BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

It has been a half a century when Nigeria’s football team first won its first continental honours.

Apart from a photoshoot session and breakfast meeting the 20-man squad had with the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, no further reward was given to the pacesetters.

More than half of them have passed on to the world beyond. The rest are forgotten. Some are based abroad, especially in the US.

The www.sportsvillagesquare.com tries to profile some of these pioneer heroes and find out where they are now.

TONY IGWE

Popularly called ‘World 2’ for his sterling qualities at Nigeria’s rear guard. Famous for his overlapping skills.

He was delighted when www.sportsvillagesquare.com  put a call to him across the atlantic in California, United States. At first, he did not pick. But minutes later, he called back to express his delight that he had been remembered 50 years after the historic winning of the African Games’ gold medal.

Though an Igbo by tribe, his Yoruba was impecable. He switched from English to Yoruba when he realised that his interviewer is Yoruba.

He played every match in the five-game series that culminated in Nigeria winning the football event’s gold medal.

He scored the second of the four goals with which Nigeria beat Ghana in the opening match on 8 January 1973. It was from a penalty kick.

Statistically, Tony Igwe was the first scorer from the penalty spot at the National Stadium, Lagos. He captained the Nigerian football team at the 1968 Olympics which was the first appearance of any Nigerian football team at a global event.

He got his knickname of ‘World 2’ from his exploits at the Mexico ‘68 Olympics. Igwe also featured for the Nigeria Academicals in the annual contest with Ghana.

When his set on 13 February 1966 beat Ghana Academicals 1-0 in Accra, it was the first time a Nigerian team had an away win over Ghana. On 19 February 1966, Igwe’s squad completed the double with a 2-1 defeat of Ghana in Lagos.

At the time, he had just been discovered while he was a secondary school boy in Jos – the city that produced most football stars of that era. One of his memorable matches was that of 1969 game against Pele’s Santos of Brazil.

A patriach of a football family, his children have all taken after him. It is a rare occurence for virtually every member of his family to be a footballer.

Igwe’s three children are all footballers. Two of them got invitation to play for the American national youth teams some years ago.

First his daughter, Chioma got a call from US U-19 Women’s National Team. A day later, Amaechi also recieved a call from John Hacksworth into the US soccer residency programme.

Two kids, two calls, that was fantastic for ‘World 2’ who emigrated to the US in 1975. He since dedicated himself to coaching youth footballers in the US.

JOSSY DOMBRAIYE

He spoke to Sports Village Square from his base in Port Harcourt. Displaying sharp memory, the former Nigeria’s left winger reeled out the usual starting 11 of Nigeria, even 50 years after the gold medal-winning performance of the African Games.

Delighted at being remembered, he was thrilled at the 2-0 defeat of Guinea in the family. He however pointed out that it was not an easy match as the 2-0 scoreline would have suggested.

Before then, Nigeria had never beaten Guinea. The best Nigeria had in the preceding four matches was a 2-2 draw in Lagos in July 1963.

“We were tormented by the Guinean strikers most of them bearing the surname Kamara”, said Dombraiye who has an eternal record of being the first player to score at the Cameroon’s Ahmadu Ahidjo Omnisport Stadium, Yaounde when Nigeria Beat Cameroon 2-1 at the inauguration of the arean on 13 February 1972.

EMMANUEL OKALA

The towering goalkeeper remains the only Nigerian footballer with gold medal from All Africa Games and the Africa Cup of Nations.

He was the only one among the 20 players that procecuted the African Games in 1973 to feature in 1980 when Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations at the same National Stadium in Lagos.

VICTOR ODUAH

The central defender was the captain of the squad. He was also the first player to lift the then Nigerian national Cup, the Challenge Cup outside the competition birthplace, Lagos.

He achieved the feat on 21 October 1972  when Bendel Insurance triumphed in the cup final replay at the Liberty Stadium, beating hard-fighting Mighty Jets of Jos.

