When Nigeria was a footballing nation [OPINION]

By Olalekan Adetayo

A lot of things have changed in the way we do things. No aspect of our national life is not affected.

Our social life is affected. Our spiritual life is not spared. Insecurity has made many abandon night parties or travelling, whether daytime or night. It is the same with vigils in places of worship. Security challenges combined with economic hardship had also forced many to steer clear of fun spots. The list is endless.

The ongoing African Cup of Nations holding in Cote d’Ivoire is also proof that the way we watch football in this country has changed. Maybe this is directly connected to the fact that the way members of our national team play football has also changed.

Gone were the days when Nigeria was a giant of Africa in all areas, including football. In those good old days, when Nigeria sneezes in the football circle, Africa catches cold.

Like the words of that advert copy, football players were making us proud on the field and Nigerians were reciprocating by giving them unflinching support.

Many footballers became household names in those glorious years. Rashidi Yekinni, Nduka Ugbade, Jay Jay Okocha, Emmanuel Amuneke, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeba, Daniel Amokachi and Nkwakwo Kanu are some of the football players that Nigerians were watching on the field of play with conviction that they would deliver.

In those good days, a few minutes before any football match involving the national team, you would feel the tension on the streets of major towns and cities: workers rushing to beat traffic jam to be able to watch the matches at home; and some others who preferred to watch with friends at viewing points or drinking joints.

In some homes then, part of the preparation for the matches was to ask whoever is the youngest to go out and change the position of the television antennae in their desperate bid to get clearer pictures from their television sets! This task involved turning the bamboo stick or iron pole used to hang the antennae until there was a directive from those inside for the errand boy to stop. Most of the current generation of children will not understand this.

I also recall with nostalgia how some elderly folks prepared for blackout in those days as part of efforts to ensure that they watched the matches without interruption. You would see some of them connecting car batteries to television sets, mostly black and white television sets. Those who could afford such luxury then were like kings. Their compounds usually become mini stadia or viewing centres. It is dangerous to offend their children during that period because they might threaten to stop you from watching the match.

Ten minutes to kick-off time, the roads are deserted as if curfew was declared. Nigerians have taken strategic positions before television sets. Once the match starts, these football fans turn to commentators, coaches and referees all roll into one. “Release the ball,” “Clear him,” “That should be a penalty,” and other talks will subdue the voice of the commentator.

The national team rarely disappoint in those days. So, every goal scored attracted wild jubilation across the land.

When they finally won, highlights from the matches dominated discussion for the rest of the day and the following day at workplaces and schools.

I remember Nigeria’s Olympics gold in men’s football at Atlanta in 1996. That outing has been rightly described as Nigeria’s finest hour.

Nigeria made history by clinching the gold medal. I recall how Nigerians, young and old, deprived themselves of their needed sleep to stay glued to their television sets at midnight to watch the matches of that tournament and hailed the team to victory. That was when Nigeria was indeed a footballing nation.

Fast forward to Sunday, January 14, 2024, when the Super Eagles played their first match in the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations holding in Ivory Coast against Equatorial Guinea. Ahead of the tournament, not a few people thought that the Super Eagles would not spring any pleasant surprise. I was surprised to notice that the neighbourhood where I was when the match started was devoid of any sign that people were interested in the match. No sign of people watching, no sound of people shouting from their sitting rooms, nobody listening to radio commentary on the streets. It was as if the match was not holding. It was therefore not surprising for many when the Super Eagles started on a shaky note by drawing the first match.

It was coming from that poor start that many also felt the national team may not have a good showing in their second match against the host, Cote d’Ivoire but they ended up proving bookmakers wrong by beating their host 1-0 in front of their home crowd. They finally secured their place in the round of 16 when they also beat Guinea Bissau 1-0 in their final group match on Monday.

Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, himself expressed his displeasure at Nigeria’s poor goal conversion rate so far at AFCON after the Guinea-Bissau clash. He insisted that his team deserved to have scored more goals and top Group A ahead of Equatorial Guinea, who humbled hosts Ivory Coast 4-0 also on Monday.

Peseiro said, “For the next match, we are going to score.

“It is important for us to score goals, but it’s a difficult tournament. We deserve to reach the first position because, against Equatorial Guinea, we created many chances, but we didn’t score. Equatorial Guinea did not beat us, they drew us.

“I’m happy about that, and I’ll wait for the next match. It’s not easy to win one match in this competition. It’s not easy.”

Can the Super Eagles redeem their image by scoring more goals? Can they win back the confidence of Nigerians by going beyond the round of 16? Can this team wobble and fumble to the AFCON final? These are questions that answers are expected to be provided for in the days ahead.

Culled from The Punch