SUPER EAGLES VICTORY A STEPPING STONE TO A UNITED NIGERIA

What a moment for the country Nigeria faced with so many challenges ranging from Insecurity to corruption…., after 19 years, The Africa Cup of Nations Trophy has finally arrived Nigeria.

As we celebrate this victory, I’ll like to take our minds back memory lane how the journey all began for the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the AFCON 2013

This set of Super Eagles team were never given even a bit of a chance by anyone including the Nigerian media, who never failed for once to castigate them at every given opportunity, a miserable 2 all draw with Liberia in Monrovia was said as the beginning of doom by a large quarter of football pundits in Nigeria but the team bounced back in amazing fashion by trashing the same Liberians 5-1 in Calabar and since then they have kept on improving.

The negativity about the Nigerian team was on the high, and the height of this criticism was prior to the Cote d’Ivore quarter final match. The NFF (Nigeria Football Federation) officials had already booked return tickets two days before the match, after they found out Nigeria would play the star-studded Cote D’Ivore side.

The team started getting better after the win against Ethiopia in the final match of the group stage after a slow start in the competition against Burkina Faso and defending champions Zambia. The Eagles played arguably their best football in the quarter final and semi final ties against Cote D’Ivore and Mali respectively, going forward the Nigerian team where favorites’ to win the tournament and the support from fans where massive.

Throughout the tournament the Super Eagles showed

·         Dedication

·         Determination

·         Focus

·         Patriotism

·         Zeal

Stephen Keshi stood firm on dropping unwanted star players like Osaze Odemeinge, Obafemi Martins, Uche Kalu, Yakubu Ayeigbeni and so on and instead took with him six home-based NPL (Nigeria Premier League) players to South Africa including Sunday Mba who  scored two important goals in the tournament.

Apart from winning the AFCON trophy, Nigeria’s striker Emmanuel Emenike, won the golden boot award with four goals in the competition. Stephen Keshi also made history as the only Nigerian to have won the Nations Cup both as a player (Captain) in 1994 and as a coach,2013, he also becomes the 2^nd African to achieve such a feat after Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary in 1959 as a player and 1998 as a coach of the Egyptian team. 5 players were also named in the tournaments best eleven players (Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Victor Moses, Mikel Obi, and Emmanuel Emenike)

The Super Eagles have helped calm the violence in the country by winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations trophy. A nation of over 160 million people with about 500 languages now seems to suddenly forget their fear and worries. The victory has shown that Nigeria can rise to the top in every sphere of our economy, if the right people are allowed to steer the ship of leadership

Hopefully the AFCON trophy can help kick start development in all sectors of Nigeria. LONG LIVE THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

       BY: ODUMU OGHENETEGA. 

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