by Ibrahim Ola Balogun
Aside from for the June 12, 1993 contest, Nigeria, has arguably not experienced another tournament that was characterised with such an enigmatic passion as theMarch 28 El Clássico clash between Power Football Club (PFC) and Change Football Club (CFC). The build up to the contest captivated millions of fans, not only in the homeland but also in the Diaspora.
The clash was the first major test for the Change FC since three major Second Division teams merged to form the Change FC.
The battle was further strengthened by the simultaneous transfer of major players between the two major clubs. These were individual players with thousands of very loyal fans that would always keep their loyalty with their stars irrespective of the team they belong. Former Power FC players who filed out for Change FC included Chibuike Amaechi, Ahmed AbdulFatah, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Murtala Nyako and Aliyu Wamakko, Atiku Abubakr and Bukola Saraki. Rochas Okorocha once a key player in a Third Division team, APGA FC equally left his club to join the Change FC ahead of the ultimate game of 2015.
Nuhu Ribadu and Ibrahim Shekarau who left the Congress Football Club (a major partner in the formation of Change FC) at the inception of the merger to join the Power FC on a free transfer just few months to the beginning of the season were deeply criticised by some of their fans in the Change FC. The most notorious, however, was former member of the technical crew of the Change FC, Tom Ikimi who switched to Power FC after he failed to secure the position of the chief coach of the Change FC. On his return to Power FC (even with Change FC jersey), he had described the Power FC as a club that was destined for permanent relegation and whose fans would soon be deserted. Another prominent striker, Femi Fani-Kayode who in the milieu, left Change FC for Power FC, even before Ikimi, was mercilessly mocked as a judas who will play for any team that could foot the bills.
One of the great pre-contest nightmares for Power FC was when its Head Coach/Technical Adviser, former Captain Olusegun Obasanjo prematurely retired and publicly tore his symbolic jersey in the public alongside some of his fans and ultimately those of the club. Before, quitting the team in a melodrama, the Head Coach fondly called Baba Iyabo had criticised the then Captain of the Power FC as a desperado who harboured inordinate ambition of remaining as captain for life just like Gbagbo of the Series Á in Cote D’Ivoire. He alleged that the Captain was part of the plot that forced the organisers of the competition to shift the contest from February, claiming that the security of the fans could not be guaranteed at the Power FC’s Orita Boko Stadium where part of the games would be played.
The exodus of Obasanjo was anticipated in many quarters since the day he wrote an open letter to warn the fans about the game fixing plan of the Power FC’s Captain and the coaching crew. Players transferring from Change FC to Power FC were less frequent.
As the big day approached, countless fans, including many who would have been ordinarily immuned from the charms of the stunning game, were swept away by the fervour of the big event. Fans donned the colours and chant the slogan of their favourites. The Power FC was overwhelmed and became jittery by the chanting of ‘Change’ across the major cities of the country. This phenomenon was not unconnected with Obasanjo’s exit who had held sway and dictated the tune in the Power FC for over one and half decade. Within this period, the club had sustained its dominance in the Nigeria Presidential League, defeating many teams, winning many victories and lifting many trophies.
However, since its last victory that heralded Captain Goodluck Jonathan to the reign of power four years earlier, its fortune had pummelled as the it lost a glittering array of stars to the rival; the Change FC. Down the years, some of the greatest players ever to grace the sports arena have taken the field for the Power FC. This was made worse by the hovering spirits of some of its pioneer players that had died out of frustration, working for the club. They include gladiators like S. M. Afolabi, Muhammad Abubakar Rimi, Solomon Lar, Emmanuel Chuka Osammor, S. B. Awoniyi among many others.
Also worth mentioning is an array of frustrated former Power FC players who took the brave decisions. These include but not limited to great players like Alex Ekwueme, Adamu Chiroma, Shettima Mustapha, Asheikh Jarma, Victor Odili, Isaac Shaahu. Many who are equally living with such frustration but had since left the Club are the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Isyaku Ibrahim, Musa Gwadabe; two former Coaches, Audu Ogbe and Barnabas Gemade. Nuhu Ribadu and Ibrahim Shekarau are just some of the few stars who broke the hearts and invoked the wrath of their former supporters who considered their act of changing allegiances is an act of unforgivable duplicity.
