Nigerian Football

Eye Witness Account with PHOTOS: How Okwaraji, Five Fans Died

Published

7 years ago

August 12, 2017

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

The August 12, 1989 Italia ’90 World Cup qualifying match with Angola could had just been another match day. But it is now ever recalled, not for the result, which was favourable to Nigeria at least in the short run, but for the bizarre happenings.

It was just a day to the 10th anniversary of a previous disaster that claimed 24 lives at the National Stadium, Lagos.

Nigeria desperately needed to win the tie against Angola to be in contention of leading a World Cup qualifying group that also had Gabon and Cameroon.

The result of the penultimate match in Gabon which Nigeria against formbooks had lost 1-2 made the August 12, 1989 match the more important.

Hon. Nduka Irabor and some members of the Nigerian Football Supporters’ Club helping the fainted fans into an ambulance.

Besides, it was to be the first match after a long closure of the National Stadium, Lagos which was undergoing upgrading for an anticipated hosting of the then World Youth Championship (now u-20 World Cup) in 1991.

Nigeria had had to play their home matches at the low-capacity Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan until the National Stadium, Lagos was reopened.

Expectedly, the stadium was jam-packed for a teeming crowd that appeared to have been starved for close to two years that the stadium had been closed for refurbishment.

The crowd thronged the 40,000 capacity stadium, filling it nearly 20,000 over. About 4,000 others were stranded outside, making rounds to the 12 ramps leading into the main- bowl.

Announcements blared from the public address system directing the crowd outside to gates D, E and F leading to the southern pavilion at the Lagos end of the field. Gates had been opened nearly seven hours to kick off.

The spectators’ stands were overfilled, resulting in jostling and pushing, chokes, suffocation, exhaustion and soon, deaths! Moments before kick-off, some of the spectators around the covered terraces began to faint in ones and twos.

Efforts to revive the fans yielded no result

One after the other, they died

Few people might have noticed the unusual incident of an ambulance moving on the just refurbished tartan tracks to convey the fainted fans after efforts at reviving them by medical personnel had failed.

Then another ambulance came again. Ambulance movements became a common sight. The stadium’s clinic with only three beds became jam-packed with unconscious people.

Medical personnel said there were so many of them and they had to be treated on the bare floor. Fifteen of them had to be taken to the General Hospital in Lagos.

Journey to the morgue begins

One Mutiu Salami, a 14-year old victim who was rushed to the General Hospital and regained consciousness three days later narrated his experience: “As the match drew to an end, everybody was rushing. They rushed me and I fell down. The next thing I knew was finding myself at the hospital”.

He was lucky. It was more disastrous for others. Five of them died. Niyi Mosuro, a 15- year-old schoolboy from Ijebu-Ode was one of the victims identified. August 12, 1989, was the first time he would watch a football match at the National Stadium.

It was the last day he lived. Wale Mosuro, his uncle, said Niyi was not quite a football enthusiast. His body was discovered in the morgue. Others identified were bodies of Shehu Tijani and Okorie Agwu.

Everything went awry that sunny August 12, 1989. Sad incidents that would catch worldwide attention were unfolding. From the sidelines, five football fans were suffocated to death. Football, a national passion, overnight turned a national horror.

The standard of soccer in the Nigeria-Angola match fell below expectation even though both teams paraded a pack of tested professionals. Tackling was rough. Each side lost a penalty kick. Austin Eguavoen lost that of Nigeria.

A caution from the referee, which in a twist of fate was a ‘red card’ from life. This is the last known photograph of Okwaraji alive. His first match at the Lagos National Stadium turned the last time he played and lived.

But the biggest disaster of the day was imminent. As the drab match progressed, an Angolan player slumped.

Medical personnel rushed to administer treatment. It was barely 10 minutes to the end of the match. As attention focussed on the injured player, and while some fans that had fainted by the sidelines were being attended to, the unexpected happened.

Dreadlocks haired Samuel Okwaraji, the Nigerian bubbling mid-field maestro, collapsed and fell face down. Few people would have thought it was mere exhaustion.

“We all thought he merely fainted and that he was going to recover,” Etim Esin, a teammate, remarked the following day at the then Durbar Hotel (now Golden Tulip, Festac Town) abode of the team.

The moment Okwaraji slumped…

The nearest player to Samuel Okwaraji, Samson Siasia, rushed to the prostrate form and tried him to face up. What he saw was frightening as he put his hands on his head in despair.

“The way I saw him, he was gasping and foaming. His teeth were gritty… No one could easily ascertain the cause of his death. It still remains a mystery.

But one of the doctors that first attended to him told this reported that Samuel Okwaraji died “very fast”. He may have died on the pitch.

Nigerian Football

Remo Stars in jinx-breaking win over Rivers United

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Franck Mawuena at the near post nods home a corner kick by Adams Olamilekan to give Remo Stars their first ever victory over Rivers United.

BY KUNLE SOLAJA

Remo Stars recorded a rare win against Rivers United in what was their first ever defeat of the Port Harcourt side in 10 matches spanning seven years. Monday evening 2-1 win was their first since their maiden encounter with Rivers United in 2017.

Before now, Rivers United had won seven times while three other encounters ended drawn.

The win on Monday put Remo Stars a point behind the table-toppers, Enugu Rangers who will be under severe pressure as Remo Stars aim for their first ever Nigerian Premier League title.

