Legendary footballer, Pele, gave the world a breather when he visited Lagos during the Civil War with his Brazilian club Santos. The Nigeria Football Association[NFA] organized a team for the friendly. And while the trip lasted there were neither fighter jets in the air nor gunfire in the battle field.
Pele’s role was quite appreciated in the book The Hamlyn Book of World Soccer authored by the duo of Peter Arnold and Christopher Davis.”Pele has the stature to postpone a war: A truce was called in the Biafran struggle so that he could visit both sides in safety,” they wrote.
Pele power! This was in the same war that the Nigerian Air Force was accused of bringing down a Red Cross plane. Biafran soldiers also abducted and murdered some expatriate oil men in the Mid-West. There were also recorded cases of genocide. Even Prisoners of War [POWs] were not spared.
While Pele used soccer to halt the Civil War even if for 90 minutes, the game would lead to war between Hoduras and El Salvador in 1969 as both nations played in the qualifiers of the Mexico’70 World Cup. It turned out to be Brazil’s third triumph. It was also Pele’s third trophy having won gold with the selecao as a teenager in 1958 and a star in 1962.
Back to the NFA Selected versus Brazil, at the Onikan Stadium. The Nigerian side was picked from the pack of Rigogo Inua, Tony Igwe, Willie Andrews, Dan Ajibode, Sam Opone, Segun Olumodeji, Muyiwa Oshodi and Sunday Inneh. There were also, Austin Ofokwu, Keneth Olayombo, Fred ‘Baba Ali’ Aryee, Mohammed Lawal, Emilio John,Peter Fregene and Sebastine Brodericks.
You could see some players whose kinsmen were either on the Biafran side or lived in war zones. Skipper Opone led Nigeria while Lt. Col. Macaulay Nzefili was part of Biafra. Ofokwu was so comfortable in Lagos, men like Brigadiers Conrad Nwawo, Mike Okwechime and Col. Beneth Ochei, dodged Nigerian bullets from Asaba to Owerri. Tony Igwe was the best right back in the country and was nicknamed ‘World Two’.
They were part of the many Igbo sportsmen who remained on the Federal side while the war lasted. Up North was a fine dribbler, Sam Garba Okoye, who was captain of Nigerian Academicals just before crisis engulfed the nation. Peter Anieke teamed up with Stationery Stores, Lagos. Somewhere in a Remand home around Mapara, was Obisia Nwakpa who would later turn to a great pugilist.
Santos and NFA Selected ended it 2-2. That was the day, Brodericks, was rechristened Sabara by Onikan fans. The Brazilian right winger, Sabara, almost took the shine from Pele to the delight of the crowd.Exactly the position Brodericks played. So at the end of the match, he emerged as the local Sabara.
Opone also earned a sobriquet. Zagalo, was one of the strong men of ‘Jogo Bonito’ and had won the World Cup as a player. Opone became our own Zagalo. That name entered global records when the Brazilian won the 1970 World Cup as a coach. He thus became the first to win as a player and as a coach.
It is possible that Pele is a Nigerian. The slave trade forcefully shipped many Africans to the Americas. In the Brazilian State of Bahia, there are millions of Yoruba and thousands of Igbo whose ancestors landed during that dark era. Some of them even traced their way back home.
Take Sir Adeyemo Alakija, for instance. He was born Placido Assumpcao. His parents were Yoruba from Ogun and Oyo respectively. His eldest sibling, Maxwell, was a lawyer in Bahia and father -in-law of, Sir Olumuyiwa Jibowu, the first Nigerian High Court judge. They changed their surname to Alakija in 1913.
Alakija grew up in Nigeria, attended University in the United Kingdom and settled down as a lawyer and politician in Lagos. He was among other things, the first President of the Island Club, Lagos, Vice President of the NFA in 1933 and co-founder of the Reformed Ogboni Confraternity. His position was, ‘Olori Oluwo'[ Lord of the Lords].
Alakija, co-founded the Daily Times with Sir Ernest Ikoli and Richard Barrow. In 1938 he lost his wife, Ayodele. His second wife was also named Ayodele. And former UN sribe, Kofi, Annan, is his son in law, married to the only daughter of the family, Aduke. Their son is Kojo.
Pele would have felt at home with the Amaro[Afro Brazilians ] on Lagos Island. In an area known as Brazilian quarters, such names as Salvador, Fernandez and Pereira, are common. Some aspects of South American life are still going on right there and they maintain trans Atlantic links.
After Pele, another Brazilian came here to stay. Professor Otto Gloria, was Manager when the Green Eagles won the Africa Nations Cup in 1980. The national team had traveled to Brazil around October 1979, to prepare for the competition. During their stay at the Rio Grande Naval Station, Rio de Janeiro, NFA boss, Sunday Dankaro, was convinced the trio of Carl O’Dwyer, Godwin Etemike and Isaac Nnado did not have enough understanding of the game.
Dankaro got in touch with his friend, Joao Havelange, who was FIFA President at the time. Gloria, Carlos Alberto Pereira and fitness trainer Rao Carlesso replaced the Nigerian technical crew. Carlos Alberto who would later coach Brazil to win the USA’94 World Cup, was frustrated by the soccer prof. He left the Eagles before the Nations Cup began.
Nigeria also gave something back. Richard Owubokiri joined Brazilian club, Americo do Rio and was there from 1983 to 1984 before crossing over to Vitoria do Bahia. He won the Brazilian Cup with them in 1985. To cap it all, Owubokiri, was leading scorer in their league, with 22 goals in 1986.
In 1989, another Nigerian, Benjy Nzeakor, changed base to the land of Samba. Owubokiri had become one of the best in Portugal, playing for Benfica and later Boavista. Vitoria tried to lure him back to Bahia. Club management even offered to fly him in a chopper from the airport.