Posted on Mar 06, 2020
The nation woke up to a rude shock on the morning of Tuesday, February 18 when what started as a mild malaria fever casually snapped the life out of chairman of Pinnacle Communications, Sir Lucky Babatunde Omoluwa.
If you bank on the new Digital Switch Over [DSO] ever happening in Nigeria, you should pray for the repose of his life for he did start it. Omoluwa cared so much for people and this could be reason Karma was on his side for he was stupendously wealthy. But in truth, it’s the over four million Nigerian golfers that would miss him most. Without mincing words, he was the true ‘Don’ who popularized the game of golf in Nigeria. Even then shakers and movers at the prestigious IBB Golf Club in Abuja, where he was an outstanding member of the Board of Trustees referred to him as ‘Capo’, literally for Captain or Leader. Yes, he lived up to the name for he was also on the Board of Trustees of the Kaduna Golf Club.
Omoluwa was a model of strength, fortitude and dignity. Not once would you see him showing any aura of dominance. He must be the richest man you had ever wanted to meet… chatty, funny and cordial. There was always a sense of dignity and grace about him that was almost eerie. He was indeed unfathomably nice, so nice that the Vatican should have canonized him. But the Vatican did close to that when the present Pope Francis, two years ago, invited him to Rome and cuddled him in his hands before honouring him with the KSS Papal. He couldn’t be more regal had he been wearing a robe and carrying a staff. Without any doubt, this must had been the inner strength Omoluwa needed to break all grounds for the game of golf to thrive in Nigeria.
He started at a point in Kaduna when the historical Kaduna Golf Club was almost lying fallow with no one to play. It was Omoluwa who broke into the strong barricade of the military and lured so many officers from the barracks to the golf course. Even at that, many who wanted to play didn’t have access to the equipment. It was still the same Omoluwa who reached for his wallet and ordered for 50 Dunlop golf sets from England so many could take to the game in Kaduna unperturbed. He accomplished this when he wasn’t really in money… just a mere resident golf professional of the Kaduna Golf Club.
When it was time to build the first Military Golf Club, the one at the Command Staff College in Jaji, it was Omoluwa that was called upon to build it. He moved ahead to help build those courses at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and the Tradoc Military course in Minna.
Sir Lucky assisted the growth of golf in 80% of some 150 golf courses in Nigeria. Apart from Otunba Olusola Adekanola, head of CMCL conglomerate, no other single individual in Nigeria sponsored more golf tournaments than Omoluwa. Many Nigerians golf professionals survived the rough golf terrains of Nigeria due to hand-outs from Lucky Omoluwa. And really not many amateur golfers in this country could look through their golf sets without pointing at an ‘iron’, ‘wood’ or ‘putter’ as a precious gift from Sir Lucky.
But what else can anyone say than to offer farewells fraught with emotions to this colossus? Well, death is an inevitable leveller. It must come when it will come. Goodnight, Sir Lucky. If they play golf around the Angels, I know your Handicap will remain scratch.