IN a country that is not exactly teeming with heroes, the fine example of Mr. Ben Duamlong, a former Nigeria international and coach of Nigeria’s Under-20 team cannot escape mention. The assistant coach of the Super Eagles during the 2022 Korea/Japan World Cup literally rolled back the years and graduated top of his class at the University of Jos, Plateau State, a distinguished pearl among the students who graduated from the university this year. A graduate of the arts with a specialisation in painting, Duamlong was reportedly among the few students who received the first class honours degree. He is 70 years old. Yes, 70.
Duamlong had always nursed a dream: certification at the Ivory Tower. He had spent decades as a football player and coach, winning laurels locally and even performing on the global stage, and would have had a strong case had he elected to seek the position of a professor of practice in sports at any Nigerian university. But he chose to return to the classroom even with the strain of his advancing years. Alluringly, Duamlong, rather than opt for a course in his comfort zone, sports, chose to pursue his passion in painting. He had retired from the beautiful game in 2016 as coach of Kaduna United Football Club, but he had apparently taken the offer of admission to read Arts at the University of Jos very seriously. He was, as they say, retired but not tired.
Hear him: “My admission was made easy with the qualification I had from the National Institute for Sports in Germany. I have always loved the arts. Like I wrote in the handbook of my first and only exhibition, football and arts, to me, are one and the same. While football is performing arts, what I am doing now, painting, is abstract arts. They form the creative. Art, to me, is everything. Art is life. I have a passion for arts and during my days in the Green Eagles in the 1970s, I enrolled for a course in arts with a College in England. They were sending me tutorials and assignments on drawing and arts. I then said, why don’t I try my hands on this? Even as a kid, I used to draw but I had never painted.” The rest, as they say, is history.
For many Nigerians, not just the staff and students of the University of Jos, it was such a joyous and enchanting spectacle as Daumlong received his garlands at the recent convocation ceremony of the University of Jos. The fact that he had taken such an unusual step after his retirement following glorious exploits in football and coaching, seeking higher knowledge by pursuing a university degree, was lost on no one, and neither was the fact that studying in his old age as it were must have come with a lot of stress and mental exertions. Duamlong’s story is one of courage and persistence and we rejoice with him and salute his worthy and inspiring example. He has shown that age is not, and should not, be a hindrance to the pursuit of knowledge, which should be a life-long endeavour.
We hope that young Nigerians and indeed all categories of Nigerians will take a cue from Mr. Duamlong and not allow anything, any circumstance at all, to dampen their desire to seek knowledge at all times. The pursuit of knowledge is a beneficial enterprise that keeps the person involved mentally active and healthy, and this would still be the same even in old age. Challenging one’s mental faculties instead of sitting pretty in some comfort zone is a worthy endeavour. The nation, as well as the individual involved, has a lot to gain in the transaction, because nothing propels national development faster than a well-informed, patriotic populace.
Coach Duamlong has shown that age is not a hindrance to the pursuit of knowledge and attaining excellence. He has exerted himself, challenged and conquered stereotypes, and given Nigerians something to cheer about in a consistently uninspiring, even distressing, sociopolitical climate. We recommend his noble persistence in this regard to all.
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