The Making of ‘Millionaire’ Idris Riluwan in Glasgow

DURO’S GLASGOW NOTES Team Nigeria kicked off the country’s quests to better her previous outings in the Commonwealth Games with aplomb last Friday, winning three gold and three silver medals in the para-powerlifting event. What many didn’t know was how the two ladies and a gentleman fought their ways to the precious gold medals in particular. Before the games began, top officials of the National Sports commission (NSC) had projected that Team Nigeria was going to win 16 gold medals to better her previous outings. Part of the calculations was that the para powerlifters will contribute three gold medals to the till. However, when competition began, Roland Ezuruike who was one of the lifters to deliver one of the gold medals, miscalculated and failed to lift his second lift that was supposed to be a world record and the gold medal. This was after gold medalist from Birmingham 2022 Games, Maylasia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin had failed in his bid to lift what would have ended the contest in his favour. Homeboy, Mark Swan of England easily took the gold, leaving Ezuruike with the silver. But NSC Chairman, Shehu Dikko and DG, Bukola Olopade, watching from the sideline were not ready to give on three gold from the sport. That was how they both approached Riluwan Idris who was the last to lift in the men’s heavyweight category. Idris was not in the reckoning for the gold medal project for Team Nigeria. At best, he was listed for a bronze. A silver medal was going to be a bonus. Olopade who as sports commissioner in Ogun State under the Gbenga Daniel administration made the state one of the powerhouses in the country’s sports along with Dikko sat with Idris before going for his event. They psyched him up, telling him that he can deliver the gold. Instead of the $5,000 bonus for gold medal winner, both men promised to double it to $10,000 if he made good his promise. An insider amongst the para weightlifters told THISDAY that Idris who cannot boast of having one million Naira in his bank account, brought out his phone and did rough calculation of what $10,000 plus FG’s $5,000 will fetch him if he wins. Idris was already seeing himself as a millionaire with $15,000 at black market rate translating to N21milllion in his bank account. While other were lifting under 200, Idris kicked off with 200kg. He moved on to 208kg. His attempts to lift 212kg fell flat. Winner of the gold four years ago in Birmingham, India’s Sudhir could only start with 182kg. His second was 183kg. Seeing Idris lifting 208 in his second lift, the Indian attempted to overhaul all in the race when he went for 211kg in his final attempt. He failed in the bid. Ghana’s Tahiru Haruna who also wanted to shock Idris by calling for final lift of 218kg also failed. In the coefficient calculations of all the lifts, Idris topped with 132.8 points to take the gold while England’s Matthew Harding with 131.0 points settled for the silver. Malaysia’s Nicodemus Manggoi Moses took the bronze with 120.3 points. At Medal’s presentation, Idris beamed with smiles. He was not thinking about the gold medal alone, he was celebrating his new status as the latest millionaire in town, courtesy the Renewed Hope given to Nigerian sportsmen and women. It was reaffirmation that the Bola Tinubu’s new incentives to sportsmen and women was working and also giving hope for a better tomorrow for those who excel in the sector. Now, all the other sports men and women who witnessed the presentation of the $10,000 bonus to Idris as well as the $5,000 to each of the other gold medalists in cash, are now fired up to step up their games. They want to go beyond the $2,000 for silver and $1,000 for bronze. Photo captions Ruth Asuquo Nyong added another silver to Team Nigeria’s medals collection at the ongoing 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland…yesterday caption 2 Anthony Joshua celebration his knockout victory over Kristian Prenga early hours of Sunday in Saudi Arabia caption 3 FOR F=DURO’S GLASGOW NOTES PLS Idris Rilwanu…the latest millionaire in town