By Morakinyo Abodunrin
His voice cranked through the phone like that of an excited baby with a new toy and his geniality very much alive but make no mistake about it, Mazi Linus Mba, the doyen of the whistle; one of the best referees straight out of Nigeria reached a milestone as an octogenarian on Monday March 8.
Revered and referenced at home and across Africa, the stately Mba, has lived a life devoted to ensuring the improvement of the beautiful game of football as far as refereeing is concerned even when he should be enjoying his Indian summer.
“I think Etubom Paul Bassey captured everything about my life in his tribute on my 80th anniversary on Monday,” the former journalist and public relations officer at the then Volkswagen Nigeria told NationSport in a telephone conversation during the week.
“There is actually nothing to add and the secret of my longevity was clearly stated; and coupled with the interview you did for me then, I think that is all about me.”
A holder of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics along with professional certificates in both journalism and public relations, Mba was formally trained as a referee by the London Society of Association Referees under the auspices of The FA (English Football Association) and was badged as a class three referee in 1971. Upon his return to Nigeria after acquiring the proverbial golden fleece, Mba enlisted with the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) in 1976 and rose through the ranks before serving as President of Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) between 1992 and 1996.
Badged by FIFA in 1985, Mba was twice in-charge of the final of the glamorous Challenge Cup in 1979 (IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan vs Sharks of Port Harcourt) and 1987 (Abiola Babes of Abeokuta vs Ranchers Bees of Kaduna). At the continental level he oversaw some tough matches including the then African Cup of Champions semi-final clash between Zamalek of Egypt and FAR of Morocco in 1985 amongst other dozen international matches before bowing out gloriously in 1990.
He served as head of NFA’s Refereeing Department between 2002 and 2005 before being appointed as Consultant on Refereeing to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in 2006.
In the published tribute by Paul Bassey, the foremost sports journalist and current chairman of Akwa United FC of Akwa Ibom, Mazi Mba was quoted as saying that the secret of his longevity is as simple as A-B-C: “Grace of God. Simple and straightforward life. Honesty and service to humanity. I keep my mind free of all stress and deceits,”
Yet it all looked like yesterday when NationSport sat down with Mazi Mba at an office he shared with his long-time ally Bassey within the famous Duraclean Building in the heart of Ikeja in Lagos.
It was a definitive interview as Mazi Mba with breathy purr ran over his life and trajectory in the course of refereeing across the length and breadth of Africa.
Interest in refereeing
My interest in refereeing was developed at St. Theresa College in Nsukka and at that time, every student in the boarding school was expected to participate in one sport or the other. Within the school complex, we had many basketball and football fields as well as the tennis courts but it was the fastest runners that usually get to the tennis court while the rest of us who were slow runners, usually found solace on the football pitch and basketball courts. Of course, I love football but my father, who was a policeman, did not subscribe to my playing football because a nephew of mine got injured with a broken leg and as a result, I did not acquire the necessary skills to play football in my tender years.
Life at Theresa College in Nsukka
It was when I got to St. Theresa College in Nsukka that I ignited my love for football but I was not good enough as an outfield player, so I chose to be a goalkeeper. Honestly, I was not a good goalkeeper and some even said ‘ I was a useless goalkeeper’ and they had reasons for it; I had done very well any day I didn’t concede up to three goals (general laughter). Thereafter, I was no longer picked because they felt I was a waste pipe; but one blessed day, the principal of the school Rev. Fr. William Butler came out and upon enquiry, I told him I was no longer picked because other students felt I was not a good goalkeeper. But he said ‘Linus, you cannot be useless in all areas’ and he took me to his office and handed me ‘The Laws of the Game’; I read it thoroughly and that was how I became the umpire when others were playing; and that was the beginning of my life as a referee right from my secondary school. I later joined the local refereeing society in Onitsha when I started working and I was exposed to the rudiments of refereeing and later sat for the national examination to become a grade two referees,” revealed Mba who later earned stripes as one of the best referees of his generation.
