Unlike erotic love, which many profess and abuse at the same time, my first love makes love itself glow. It unifies and unites, and can bring enemies together, even though momentarily. It is one love that is timeless, immutable, and indestructible. Since it was founded it has grown beyond the frontiers of its birth. It has become one language the whole world can speak and understand. Even a year-old child can enjoy its frills and thrills. It is played everywhere, anywhere – by boys and girls, young and old, rich and poor – in short, everybody. Boundaries have never constituted any barriers to its spread and existence. From whatever divide one finds oneself one can enjoy its beauty.
That there is still a semblance of universal amity is thanks to this beautiful love. It has contributed more than anybody or anything else to the peace and unity of the world, making me wonder what would have happened to humanity if not for you, my first love.
Do you still wonder what exactly my first love is? Now wait for this: I won my first accolade in life with my first love. It happened on one beautiful afternoon in our neighbourhood in Aba in the mid 60’s. In company with other teenagers we savoured the beauty of my first love. People would gather, including excited parents, to watch us display our artistry and mastery.
I knew right from then that I had a long journey to do with my first love. We have bonded so much that nothing can separate us. Can death? I think not. Something in me tells me that even in the world unknown this beautiful love still exists. It is so beautiful that its beauty can attract not only the gods, but spirits. Who would not cherish its pulchritude?
Let me save you further speculation: I am talking about my love for soccer. Yes, my first true love. Whenever I write about it the whole readership of my column is agog with excitement. They even go hysterical. This is how magical the love of this game has become across the world. It is for this reason that I have opted to write on it this week – to reignite the drooping spirits of my readers buffeted on every side by the killings, maiming and stealing going on in our land. When we talk soccer we forget our sorrows and despondency and feel momentarily the joy and happiness that spring from the game.
Soccer is the happening thing all over the world. Daily, people of all ages, beliefs, and races gather to watch it. They jump, clap, dance, sing, all in the name of the game. Winners raise their voices in praise of the god of soccer, while losers mourn and wear long faces. How God made this beautiful game is what I have always wondered, with no answers in sight. I love you, soccer my love.
In Government College, Umuahia it was a unifying force. As young as I was then I was appointed the manager of our college soccer team, and used it to build a formidable bond among students. I remember our contemporaries in the game then from other schools across the East. Bishop of Christ the King College, Onitsha; Obima of Arugo Boys; Ogbodo of College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu; Bukana of Boys High School, Ekwerazu, Mbaise; Kingsley of Stella Maris, Port Harcourt, and Onye of National Grammar School, Enugu. I cannot name all of them in this short piece, because of space.
Though there were no GSM or internet we still networked among ourselves sand shared ideas about the round-leather game. It was so much fun. Every school –primary or secondary – had a games master with distinct powers to discharge his duties. Football was the focus of every school, followed by athletics. Football competitions among schools were in vogue then, and through them young and skillful talents were discovered. Great names in our local league such as Sylvanus Okpala, Chairman Christian Chukwu, Ogidi Ibeabuchi, Mathematical Segun Odegbami, Blockbuster Aloysius Atuegbu, Kadiri Ikana, Adokie Amasiemeka, Kingsley Onye, Monday Odiaka, Finidi George, Stephen Keshi, Tijani Babangida, Emma Okocha, etc were all discovered at one time or another from their various schools. I knew vividly that Sylvanus Okpala and Christian Chukwu played for CKC, Onitsha and Nike Grammar School, Enugu, respectively.
These great men mentioned above shone like a million stars when the Nigerian League commanded respect and following. That was in the days of Rangers of Enugu, Mighty Jets of Jos, Raccah Rovers of Kano, Vasco Da Gama of Enugu, IICC of Ibadan, and Stationery Stores of Lagos. Later we had such teams as Leventis of Lagos, Spartans of Owerri (later Iwuanyanwu and today Heartland), Enyimba of Aba, Pillars of Kano, Sunshine of Akure, etc.
My heart is in deep pain that our local league which once bloomed and blossomed is gradually losing its glow. I recall with nostalgia those days when we trekked long distances to watch matches involving Rangers and their rivals. The national teams also did very well then as they got regular supply of players from the various clubs across the country. Professionalism was not in practice then and that accounted for the large number of talents available for us locally. This reason accounted for the inability of super players such as Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal, Adokie Amasiemeka, and company to play for clubs outside Nigeria.
It was in the time of Stephen Keshi, Finidi George, Emma Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Sunday Oliseh, etc that professional football gained currency and fame in Nigeria. I remember travelling to Germany at one time to watch Emma Okocha at Eintracht Frankfurt. Most of the other players plied their talents for different clubs in Belgium. It was from Belgium that former national coach Clemence Westerhof recruited the players that he used to prosecute Nigeria’s maiden outing at the World Cup in 1994.
