We saw Ogenyi Onazi shout “.B. Joshua I love you” after Nigeria defeated Ivory Coast, and most Nigerians assumed this was a message of gratitude for special prayers.
On the 2nd of March 1990, two men named Rabah Madjer and Djamel Menad caused me nightmares. It was the opening game of the African Cup of Nations, and Nigeria lined up an inexperienced team, largely made up of players from our domestic league, against the hosts, Algeria. Most of our foreign professionals, led by (the current messiah) Stephen Keshi, decided to boycott the Nations Cup because of financial disputes with the Nigerian Football Association. At the end of the day, Algeria humiliated Nigeria, defeating us by five goals to one. It remains one of my humbling experiences supporting Nigeria.
The only man who believed in that team was the coach, an unknown Dutch trainer called Clemens Westerhof. I remember his comments about the boys suffering from stage fright, and a promise that the team was going to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition despite the defeat. Thanks to two hard fought victories against Egypt and Ivory Coast, the coach kept his promise to Nigeria. Ultimately, the boys fell short, and a goal from Cherif Oudjani settled the final in Algeria’s favour. The Nigerian team returned home without the Nations Cup, but with their heads held high. That tournament introduced Nigerians to the exceptional talents of Daniel Amokachi and Uche Okechukwu, and two years later, both players were an integral part of the team that conquered Africa and qualified for the World Cup. They were joined by other unknown players like Finidi George and Emmanuel Amunike, and the mercurial Augustine Okocha, who provided the much needed flair. In two years, Nigeria had moved from a ‘work-in-progress’ team to world beaters.
It is interesting to compare our team in 1990 with the class of 2013. The current squad includes six players from the domestic league, and two of those can now be called regulars. Apart from Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, there are no globally recognizable names on that roster. Just like their predecessors 23 years earlier, everyone (including this writer) had written their chances off. After the insipid performances during the group stage, many fans feared the worst against an Ivorian team that had played together for many years. But something stirred in those boys, and they produced a performance that will be remembered for years to come. Now, this team is one game away from greatness, and if they can defeat a Burkina-Faso team without its best player, we will be the champions of Africa again. It is important remember that the result of Sunday’s game does not define the team’s effort or the state of Nigeria’s football. We must not repeat the mistakes of twenty years ago, when we failed to use the success of our national team as a foundation for developing talent. Our local league remains one of the most dysfunctional in the world, and the football federation look like a group of bricklayers trying to manage a space mission. If we need proof of the need to build on this, Greece and Zambia are perfect examples. . This time last year Zambia were crowned Africa’s champions, twelve months later they couldn’t make it out of the group stage. This is the lottery of knockout competitions.
We saw Ogenyi Onazi shout “.B. Joshua I love you” after Nigeria defeated Ivory Coast, and most Nigerians assumed this was a message of gratitude for special prayers. Apart from the spiritual guidance the player might have received from his pastor, Onazi played for My People FC, a youth football club owned by the pastor. Today, Onazi is on the books of S.S. Lazio, a leading football club in the Italian Serie A. This is the biggest proof of what Nigerian football needs, focus on youth development and ensuring our league system is devoid of the idiocy that current rules the system. On Sunday, we will stand as one in support of our team. Win or lose, we must not desert the system.
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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
