'I Was Locked-Up at Kirikiri Prisons After I Helped Nigeria Win Olympic Medal' – Toblow

Tobias Igwe, a.k.a Toblow is a veteran grass-roots athletics coach who has carved a niche for himself in the athletics circuit.

In this interview with VANGUARD, he tells Vanguard Grass to Grace how he started  as a grass-roots coach and  how he used to go to different schools and streets in Lagos to  scout for young talents  especially during Inter-house and other competitions.

Toblow, as he is fondly called by his admirers, also recalls his travails as a coach and how he was accused of vandalising the National Stadium scoreboard in Lagos, which almost ruined his coaching career.

Despite that, he says,  he refused to give up the fight but remained a relevant factor in the country.

Toughest moment
"My toughest moment was when I was locked up at the Alagbon and Kirikiri prisons after I had helped Nigeria win medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I was locked up in the back cell at the Kirikiri Prisons with hardened criminals for four months for an offence I did not commit. I was falsely accused of masterminding the theft of the scoreboard at the National Stadium in Lagos."

Culled from VANGUARD