Nigerian Football
FROM BED REST, TAIWO OGUNJOBI TAKES ETERNAL REST THIS WEEK
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The remains of former footballer and administrator, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, will be laid to rest this week in Ibadan. He died on February 11, which coincidentally was the 35th anniversary of his only international match for Nigeria.
In that 1984 Olympic Games qualifying match with Morocco, the score line was 0-0. But the late Ogunjobi had played at other levels for Nigeria. The most famous was the 5-1 defeat of Ghana Academicals in 1974.
Ogunjobi was the hero for the Nigeria Academicals as he scored three of Nigeria’s five goals. He came from a family noted for twins as he was just a member of two sets of twins.
An older Taiwo Ogunjobi, an athlete and soldier, was one of the victims of the 1992 plane crash in which a generation of army majors were killed. Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi played for the then IICC Shooting Stars which he captained to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Champions Club duel with Zamalek of Egypt.
Even though he was a non-playing captain at the return leg in Lagos, he was famously recorded as the IICC player that snatched a Nigerian flag from a Zamalek player during the pre-match ceremonies.
Ogunjobi later as General Manager, led the Shooting Stars to win the inaugural edition of the now rested CAF Cup which trophy was donated by Bashorun MKO Abiola.
He possibly used the his success as administrator as launch pad to higher terrain as he was appointed the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association in 2002.
He held on to the position till 2005 before becoming board member from 2006 to 2010.
He was the chairman of Osun State FA till he passed on last month. According to family sources, Ogunjobi was to take bed rest at the University College Hospital in Ibadan for an undisclosed illness.
The bed rest has turned an eternal rest. His burial ceremony is planned to span almost a week. It will feature a symposium and U-13 football match as well a club match featuring his former club, Shooting Stars and the later club he administered as the Osun State FA boss, the Osun United.
The Western Nigeria Football Forum being marshalled by the NFF senior vice president, Seyi Akinwunmi, puts these events slated for Wednesday, together.
On Thursday, another football match is on the card. It will feature a Whatsapp discussion group, “Family United by Sports” – FUBS and Ibadan All Stars – an assembly of retired footballers.
The body of Chief Ogunjobi will be committed to earth on Friday March 15.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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