Captain of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Spikers men’s team, Seiyefa Dikiyai has explained the rationale behind the name Shango.
In an exclusive interview with www.aclsports.com, Seiyefa Dikiyai revealed that the speed of his spike during games gave birth to the nickname which is known by the volleyball community.
Dikiyai expressed delight over CNS Spikers VC promotion into the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League.
He revealed that some players were discouraged from joining the newly formed club because they were starting from the lowest division.
He said, “In my years of playing volleyball, I have experienced so many names. The French guys call me Mitraillette (In English, Machine Gun), some call me RPG, some named me Isakaba, while others called me Thunder. The thunder was because my spikes are very fast and it was translated to ‘SHANGO’ (the god of thunder in Yoruba). That was how the name echoed and it became my identity till today”.
“I feel obliged to return to the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League. When the Nigerian Navy formed the team, people were saying how can I play in the Division II despite playing in the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League for years but your mother base ship remains your mother base ship. I told them that even if the Nigeria Navy starts from Division 5, I will play there because they are the source of my pay.
“When I was trying to bring in players for the CNS Spikers, they discouraged a lot of them but I told them that it is how well you have lived your life. I explained to them that playing in the Division II does not mean that you will not return to the Premier League”.
The senior national team player said forming the team from scratch was challenging adding that experiences have been gathered since the birth of the club.
He said, “To be honest, I felt discouraged when I discovered CNS Spikers will begin their journey from Division II. I pondered in my mind how can a player of my calibre play in Division II but I said it is better to build than to meet a built team because when you build from the scratch, you intend to get the basement.
“If the foundation is very strong I feel it is better for us than joining a team that was built elsewhere. We started the team from scratch and built it ourselves. I am happy to be a founding member and it is a good experience for me because we passed through a lot of hurdles. I have seen what it takes to put people together and attain success”.
He told www.aclports.com, “As the captain of CNS Spikers Volleyball club I have been in the premier and I know it’s highly competitive, it is not a push and start or push and pass over like the way we’ve been having it 3-0 from Division Two and Division One. It won’t be as usual but we will work towards the standard of the premier and I bet you we will not disappoint; we will give our best performance and we will just do our best”.
He did very well
Am glad he made such a choice
Growth from scratch