September 6, 1975.
“Dedication and spirit of winning should be uppermost in the minds of our sportsmen and women in all games in which they participate… we just don’t participate for the sake of it but to fight and win … sports should be handled as we handle other businesses… to justify the huge amount being expended on sports annually…”, thus declared the chairman of Western State Water Corporation, Mr. Gab Fagbure while addressing members of the corporation’s football club which won the Olubadan Cup recently.
Mr. Fagbure has hit the nail right on the head because those days are sadly gone when games were solely designed to promote friendship, unity and what have you, among various nations of the world irrespective of their religions and races.
Like the Nigeria-Ghana Sports Festival, its primary objective was to foster the existing cordial relationship between the two countries.
The maiden festival which took place in Lagos last year was a huge success and this is where I give a hundred percent credit to Nigerian spectators. But hold it. My credit goes to them as far as international spectating is concerned.
Nigerian spectators, particularly the soccer fanatics, are reputed for their sane minds. They go for the better side. Just as they reacted to some Enugu Rangers’ players after the dramatic goalless duel in the first leg of the current African Champion Clubs tie against Young Africans of Tanzania. They did not vent their disappointment on the match referee, his linesmen and the visiting players. Instead, they dealt lethal blows on their own brothers, seriously wounding some of them.
When our Green Eagles took all Ghanaian soccer fans by storm, piping the Black Stars 2 – 1 in the first leg of their encounter, that result transmogrified them into deadly draculas, chanting war songs and demanding not only the blood of our sportsmen and women, but also that of all Nigerians living within the four walls of Ghana. Such was the atmosphere that prevailed in Accra… that led to the suspension of the games midway. We went to war. Real war in which that country’s uniformed men freely participated.
The Ghanaians still enjoy being our lords in the world of soccer. Their defeat by Nigeria during the 2nd All-Africa Games was still fresh in their memories – fresher than the defeat in the festival’s first leg. This became evident because all the wrangling that took place during the festival was at football matches. An average Ghanaian soccer fanatic would prefer to part with his God-given eyes than to see his country beaten. Like the Brazilians, all Ghanaians – old and young – worship soccer. I shudder to think that our contingent to Ghana would have been massacred had the Green Eagles won the second leg.
As I said earlier, the objective of the annual games is to cement the unity between the two countries. And as such, winning laurels is supposed to be a secondary affair. But as this spirit does not and can never reign supreme in the minds of these “tools” (I mean the people) with which to foster the unity, the festival should be discontinued in a diplomatic manner.
The federal commissioner for sports, Brigadier Olufemi Olutoye, who represented the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, at the games was said to have frowned at any call for cancellation or suspension of the festival. Maybe this call would have been heeded if the warring Ghanaians had succeeded in beheading one of our footballers.
Nigerians hardly forget a bad deed. I am not suggesting retaliation. But in order to dilute this ‘desired’ retaliation, the games should be discontinued by extending the scope of participation to reflect the spirit of ECOWAS.
Nigeria spearheaded the formation of ECOWAS. But if she fails to convince other West African countries of the need for a West African Sports Festival, the two-nation games should be discontinued without looking back.
A festival that involves many countries generates less tension in that you have a few winners and many losers. This column will never subscribe to any sports festival which is designed to fetch one superior and one inferior… as it is the case with Nigeria and Ghana.
Like the Nigeria-Ghana Sports Festival, its primary objective was to foster the existing cordial relationship between the two countries.
The maiden festival which took place in Lagos last year was a huge success and this is where I give a hundred percent credit to Nigerian spectators. But hold it. My credit goes to them as far as international spectating is concerned.
Nigerian spectators, particularly the soccer fanatics, are reputed for their sane minds. They go for the better side. Just as they reacted to some Enugu Rangers’ players after the dramatic goalless duel in the first leg of the current African Champion Clubs tie against Young Africans of Tanzania. They did not vent their disappointment on the match referee, his linesmen and the visiting players. Instead, they dealt lethal blows on their own brothers, seriously wounding some of them.
When our Green Eagles took all Ghanaian soccer fans by storm, piping the Black Stars 2 – 1 in the first leg of their encounter, that result transmogrified them into deadly draculas, chanting war songs and demanding not only the blood of our sportsmen and women, but also that of all Nigerians living within the four walls of Ghana. Such was the atmosphere that prevailed in Accra… that led to the suspension of the games midway. We went to war. Real war in which that country’s uniformed men freely participated.
The Ghanaians still enjoy being our lords in the world of soccer. Their defeat by Nigeria during the 2nd All-Africa Games was still fresh in their memories – fresher than the defeat in the festival’s first leg. This became evident because all the wrangling that took place during the festival was at football matches. An average Ghanaian soccer fanatic would prefer to part with his God-given eyes than to see his country beaten. Like the Brazilians, all Ghanaians – old and young – worship soccer. I shudder to think that our contingent to Ghana would have been massacred had the Green Eagles won the second leg.
As I said earlier, the objective of the annual games is to cement the unity between the two countries. And as such, winning laurels is supposed to be a secondary affair. But as this spirit does not and can never reign supreme in the minds of these “tools” (I mean the people) with which to foster the unity, the festival should be discontinued in a diplomatic manner.
The federal commissioner for sports, Brigadier Olufemi Olutoye, who represented the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, at the games was said to have frowned at any call for cancellation or suspension of the festival. Maybe this call would have been heeded if the warring Ghanaians had succeeded in beheading one of our footballers.
Nigerians hardly forget a bad deed. I am not suggesting retaliation. But in order to dilute this ‘desired’ retaliation, the games should be discontinued by extending the scope of participation to reflect the spirit of ECOWAS.
Nigeria spearheaded the formation of ECOWAS. But if she fails to convince other West African countries of the need for a West African Sports Festival, the two-nation games should be discontinued without looking back.
A festival that involves many countries generates less tension in that you have a few winners and many losers. This column will never subscribe to any sports festival which is designed to fetch one superior and one inferior… as it is the case with Nigeria and Ghana.
The Accra episode should serve as an eye-opener.
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