This is an unprecedented African record that will continue to haunt the country. Inability to defend trophies won by Nigerian sides sounds so strange, not once , not twice, from the lowly WAFU competition to the elite Nations Cup.
It began with Enugu Rangers in 1978. They won the Africa Winners Cup in 1977 but refused to defend it, choosing the prestige CAF Champions League. Nigeria was entitled to two flag bearers after Shooting Stars of Ibadan won the Challenge Cup in 1977.
Rangers withdrew from the 1977 Challenge Cup which they won for keeps in 1976 after three consecutive titles. In the National league, there was a stalemate until the NFA introduced toss of the coin. Rangers were lucky, Stationery Stores, Lagos lost out.
The Flying Antelopes came close to winning the CAF Champions League in 1975 but lost home and away to Hafia of Guinea in the finals. After grabbing the Winners Cup in 1977, they wanted to be the first to lift the Champions League and the Winners Cup.
It did not work out. With youth added to experience, the Coal City team paraded seasoned players like Christian Chukwu,Emma Okala, Aloy Atuegbu, Patrick Ekeji and youngsters Adokiye Amiesimaka, Okey Isima, Arthur Egbunam, Sunday Nwokocha, Innocent Obi Ekwo and Mike Ochiagha.
Rangers lost in the semi finals to Canon Sportif of Cameroon. It ended scoreless after two legs until 6-5 penalty kicks gave the Yaounde side victory. These same teams had met in the finals of the 1977 Winners Cup which the Nigerians won 5-2 aggregate.
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In 1978, Shooting Stars failed so early in the Winners Cup to eventual champions , Horoya of Guinea. The import was that the Winners Cup which had domiciled in Nigeria from 1976 was lost.
CAF was forced to rule in 1991 that any team that refused to defend a continental title would be sanctioned. Power Dynamos , Winners Cup champions for that year, failed to defend it after beating cup holders, BCC Lions of Gboko, in the finals.
In the West Africa Football Union[WAFU] Cup, international politics forced unbeaten two- time champions, New Nigeria Bank[NNB] of Benin’ to withdraw from the competition on the way to a third consecutive triumph in 1985. The Bankers had won in 1983 and retained the trophy in 1984.
Ranchers Bees won the WAFU Cup in 1989 at the expense of ASEC Mimosas of Cote D’Ivoire. That was the time of Daniel Amokachi, Ayo Ogunlana, Salisu Yusuf, Tajudeen Oyekanmi, Tajudeen Olaiya, Abubakar Balarabe, Ali Nayara, Ben Ogbuisi among others.
They began their title defence in 1990 with a 3-0 pounding of Djoliba, Mali in the Kaduna first leg. It was strange that the defending champions missed their flight and the Malians gained a Walk Over in the second leg. Nigeria’s other representatives, JIB Rocks lost in that round to Okwawu United, Ghana. In the Jos team was Baldwin Bazuaye , whose dad, Willy, led NNB to two titles in 1983, 1984.
Flying Eagles took their turn on December 8, 1989 when they were banned by FIFA following age irregularities. Three players, Dahiru Sadi, Samson Siasia and Andrew Uwe, had conflicting dates of birth attached to their names in 1983, 1985 and 1988.
At the time of the ban, the Flying Eagles had won the Tessema Cup for African U-20 teams , four times consecutively, 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989. They were not only defending champions, they were second best in the world having performed a ‘miracle’ in Dammam at Saudi’89.
The FIFA ban meant that for two years, Nigeria did not take part in the U-20 championships. The country also lost the bid to host the world in 1991. And of course, the Flying Eagles could not defend the trophy which they had won four times.
The Super Eagles joined the fray in 1996. Billed to defend the Nations Cup which they won in Tunisia two years earlier, international politics between the Sani Abacha regime and South Africa kept Nigeria away from the South Africa’96 Nations Cup.
That would have been Rashidi Yekini’s sixth Nations Cup. The Eagles were banned for two competitions, only returning in 2000 when Nigeria co hosted with Ghana. They were unlucky to lose to Cameroon in the grand finale.
Rangers’ inability to defend the Winners Cup in 1977, did not yield them the Champions League in 1978. Till date they have not won another continental laurel. NNB’s failure to defend the WAFU Cup in 1985 meant the record of winning the trophy thrice consecutively went to fellow Benin side, Insurance in 1995.