Senator Bassey Edet the Executive Governor of Cross River State has taken steps to rehabilitate ex-Olympian Etim “Ironbar” Bassey, who has been surviving on the streets of Lagos for several years.
The governor, who met with the medal-winning athlete and some state officials led by the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, at the temporary Governor’s Office in Calabar on Tuesday, said he was touched by Bassey’s plight and that as a citizen who has helped put the state and Nigeria on the global sports map, it was the right thing to do.
“I am touched by the situation you (Ironbar) has found yourself and it is the right thing to bring you back home and get you something to do. What matters now is the legacy you have created. So, forget all that you have gone through and look to the future and this administration is here to see you back and to contribute to sports development in our state.
“We will rehabilitate you. You are to see the Commissioner of Sports for immediate employment where you find fit so that you can be meaningfully engaged. I wish you the best,” the governor said.
Before Governor Otu’s directive, Speaker Ayambem stated he took a delegation to Lagos in response to a resolution from the State Assembly, where they eventually found and convinced “Ironbar” to come home.
The Speaker was effusive in his praise for Governor Otu, saying that he has always placed the people first and that many more abandoned athletes will be recovered by their respective states and properly recognized as a result of the governor’s exceptional behavior.
Ironbar thanked the government for its intervention and gushed about his newfound happiness at having been “found and given another opportunity at dignity and recognition.”
Bassey, also known by his nickname “Ironbar,” first gained notoriety as a weightlifter in 1981, when he won gold medals at both the Lagos Sports Festival and the National Festival Sports in Benin City.
He then went on to compete in and win three Gold Medals at the African Weightlifting Championships in Port Saeed, Egypt. The bronze medal he won at the 1982 Commonwealth Games will forever establish his legacy.
Unfortunately, he tore a muscle at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, ending his participation and any chance he had at a medal.
Ironbar, realizing that he must spend his life savings on medical care if he is to survive, began maintaining the roads in the Ajah neighborhood of Lagos by repairing potholes, directing traffic, and otherwise keeping them in good shape until the state government stepped in.