The officiating crew led by Attahiru Jega decided to apply goal-line technology and vanishing spray but some weapon-carrying group among the paid fans of the Power FC and some popular fans of the club rushed into the pitch from different angles, calling for Referee (Jega) to leave the field. However, the referee insisted his crew members were armed to the teeth and battle ready to organise and officiate the much awaited contest. In addition, he also gave assurances of their readiness to give the fans a fair, free and credible tournament and thus advised the two clubs to file out with immediate effect for the March 28, 2015, competition. The build up to the contest was threatening and so were the expectations of the real match.
Perhaps because of the high possibility of losing the game and the trophy for the first time since the tournament was initiated, Power FC, in an attempt to weaken the opposition, resorted to Pre-match accusations. The ploy this time was targeted at the Captain, the main Striker of the Change FC as well as the two key players considered as major playmakers for the team. As the intrigues got thickened, the Captain of Change FC was accused of using of fake or non-existent football academy certificate to gain a gratuitous advantage over the opponent team. On the other hand, the Chief Coach and Head of the Technical Crew, otherwise known as the Lion of Bourdillon was defamed as a prejudicial invader, autocratic impostor and gluttonic embezzler!
As if that was not enough, the technical crew of the Power FC again came up with accusations of age fabrication against the Change FC’s captain. In the game, it is common practice amongst players belonging to certain generation where records are not easily verifiable to fall victim of this accusation. He was actually referred to, by Madam Dearest of the Captain of the Power FC, as an aging player of the analogue era struggling to compete against a skillful player of the digital age!
The Captain of Change FC was further accused of ethnic prejudice and religious bigotry with extremist tendencies, in addition to being an unfashionable sportsman whose skills and instinct has become rustic since he had either been on the sideline or on the reserve bench for more than three decades. The presence of a game changer who had a solid background in a respectable Christian football academy and had played for the well-known Christian teams for years filing out for Change FC silenced some of the Captain’s detractors.
The midfielder of the Power FC, a former Danfo driver turned ‘footballer’ had to champion commercials on the stadium road sign that the captain of Change FC was over-age. In addition to accusation of using a false nationality documents, the midfielder predicted through warped analogy, that the Captain would soon collapse and may even die should the game go into extra-time, explaining that the Captain is as old as his aged bed-wetting or is it pant-wetting mother. Many fans of the prodigious midfielder were embarrassed, wondering how and why a ‘professional player’ could condescend to bankrolling such despicable serialized advertorials.
Millions of fans who were ready to watch the match live were flaggerbasted when Madam Dearest led other lady-fans in a protest, carrying placards with the caption ‘Our fans no dey bring shildren wey dem no dey fit hold to the field. Our fans no dey bring shildren and left them on pitch. We no be like the fans for that side; AlMajiris”.
That was the big straw that broke the camel’s back. Most die-hard fans of Power FC, particularly from the North angrily changed camp and shift loyalty to Change FC. Some fans of the great game considered this as a direct affront, generational insult and collective ethnic lampooning, since the practice of bringing kids to the field is an established custom of the supporters from the North.
On one hand, while a plethora of accusations were coming in torrents, a deluge of agitations, on the other side, were being made for the abandonment of the Goal-line Technology and the removal of the Referee. Interestingly, as the supporters’ club of the Power FC were calling fervently for the removal of the Referee, the officiating crew conversely maintained that the ‘device’ had been used, over the past years, in club football tournaments- most notably in Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda and Senegal.
To further silence the critics, the Organising Committee had to organise friendlies in the 12 local league competitions and at the floor of the field popularly referred to as hallow chamber. With this, the organising committee got the nod of many Nigerians. Goal-line Technology aimed to assist referees in making calls on whether the ball has crossed the goal line and whether a goal should be awarded or disqualified was accepted.
Still not satisfied, the option militancy/terrorism was explored. Ganiyu Adams of Odua Peoples Congress and some other firearms wagging supporters staged a pitch invasion in protest against the goal line technology and vanishing spray. More than 2,000 allegedly funded fans of Power FC staged protest march against the officiating crew at some sections of the field, maintaining that the Referee must be removed and the Goal-line Technology as well as the vanishing spray must also be relinquished.
Unperturbed, at the end of the day when all the antics- accusations and agitations have failed, the officiating crew moved out in single file into the pitch amidst ovation from the fans of the amazing sport. The Change FC team filed into the field and toured different parts of the pitch, waving to the millions of fans ready to watch the contest. Power FC team equally walked into the pitch, albeit reluctantly, ignoring the North and focusing on the South West of the field, perhaps because of the myth that the segment usually favours the club in terms of goal scoring.
