By Zik Zulu Okafor
Godwin Dudu Orumen’s choice was clear. Even from childhood. For way back in primary school in Delta state, he had become ecstatic with the heroics of star athletes and footballers. So, Dudu, as he is fondly called, was made for sports. And it will be his calling ; a trade he will carve a path for generations to walk through.
But Dudu did not just want to be a sports administrator. Otherwise, his Bachelors degree in English and Literature would have sufficed. But he wanted to be
a man whose intellect would bridge the worlds of sport and scholarship. Though deeply rooted in the dynamics of athletics, he pursued a degree in Law, not as a diversion, but as a deliberate extension of his passion. With that legal grounding, he fortified his understanding of sports and earned the authority to speak on its matters with both insight and delight ; a deep intelligence and captivating grace, wit, and warmth. So when you speak with Dudu, you find a rare blend of a mind that knows the game and a voice that commands respect in its governance and administration.
Therefore, in the early years of his career, his
voice echoed from the terraces of the National Stadium to the quiet corridors of policy.
It has now been more than three decades of principled devotion to sports with an unwavering voice.
And come, November 19, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, that voice and vision will find permanence in print with the unveiling of his seminal book, Sports, Politics and Power — a compelling chronicle of Nigeria’s sporting soul and its complex dance with politics, ambition, and national identity.
A Life Between Law and the Game
- Trained in law but driven by the spirit of sports, Dudu has lived a life that straddles advocacy and athletics. His academic roots — LLB, BL, and a BA in English and Literature — prepared him for eloquence and precision. Yet his heart found expression not only in the courtroom but in the roar of the stadium and the quiet strategy of the boardroom.
As Partner at Dalley and Kempes Attorneys and MD/CEO of Multisports Services & Entertainment, Dudu combined intellect with enterprise, creating platforms where sports could thrive with integrity and commercial depth.
As Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission , despite bruising administrative challenges due to barbaric interferences by those who held monstrous political power, Dudu gave governance in sports a new vocabulary , one of order, accountability, and vision.
From Field to Policy: The Administrator’s Trail
Few individuals have worn as many hats across Nigeria’s sports ecosystem. Dudu’s résumé reads like a living chronicle of our athletic evolution
He was Director, Pepsi Football Academy (1995–1998) — nurturing young talents before the word “grassroots” became fashionable.
As Rector,
Cowbell Early Start Football Academy, he helped to shape the foundation of school sports.
He was Publisher, Multisports News & Pictures (1998–2000) — chronicling the triumphs and travails of Nigeria’s athletes with journalistic precision.
Still, he was an
Advisor to the Federal Government on the Concession of the Abuja National Stadium — bringing his legal intelligence into sports infrastructure development.
His brilliance as
Special Adviser to the Chairman, National Sports Commission (1990) took him to a different pedestal in a role that placed him at the confluence of power, policy, and passion.
Add to this his membership in multiple influential committees — from the NFA Technical Committee and Africa Cup of Nations 2000 Marketing Committee, to the Presidential Committee on School Sports Revival, and the Main Organizing Committees of the National Sports Festivals (Eko 2012, Lagos 2013, and Calabar 2014) — and you begin to see the pattern of a man who didn’t just participate in Nigerian sports governance, but helped to define it.
The Book : An Intersection of Thought and Experience
In Sports, Politics and Power, Dudu Orumen distills decades of insight into one urgent thesis — that sports in Nigeria is not merely recreation ; it is politics, culture, and identity in motion The book dissects how decisions made in the shadows of influence have shaped the destinies of athletes and institutions alike and how the intersection of governance and gamesmanship often determines a nation’s pride on the global stage.
It is, by all measures, a rare document. It is part memoir, part manifesto, a reflection of a man who has seen sports from every seat in the house : as advocate, critic, participant, and reformer.
The Voice that Roared
“Some voices echo,” a colleague once said. “Others resound. But Dudu’s roared.”
That roar has been heard across fields, stadiums, and committee rooms, in policy memos and television debates; in mentorship and in advocacy. It is the roar of conviction of a man who believes that sports can be Nigeria’s finest diplomacy, its purest education, and its most unifying language.
Indeed that sports can be the medicine for Nigeria’s total healing. And the closing of her fault lines.
As he steps into this new chapter — as author, chronicler, and custodian of memory – Dudu Orumen reminds us that leadership is not about holding office but holding vision. His book, much like his life, is an invitation for Nigeria to look inward, to listen to the rhythm of its fields again, and to rediscover the power of purpose through the game it so passionately loves.
A Legacy in Motion
When the book is launched on November 19, it won’t just mark the unveiling of a work of literature. It will mark the celebration of a life — one that proves that sports is not a pastime, but a platform; not merely a contest of strength, but a test of nationhood.
For Godwin Dudu Orumen, the game was never just about goals. It was about governance. It was about growth. It was about greatness.
And now, it is about legacy.
*Zik Zulu Okafor is a writer and filmmaker
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