‘Buka T’ Takes Over Lee Evans’ Mission To Develop Nigeria’s Next Athletics Stars
Former national decathlete and athletics coach Ayodele Solaja, popularly known as ‘Buka T’, has taken over the mission of late American athletics legend Lee Evans to develop Nigeria’s next generation of international sprinting and jumping stars.
Solaja joined the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy (SOCA) in Wasimi Orile, Ogun State, last month as director of its track and field academy, leaving a lucrative coaching job at a secondary school in Port Harcourt to pursue his passion for developing young athletes.
His appointment continues the work started by Evans, the former Olympic and world champion who served in the same capacity at the academy for two years before his death in May 2021.
Evans, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder, was renowned for his contribution to athletics both as a competitor and a coach. At SOCA, he championed the development of young Nigerian athletes through a specialised secondary-school sports programme designed to produce future international stars.
According to former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami, who shared details of Solaja’s work at the academy, the new director has already made remarkable progress since taking up the assignment.
Solaja, a former police officer, is widely credited with discovering and coaching world record holder and Olympic champion Tobi Amusan during her formative years in athletics in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. He has also nurtured several other athletes to national and international prominence.
Since joining SOCA, he has begun identifying and selecting young athletes for the programme, constructing and fabricating locally sourced training facilities on the campus and designing specialised training programmes for different age groups and classes.
He has also organised weekly training sessions for selected boys and girls at the MKO Abiola International Sports Arena, ensuring that the athletes gain experience on standard athletics facilities alongside their campus-based development.
One of the projects currently underway is the construction of a 200-metre grass track within the school grounds. Odegbami, who visited the site recently, described the facility as a distinctive addition to the academy’s sporting infrastructure, expressing optimism about its appearance when completed in the coming months.
Solaja’s appointment represents a new chapter in SOCA’s ambition to establish a specialised environment where talented young Nigerians can combine secondary education with structured athletics training.
By continuing Evans’ vision, the academy hopes to develop future Nigerian champions in sprinting and jumping, while providing young athletes with the coaching, facilities and opportunities required to progress to the international stage.
