•Ikechukwu ofoje

…Rohr should stay in Nigeria

…Relives inspiring chat with late Azikiwe

Ikechukwu Ofoje, cast your mind back to how it all started for you playing professional football in Nigeria, how was it then and what emotions run through your mind when you think about the state of the game now?

Thinking back, sometimes, I don’t really appreciate what we did then or what I was doing then until now It is now when I look back that I say guy, God has done marvellous for me and for my mates that played back then because then the league was it. Every weekend, stadiums were packed, it was just great, it was fun,  we played from the heart, we played because we loved football.

To see the state of our league these days and most importantly my club that is dear to my heart, that is in my blood, in my vein, anything Rangers and just to see that they are the bottom of the league breaks my heart.

What is at the root of the problem because a couple of seasons ago Rangers won the league and are surprisingly now swimming in troubled waters?

For me, its difficult to lay my hands on the problem because I  am not on the ground, I don’t know what works, I don’t know what the management wants. I don’t know what kind of support the management is getting from the government and what kind of support the coaches are getting from the management.

These are things that can affect the morale of the players and I don’t know the calibre of players we have. I have seen them play and I know there are talents in the team but sometimes, it goes more  than that. Rangers are not just an ordinary club.

It may not be easy for me to guess what the problem is and  I can’t do it in all fairness, because I don’t know.

But with hindsight, how should it be for Rangers to pull out of  the current mess?

With hindsights, if you are signed on to the team and put on a Rangers jersey, it changes your psyche, you know that this is club that represents a people. It is not just a football club that is there to make money. It is a club that represents a region, a tribe and so, wherever you come from, once you get there, you are indoctrinated into the system that hey, this is not just playing for your pay cheque, you are playing for more than your money.

And the fans, Enugu fans would show you that, if you go to Kaduna, the fans would show you that and if you go to Lagos, they will also show you the same thing. That is when you know that this is an institution, it is not an ordinary club. It is an institution that is there as long as there is the Ibo tribe in this country That is what it is all about. So from the players standpoint, that is something they should understand. And if you go on to the management, the world is quite smaller now, so they should understand how clubs are managed and should know the professionalism in managing teams.

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And you  go to the government, to the governor because Rangers is a club that is directly attached to the governor’s desk. So whatever he puts into it, he and the people of Enugu should expect something back from the investment he makes. I cannot in all fairness to everybody, say this is where the problem is. Some from the government to the management and to the players, everybody has responsibilities that have to be shared equally and the management has to understand how to manage the club.

You cannot win the league and not buy players. When you win the league, you fortify your team, you spend money to buy players that would keep you or even put you at the next level. It is as basic as that. You don’t win the league and then  forget how you got there. You got there because you got good players. So what you do, you spend a little bit more because chances are that you would sell some of these players and you then buy the ones who would take you further. I don’t know if they did this and that is why I cannot in all fairness say this is where I think the problem is . I hope they get out of this rot because they are in a rot right now and I think they will survive it.

Rangers have never gone on relegation before, are they about to make history for the wrong reason with relegation?

Never. They would not be relegated. It would be catastrophic. It would be difficult to recover from it if it ever happens. I think they would pull out of it. I believe so.

Recall the days when you played for Rangers, what was it like before, during and after matches, the high points, low points and general way of life then?

The high point then was everyday because when we wake up and know that we had a match to play, we knew we had to give more than the next man to be able to win. And back then, our prayer used to be when we got on the field, the big team that we were about to play, if they had worked harder than us, God let them win, but if we worked harder, God give us this day. That was always our prayer and everybody is fired up. It is a feeling that you can never spread. Guys with unbelievable spirit. Rangers spirit is just unique, you can never express it until you put on that white jersey, it takes over you. It is indescribable. As long as I live, I will never forget my experience at Rangers, never ever.

Relive it for those who did not experience it, how it was then and what is changing about the game now that we have not adopted?

Football is so commercialised and rightly so and the way world football is going, I don’t think we kept pace, so that is why we have sprinkle of superstars here and there because  the league and Nigerian football didn’t follow. I have just been told that a state like Lagos does not have a functional Principals Cup tournament running. Even YSFON is in limbo. I played YSFON tournaments, those are grassroots events. The other day I went around Enugu and discovered that most of the schools do not  have sports facilities. It is so sad. How can an elementary school not have a football pitch?  It is from these pitches you develop players.

Before, you did not need money to play in age-grade tournaments of YSFON but now I hear you need to pay before playing. I don’t think we kept pace with the development and the global world. The world got smaller with technology and advancement. I don’t think our educational institutions kept pace with these advancements . It is sad. I went to my former school, CKC in Onitsha, where I spent my high school and was elated with what I saw being done by the old students. This is just the alumni, we are raising money to build a sports complex with football pitch, athletic field, basketball court, we are transforming the school and hopefully that would have a carry-over effect on future generations.

And what we are doing now in the USA is that we are challenging guys that went to high schools in Nigeria to go back and do something for their schools. Former students of Nike, which I belong are also re-grouping .

If you had not gone to the United States of America, what would it have been like for you now?

Oh, God, who knows. I would probably have few clothes and maybe doing a menial job, who knows. I would have been a sad person by now and frustration would have set in. But what can I do  when you see the pitiable state that some ex-internationals are in and these were better players back in the day.

When I see them, it just breaks my heart to see them in such a bad shape. These guys could have gone anywhere they wanted, got anything they wanted to have but I had the opportunity and I took it but some of us did not take it. So looking back, if I had not gone the way I did, I don’t know what good could have come out of me now, I honestly do not know.

Have you seen Christian Chukwu and Emmanuel Okala, two of your former teammates at Rangers, since you came to Nigeria.

I have not seen them, I would probably see them before going back

But you heard of his health challenge and the rally by well-meaning Nigerians like Femi Otedola?

I am so happy that he is back. I spoke to him and from his voice, I knew that he was back. I spoke to Emanuel Okala, they are all expecting me but I don’t know how many of them I can see before I leave again. When I look back at my career, for me to have played on the same field with Chukwu and Okala before they retired from football, that was the highpoint of my football career. And getting the chance to meet the late |Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe when he opened that stadium was another highpoint of my life. I would never have been standing next to Azikwe and talking to him. Even when I told him that I am from Umoji, he said he knew some people from there and it was just inspiring.

Going forward, do you believe that Gernot Rohr is the square peg in the square hole to manage thees exciting and talented Nigerian players you have talked about

I don’ know him so I cannot speculate on him. But watching our teams, what I can say is I think he has done a good job trying to assemble some of the best talents we have out there and that is a  step in the few things we need to do to develop our local talents. If you are the coach of the national team, your job is to manage the entire country’s players so he should be making sure he works in Nigeria. With all these teams playing in our league, you cannot say we do not have talents.

So you support NFF’s position that Rohr should stay in Nigeria if he wants his contract to be renewed upon expiration in June?

I do because it is not good for football when you change coaches every two to three years. He has been here and so far, it is okay. But my suggestion is to allow him remain as the coach of the team, support him to now take the team from where they are now to the next level and put some programmes on the ground that would help identify and nurture local talents.

Vanguard