Nigeria and Football.


In Nigeria, when we want to select or call up players for a football tourney, we always look at the player's skill, ability and track records. The players, when finally selected form the national team and they go on to represent the nation at the tourney. The country watches and follows their games, giving them all the support they need, castigating them when they play rubbish, even clamoring for the removal of players whom they deem irrelevant or not skillful enough. When the team wins, everyone rejoices because it wasn't just the team, but rather, the entire country receives the benefits of the victory. Likewise so, any loss the team has. All these while, from the call-up, to selection, to the game itself, to the cheering and booing, everyone forgets the tribe and religion of the individual player. To them, they are all Nigerians, wearing our national colors, representing each and everyone of us at the International stage. When someone calls for the benching of a player, no one attacks him and says he's doing so because the player isn't from his tribe or religion. Rather the spectators will always offer their own views, supporting or opposing the suggestion. The argument can sometimes get very heated and lead to fights and, even occasionally, deaths of the belligerents. But at the end of the day, it wasn't about the tribe or religion of the players, rather it was about their abilities, performance and impact to the team towards their common goal of winning the game.

This is the only time Nigerians ever unite. Unfortunately, I don't watch football nor care much about the sport. That's why it saddens me that I don't get to see this part of my fellow countrymen. I can tell you, the few times I've seen Nigerians watching a game of football, the sight is spectacular and beautiful that it almost makes you cry when you see these same group of people when the 90mins are up. It makes me wish I could create a 90mins time loop and be stuck in it. A time where we see each other as fellow Nigerians and not as Northerners, Southerners, Niger Deltans, Hausas, Igbos, Yorubas. When we see each other as football fans and not Christians or Muslims. A time when we first ask of a player's ability, skills and impact to the team and not what tribe he/she is from or checking how many of other tribes are in the team compared with yours. A time where we stand or fall in unity as one, not bickering, fighting and killing each other.


Nigerians, it is time we all learn from the game we all love so much. Football

True talk