Never in the history of football have we heard of the nasty experience of our National team, Super Eagles in the hands of Libya Football Federations (LFF).
To them, it is “do me, I do you.’’ It is teeth for tat. Anything short of this is unacceptable to them, after all, they don’t read the Bible which says you must allow the person to do you for as many as 70 times. Libya is known for war, hostilities and all sorts. So, Libya made history by being the first nation to stop a national team from playing a return leg. It has never happened that a team travelled and returned home without getting to their destination. In 2007, I travelled with Bayelsa United to Algeria with the advance team. We were kept at the airport till the next day and behold, the main team came to meet us after 12 hours at the airport. With the endless waiting, we were moved to the hotel and right there, the Algerian officials told us the match had been moved to Settif with a promise to airlift us the next day. We woke up on time to meet the appointed time and shockingly, we got information that the aircraft left few minutes before our arrival. We had to take a bus on a journey which lasted 4 hours by road. On getting to Setiff, we were confronted with a harsh weather. The accompanying officials went to town that night to get us caps, tick shirts and other wears that could stop the cold.
On the match day, the weather was unbearable and we managed to survive but our players could not survive the war. Thus, Bayelsa United under the leadership of Rumson Baribote crashed out. That experience opened my eyes to what an African man could do to show that we have not come of age. At least, the team played but lost.
However, last week , Libya took their own gimmicks to a new dimension and it will remain in the minds of the Super Eagles players for ever. A friend of mine was discussing the kidnapped journalists who were on their way to Uyo with me when news came that players of the Super Eagles and officials including one of the two deputy governors of Edo State had been held hostage. They were not allowed to move out of the airport, no food, no water. As Warri people would say,” play..play..play..play,” they spent good 20 hours until they decided to use their 6th sense. “Let us go back home instead of perishing here”. And Nigerians have every reason to thank the people in Libya for allowing them to leave peacefully. In the words of Super Eagles Coach, Austin Eguavon,” Thanks to the Libyans for letting us go, but it was a horrible 18 -20 hours of experience and we don’t want to go through that again”. Till today, nothing has been heard of the remaining journalists who have been held hostage in the forest of Okija and nobody, not even our military dare go there to rescue them. One can then conclude that it is better to be held hostage in Libya than in Ihiala or anywhere in the South East. The Libyans are human beings. Yes, they can starve you, deny you of where to sleep but they don’t kill like the Ihialla people. Back to the barbaric behaviour of the Libyans which they claimed is beyond their control. According to them, it could not be compared to what the Libyans experienced in the first leg, suggesting that the Federation was responsible for the manhandling of both the initial and return leg. They knew what they were doing and they are yet to show remorse for their actions. The Nigerians must be dealt with having seen that this is a country, now considered to be big for nothing. They spent a night in Port Harcourt and passed through the bad road leading to Uyo. The Libyans did not like the state of the road, thinking that we had a better road but deliberately took them to that bad route. No one to tell them that Uyo route is even a beauty compared to Abuja….Benin road or Agbor.. Abraka road.
For the return leg, they had no bad roads to take the Eagles through. Light is on for 24 hours and what else can they do than to keep them at the airport without food, water and make them to sleep on the chairs. That is equivalent to travelling by road in Nigeria. It is called “do me, I do you.” And come to think of it, the Captain of the flight, Mr Abdul Latif who is from Tunisia was offered a hotel accommodation but he declined and slept with his crew in the aircraft. That Pilot, I am sure can speak Urhobo and may not be able to trace his town in Tunis again hence he accepted to make that sacrifice.
Many people including the Senate have condemned in strong terms Libya’s hostile treatment of the national team. Senator Kawy who spoke first said the action of the Libyan authorities and the football federation did not only endanger the lives of the players but other members of the delegation. The Senate like every other football stakeholders want the Libyan football authorities to be sanctioned.
What next?. While we pray for the remaining journalists in Okija forests to return home safely like the Eagles, let’s keep our fingers crossed as we await a decision by the Confederation of African Football(CAF), on the botched 2025 AFCON qualifier between the Super Eagles and Libya in Benina next week Tuesday, we pray that the Disciplinary board will do justice so as to serve as a deterrent to other hostile nations.