Then the game started following the whistle blowing of Referee Jega, the Officiating Minister. From the start of the game to the end, the master strategist, Coach Tinubu inspired his team to success with salient tactical moves and timely technical decisions. Ameachi, Okorocha and Oshiomole safeguarded and ensured that the Power FC could not make use of the South wing as was the case in 2011, through stunning performances. Though, Fayose and Mimiko tried their best in the midfield to contain terrific advances and highly coordinated moves of the Change FC, Aregbesola, Ajimobi, Amosun and Fashola made a great show. The fans of the great sport stood in the rain and assisted the stewards. Okorocha’s jersey was torn through constant shoving and rough tackles. Amechi was not too lucky as he was roughly tackled and had to be wheeled out.
Then the game started following the whistle blowing of Referee Jega, the Officiating Minister. From the start of the game to the end, the master strategist, Coach Tinubu inspired his team to success with salient tactical moves and timely technical decisions. Ameachi, Okorocha and Oshiomole safeguarded and ensured that the Power FC could not make use of the South wing as was the case in 2011, through stunning performances. Though, Fayose and Mimiko tried their best in the midfield to contain terrific advances and highly coordinated moves of the Change FC, Aregbesola, Ajimobi, Amosun and Fashola made a great show. The fans of the great sport stood in the rain and assisted the stewards. Okorocha’s jersey was torn through constant shoving and rough tackles. Amechi was not too lucky as he was roughly tackled and had to be wheeled out.
The lowest point for Power FC was probably when it found itself in hot water with the Referee as the game was winding up. The Technical Crew fearing its team may not be able to upturn the goal deficit without the assistance of the Referee Jega as it used to be in the past, substituted his goalkeeper and introduced Elder Orubebe into the game to tackle the Referee frontally and accuse him of partiality in favour of the Change FC, believing that this will infuriate the Referee and make him abandon the game midway. Realising that this did achieve the goal and Referee remained unmoved, Orubebe went further to orchestrate a measured collision with Jega during the extra time of the match. The move remains one of the worst fouls in the contest history as the tackle which involved kicking the scrotum which would have left the referee unconscious; but surprisingly, Referee Jega survived the onslaught and successfully completed the officiating.
Interestingly, some very notable fans of Power FC have also admitted that the tackle was malicious; and the act has since received plenty of condemnations from game lovers across the world. The referee said “It was one of the worst tackles I have ever suffered”. Yet, the referee kept his sense of humour after the spiteful happenstance, issuing, though humorously the red card to Elder Orubebe. The Power FC goalkeeper, who made headlines for the wrong reason, had a history of pelting his fans with balls when he was captain of the Niger-Delta DC Football Club. What made Orubebe’s attack more scandalous was that despite his condemnable act, he still went ahead to dive, feign injuries and fell to the ground, clutching his mouth as if he were the victim.
One of soccer’s unique traditions is the post-match shirt exchange. At the end of a gruelling 90 minute match, on most occasions, the players will, in the spirit of fair play and friendliness would swap sweat-soaked jerseys as a sign of sportsmanship. Jonathan; the Captain of Power FC, realising that it would be impossible to reverse the heavy goal deficit within the remaining minutes, made celebrated post-match jersey exchange as he gave it to Buhari two minutes before the final whistle. Hundreds of broom-waving fans rushed into the pitch to celebrate the latest championship triumph. Consequently, die-hard fans of the Power FC insist the shirt exchange of GEJ remains a single act that has turned him into football legend.
The head of the stadium guards had insisted that fans must stay about 300 meters away from the goal post, even during jubilations. Though, the Referee opined otherwise, saying the fans can celebrate and sing song of victory as long as they stay out of the football pitch; it took the intervention of one of the star players in the Change FC to placate the jubilant fans who explained that they would have to do the celebration outside the stadium to obey the guard orders, to avoid running afoul of the law that may eventually be used to scuttle the victory.
The Broom Club (Change FC) finally thrashed the Umbrella Club (Power FC) by 15 goals 12 to win a well-deserved record Crown Trophy, the first of its kind since 1999 when the tournament debuted.
Ibrahim Ola Balogun
Policy Analyst and Social Commentator
