President Tinubu’s absence at AFCON final cost Nigeria victory
THE 2023 AFCON, which recently happened in Ivory Coast has come and gone. Against all local and international expectations of the majority of football experts and non- experts, including coaches, non- coaches, sports/ football journalists, pundits, spectators and television viewers, etc., our mightily mighty Super Eagles failed to soar to victory against the massively fat and huge for nothing Elephants of Ivory Coast in the most important match of the tournament. If President Bola Tinubu was in Abidjan for the final, the all- important final match, Nigeria would not have known the thing called defeat against Ivory Coast – with or without the help of their shamans and hypnotists whose havoc did the Super Eagles what it did to them.
President Tinubu’s last hour decision not to be present at the final de- energised our Super Eagles dearly and direly; his absence – deliberate or accidental – cost Nigeria dearly and direly – I say it again, spiritually speaking – and I will continue to say so until he and his philosophers learn to appreciate the counsels of those who are wiser than them and know far more than them.
I shall elaborate as I am allowed or permitted to do and so do from above before the column enters its terminal. Pro tempore, let me keep you in abeyance. Every regular reader or follower of this column knows that sports- or football- writing is my peculiar forte.
I have been in the business since the late 1970s/ early 1980s. In my synthesis of sports or football or tennis or boxing matter and form I, when the need arose, applied concepts which applied to things of the nature of predictions and prophecies which, more often than not, came out right ( as my political predictions and prophecies when permissions were granted me to utter them). But many, many a time I refrained from opening my nib’s or pen’s mouth.
There are several reasons for this. Quickly, one of them is this: My predictions or prophecies usually put me in a position to answer questions from diverse persons who made pleas to me to attend to one spiritual or psychological problem or the other. Usually, I would keep silent or direct them elsewhere – if I was satisfied that they were genuine: I was never tired of letting them know that every element in my undertaking contained the thinly but thingly element in the work of art which is part of my constant matter of matterly and artistic constancy. On February 11, 2022 the title of my column here was “Juju in African football.” Its focus was on the 2021 edition of the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations, specifically on the final match between the Teranga Lions of Senegal and the Pharaohs of Egypt ( and other deliciously/ delicately sensitive matches prior to that). The Teranga Lions wanted by every application of their power to win the trophy for the very time in their football history.
The Pharaohs wanted the trophy for the eighth time. Let me quote myself: “On the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, just before the qualified teams and countries departed for Cameroun, a Senegalese witch doctor or traditional medicine- man said it loud and clear that the Teranga Lions would lift the trophy, no matter what. He would definitely see to that.
The Senegal based priest of shamanism without mincing words ‘ prophesied’ that the Teranga Lions would shamble to the final and to the final victory: their ungainly hunt right from the beginning would lead them to the shambles where they would feast on all preys in the final – against the Pharaohs.”
The Olembe Stadium in Yaounde was the place where Mohammed Salah and his fellow Pharaohs were slaughtered and feasted on by the Teranga Lions – as made possible rightly or not rightly by the force of a priest of shamanism and his magical and spiritual cronies.
What happened to Victor Osimhen, Stanley Nwabali, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simeon and co, including Jose Peseiro, the Super Eagles’ coach, on Sunday, February 11, could be seen in the light of the hypnotic, magical and spiritual forces against them. But let me keep this in abeyance as well.
Another self- quotation from my afore- said essay is relevant here still – this time it appropriately focuses on the 2021 Super Eagles:
“In the case of Nigeria, everything was geared towards the fall of the Super Eagles in the round of sixteen against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia. The beautiful feathers and wings of the Super Eagles became their ultimate self- overpowering weakness. All haters of the powers, physical and spiritual behind the Super Eagles prayed and worked against our team. Those who don’t want the current Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) to succeed were at work.
Those who detested the presidency and the ones who are in charge of our national affairs, in every way, prayed against our team and worked for the descent and defeat of our Super Eagles. Thus their claws were blunted and their flying- wings were turned into wings of weaklings. All the errors they committed were errors designed by incantations against them. Those who made Nigerians sad and un- happy with policies that crush them have no moral right to bask in our team’s sunlight of victory.
Like a black ox, they should snort and bellow as they go before their plough bellowing victory they will never get or enjoy even if they get it. ( And all those who are not comfortable with the looters of our patrimony should be appeased before we meet Ghana at the deciding matches that will take ( or un- take) Nigeria to the Qatar World Cup this year)” I continued thus:
“Where have I landed? All victories and defeats earned and suffered in the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations came through the gracious help of African power, African juju that is. You better believe me. Everything that happened in Cameroon was un- usually unusual. You better believe me.
“As for Nigeria, let me reiterate: our central government and NFF must do the necessary, the needful and the rightful before we meet Ghana in the matches to determine who will go to Qatar between the two African powerful football nations. You better believe me.” Painfully, very painfully, my prophecy came to pass. And this time, I mean at the just ended 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, what was the picture that I beheld? And why did I unusually maintain a tenacious silence before and during the 2023 Cote d’ivoire Africa Cup of Nations?
What meal and drink of ‘ Bread and Wine’ did they serve our Super Eagles when it mattered most in our clime’s destitute time when we wished, paradoxically, for a manifestness of glorious Glory that failed to happen? O President, enter kindly my weeping imagination and unpleasant inspiration in order to answer what should be answered!!!