Ayila after Nigeria's ouster from the World Cup

By Tony Ubani, in South Africa
What happened?  Was it a curse?  Was it sabotage? My friend, we need to know from you”. Those were questions that have bombarded me since the Eagles made their exit from the first World Cup in Africa. Many people especially Journalists and the people of South Africa would not let anybody rest once they notice you are a Nigerian.

For the foreign media, we have to know ourselves through interactions either from the media centre or the media tribune or from the mixed zones where we meet in the course of getting stories for our different organisaions. I know that many Nigerians by now have come to terms with the sour performance of the Eagles but out here, mentions are still being made to the early exit of the Eagles.

One British Journalists said that he has never seen such a miss in the whole of his 39 years of writing sports and covering many international competitions. He was referring to Yakubu’s miss. In the 66th minute of
Tuesday’s final group match against South Korea, trailing 2-1 and needing a win to have a shot at advancing,  striker Yakubu was set up with an absolutely perfect opportunity right in front of the goal. With the keeper sprawled out beside him and a wide open net waiting to be fed the ball, Yakubu tried to flick the pass in for the astonishingly easy score and he put it wide off the post. He missed.

I still don’t think it was possible, but he missed. Well, he did hit a water bottle, but that doesn’t count for anything. Since then, I have not rested for the silly mistake of Yak. He has made me to be answering questions that I don’t know. Nigerians and Africans, too, have been attributing the miss to Native Doctors, or a spell. One said boldly that it was not for nothing that he missed the chance. I am not an authority in such mundane trivial things of ‘tying’ the players’ legs as is being suggested here. Some claimed that some native doctors were
ferried to South Africa from Nigeria by Nigerians to ensure that Sani Lulu and his group of traveling members in the NFA do not use the glory of the World Cup by the Eagles to climb back to the glass house. Others have insinuated that it is retribution. That the Eagles and NFA and indeed Nigerians reaped what they sowed by kicking out Amodu Shuaibu from his post after suffering to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup.

I learnt that Amodu was at the World Cup but did not set my eyes on him. I thanked God that I did not see him because I would not have faced him for an interview. Yes! How could I have done that or what question could I have asked him knowing his temper.

I didn’t want to be like Onochie Anibeze who faced the wrath of Emmanuel Okala after Rangers International were defeated by the then Leventis United. Rangers had played the match of their lives and controlled every aspect of the match. Rain suddenly started falling and a harmless shot, the type that Goalkeeper Robert Green of the Three Lions of England conceded against USA was fired by Leventis.

The goalkeeper bent to hold the ball and it slipped into the net for the only goal of the match. Rangers officials and players wept. And as a cub reporter Onochie went straight with his tape recorder to Okala and asked, “Coach what would you attribute to the defeat? Okala in his giant size seized Onochie by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up, retorting in Ibo. “ina attribute, ifuro rain? It means, “Are you attributing, didn’t you see rain? By the time he hauled Onochie down, he had a stiff neck. I still remember that incident as if it happened yesterday.

And I thanked God that I did not see Amodu because I wouldn’t have avoided the urge to ask him questions. Why that happened in those years, now mistakes by keepers and strikers are being attributed to the Jabulani; the official ball of the World Cup in South Africa.

Players who shoot wide pass the blame on the jabulani while goalkeepers who fumbled point at the Jabulani. Yakubu has not said anything on his infamous miss but don’t be surprised that one day he would either blame the jabulani or agree that external forces misdirected the ball from the yawning net. I still wonder why the Nigerian Television Authority stopped one kiddies program called Tales by moonlight. Such excuses or blames on external forces or spiritual attacks, frankly, are nothing but tales by moonlight. Even though that Friday Nwankwo Kuja a.k.a Ambassador swore that many people cursed the FA members and some of the players because of their greed and cheating innocent people.

Funny, funny identity!

I don’t know if you still remember one of the classics done by Oliver de Coque? The late high life musician who lifted the burden of Nigerians with his music. If you do, then, you must know about funny, funny identity. Part of the track says, “sometimes when I dress, I dress like boyoyo, sometimes when I dress, I dress like Chief of Kings. I been get beer-beer, my beer bear is from nature, music is my talent, that’s  my identity.

Eh weeee, mama mo, funny, funny identity”.  Our Entertainment Editor, Ogbonna Amadi still has it as his ring tone in his phone. But the funny, funny identity of the world cup is coming from the President of the Nigerian Supporters Club, worldwide, Dr Rafiu Ladipo. Ladipo is designed with tribal marks on his face. He wouldn’t have allowed his parents to  mutilate his face if he had the choice. If you know our Photo Editor, Joseph Akintola, then, you know what I am talking about. He too has s designer’s mark on his face.

But then, such marks were the identity of the Yorubas, Once you see any man or woman with marks you know where he or she is coming from. But while in Primary School, we had a Yoruba boy called Ebenezer. He too was heavily designed with tribal marks. He was huge and feared by all. We were told that he fought with a Lion and killed the king of the jungle with his bare hands. That it was during the battle that he got the marks. And since then, he had learnt to be humble by genuflecting while greeting people.

I didn’t know if he knew about the tales but enjoyed it when people carried out his orders.  Things have changed. I would have wished that they still draw marks on their faces especially my friends who are so fine and deprive me from things. If they had marks(tribal or from the Lion), I would have been the king of the jungle in their midst. Anyway! Dr Ladipo told me that he would be going back to Nigeria since the Eagles have been kicked out of the World Cup.
He would have loved to stay in this beautiful country till the end of the world cup. But his tribal marks give him away as a Nigerian. People ask him annoying questions on what he is still doing around after their team lost. He bemoaned his tribal marks and said that if he had fine face like me, he would have stayed back.

We all laughed, Then I took a closer look on his face and wanted to count the number of lines on his face. He was talking and  always moving his head. I lost count.

At a stage I started getting dizzy following his head. It made me remember during our WAEC exam how one boy who got an expo wrote the answers on the ceiling fan. The questions were OBJ(I don’t mean our former farmer President). He would read question one, and looked up to see if the answer was a, b or c and he would circle it. But a vigilant teacher who was watching him went and switched on the fan. As the fan was rotating, our friend was rotating his head to get his answer. He complained that he was cold but majority of the students said that they were sweating, unaware of what was happening. He continued moving his head to the rotation of the fan until he slumped. There was commotion in the hall. We thought he was suffering from epilepsy until the Teacher poured water on him and revived him. Then, he switched off the fan and showed us all his writings on the blades of the fan. That man is a Medical Doctor, now.