Conceding a last minute goal against Rivers United in last season’s Super 6 encounter was one of the factors that cost Remo Stars the title. Now they put pressure on Enugu Rangers as the race gets to the anchor leg.

Yet it was not an easy win for them as their former star, Andy Okpe was the one that put Rivers United ahead through a penalty kick. He famously scored the winning goal for Rivers United when in the first stanza of the league last year.

He appeared to be hunting his former club again when he was called upon to take the penalty kick after his teammate, Deputy Echeta was fouled in the penalty box in the 18^th minute.

The smart kick beat Kayode Bankole to the wrong side and extended Okpe’s goal tally against his former employers after the superb goal in the first leg in Port Harcourt which Rivers United won by two nil.

In the second half, Remo Stars were all over the game with more area covered and it was not a surprise when Haruna Hadi broke the deadlock in the 68^th minute to give the home fans a lot to celebrate.

With the match inching towards the final minute, Togolese import, Kwame Mawuena headed home from a corner kick by Adams Olamilekan in the 83^rd minute to give the home side the maximum points.

With Monday’s win, Remo Stars moved a point within leaders, Enugu Rangers.

Remo Stars v Rivers United: Past Encounters

3 May 2017 Rivers United 1-0 Remo Stars

13 Aug 2017 Remo Stars 1-3 Rivers United

16 Nov 2017 Rivers United 1-0 Remo Stars

30 Jan 2019 Rivers United 1-0 Remo Stars

31 Mar 2019 Remo Stars 0-1 Rivers United

30 Jan 2022 Remo Stars 1-1 Rivers United

22 May 2022 Rivers United 1-0 Remo Stars

5 May 2023 Rivers United 1-0 Remo Stars

12 Oct 2023 Rivers United 2-0 Remo Stars

Nigerian Football

Nigeria football oxygen provider, GTI congratulates Finidi, new Super Eagles coach

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Renowned financial investment firm, GTI Group has joined many well-meaning football-loving Nigerians in congratulating the newly appointed Super Eagles Head Coach, Finidi George. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) recently announced the former Super Eagles winger as substantive head coach of the senior national football team, Super Eagles, following the expiration of Jose Peseiro’s contract in March 2024.

As strategic partners to the NFF on the President Federation Cup and the Nigeria Premier Football League respectively, GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited will continue to play a vital role in helping to reposition and restructure Nigeria’s football ecosystem using international best practices.

“The recent appointment of George is a golden opportunity for another indigenous coach to prove his mettle with our senior national team after Stephen Keshi of blessed memory successfully guided the Super Eagles to the 2013 AFCON triumph in South Africa. Therefore, we call on all stakeholders of Nigerian football to rally round George to ensure his tenure is successful,” said GTI Head of Media and Publicity, Andrew Ekejiuba.

It could be recalled that George assisted former coach Peseiro for 20 months during which the Eagles reached the final of the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire, but the team lost narrowly to the hosts by 2-1 in the final game.

Renowned for his attacking prowess and deft touches at the wings during his playing days, George began his club football from the local scene, featuring prominently for Calabar Rovers FC of Calabar and Sharks FC of Port Harcourt before heading to Europe. He won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.

George also won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.

Prior to his appointment, Finito as he is fondly called by football fans was in charge of two friendly matches in the March 2024 FIFA window where the Super Eagles edged Ghana 2-1 in the first match, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars, but then lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.

His first official game will be Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bafana Bafana of South Africa in June and will be followed by the second game against Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan respectively. These are must-win ties for the Super Eagles who are lagging in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.

Nigerian Football

WAFU B U17 Championship: Garba insists technical crew on course to raise formidable squad

Published

4 days ago

May 5, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Head Coach Many Garba has told thenff.com that the technical crew of Nigeria’s U17 boys, Golden Eaglets that he heads, is firmly on course to raise a squad capable of doing Nigeria proud at the forthcoming WAFU B U17 Championship in Ghana.

The 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup-winning team lead strategist has told Nigerians to discountenance stories of large failures of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests in his team and rather believe that his crew will put together a squad that will do the job of winning a ticket to next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations from the tournament in Ghana.

“Let me clear the air on this matter. The genuine U17 players, according to their official document made available to the NFF and the MRI tests conducted by the football body are still in the camp preparing for the WAFU B U17 tournament. When the camp opened last month, the very sincere football academies had to withdraw their players after the MRI tests they conducted showed that their players were on Grade 5. These players had to leave the camp immediately.

“Those who were not sincere and thought they could find a way through one way or the other have been exposed after the NFF conducted its own MRI a few days ago, and found the results earlier presented by their players before entering the camp did not tally with the requirements of the NFF. The NFF insists on players whose results are between Grade 1 – 4. Players on Grade 5 have been asked to leave the camp.

Garba denied that his camp had been thrown into confusion due to results of the MRI tests.

“The good news is that most of the players recorded good grades in their MRI results done at the NFF-approved medical centre, and the team is looking forward to a favourable outing at the WAFU B U17 tournament in Accra, Ghana.”

Another MRI test will be conducted by the medical team of the Confederation of African Football before the beginning of the tournament.

The five-time world champions, who are title holders of the WAFU B U17 Championship, will begin the defence of their title against Burkina Faso on the 16 May.

The team has so far played nine friendly games, winning six, drawing two and losing one.