I am sure many of my readers (in fact, Nigerians) may not know that I was the person who was commissioned by the National Sports Commission (NSC) under the indefatigable chairmanship of Chief S.B. Williams to go to Belgium and negotiate with Westerhof and hire him for Nigeria. I was then a member of the commission. By the death of Chief Williams Nigeria has lost one of its finest and most passionate sports administrators. He had a great vision for the development of sports generally in Nigeria. There is no day that passes I do not remember him. Somebody like Chief Williams to me was Coach Prof. Eto Amaechina. His contribution to football development in Nigeria will never be forgotten. He was one man that single handed made Rangers what it was.
I remember how Eto showed his mastery of football when Rangers F.C., Enugu confronted Mehala Football Club of Egypt at the National Stadium, Lagos in 1975. Rangers had travelled to Egypt for the first leg of the match in the African Champions Cup and returned with a 2-0 liability. The return leg was thought hopeless, because of the inspiring display by the Mehala boys in Egypt. But Eto had other plans. When the chips were down, Rangers ran a ring round Mehala, routing them 3-0 in Lagos. I was in Lagos to watch the match live, while millions glued to their radio and television sets for the commentary. Radio Nigeria ran the commentary of the match with the irrepressible Ernest Okonkwo in control. He described the outcome of the match in an unforgettable sentence: “Mehala saw wahala’’. And truly they did.
I have always relished the memories of that match, especially the role played by Chairman Christian Chukwu in defence; Sylvanus Okpalla in the midfield; and Emmanuel Okalla in goal. Their display was a beauty to watch. We had other Rangers’ players through the decades: Isiadinso, Kenneth Okoronkwo, Ogidi Ibeabuchi (the header-maestro), Christian Madu, etc.
Enter Otto Gloria – Nigeria’s national Coach under whom we won the elusive African Cup of Nations in 1980. Nigeria played host to the competition and won it after beating Algeria. The following players showed class in the match: Christian Chukwu who marshaled the defence, Segun Odegbami and Adokie Amasiemeka in midfield; Emma Okala in goal, Kadiri Ikhana, Aloysius Atuegbu, Muda Lawal, Sylvanus Okpala, etc.
The league and challenge cup tournaments in Nigeria attracted record spectatorship. Rangers and IICC dominated both tournaments then. It was they also that made concerted efforts to win the elusive African Champions Cup to no avail. The closest each of them came winning it was the semis. Teams from North Africa and East Africa were their albatrosses. The only West African countries that gave Rangers and IICC tough times were Cameroun and Guinea, which produced such top-flying teams as Canon Sportif of Younde and Hafia respectively. Police of Senegal gave them a dose of trouble as well.
I have made deliberate efforts to find out what had happened to these great teams that Africa and Nigeria had produced at one time or another, and what I found astounded me: many of the clubs have either morphed into other entities or gone into extinction. Nigeria is one of the worst hit. Giants as Rangers and IICC are barely surviving, asphyxiating under the weight of poor financing and dearth of utility players. Efforts by their state-government owners to bring them back to what they were in the 70s and 80s have been very unsuccessful.
The poor performance of Rangers, IICC and other government-owned clubs is majorly attributable to undue bureaucracy which bogs them down. It exposes government as a poor manager of business. Rangers were at their best then because their chairman, Chief Jim Nwobodo, was a soccer-lover. He rode on the crest of his popularity with Rangers F.C. to Government House, Enugu. The name Jim was synonymous with Rangers at the time. The truth is that he used his personal resources to fund the team. As governor, he continued to fund the team. The fortunes of Rangers started plummeting immediately after Nwobodo’s tenure as governor ended. His interest in the team waned to the level that he could not do much for it as the Minister of Sports.
It was the same thing that happened at Enyimba F.C of Aba. I picked interest in Enyimba right from the time it was formed. And this prompted me to rescue the team when it was under dire financial strait. I had spent over N32 million on the team, excluding the brand new coaster bus I donated to it, before I became governor in 1999. I even made a move to acquire the club. So, the right time to salvage and reposition the team came in 1999 after I was sworn in as governor. The team was threatened by relegation. In fact, many had concluded that it would not evade the fall. But I was determined to save it from slipping into Division two. And so, we mobilised players and resources for the salvage mission. At the end of the day it made it out of relegation.
Because our eyes were set on the big prizes – the League and Challenge Cup – we did not rest on our oars. We set machinery in motion, and by the end of the 20001/2002 League Season we had pocked the league and challenge cup trophies. We went ahead to win the league back-to back. Not done yet, we started thinking continental. We were certain that we could win the bigger prize – the African Champions League Cup. And we went for it, not intimidated by the big clubs in North Africa and East Africa. We ran over all of them and lifted the trophy in 2004. Though former President Olusegun played host to the winning team in Aso Rock what the players received was not commensurate with the fame they brought to Nigeria.
So, then, what plans has President Goodluck Jonathan, with his team, to achieve greater fame for Nigeria in soccer – a game I love with so much passion? So far he has done well, but he can do better. The opportunity to take Nigeria to the pinnacle of global soccer is now. He has the resources, the manpower and soccer-worshipping people to partner with him in this enterprise. All he needs is the courage to take the right steps and make the right moves and the rest will be history.
As for me, I will never tire loving my first love, soccer. In fact, after God and, maybe, my wife, it is you.
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