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“Entente Club Judo” of Dosso is an association dedicated to the teaching of judo. This club is located within the traditional wrestling arena “Salma Dan Rani” in Dosso, in the Bagué Koira district. It was created in 1996 by Maître Ousseini Seyni, known as Maître Acide. Ousseini Seyni began practicing judo in Dosso in 1986. Now aged 57, he is 4th Dan in judo and remains committed to teaching this martial art which is dear to him. In addition to teaching judo, he has also been an international judo referee since 2018 and has his own welding workshop.
Since his early youth, Master Acide has been passionate about this art and he has benefited from excellent training because he was trained by great judo masters such as Master Fouta, Master Boureima Sounna and Master Kousto. Once, Master Acid was a formidable fighter, claiming to have traveled extensively across the country and abroad, winning numerous medals, although he did not bother to list them. He was even part of the national team to defend the colors of Niger. “The nickname Acide was given to me by my friend Soumana during my first participation in a competition, at the Zinder festival in 1986, where I won the silver medal. I had the orange belt, during my fight with a judoka from Zinder, I brilliantly threw him in an ippon, which caused him to break his collarbone. He was in great pain and shouting “acid, acid”. It was from that moment that my friend Soumana started calling me “acid”,” he said, with irony.
The Club Entente de Dosso currently has around fifty members, and offers training sessions from Monday to Friday on tatami. To register, simply pay the registration fee of 2000 F, then pay a monthly payment of 1000 F per month. Maître Acide has trained more than 50 students in judo, leading them to black belt, and some to the rank of 3rd Dan. His disciples include international fighters and athletes from the Niger national team. Some of his children indulge in the practice of this martial art, while others, particularly his daughters, show no interest in this sport and prefer to devote themselves to other activities. “Dosso is home to many promising young talents, which is why my club has always provided fighters to strengthen the Niger national team, including Zalika Adamou, Zakari Amadou nicknamed Jika, Mamoudou Amadou currently playing in France, Body Guéro and Mounira Djibo, all awarded in different national and international competitions, to mention just a few,” he said.
A firm desire to continue teaching despite constraints
Despite his passion for this art and his ardent desire to pass it on to young people, Master “Acid” encounters several difficulties in carrying out this activity. Two of its main problems are the lack of a suitable premises to practice its art and the monthly contributions not paid by the students. Master Acide claims that he and his disciples are very dedicated to the practice of judo. According to him, he does not benefit financially from his teaching because the disciples cannot pay the membership fees due to lack of means. Furthermore, Master Acide is dismayed to be systematically expelled from public places in the State even though he practices this teaching out of pure passion.
“Practicing and teaching sport in Niger is extremely complicated. When I tried to organize a competition, the MJC officials asked me to pay 60,000 CFA francs per day for the rental of a simple hangar. However, this discipline represents a passion for us, and we aspire to fly the colors of Niger high. The lack of adequate infrastructure considerably hampers the development of judo in Dosso. For two years, I was unable to teach due to lack of suitable facilities. I had to mobilize my knowledge to get a small space at the Dosso wrestling arena to practice my art. Even if the place does not entirely meet the standards, we adapt with the means at hand,” he concluded.
Assad Hamadou (ONEP)
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2024-04-16 20:57:29
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