Seyi Akinwunmi, a lawyer, otherwise known as BSA within the Nigerian football ecosystem, on Monday stepped down as the chairman of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA). Throughout his reign, BSA’s charitable works were unprecedented, and he recounted some of his outstanding landmarks in office as well as plans for the future, MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN writes
The soccer career of Super Falcons striker Gift Monday would have ended long before it began but for the benevolence of former 1st Vice President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, otherwise known as BSA within and outside the Nigerian football ecosystem.
Now plying her trade with UDG Tenerife in the Spanish Primera División Femenina, the striker Gift Monday, has grown from an upstarts at COD United Amazons to leading Nigeria to win the football gold medal at the 2019 African Games as well as leading Bayelsa Queens to win the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Premiership as recent as the 2021/22 season.
But Monday’s enriching story would have been non-existent as Akinwunmi gave a rare insight on how he used his influence as well as football in shaping the life of many budding footballers during his highly successful 12-year tenure as chairman of the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA).
“Gift Monday is the next big thing in Nigeria; the next big thing after Asisat Oshoala or the next big thing after Rasheedat Ajibade,” Akinwunmi said when pressed about what he holds dear during his term at the LSFA. “I’m happy that most of these girls value my support towards their careers and it might interest you to know that when Oshoala started her clothing lines; I’m one of the first Nigerians she sent her packages to and that speaks volume for me.”
He then dropped the bombshell about his encounter with parents of Gift Monday: “A lot of people don’t know the length we go through in giving hope to many through football.
“When Gift Monday wanted to play, her parents said no; and that she was not going to play football and I had to prostrate to the mother and at one point, my driver would have to go and wait for her after school hours to take her to training and take her back home after training.
“There are so many; But to answer your question; it is such a story as this that I consider as my greatest achievements.”
Throughout his reign at the LSFA, his charitable works were unprecedented, even more so with his novel The Seyi Akinwunmi Charity Foundation mini tournament, an annual event whose 10th anniversary would be celebrated in December.
Aside, over 65 children between 12 and 15 years have in the past eight years remained in school courtesy of the foundation supporting their education and other related needs.
The foundation has also supported more than 200 indigent students in collaboration with the Courage Education Foundation which was also conceived and co-founded by Seyi Akinwunmi over 17 years ago.
Akinwunmi also masterminded what is now known as Ekofootball at the LSFA and he purred with glee some of his landmarks as well as charitable deeds in office.
“A lot of people don’t know the length we go through in giving home to many through football,” he continued. “There are so many things I hold dear to my heart; and there is a particular story that I think would resonate about one thing that is of particular interest to me.
“There is also a girl, Joy, that I would love to talk about; and she is presently studying in America courtesy of football. We went scouting for ‘Right to Dream’.
“In fact, if not for some impediments that I would share in my book much later, The Right to Dream Academy in Accra would have been cited in Nigeria (but we just don’t like ourselves in Nigeria). As I was saying, we went scouting for players with The Right To Dream team but across the road was a girl with buba and iro ( wrapper and top majorly worn by Yoruba women) with no shoes who was playing football (with gusto) with boys.
“ She was not within the scouting per se but just across the road; immediately, the attention of everyone turned to the girl and he was eventually picked for The Right To Dream Academy with few others .
“ She went to The Right To Dream Academy and later got a scholarship to school in the US. She went to College and she made what can be regarded as a ‘hall of fame’ across colleges in America.
“ She sent the picture to me and I remember I was at an airport travelling and tears dropped from my eyes because I remember how it all started .
“ That’s just a story line but there are many such stories,” Akinwunmi further said.
Indeed to the Barrister at law, football is a tool for the emancipation of children mainly from the lowest rung of ladder in life and he reckoned he’s used his influence and personality on numerous occasions to underscore his resolve to give hope to the hopeless.
“ Of course, football is a tool to give people hope and once that is your part, God just gives you the power to do as much as you can,” Akinwunmi who once served on the youth Committee of the Confederation of African Football(CAF) said.
“ There are so many stories similar to that of Joy and about two weeks ago, I was honoured at the Greensprings Schools for the impact we have made in youth development; the lives of all the children that have gone through us to Greensprings can never be the same.
“ That is one of my greatest joys in life; that has been part of my trajectory with children from all parts of the country.
“On countless occasions, I have used my name and influence as a football administrator to give hope to ordinary people irrespective of where they come from in any part of the country.”
Today, one of the most discussed issues within Nigerian football circles is about a substantive head for the Nigeria Premier Football League(NPFL) at the expiration of the tenure of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye-led Interim Management Committee (IMC).
Akinwunmi has severally been linked with the job but Monday’s valedictory presser on his days at the LSFA was an opportunity for the‘ debonair Barrister with toothy smiles’ to speak about the future.
Though he alluded to his own competence for the job, he revealed that he has already firmed up projects towards the uplift of football and swiftly dismissed the rumour making the rounds that he quit LSFA in order to head the NPFL.
“The NPFL is not my aspiration,” he said in a measured tone. “ I have heard the rumours about the LMC but the truth is that you don’t make plans for what does not exist because there’s no rule as to how the head of the league body is appointed .
“But if you look around, I’m eminently qualified and probably more than most.
“ How many people have been legal advisers to a state FA , State FA Chairman, Zonal Coordinator , league board member, chairman of the Nigeria National League , Vice President of NFF ; I don’t think there’s anybody in Nigeria that has all that qualifications. So, that is not wrong but (NPFL) that’s not my aspiration at all.”
He continued: “In football, it seems that God decides some certain things and so be it, if God decides I become the chairman of the league board. But I’m not planning for it. Some said I’d planned to be chairman of Remo Stars to enable me vie for the NPFL top job ; I have never discussed being on the board of Remo talk less of being the club’s chairman. Where that came from I don’t know ? But I think people generally fear Lagos people but we just do our things and flow with the tide.
“Of course, some came immediately after the last NFF elections so that I can get the NPFL as a sort of compensation, but I laughed it off.”
A man of many parts, Akinwunmi, a darling of the Nigerian media, said he was ready to preserve some of the ideals of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, adding he would soon put up a project for the training and retraining of the sporting press.
“To this event, I’ve clearly chosen all of you on purpose with the exemption of one or two people who were unavoidably absent because I believed you have all been trained and schooled properly in sport journalism and I really want to channel my energy towards bringing up many more trained sport journalists,” he affirmed. “In my opinion, a lot of people have gate-crash this noble profession and I want to be part of people to bring it to the level I grew up with by training many more.”