By Jide Ojo
Stand up for the African champions! What a befitting Christmas and End-of-the-Year gifts to Nigerians! Last Monday, December 11, 2023, I felt proud to be a Nigerian.
My compatriots have once again risen to the occasion to burnish the dented image of the country by winning big at the just concluded Confederation of African Football Award Night for 2023.
Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, broke a 24-year-old jinx to win the 2023 Men’s Player of the Year.
Osimhen triumphed over Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah to win the coveted trophy during the CAF 2023 Awards held in Marrakech, Morocco.
Others include: CAF Goal of the Year – Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ahly vs Al Hilal); Goalkeeper of the Year (Men) – Yassine Bounou (Morocco/Al Hilal Saudi); Coach of the Year (Women) – Desiree Ellis and Coach of the Year (Men) – Walid Regragui. CAF is the governing body of African football and was founded in 1957. The founding members are Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and South Africa. ‘With a membership of 54 member associations, the secretariat is based in Egypt.
The feat performed by Nigeria and Nigerians at this year’s CAF Awards is a clear testimony to the resilience, never-say-die and can-do spirit of Nigerians.
This news is a soothing balm to a nation in the throes of economic hardship, corruption and insecurity. It has once again cast a positive light on a country whose youths have been despised as being lazy, hedonistic and nonentities.
Before Victor Osimhen’s 2023 feat, previous Nigerian players to have won the award are: The late Super Eagles striker, Rashidi Yekini, who was the first Nigerian player to win the prized African Player of the Year award following his explosive goalscoring form for the club and country in 1993.
The mesmerising Super Eagles winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, succeeded Yekini as the African Footballer of the Year following his blistering performance for Sporting CP of Portugal and El Zamalek of Egypt, as well as his exploits in Nigeria’s triumph at the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
Nwankwo Kanu aka ‘Papilo’ is the only Nigerian player to win the CAF African Footballer of the Year award twice in 1996 and 1999.
The Prince of Monaco, as Victor Ikpeba is fondly called by Nigerian football, fans emerged as Africa’s best player in 1997 following his exploits for club and country.
Thus, Victor Osimhen is the fifth Nigerian to win the coveted award. The new Football King was only months old when Super Eagles legend, Nwankwo Kanu, won CAF Player of the Year in 1999, and since then, no Nigerian footballer has won the award.
Osimhen scored 31 goals in 39 games across all competitions for Napoli, inspiring the Italian club to their first Serie A title in 33 years. The 24-year-old has since won the Serie A Striker of the Season award and also recently won the AIC Player of the Year award voted for by Italian footballers while finishing eighth on the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings.
Meanwhile, Osimhen has been nominated for the 2023 IFFHS Men’s World Best Player award.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics nominated him along with 24 other players in recognition of his exploits in the 2022/23 season. Osimhen would have to compete with notable names such as Lionel Messi (the current holder of the award), Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Antoine Griezman and Bukayo Saka amongst others for the 2023 IFFHS Men’s World Best Player award.
Nigerian ladies have dominated the CAF Women’s Player of the Year since it birthed in 2001. Super Falcons players that have won the prestigious awards are Mercy Akide (2001);: Perpetua Nkwocha (2004, 2005);: Cynthia Uwak (2006, 2007);: Perpetua Nkwocha (2010, 2011); from then on it has been the Queen of Nigerian Football, Asisat Oshoala, winning a record six times – 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, and now 2023. Tell me who will not be proud of these amazons who have done their country proud in football? Unfortunately, many men still see a girl child as inferior to a boy. This is heart-rending!
It is also interesting that while Nigeria’s Super Eagles have only won the African Cup of Nations thrice in 1980, 1994 and 2013 out of 20 appearances; Nigeria’s Super Falcons have won 11 of the 14 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since its genesis in 1991.
While we celebrate the exemplary conduct and sterling feats of our football heroes and heroines, our sports administrators need to get their acts together and discover more talents that can soar like Osimhen and Oshoala.
While it is true that Nigeria has had more success at the female football and FIFA Under-17 World Cup where we have been the most successful nation in the tournament’s history, with five titles and three runners up; sports is not about football alone. Boxing, weightlifting, table tennis, basketball, para lifting, wrestling, long jump and hurdles have also brought laurels to my native land.
The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, the Minister of Youths Development, Dr Jamila Ibrahim, and his Minister of State, Ayodele Olawande, should work in sync to harness the great potential of Nigerian youths to develop our sports and entertainment. They should collaborate with the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.
Osimhen, Oshoala and Nnadozie are king, queen and princess of African football today because they ply their trade abroad. The same goes for Tobi Amusan who is doing the nation proud in 100m hurdles and Ese Brume who’s flying the flag of Nigeria high in the long jump. There should be a blueprint or road map for Nigerian sports development which should be implemented to the letter.
Sport is a multibillion-dollar business which Nigeria should key into. We need to fix our deplorable sports infrastructure from stadia to sports equipment.
The energy Nigerian youths are channelling into crime is best positively used in sports. Our coaches must be trained and retrained. There should be all-year-round competitions for young talents to hone their skills.
Private sector partnerships and sponsorships should be sought but there must be zero tolerance for corruption. Transparency and accountability must be the watchword of our sports administrators.
X: @jideojong