Shooting Stars arrived Kinshasa for a CAF Cup duel with Mbuyi Mayi side, Mbongo Sports. Less than 24 hours to D Day, the Nigerians were left in the Congolese capital by their hosts. It was a two-week journey by road 400 miles away. President Mobutu Sese Seko became the only solution.
The Oluyole Warriors had beaten USCB of Burkina Faso to advance to the quarter finals. In the Ibadan first leg, they defeated Mbongo Sports 1-0, thanks to Tunji Adeyemi. The second leg was billed for Mbuyi Mayi on September 27, 1992.
The Congolese wanted to gain a walk over as there was no way Shooting could access Mbuyi Mayi in 24 hours except a miracle happened. Match Commissioner Mawade Wade understood the game plan and moved fast.
Alex Tunwagun of Champion Newspapers, Lagos was there to report the match. A seasoned sportswriter, he took down notes as events unfolded. The Senegalese Match Commissioner was not going to be cowed by the host association.
Tunwagun said : ” Mbuji Mayi was more than 400 miles away from Kinshasa.It was not accessible by road easily. A trip by road would take two weeks. Thanks to the Match Commissioner who threatened the hosts with sanctions. The President was approached to lend his plane. The match was less than a day away.”
That was how the Nigerians made the trip to Mbuji Mayi. It was indeed a tough match. Cameroonian referee, H. Hioba was in complete control. All eyes were on him, especially the Shooting Stars technical crew of Coach Niyi Akande and his assistant, Philip Boamah.
The visitors paraded David Aigbovo in goal, supported by defenders Ajibade Babalade, Bright Omokaro, Ogbein Fawole, and Ben James. The rest were Dossou Gbetie-Expedite, Taofeek Malik, Dotun Alatishe, Andrew Uti, Tarila Okoronwata and Adeyemi.
Mbongo finally got the long awaited goal in the 71st minute through Tshishekedi. Shooting put a brave fight and kept the margin till the end time. Penalty kicks had to decide. The homers were not lucky, their guests ran away with a 3-2 win.
The children of Lagelu would eventually stop Club Athletic Bizerte in the semis. The Tunisians lifted the African Winners Cup in 1988 following a 1-0 aggregate victory over Ranch Bees, Kaduna.
In the finals, Shooting overcame Nakivubo Villa of Uganda 2-0 aggregate. Villa had beaten Iwuanyanwu Nationals in the semi final of the 1991 CAF Champions League. Shooting Stars thus became the first winners of the CAF Cup donated by Chief Moshood Abiola.
It was historic. Shooting emerged as the first Nigerian football club to win two different continental titles. It was also memorable for Felix Owolabi who had won the African Nations Cup with the Green Eagles in 1980.
Cup donor, Abiola lost his wife, Simbiat a few days to the Lagos second leg final but made it to the stadium to present the trophy. One funny story earlier was the refusal of first round opponents, Burkinabe side, USCB to field Yoruba players in Ibadan.
Sakiru Olabodun explained that to me. ” There were two of us playing for USCB. I am from Shaki, my team mate Taofeek Alabi is also Yoruba. Club officials said they were not comfortable with us playing against an Ibadan team”.
It was funny. Olabodun had played for another Bobo Diaolasso club, ASFB against Bendel United in Benin in the 1989 edition of the African Winners Cup. Bendel triumphed.
On the way home, the Burkinabes discovered that their plane had been vandalised by criminals at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos. They were forced to travel thousands of mile by road back to Ouagadougou.
Tunwagun’s first international trip was to watch Shooting against SEIB Dourbel of Senegal at the Demba Diop Stadium, Dakar in the 1984 CAF Champions League( it was known as the African Cup for Champion Clubs). Other journalists on that voyage were Samson Adeoti and Fola Owolabi.
Tunwagun would not forget his experience in Francophone Africa. ” I was beaten, harassed and my clothes torn at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan by Ivorian fans in a WAFU Cup match between Africa Sports and Shooting Stars. That was in 1985.
” A year earlier, I was at the Cote D’Ivoire ’84 Nations Cup. It was a unique experience. I had not covered a competition of that magnitude. The Eagles were in Group B, Bouake. That is the third largest city, very close to the border with Burkina Faso. Other journalists there were, Yinka Craig, Sunny Ojeagbase and Washington Tamakloe.”
Tamakloe, a Ghanaian, was Sports Editor of Ibadan based Nigerian Tribune. He was close to the founder and chairman of Shooting Stars, Chief Olalekan Salami. However, in matters of soccer, the Chief was fanatical.
Alex tells more about Salami. ” There was another shocker at the Liberty Stadium. Visiting Calabar Rovers with James Etokebe and diminutive Uwem ( Wind) Ekarika handed a 2-0 defeat to Shooting Stars in a 1984 league match.
” The chief was visibly upset and even more when Tamakloe came out with a bold headline the following day in Sunday Tribune, ‘The Calabash is Broken’. Chief Salami boasted that Tamakloe would be ‘Shugabad’ back to Ghana for writing against Shooting Stars like that.”
Shugaba was a Second Republic Nigerian politician who was abducted and thrown across the Nigerian border by the Federal government on allegations that he was from Chad.
Tunwagun, holds a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and he witnessed Chief Salami’s first soccer shocker in Cameroon when Tonnerre Kalara hammered the Oluyole Warriors 4-0 in 1984 to cancel a first leg 4-0 loss.
Time for penalties came. The boastful Chief was nowhere to be found. He disappeared to the loo. Muda Lawal’s kick sealed it for his team. Chief Salami was still busy in the gents doing nothing but sweating profusely when a jubilant fan dragged him out.
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Tunwagun was into sports right from St. Anne’s Primary School to college in Abeokuta. At Unilag, he excelled too.
” I hate to write about it. My most memorable experience was being awarded Sports Honour with full colours by the University of Lagos ( June 1980). My name is there among those honoured at the Sports Complex till this day.”
He picks Emma Okala as best Nigerian goalie. Christian Chukwu comes in as best defender, Muda Lawal, best midfielder, Rashidi Yekini, best striker and best coach, Dan Anyiam.
Alexander Olatunbosun Tunwagun, from Ogbomosho, was with Sketch Ibadan before hitting Lagos to join Champion in 1988. From Champion he moved to Sportstar as Managing Editor. In 1994, the journalist relocated to the United States where today his job is about Healthcare at Convenant Health Systems.