He was born in royalty and died in dignity for he lived his life a humble way, sacrificing his and his family’s privileges so others too can live a happy life of having little to worry about. The first son of business tycoon Momodou Musa Njae, Housainou Momodou Musa Njai or Jimmy, as he was fondly called, have impacted positively on the lives of many Gambians in all facets of our lives, but mostly in sports.
Respected United States-based Gambian journalist Tijan Masanneh Ceesay (TMC) once described him as the support system of Gambian football. A former Managing Director of the defunct Gambia Commercial and Development Bank (GCDB), the late Njai’s name is mostly associated with the formation of Hawks Football Club but his association with Gambian football weighs far beyond that. Many have described his contribution to the sport as the single biggest by any Gambian and during his time he would sponsor a whole national team of The Gambia by paying for their bills and still made efforts to ensure matches played outside The Gambia are relayed to the population back home through live commentaries on the radio.
“He financed the camping of the national team, brought in both Gambia National Insurance Company (GNIC) and GCDB as the first sponsors of the 1978 [Gambia Football] Association. He also supported many teams and he would asked me to come over and there he will be after we destroyed Hawks giving me one or two pairs of boots and money for fares for our boys who lived in the Kombos. I also witnessed when many players were opting to leave their various clubs for employment reasons, he would tell them to stay with their clubs and he’d find them jobs. Who does that?” Tijan Masanneh Ceesay told www.gambiaff.org.
“Let me also add, he sponsored basketball, volleyball, and Naweetan football. The man was unique. I do hope when historians someday decide to do a serious and sober documentation of Gambian sports, the conclusion will read, ‘Housainou MM Njai is the all-time Patriarch of Gambian Sports.’”
James Gomez is the Minister of Fisheries and as a senior member of the People’s Progressive Party government at the time, he had both a professional and private relationship with Jimmy. He told the Federation’s in house medium that if Gambia advanced in sports today, not only in football, Njai was one of the architects because he contributed his time, resources and energy by making sure that opportunities were created for sportsmen in every discipline, particularly for football.
It was during his time as the Managing Director of GCDB, teams in the first and second division of our domestic league were given sponsorship by The Gambia Commercial and Investment Bank with each team receiving two sets of jerseys, twenty-five football boots and balls. In the case of the national team, it was more than anything else because the country did not have the resources even to travel but Housainou was there every time to raise money for the team as well as put his own money for them.
“If you talk about Real de Banjul, he was one of the pioneer supporters; you talk about Starlight, Hawks, my team Black Stars; the good old days Housainou was there for sports. You talk about basketball, cricket, lawn tennis, athletics is the same thing. I recalled when we started participating in the Zone ll tournament and it was the first time Gambia won an international trophy in basketball because he really made sure that everything that was needed was given. You talk about the Youth Week, Housainou, Njie Doudo and myself were the ones going round looking for money to support the different zones so you can really give the full history of Housainou and sports in this country particularly football, like I said we are practically in football because of Housainou,” Gomez, the current President of Hawks said.
His passion for sports in general was out of this world and unheard of and it would beat one’s imagination how a successful economist and banker would virtually give everything he had just to ensure that sportsmen and women would have something to cheer about. But then he was not just any person but a God sent to rescue Gambian sports, football in particular, especially at a time when the government had given little or no attention to sports, in terms of funding. But even when he did that, our sports today our sports is facing serious funding difficulties and it’s having serious impacts of the progress of our national teams.
Cherno Bara Touray was also part of the generation that witnessed first-hand the late HMM’s unqualified loyalty, devotion and dedication to football. He said Jimmy had given employment to good athletes as a source of income in an attempt to ensure they have a peace of mind to concentrate on their careers. “He employed these people at Commercial Bank and other government institutions in order to encourage them so that they can have a living. He contributed by giving out a lot of sports equipment and materials to all the National Sports Federations and not only football. He opened what we called the Dingareh Sports Shop; this was the [primary] source of supply for all the National Sports Federations with very minimal cost to Government and the Department of Youth and Sports. I can tell you that there were some bills from the Ministry, from my Department and from the National Sports Federation owed to Dingareh Sports Shop for their supply to all these teams and what happened; Housainou Njai will finally take over to say he was going to pay everything,” Mr. Touray, who was once a Deputy Director of the Department of Youth said.
Regarded as Gambia’s greatest footballer of all-time, Biri Biri remembered an encounter with the late Housainou where he approached him to sign him for Hawks from Wallidan but been a gentleman of an impeccable character, he refused to hurt his rivals and advised the former Sevilla star to remain with the Blues while he continued to support him.
“He [Njai], Omar Sey and Kebba Diocese did everything for football in this country. If what they did was translated onto the pitch, then The Gambia would have been counting the number of times we had qualified to the AFCON. I can only talk about football but he contributed equally in all sports in this country. He was not doing it for money or to be famous but rather his love and passion for the game. Housainou was a gentleman, I can remember when I told him that I wanted to join him in Hawks he said no because OB was his close friend so he just told me to stay where I was and he would still do anything for me,” Biri added.
His son Momodou M.M. Njie said his father gave everything he had to football. “He loved football so much that he will do anything and I sometimes wonder why he is doing so much at the time,” he added.
Talk of the likes of Omar Sey and Fisco Conateh, even a child as young as 10 years may probably know a thing or two about them. However, few may remember him, maybe because it’s nearly two decades since he joined his ancestors or perhaps his generation didn’t coincide with the recent trend in the proliferation of both conventional and citizen journalism, or possibly the both of them.
But he hasn’t done any less a contribution to the development of Gambian sports, football in particular, than the aforesaid duo. He is an unreplaceable legend. And in my TMC voice, what this man has done for Gambian football and sports in general, no one can match. And I conclude with another line from Uncle Tijan; ‘Jimmy’s name will forever be engraved to the game in our country. A generation salutes you Jimmy and will forever be grateful to you; for not just what you did for sports and the Gambian youth; but for all you were, humble, kind, generous, caring, meticulous, patriotic and respectful to all.’
This feature is a new weekly column that would remember our football men and women who have contributed immensely to the development of the sport in this country. Each week, we will identify a legend by talking to his friends, colleagues and family in an attempt to chronicle how those people impacted on our beautiful game. Rather than him or her telling his or her own story, instead people will talk about their stories for them.