By Tony Ubani, in South Africa
There are very little things in life that lift one from obscurity to popularity. Those who attain fame do it with dint of hard work. Many others who wait for a dead man’s shoe end up without shoes. There are still many people who cheat others to prominence. Take 419 for instance.

Many 419ers have shot themselves into reckoning in Nigeria. Some of them have been decorated with chieftaincy titles while others have been recognized in many churches and societies. But the truth remains that there is no dullard who excels in duping, cheating or cunning. You must be brilliant in a wrong way to extort or cheat.

One man, today, has become so popular for the wrong reasons. Sani Kaita. Before the match against Greece, Kaita was no where in the catalogue of popular Nigerian players. He is a young man who honestly meant well to render good services to his fatherland. But, he has shot into the consciousness of every Nigerian who watched him try out a kung-fu on a

Greeck player. As a professional player, he should have known better that retaliation in football always end-up with a red card. Annoyingly in the match against Greece, his performance was anonymous.  He was not spectacular either in marking or in shooting on target. He was among the players that I waited patiently for our Swede coach to substitute. We wanted a player who would bring urgency, accuracy in shooting to the Eagles. With a 1-0 lead, Eagles did not need to defend.

The Greek were afraid of the Eagles. But once they realized that the Africans were no longer the Lions they thought, they threatened them. And out from the blues, came Kaita in a far corner where a ball strolled out for a throw-in. Angered by(only God knows what), Kaita not only went for the jugular of the Greek but followed up with his tiny leg on the thigh of the player.

The Greek reacted like one stung by a bee and then came the red card.
The rest is history. But Kaita has become part of us. A player whose action weakened Eagles. A professional player who acted in an amateurish way.

You cannot deny him popularity, though. He could have been popular by scoring goals or preventing goals from being scored. He has chosen to be popular in a wrong way. But the fact remains he is popular and has lifted his name higher than some other players. If he had not gotten the red card, perhaps, you may not even remember that one character called Sani Kaita played for the Green Eagles(not Super Eagles) of Nigeria. Haba Kaita!

Chisco in South Africa

Yes, I saw Chisco in South Africa. The same Chisco that plies through the many Nigerian roads. The same Chisco that was part of Nigeria’s successful hosting of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Before you begin to wonder like Steve Wonder, I saw the Owner, Chief (Dr) Chidi Anyaegbu, CEO of Chisco Transport clad in many clothes that made recognition difficult. He was fighting the biting cold in Bloemfentain. He came to support the Eagles of Nigeria.

He is a fan of the Eagles and loves sports. He left the many passengers thronging his stations to be with the Eagles.  He was not alone.
He was with his friend and former Team Manager of the same Eagles, Chief Mike Umeh, Umeozor di na Obi, Aku na esi obi ike, Udemba Ama Ichi, Afu Dike eti aja na ume, Nwoke di Ora nma. Big titles for a big man. They lodged in the same hotel with yours sincerely and drank coffee like people who have been condemned. Chief Anyaegbu prayed fervently for the Eagles to

beat Greece and prayed for the team to go all the way to the final of the World Cup. He bought breakfast for me. I tried to tell him not to put his hopes in a prince but he was adamant. Having cornered me with an expensive breakfast, I nodded to his dream. But I did not see them after the match. It was too cold to even mourn for Eagles. We ran close to any fire or heaters as it were to get warmth first before thinking of a bird that has refused to fly despite the good name it has been christened with. An Eagle. Certainly, these are not the same biblical Eagle that soars where no bird dares. Not the Eagle that we know.
Ajuonuma’s first cap

In journalism, first international caps are celebrated with fanfare. The reporter must justify the confidence of the Editor that put so much trust in him to travel outside Nigeria. He must work day and night to be able to meet up with the deadlines and breaking stories.  I remember my first international cap. It was in Ghana. It was a World Cup qualifier and I remember it as if it was yesterday.

It was in that match that Aloy Agu lost his tooth for his fatherland. Clemens Westerhof was in charge of the team and there were other great reporters like Ikeddy Isiguzo who now is the Editorial Board Chairman of Vanguard, Mitchel Obi(many especially women think he is Mikel Obi),  Larry Izamoje, CEO of Brila FM, Paul Bassey(ubiquitous Sports  Bassey), Abimbola Akinloye(At Large), Emeka Inyama, Tunde Suleiman, Emman Huesu etc. Great Pen Pushers who dared coaches and administrators and excited many souls with their prose languages.

There was no GSM and no internet. It was telex, telephone and radio. Yet, reporters excelled despite the odds.

Francis Ajuonuma of the Champion is the one who has set me on the memory lane. He is out here in South Africa on his first international cap. He is making his debut in a World Cup. How time changes.

Imagine a reporter making his first cap with a World Cup coverage! In the past, he would have used night buses to move from Sokoto to Gombe, Enugu to Owerri, PH, Ibadan to Calabar. If he was lucky, he would have started from the West Coast like me.  No Editor would have allowed a greenhorn to cover the world cup.

Not when many of his seniors would have obstructed it with excuses that the World Cup would swallow him, he has no experience, our paper would suffer among other rivals who have sent their tested hands. But the young man is coping and doing absolutely well. But he is constrained by the weather which drops even to a minus zero. His first few days were pitiful. He is not blessed with size and not all the clothes he brought could give him warmth. He confessed that he now knew why many whites hardly take their baths. His dressing reminds me of the famous Oji Onu masquerade in the East.

No matter what you think of Ajuonuma, the young man has scored some first from the part of country he hails from. His people from Isiala Mbano are celebrating him as their first son in journalism to cover the World Cup. I know we had other great sports journalists in Harry Iwuala and Harry Awurumibe. But I learnt they never covered the World Cup.

A greenhorn, neophyte, has made history in making his international debut and at the same time being considered for a chieftaincy title for bringing honour to the entire Isiala Mbano. I hear that he is being considered for the title of ‘Eze ama na oga echi 1 of Isiala Mbano. What a way to make history!