He Ran for His Country, But It Was His Country That Gunned Him Down.. Not in War, Not in Terror but in Envy..

He Ran for His Country, But It Was His Country That Gunned Him Down.. Not in War, Not in Terror but in Envy..

He Ran for His Country, But It Was His Country That Gunned Him Down.. Not in War, Not in Terror but in Envy..

The tragic story of Otenkwa Dele Ndubuisi Udoh.. a boy of two tribes, a dreamer of two worlds, and a victim of a jealous gun.

He was born in Umuahia, Abia State, on May 24, 1957. A lgbo -Yoruba boy, two proud heritages burning in his veins, but one soul, fast, driven, gifted. From a young age, Otenkwa Dele Ndubuisi Udoh didn’t walk, he sprinted. His feet were blessed, and so was his future.

In the 1970s, he crossed the ocean to chase a dream. America. The land of freedom. There, at the University of Missouri, he blazed through the tracks like a storm. He became a collegiate champion, loved, respected, admired. He was the pride of the Missouri Tigers, and one of the most promising 400m runners the world had seen. In 1978, he helped set a world record in the Sprint Medley Relay at the Baylor International in Texas.

In 1980, he represented Nigeria at the Moscow Olympics, running alongside legends like Sunday Uti and Hope Ezeigbo. So he came home. To serve. To run again. To make his country proud.

But what do you call a land where jealousy wears a uniform?

On July 15, 1981, Dele Udoh, aged just 24, was back in Lagos, preparing for the Continental Championships. That night they plan to eat Dinner at the National Institute for Sports camp in Surulere was over. Nothing left. So, they decided to quickly head down to Ojuelegba, just a short ride, to grab a late meal. Hunger shouldn’t kill a champion.

It wasn’t hunger that killed Dele Udoh.

A police officer flagged them down. Dele, polite and respectful, tried to explain.

He told the officer, “In the US where I just returned from, police officers don’t point guns at innocent people like this.” A simple statement. But truth offends the insecure.

The officer, now consumed with rage and envy, replied with venom. “So you think you can go to America and return to insult me? You will not go back to that your good c