While many were still snoring and enjoying their early morning sleep men identified as sport soldiers were seen navigating their ways from their respective abode to the NnamdiAzikiwe International Airport a place that has been fixed for the gathering of the valiant men chosen to witness the great battle of Alexandria. As early as 6:00am many soldiers were seen already at the airport waiting patiently for their commander to give the next directive.
Interestingly enough there were former Generals visibly seen preparing for this war and their presence was welcomed by some of their former soldiers and protégés. Meanwhile little did we know that the flight that was to convey all would not leave as planned due to the fact that certain airspace clearance needs to be perfected before the flight can take -off.
At last the flight took off with the sporting soldiers for the battle that history will recall to be one of the fiercest in recent football history. Unfortunately, few hours before the flight departed Nigeria there had been a court order sacking the entire board of our Host Egyptian Football Association. The Flight to Alexandria was quite interesting as there were so much to talk about from the sporting media to all the various experiences of similar nature wherein the Nigeria team had always shown character ad resilience where it mattered most.
The Arik Chattered flight from Nigeria to Egypt was a smooth ride courtesy of the cabin crew and more importantly the young men in the cork pit that made all efforts to ensure a smooth trip for all. I must mention that I was quite impressed by the way and manner that the captain and his flight assistant conducted their business.
I digress………..
While many were of the opinion that the eagles were going to have their way in Alexandria little did we know that the battle of Alexandria had taken a different dimension. There residents were convinced that the Pharaoh’s of Egypt were more than prepared to have the day. There was a bit of tension around the city as people were seen discussing the possible outcome of the match. As early 2:00pm spectators were seen already in the stadium.
The Nigerian Embassy went the extra mile to mobilize a sizable number of Nigerians in a foreign land and I was shocked to see the numbers of Nigerians that came from as far as Cairo to Alexandria to cheer the Eagles. Little did we all know that the appointed time has been fixed. My very good friend in one of his solitary reflective moments told me that do you know Chris that God already knows the outcome of the match even now that we have not gone to the stadium. And I said yes of course because that is why he is God.
The unity amongst all members of the delegation was quite interesting as there was no difference between the media, administrators, players and top government functionary present at Alexandria. This brings to my mind the situation back home where by there is a great gulf between the various people mentioned and I think in my candid opinion that has always been the problem with our system as a nation.
Good a thing was the fact that I was privileged to share these moments with great sport editors some of whom have been in the business of sport reporting for over twenty (20) years. And it was fun to hear some of their stories especially while covering sports outside the shores of Nigeria.
One of such interesting story occurred in Egypt years back when some journalist after spending a week without eating Eba eventually found a Nigerian restaurant and descended heavily on the plate of Eba only to ask for the prize when they have ordered for a second plate. According to reports, the moment they heard the prized the next morsel of Eba refused to go through as the price was killing. I was told that after paying for the meals some of them embarked on an emergency fasting.
Lessons from Alexandria
As you read this piece am sure you are aware by now that the Super Eagles will for the second time not be in the African Nations Cup. The issue now is that what are the lessons from this ouster? Fundamentally speaking lots of people will have their various positions on the reasons why we failed but I will prefer we look at what we can do not to fail again before we become like Egypt. We need to now develop a road map that will see Nigeria moving from its current state to a state of football prominence in Africa.
Like every other Nigerian I feel the pain but again let’s leave the talk and do the work so that we don’t have to come back and do more talking in the nearest future.
