The discovery of
Nigeria as a fertile ground for quality footballers emerged from the blues!!
The game of Football
has always had great fan bases in Nigeria but never did it have such attraction
from European teams as the scenario that provoked it from 1986 up to this
moment.
Belgian football agent affirmed as
much in his interview, with Mumuni Alao,
titled, ‘Belgium Exodus,’ published in the Complete Football Magazine, of November
1988, P10.
HOW
STEPHEN KESHI MOVED TO BELGIUM
Some untidy
circumstances led to Okechukwu Stephen Keshi’s exit from the Nigerian Local
League to Cote D’Ivoire, before proceeding to Belgium, in the year 1986. When
his sublime skills began to intrigue scouts and football managers in Europe, a
boisterous trade developed; the magnitude of players’ movement between Nigeria
and Belgium could only be compared to the Trans-Atlantic trade in Palm Oil and
Kernel which had taken place during the second half of the nineteenth century.
In true
perspective, other Nigerian footballers had ventured into professional football
in Europe and the Americas, before Keshi’s forays but their venture never
attracted as much attention as Keshi. While this is not an attempt to undermine
the quality of these players, the fact remains true that their performances
never attracted such quest for Nigerian players.
It was during the
1985 football season whilst Nigeria was preparing for the qualifying series of
two major tournaments, i.e. the 1986 ANC and the FIFA World Cup that a clumsy
situation arose that led to the then FA Chairman, Group Captain Tony Ikhazoboh,
ordering the suspension of Stephen Keshi, Bright Omokaro, Sunday Eboigbe, etc
for their refusal to report early to camp.
Having been shut
out from the national team and with the suspension affecting his opportunity to
continue club football, fate and possible desperation took Keshi to Cote
D’Ivoire where he played for six months with Stade D’Abidjan. From Stade, he
joined Lokeren FC of Belgium and within the next two seasons, moved to
Anderlecht of Belgium which probably still remains the biggest club in Belgium
and a force to reckon with in European football history.
THE
OUTCOME OF STEPHEN KESHI’S MOVE TO BELGIUM
As a result of his
immediate success with Lokeren, the team visited Nigeria for a pre-season tour
and they engaged the services of Augustine Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, Peter Rufai, and Etim Esin, all players for some of the Nigerian national teams. In
most cases, his personal influence was crucial in creating openings for some
Nigerians (and African players). After the success of their first foray
into Nigeria, other players joined him in Belgium. Some of these players
include, Ademola Adeshina, Yisa Shofoluwe, Osaro Obabaifo, Philip Osondu, Chidi
Nwanu, and much later, Victor Ikpeba, Daniel Amokachie et al joined. Their worth
grew exponentially and Ikpeba (moved from Standard Liege to Monaco FC, France),
Amokachie (moved from Club Brugge to Everton FC, England), and Samson Siasia (from
Lokeren to Nantes FC, France) soon got bigger in status.
The dispersal of Nigerian players to Belgium soon began to spread into other parts of Europe and it is upon this foundation that professional football was legitimized in Nigeria as a legitimate work industry. According to a report by Poli, Raffaele(2006)'Africans' Status in the European Football Players' Labour Market’, Soccer & Society,7:2,278 —291, six years after Keshi’s movement to Belgium, Nigeria had become amongst the top 5 nations with the largest amount of footballers around the world football leagues!
