They say you cannot be more catholic than the Pope. I am not a Roman Catholic so I may not be in a position to manage this debate. However, I can vouch for Segun Martins. His love for Enugu Rangers was more than some Igbo men offered the Flying Antelopes.
Segun was a Yoruba who spent most of his time in Lagos watching soccer in the 1970s. Rangers were the best Nigerian team of that era having won the Challenge Cup for keeps in 1976. That was the first team to win the trophy three times consecutively [1974-1976]. In 1974, the Coal City team also became the first Nigerian soccer double champions.
In that decade, Shooting Stars of Ibadan were the strongest club in Yoruba land. They were way ahead of Stationery Stores, Lagos. From WNDC they became IICC. Rangers were taught a bitter lesson in the grand finale of the 1971 Challenge Cup. That was the day keeper Amusa Adisa saved Godwin Achebe’s penalty kick.
Achebe was captain of the Green Eagles and hardly missed from the spot. Rangers lost 2-1.It was shortly after the Civil War. Rangers was an Igbo team, full of Biafran soldiers. They used soccer to prove a point. Losing the war, which was indeed one sided, was painful.
It was like the war continued in the field of play. Rangers bounced back to win the Amachree Cup in 1971 and represented Nigeria in the CAF Champions League. They never looked back. They paid Shooting back in the final of the 1975 Challenge Cup. The victory turned out to lift the Ibadan side to continental triumph.
Rangers were double champions again in 1975 and registered for the 1976 CAF Champions League. That created room for Shooting to enter for the Africa Winners Cup which debuted in 1975. History was made when the Oluyole Warriors snatched the Winners Cup from Tonnerre Kalara of Cameroon.
Segun was sad Rangers were knocked out of the Champions League by Mouloudia Chalia of Algeria in the semi- finals. Some fellow Yoruba wondered what was wrong with the Lagos boy. Segun believed so much in the Enugu team and the disappointment of another continental failure did not leave him.
In 1977, Rangers and IICC flew Nigeria’s flag in the Africa Winners Cup. Shooting were defending champions. The teams met in the semi finals. The Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, was Yoruba. Tension was high. The first leg ended scoreless in Lagos. It was like Igbo and Yoruba were at war.
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Segun did not desert Rangers. He stood firm. The second leg was moved to Kaduna, thanks to Obasanjo’s deputy, Shehu Yaradua. After another barren draw, the Flying Antelopes won 4-2 penalties. Segun Odegbami, the best in the field of play lost his kick. Segun Martins celebrated and the Flying Antelopes went ahead to win the cup.
It sounded strange that a Yoruba man would back Rangers. Until 1979, Rangers was an all Igbo team. The name was coined by founder, Chief Jerry Enyeazu, a Biafran military officer who later became the first Director of the National Sports Commission [NSC] in 1972.
The name came from Biafran Rangers, a kind of guerilla outfit. First Captain, Achebe, was an officer of the Biafran Army. Dominic Nwobodo, was a Commando. Ernest Ufele, Luke Okpala, Nwabueze Nwankwo were tested warriors. And when Rangers defeated the Nigeria Army team on the way to Amachree Cup victory in 1971, Col. Olusegun Obasanjo who commanded the Nigerian Third Marine Commandos described the cup winners as a bunch of hungry looking players.
In 1975, the Lagos crowd descended on Rangers for failure to beat Young Africans, Tanzania in the second round, first leg of the Champions League. The Enugu Boys had defeated Accra Great Olympics home and away in the first round. Some non – Igbo at the Stadium felt the result was to thank Tanzania for recognizing Biafra during the war.
When Rangers beat Shooting Stars home and away in the 1974 National League, the Ibadan crowd went wild. Right winger, Emeka Onyedika, and many supporters were beaten black and blue. Segun Martins was heart broken.
The 1980s came, Segun remained a loyal supporter. Gradually, he began to pull weight. Some Lagos based Igbo players would move to Rangers to beef up the team. At the end of the 1987 season, Onochie Alumona joined from NEPA. Joe Ashinze left Stores. Frank Njemanze departed First Bank as well as Ben Ogbuisi. Sunday Iwuozor even shifted from Leventis United, Ibadan.
By 1990, two Yoruba players, Akeem Ashiru and Dotun Alatishe, were in the Rangers team. That was the year Austin Okocha, joined too. Segun Martins was happy, Rangers was no more seen as an Igbo team. He was glad more Yoruba players were looking towards Enugu.
To crown it all, Segun was made Camp Commandant of Enugu Rangers in 1992 by governor Okwesilieze Nwodo of Enugu State. That was an appointment well deserved. He relocated to the Coal City. What an attraction he became. Chief Oscar Udoji, who owned Udoji United Football Club, would see the Camp commandant, walk up to him , squeeze some cash into his hands and say: “Segun, take this for supporting Rangers.”
Today, Enugu Rangers coach, Gbenga Ogunbote, is Yoruba. Remember, Segun Martins, saw this long ago. Football is not politics. Yoruba and Igbo can do things together, for good.