Refereeing odyssey
Let me start by saying with joy and gratitude to God, that I was never beaten in the course of my career as a referee. Of course, there were occasional harassments during my exciting career as a referee but I can’t forget the encounter I had with my late friend, Yomi Peters when I handled a match between Stationery Stores and NEPA of Lagos in 1977. Yomi actually came out to embarrass me as he bounced the ball in the mud which generously splashed on me and I guessed his intention was to cause chaos because it was a deserved red card offence; but I told him ‘ Yomi, don’t worry we are going to continue the game.’ I took that decision because the other team (NEPA) was leading and he actually wanted to spoil the match but I applied Law 18 which is about the spirit of the game.
Refereeing and Bribery
In all my years as a referee, I was never tempted to take bribes and the clubs knew they dare not call me for such. I’m reaping the benefits of my aversion for corruption today. This has been my policy for years and I may not be popular because of this but I thank God my reputation is intact. There is a profound statement made by Chief Lekan Salami when he was alive: ‘The Linus Mba that I know, does not take bribes.’ I have been in refereeing in Nigeria since 1976; I was the PRO of the NRA for three years in the 1980s; I was also the secretary of the NRA for four years and was two-term president of the NRA and I’m still very much relevant in the system today. I have been consultant to the NFF since the tenure of Alhaji Sani Lulu and there is no doubt that it’s God that has given me the power to continue even at my age; go and ask everybody close to me, they will tell you how passionate I’ m at ensuring the best for Nigerian referees,
Setting off from Nigeria to England
In 1964, I travelled to England for my studies and I continued with my career as a referee. In fact, I was lucky my grade was accepted and I was given the opportunity to officiate many local games sometimes thrice a week. But at some point I stopped refereeing because I had a surgery and they had to remove my thymus gland. Since I stopped for three years they said I needed to be retrained and I had to start afresh. It was a blessing in disguise since I was exposed to analytical training which was better than what I was exposed to back home in Nigeria. Under the auspices of The FA, I became a Class Three Grade Referee and then later to Class Two; and by 1976, I became a Class One Referee in England and I was officiating semi-professional games until finally came back home. I studied economics and mass communication, and on my return from England, I was recruited by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a research officer.
Foray into journalism
From there (CBN), I drifted off to Business Times because they were actually looking for someone who did Economics and that was when Chief Onyema Ugochukwu was their editor. He was the one who lured me to Daily Times and I was interviewed by the great Peter Osugo (Peter Pan) and same day, I was employed as a writer for Business Times. I enjoyed my time at the Daily Times until the period Volkswagen put up vacancies for press officer and public relations manager; I applied for the later because I was qualified but they already earmarked somebody for that position in person of Charles Igoh, who later became the press officer for Alhaji Shehu Shagari during his time as president. After he left, I became the PRO for Volkswagen. My vocation as a referee enjoyed so much latitude at Volkswagen because the Germans love football and I was encouraged so much that I became a FIFA referee and was travelling so much that it became a conflict to my position of responsibility since I was not always around.
Encounter with Pat Utomi
At that time, Dr. Pat Utomi was the special assistant to President Shehu Shagari and he advised I should be made the export manager instead of the PRO so that as I travel, I would be able to do export business. That helped me to continue as a referee until 1990 when I stopped; and I left Volkswagen not long after that. I actually left Volkswagen not because I could no longer work but there was so much pressure to sell cars and people don’t have money to buy and my own blood pressure was shooting up, so I had to leave. I retired to a private business and was also the President of Nigeria Referee Association (NRA) and also a board member of Nigeria Football Association (NFA). I decided to veer off and it paid off because it gave me the opportunity to devote more time to development of refereeing and I was sending a lot to CAF through late Major Lamptey of Ghana who drew the attention of Farah Ado, who was the head of CAF’s referee’s committee. That was how I was made a zonal representative for CAF and later made a member of CAF’s referee’s committee.
Secrets of my fitness
There are no secrets as it were but the grace of God; so I give thanks to God. I’m surprised about the kind of energy that I have now and I can tell I work so late at night these days than even in the afternoon. Again, there have been certain characteristics that have been with me since my younger years; I don’t envy people and I’m content with what I have. I take life easy and unlike so many people, I sleep well even when I get upset. I forget about what I can’t get because God says it’s not for me; and irrespective of my personal disposition with you, I have the moral and spiritual obligation to give you what you deserve otherwise my creator can as well use a tree to achieve the same purpose. In order words, I don’t take myself seriously and I’m very open to everybody.
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