Celebrating One Big Sports Family: Five Sisters In Sports – Two Referees, Two Judokas And One Athlete

The Obile Allu family of Bukan Sidi, Lafia, Nasarawa State can aptly be described as a Sports family of sort. Indeed, the Obile Allu family deserves to be celebrated in the list of world’s sports families. Sport is running through their veins, in a manner of speaking.

Can you beat this? Five siblings (daughters) are into sporting activities: Two Referees, two Judokas, and one athlete. Whereas in most sports families so listed in the world have two or three siblings engaged in sports, the Obile Allu of Nasarawa State has five siblings. And who knows, more may also join!

Felicia Obile Allu, Esther Obile Alu, Precious Obile Allu, Promise Obile Allu and Cynthia Obile Allu are into one sport or the other.

Eggonnews celebrates them as Nasarawa State’s gift to the sports industry in Nigeria, Africa and the world!

Felicia Obile Allu

Felicia Obile Allu is a renowned FIFA-Badged referee, the first and so far the only in Nasarawa State who has officiated in various national football matches. She has featured severally in Eggonnews. She appeared to have opened the floodgate for her sisters to get involved in sports.

 

Felicia is proud of her family as one big sports family and for the younger ones developing their interests and passion in sports.

 

Esther Obile Allu

Esther Obile Allu, 25, is a fast-rising Judoka, a brown belter. She has been into Judo since 2004 and has risen to the level of a brown belter.

According to her, she developed interest and passion for Judo, first purely as a source or means of self-defence but along the line, she has made it her livelihood.

Esther, presently a 400-level student studying Criminology and Security Study at the Lafia Centre of National Open University of Nigeria, has represented Nasarawa State in several Judo competitions in the country,

According to her, she intends to continue in that sport to feature on the world stage when she would represent Nigeria at the Olympics.

When asked if the elder sister, Felicia influenced her passion in sports, she said, inasmuch as she would not discount the encouragement she has enjoyed from the senior sister, “every one of us just grew up to realise we have passion for one sporting activity or the other.”

Esther, who is on  contract with the Nasarawa State Sports Council, confessed to have encountered many challenges along the way but she has not caved in to such challenges, appreciating the grace of God in see her thus far.

 

 

Promise Obile Allu

Promise Obile Allu, 18, is another referee on the rise! Promise is a promising referee! She started her journey into the world of refereeing in 2015 and is not looking back. She certainly must have been hugely influenced by the senior sister, Felicia who has worn the FIFA badge and officiated in a number of national football matches.

“Although my senior sister did not actually ask me to go into refereeing, however, she has greatly been a source of inspiration and motivation to me,” she said.

Promise is registered Grade Two referee and has officiated in some local football matches.

Promise, who has just completed her Secondary School education and gained admission to Nasarawa Sate Polytechnic to read Science Laboratory Technology (SLT), intends to forge ahead in actualising her passion for sports, particularly so in refereeing.

Not only does she aspire to also wear the FIFA badge, she wants to climb higher than the senior sister, to feature on the world stage, when she will officiate world cup matches!

Precious Obile Allu

Precious Obile Allu, 16, is an athlete, 200 and 400 race runner. She discovered her talent in 2017 and has featured in some age-group competitions, the most recent being the 2019 National Youth Games which held in Abuja, where she represented Nasarawa State in 200 and 400 races.

Her aspiration is to represent Nasarawa State in national athletics competitions as well as represent Nigeria in the Olympics and possibly win medals.

Precious is presently in Senior Secondary Three (SS3) and has the ambition of reading Medicine. If wishes were horses, even as a Medical Doctor she would want to continue running and featuring in competitive races.

 

 

 

Cynthia Obile Allu

Cynthia Obile Allu, 13, is another budding Judoka, an Orange Belter, what they refer to as Third Level. She has participated in Junior Championship – Cadet- at the inter-State level.

Presently a Junior Secondary Three (JS3) student who wants to read Theatre Arts after her Secondary School education, Precious aspired to be a world champion to make Nasarawa State and Nigeria proud!

One Happy Sports Sisters

Interacting with the Obile Allu sisters, Eggonnews sees them as a happy sports family.

According to them, whenever they are together, which is often, they often share their experiences at their various activities and encourage one another. They believe that everyone has something to contribute to one another in life.

When asked how their parents, both of whom are still alive, feel about their engaging in sports, they told Eggonnews that they have enjoyed tremendous support and encouragement from their parents who say they cannot choose their careers for them.

The eldest of them, FIFA-Badged Felicia recalled to Eggonnews how their parents were vehemently opposed to her delving into sports, because of the notion that sportswomen turn to be women of easy virtues.

“However, over the years,” she averred, “seeing that I proved such notions wrong, considering the fact that not only have I fended for myself but catered for them and my younger ones, they have changed their perception about the engagement of girls in sports.

“That is why when my younger ones indicated interest in sports, they never raised any voice of refusal. In fact, in anything, for those who are into sports, our parents readily encouraged them.”

All of them say, from the earnings they make, their participation in sports has been a source of living for them and their parents.

Mr Obile Allu, their father, has only recently retired as a technician from the Nasarawa State High Court of Justice, while the mother is a renowned business woman.

For Felicia, “I do not regret being a referee, despite the challenges I have encountered as a woman. It has not been easy but I count everything as part of my experience. Many ladies in Nasarawa State are not interested in sports because it is believed in some quarters that sports are for men only, partly due to religious belief too.

“I believe and pray that parents will allow their girls to go into sports.

“I appreciate my parents – Mr and Mrs Obile Allu – for bringing me to this world, with their prayer, I am who I am today.

I am happy that my younger sisters have picked interest in sports; everyone has identified her area of specialisation and is pursuing it vigorously. I have been encouraging and grooming others outside, not knowing that my home is also full of some stars in the making. For that, as it is said, charity begins at home. I have been encouraging them to pursue their dreams in sports. I will be happy if they climb higher than where I have reached.

“I don’t know how or when each of these my sisters developed interest. I just saw them coming out one after the other. Curiously, it is only the sisters that have developed the interest. None of the brothers have done same.

“Once in a while I try to encourage them by getting some necessary kits. My joy is that none of them has dropped out from school, in spite of their involvement in sports, they are pursuing their education and want to attain their height

Unlike when I started my interest in sports where my parents were not too happy about it, this time around, perhaps seeing where I have gone because of sports and what I have been able to do, they are not against these ones; they are encouraging them. The only problem has to do with outsiders who challenge our parents as to why they allow their daughters to engage in sports, saying that they go wayward, but they have refused to be discouraged.

No doubt, Nasarawa State needs to celebrate these ladies and their parents for contributing to the development of sports in the State.