist and I love travelling. It is bacuase I want to be part of my people and part of what goes on in my community. So, if my people come calling with the right job, obviously I will give it a thought.