In 2007, recalling the final match of the All Africa Games in which Nigeria beat Guinea 2-0 in 1973, he told this reporter that the match was their toughest in the series as the Guineans were unrelented in their attack while the Nigerian defence, which he led, was getting tired.

Oduah, who had featured for West Academicals and also British Petroleum FC before playing for Vipers which changed name to Bendel Insurance, died in December 25, 2012 in Benin.

SAM IKEDI

Ikedi is among the latest of the 1973 heroes to have passed on. He died on 9 January 2021. Like Oduah, he was also a member of the victorious 1972 Bendel Insurance team that won the Challenge Cup.

MATHIAS OBIANIKA

He was a scoring debutant for Nigeria, finding the net in his first appearance for the Green Eagles who beat Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) 4-0 on 27 November 1971. Though a member of the squad, he did not make the starting line up during the All Africa Games. He died on 27 July 1992.

YAKUBU MAMBO

A speedy striker. He opened scoring at the National Stadium Lagos when it was inaugurated on 4 December 1972. His goal opened the floodgate in the eventual 3-0 defeat of Mali.

At the All Africa Games, he scored two goals at the All Africa Games. Sadly, he slumped and died in Lagos on 31 December 1991.

MORTON OWOLO

Morton Owolo, a left back from Hussey College Warri, claimed left back position in his debut for Nigeria on 27 November 1971. He also played in the opening match of the All Africa Games when Nigeria beat their eternal rivals, Ghana 4-2.

Although he shared the left full back position with Sylvester Egborge, Owolo was a natural left footed player. According to Dombraiye, his teammate in the 1973 All Africa Games squad, Owolo is dead.

SANNI MOHAMMED

He was among the players of that era who made debut for the then Green Eagles on 27 November 1971 when the national team was reconstituded after the failure of the late 1960s.

He is also one of the players of Ghanaian origin to have played for Nigeria. Fondly called ‘World 4’ he feaured against his native Ghana in Nigeria’ 4-2 victory at the opening match of the 1973 All Africa Games.

His last game for Nigeria was a 6-2 defeat of Sierra Leone in a World Cup qualifiers on 30 October 1976 when Segun Odegbami scored the first of his 21 goals for Nigeia.

Sanni Mohammed is back in Ghana.  

KENNETH OLAYOMBO

A soldier by profession, Olayombo featured for the Lagos Garrison Organisation, an Army football team. At the All Africa Games he played at the inside left position.

He scored two of the four goals with which Nigeria beat Egypt in the semi-finals. Olayombo also played for Nigeria in the third-place match against Egypt at the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia.

That was his last match since making a debut in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying duel against Togo in 1967. He was one of the coaches of Victor Ikpeba in the Lagos before the elegant ‘Prince of Monaco’ became a national asset.

SUNNY IZEVBIGIE

A left footed player who debuted for Nigeria in the All Africa Games semi-final match against Egypt. Shortly after the games, he relocated to the US where he gained adnission to Harvard University.

He is still based in the US.

TONY OTAH

A former Bendel Insurance central defender who also later joined the coaching crew, Otah was known for his long throw-ins.

He was the substitute player who took over from Skipper Victor Oduah who was injured barely three minutes into a crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match Nigeria played against Zambia in 1973.

According to an account of fellow 1973 All Africa Games hero, Dombraiye, Otah is no more.

SUNNY OYAREKHUA

Also dead is Sunny Oyarekhua, the sensational goal-scoring machine of the 1970s. He scored most of the goals that enabled Nigeria win the gold medal at the 1973 African Games.

He was featuring for the Police machine team as a footballer and he returned to the Police force after retiring as a footballer.

He died on 4 October 2021.

HARUNA ILERIKA

Perhaps the most colourful of the 20 All Africa Games players of Nigeria. He was noted for his flamboyant dribbling and ball control skills.

