Afolabi Gambari
It should be assumed that Prince Abayomi Ogunjimi, National President of the Authentic Nigeria Football and Allied Sports Supporters Club (ANFASSC), was not among the BAT faithful (i.e. supporters of the incumbent President Bola Tinubu) during the 2023 presidential election campaign. So, he must be either in the camp of Atikulate (supporters of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar) or Obidients (supporters of Mr. Peter Obi). The reason for him not being a BATist during the period is not far-fetched; which explains why he may not have been aware of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” banner of Tinubu and his followers. But even then, upon Tinubu being declared winner of the election, he continued to wave the banner and to this day, the banner has not disappeared from public consciousness.
How Prince Ogunjimi did not reckon the banner, despite the message in it being glaring enough, is curious indeed. Of course, at the core of the Renewed Hope Agenda (or RHA for short) is “growing the economy” by encouraging production and discouraging consumption. In other words, promoting exports more than imports. By any measurement, the message was unambiguous. Yet, the ANFASSC boss missed it big time.
Caught in the euphoria of the contracting of Malian Eric Chelle by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the new coach of the Super Eagles, Prince Ogunjimi made a “passionate appeal” to stakeholders in the Nigerian football community to “rally behind” Chelle to enable the gaffer to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and to emerge victorious at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
“We must put aside our differences and unite behind Eric Chelle,” Prince Ogunjimi counselled.
He served a reminder, just so that some people might have forgotten: “Qualifying for the World Cup and winning the Africa Cup of Nations are our top priorities.”
In expressing confidence in Chelle’s “ability to lead the Eagles to success”, he also said: “I am calling on all Nigerian football fans, the Nigeria Football Federation, sponsors and well-wishers to support Chelle and together we can achieve greatness and bring glory to our beloved country.”
For emphasis, he said: “With the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on the menu, the unity of our country is key in the support for the Eagles as they embark on their quest for success.”
The prince, evidently unwary that he had strayed off course in the renewed era, roped in the National Sports Commission (NSC) in the act to desecrate the “growing the economy” aspect of the Renewed Hope Agenda, saying that by supporting the importation of Chelle at a time when several Nigerian coaches are available for the job, the NSC “aims to revitalise Nigeria’s sports sector and unlock the country’s vast athletic potential”. He said by rallying behind the imported Chelle, “stakeholders can help propel the Super Eagles to greatness and inspire a new generation of Nigerian athletes”. Therefore, in the calculation of Ogunjimi, propelling the Eagles is a task that must be accomplished by a foreign coach.
Considering how factionalised the supporters’ groups for the national football teams have become in recent years, it was obvious that Prince Ogunjimi rushed out his statement for “positioning” so that he would mark his group out as loyal to whatever arrangement the football federation makes for Nigeria’s football. The “authentic” in ANFASSC says everything in the group agenda that the national president pursued. To be sure, he did not critically weigh the implications of the importation of Chelle on the Eagles who must win two back-to-back games in March to restore hope for the World Cup 2026 ticket that Chelle is being tasked to get for Nigeria, even when the imported coach would only have met the players less than seven days before the games. He merely did not want to rock the boat of those who were determined to ensure that “growing the economy” would be sacrificed on the altar of egoistic pursuit of a foreign coach. Perhaps, it is all to make his club remain “authentic”.
But if Prince Ogunjimi desecrated the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda banner, the football authorities and supervising sports commission altogether dumped the banner in the trash bin. The NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, said at the unveiling of Chelle in Abuja on January 13: “Of all the coaches we considered for the Super Eagles’ job, Eric Chelle is the most qualified. I see in him the right spirit and the right attitude, and I have faith that he will take the Eagles to the next level. We will be there giving him the necessary support all the way.”
The NSC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who since their assumption of office hardly makes a complete statement without inserting “President Bola Tinubu has tasked us to embark on sports economy”, was also at the unveiling of Chelle. Dikko, who also has not missed any opportunity to emphasise “production over consumption”, said he was “satisfied with the process that led to Eric Chelle’s recruitment by the NFF” and “will support the NFF to ensure he has the most conducive atmosphere to do his job”.
Two weeks before the arrival of Chelle, two coaches in the domestic league, Daniel Ogunmodede (of Remo Stars FC) and Fidelis Ilechukwu (of Enugu Rangers FC) had qualified the Super Eagles B team for the 2025 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) after edging bitter rival Ghana. But the NFF has now asked Ogunmodede and Ilechukwu to step aside for Chelle to take over the team in a “supervisory role”. But neither do the players know Chelle nor does he know them. Yet, the NFF expects Nigeria to shine in the competition in which the country last participated in 2019. Beyond desecrating the Renewed Hope Agenda, the NFF also ensures that the coaches in Nigeria do not develop. To say this act of low self-esteem is most uncharitable is to say the very least.
