VANCOUVER — Daniel Igali is driven by dreams. His are not the fanciful visions so many of us conjure up in idle moments, however. Mr. Igali’s dreams are few in number and he is deadly serious about them.
The Nigerian-born wrestling champion realized his first dream at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, dancing around the Canadian flag and into the country’s hearts by winning a gold medal.
And that led to his second dream. As he wiped away tears on the podium, Mr. Igali thought: “Now I can pay for that school I’ve always wanted to build in my home village.”
It wasn’t that easy, of course. Mr. Igali, despite his instant fame, soon found out that an Olympic gold medal in wrestling does not translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal wealth.
But that only made Mr. Igali more determined. He soon began a tough, time-consuming slog to raise the estimated $500,000 needed to construct a well-equipped public school in his native village of Enwari.
Now, the end is in sight. The 11-room school, perched against the encroaching bush on the village outskirts, is basically finished, waiting only for some top-up cash for chairs, desks and computers. And, oh yes, the small matter of electricity.
“There is no power in the village, “Mr. Igali says matter-of-factly. “So I am going to try to get a generator. We need it for the computers.”
One would not think it would be up to Mr. Igali to secure a generator. After all, he has raised all the money so far.
Yet it is emblematic of the hands-on approach the charismatic gold medalist has taken from the beginning.
Mr. Igali defected from Nigeria in 1994. He knows only too well the corruption and political abuses that have bedevilled his and so many other African countries in recent years.
So he will be leaving shortly for yet another return visit to Enwari, this time for seven weeks. It’s the only way to ensure that nothing goes missing.
“Corruption is a big concern of mine, “Mr. Igali said in an interview yesterday. “I’ve actually spent quite a bit of my personal money to go there and come back. It costs me a minimum of $5,000 every time.
“But I feel it’s necessary. People see money coming from Canada and they feel there is some entitlement to it.
“So much of the little they have goes to rich people’s pockets. It’s very nauseating and I see it every time I go back, “Mr. Igali said.
“I get so upset. So I take it upon myself to be very hands-on with the project. And it’s paying off.”
Indeed, Africa’s ingrained corruption is a major reason for Mr. Igali’s mission.
He would like to see his school become a model for education facilities throughout Africa “to teach kids from a very young age that you don’t have to be outrageously corrupt to become respected in society.”
At the moment, according to Mr. Igali, if you ask a five-year African kid what he wants to be, he will say a politician. “Because they have all the best houses, the best cars, maids and everything.
“They don’t need to account to anybody. It’s ridiculous. I’m hoping we can start to fight this from the grassroots.”
Despite his zeal for the school, which is scheduled to open early next year, Mr. Igali has not forgotten other pursuits.
He tried politics for the first time this spring, running for the Liberals in the provincial election and, much to his surprise, losing.
“But you know, it was good for me, “Mr. Igali said. “I learned so much about myself. I would not have traded it for anything.”
The political bug has not gone away. “Eventually, at the right time, I will be back in politics. But not right now.”
Nor has wrestling disappeared from his agenda, despite injuries and little recent competition. “I’m 31, but I’m not retired. I’m working out. I’m just not prepared to wrestle until next year.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Igali has a school to finish. He vows his work in Enwari, the village where he dreamed of conquering the world, will last a lifetime.
“In 20 years, I want to see all those kids that have come out of there to fight corruption doing the same thing that I did for them.
“I want it to grow and grow. That’s my vision. Until God says ‘come,’ I am going to be involved with this.”
Wrestling Gear