The diminutive left footed midfielder died on 4 December 2008 aged 59. Haruna Ilerika was iconic as a school boy sensation and got cheering crowd enthralled with his scintillating dribbling skills and superb ball control.

His diminutive stature belied his immense dribbling skills. Ilerika stunned opponents with soccer artistry as a one-man artist. He combined a rare alertness of thoughts, fleetness of feet, dazzling close ball control and body-swerving dummies. He established himself as fast bustling skills which he showcased when Nigeria won the football gold medal at the 1973 All Africa Games in Lagos.

Another memory of his skills was the two equalizing goals he scored against Egypt at the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia. So graceful was he on the pitch that an Ethiopian lady admired him and gave him her necklace as the Nigerian team sat in the bus on their way out of the stadium.

His career started at Zumrattul Islammiyah Grammar School where in combination with equally small-stature Tajudeen Ajagun they formed ‘terrible twins’ of the then exciting Lagos Principals’ Cup. Ilerika had his first club experience with a relatively unknown Patterson Zachonis (PZ) before joining Metal Construction FC and later moved to the better established Stationery Stores.

The short schemer easily gained a place in the star-studded Stores in March 1971. The following year, he was invited to the national team and easily impressed with his dribbling skill as he made a debut in the away friendly match with Mali on November 22, 1972.

He played 30 times for the Nigerian national team, the last match being the goalless encounter with Sierra Leone on October 16, 1976 in Freetown. His skills at the 2nd All Africa Games in January 1973 got him a place in the continental assembly put together by CAF under the tutelages of Coach Charles Kofi Gymfi of Ghana and Rachid Mekhloufi of Algeria in the Afro-Latin America duel in 1973.

A sort of parallel can be made between Ilerika and another Nigerian football icon, Tesilimi ‘Thunder’ Balogun. Ilerika was born in 1949, the year Balogun made his international debut for Nigeria. Balogun died in 1972, the year Ilerika made his international debut for Nigeria.

YOMI BAMIRO

He was a member of the then WNDC Shooting Stars and was included in the 20-man squad of Nigeria in the All Africa Games. However, he was an unused player.

His only appearance for the Green Eagles was a month after the All Africa Games when he went in as a substitute for Sunny Oyearekhua in an ill-fated World Cup qualifying match played in Accra on 25 February 1973.

Thereafter, he got admission to study at Howard University in the US. He reportedly died shortly after.

GODWIN ACHEBE

Achebe, a former Nigeria captain died in November 2007. He was one of the players who featured for Nigeria for a long time.

At 18 and school boy, he made a debut and also as captain in Nigeria’s Olympic Games qualifying match against Ghana in 1959.

A centreback , he played in Nigeria’s first two games at the 1973 All Africa Games – against Ghana and Algeria. The match against Algeria on 10 January 1973 was the last of his 48 appearances for Nigeria.

DOMINIC EZEANI

Christian Chukwu suceeded him as captain of the Enugu Rangers when Ezeani travelled to the US for further studies. He played in four of the five matches Nigeria played at the 1973 African Games.

After the games, he was one of the Nigeria players that departed for the US for further studies. Unconfirmed report has it that he is a physical trainer in the State of Maryland in US.

EYO ESSIEN

He was in goal in the final match of the All Africa Games in 1973 when he came in as a substitute after the first choice goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala was injured after barely 10 minutes into the game against Guinea.

He could had been the first choice keeper at the games, but human errors he made in Nigeria’s friendly match with Tanzania in the previous year gave Okala the edge.

According to one of his All Africa Games’ teammates, Dombraiye, Eyo Essien too has passed on.

GIDEON NJOKU

A speedy right winger who featured for ACB of Lagos. He died aged 61 on 10 January 2011, the 38^th anniversary of his goal against Algeria in a 2-2 draw at the 1973 All Africa Games.

After his retirement as a player, he took to coaching and handled ACB of Lagos and Enyimba.