The Africa Nations Cup starts in a matter of days and
the Super Eagles will not be featuring: do Nigerians really care about
the upcoming tournament?
FEATURE By James Ezimoha
On a preponderance of evidence, 2014 was a year to forget for Nigerian football.
Like the effect of rotten tomatoes in a room, could the stench from last year’s mess adversely influence the followership of the 2015 Afcon in the most populous black nation in the world?
For some, like Monday Mordecai, “there’s no Afcon without the Super Eagles,” and who can blame such people for being blunt with their feelings?
Naturally, Nigerians are sometimes unrealistically optimistic, especially when it comes to football, and that perhaps explains why the damage caused by Stephen Keshi and his men would linger for a long time.
“Why would I watch it?” Cyril Okolie blasted, “[the] Nations Cup is [about] following your country, so what is the motive to watch Burkina [Faso] v Congo [for example] or any other game?”
As far back as January 2014, the 2015 Afcon was eagerly anticipated and the reason is quite simple: football is like a religion in Nigeria, and footballing events of such magnitude are taken seriously.
Secondly, the Super Eagles, having won the 2013 edition after almost two decades of trial and error, were expected to defend their title, giving many great conviction that the team would soar through qualification, however, it didn’t quite pan out as many had hoped.
The fiasco within the Nigeria Football Federation grabbed international headlines as Amaju Pinnick and the Chris Giwa-led faction shamed Nigerians with their power tussle. However, that intriguing series, which is currently hibernating, cannot be compared to ‘the great disaster’—Nigeria’s Afcon failure.
The Great Disaster
The final qualifying game in Uyo against South Africa, which ended 2-2 and sealed the Super Eagles’ fate, left millions inconsolably devastated as untold grief permeated hearts.
Despite ‘the great disaster’, however, the Afcon spectacle is bigger than both Nigeria and the Super Eagles. Therefore, the show, like they say, must go on; a view shared by Baka Omubo, Chuks Onwuka and Moses Ezeala, all of whom spoke to Goal.
“I am really excited about the Afcon! And I’m literally counting down the days,” Baka said.
“It’s a pity that Nigeria missed the Afcon 2015 but that will not stop me from following the tournament. I love good football and I want to see same from afcon 2015.” Chuks noted.
And with a great assist, Moses added that “as a Nigerian, I still care about it [the Afcon] even with the absence of my darling Super Eagles.”
This sentiment is also shared by sports journalists, who have to cover the tournament...and objectively, too.
Goal Nigeria’s Chief Editor Lolade Adewuyi said: “I do care about which team is going to take over the baton from the Super Eagles.
“However, I'm not emotionally invested in the tournament as I would have been if Nigeria was contesting for the title. I look forward to see the new stars that would emerge and as usual the quality goals and interesting spectacle, colorful fans and joie de vivre that the continent's biggest football tournament brings.”
Spectacle Guaranteed
SuperSport’s Andrew Randa also added colour to the sad tale. "Nothing beats African football,” he said, “the passion, the colors, the goals and celebrations that follow are just unique.
"I'll definitely be glued to the action as kick-off looms.”
He doesn’t sound like someone who would miss the likes of John Mikel Obi and Vincent Enyeama…eh?
Kolade Oni also added that he only cares about the Afcon “because, as a sports journalist, I need to keep myself abreast of happenings in the sporting world and [the] Afcon is one of those. It still hurts me that the Eagles gave up the title even without kicking a ball but I still expect the competition to be a hit because most of the other top teams qualified.”
My colleague, Solace Chukwu also says he is “genuinely excited by the upcoming Afcon, as it is Africa's flagship football tournament,” and he looks “forward to a tournament of real quality.”
But (and this is where is it gets interesting) “as a Nigerian, the overwhelming feeling is a deep sadness.
"Having no dog in this fight means I will be unable to immerse myself into the Afcon with quite the same passion.”
The reality, like Solace astutely puts it, is that there’s no ‘dog’ in this fight (the Afcon), which creates a sort of vacuum, even for those (journalists especially) who have no choice but to follow the event.
“Not having Nigeria in the picture,” as Shina Oludare puts it, “will not rub the tournament of some shine,” but following the event “is going to be torturous without Nigeria” playing part in it, as Enoho Emeje rightly pointed out.
Afcon is all about Africa and not the Super Eagles alone. At least, I will save myself of the fear of experiencing more (perhaps inevitable) Super Eagles heartache.
Having surrendered the crown won in the 2013 edition without putting up a single fight, the atmosphere from Lagos to Abuja, and from Ibadan to Calabar is understandably one choked with anguish and detachment from and for the upcoming spectacle in Equatorial Guinea.
Don’t expect to see hordes of people packed at street corners, gazing steadfastly at the television set and screaming “goal”.
The Afcon, for Nigerians, is not the same without the Super Eagles, but for the love of football, let the spectacle begin!
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