Jide Dina, the rugged Mighty Jets of Jos libero who passed on recently brought back memories of the team on the Plateau which was built around six players, with stars from Yoruba land forming a large chunk of that movement.
Formed in 1970 after Highlanders and Plateau, teams from Jos had the uncanny luck of losing in eight Challenge Cup finals, Jets were supposed to fly and conquer. In 1951, Plateau lost 2-0 to Lagos Railway. Six times consecutively, 1962, 1963,1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967,the Tin City team lost in the grand finale.
After the 1970 loss and with the Civil War over, Sam Garba Okoye looked for his friends who were separated from him by the war which forced him to relocate to Lagos. There were Ismaila Mabo, Olayiwola Olagbemiro, Sule Kekere and Gabriel Babalola to make it happen.
The first set of jerseys for Mighty Jets were purchased in Ibadan, political headquarters of Yoruba land. Unfortunately, in 1972, Jets qualified once again for another Challenge Cup grand finale. And for the first time in the history of the competition, there was a replay. Ibadan was chosen as host city. It was another loss.
It is remarkable that the trio of Olagbemiro, Kekere and Babalola hailed from Ogbomosho in the Northern flank of the West. They were so good that the Western State Government under Governor Christopher Oluwole Rotimi offered them jobs in Ibadan.
Expectations were high that the boys would come back home to join Shooting Stars. To the government’s consternation, they turned down the appointment. After them came more Yoruba players like Bayo Adenuga, goalkeeper Duro Atuma and Dina.
Abraham Olayiwola Olagbemiro’s father, David Oyeniran Olagbemiro, was one of the wealthiest men in Jos. As a staunch Baptist, the old man sent his son to Baptist Schools, for primary and secondary education. Born in the town in 1948, the boy took to soccer quite early and joined Young Planners at 12.
In 1963, Olagbemiro crossed over to Dynamos FC. As maturity set in, he moved to Highlanders before journeying to Jets. From 1969 to 1971, the left winger was a member of the Northern Lions, a Regional formation. Eagles debut came in 1971 and his contemporaries included Tony Igwe, Peter Anieke, Sam Opone, Ismaila Lulu Sebastine Brodericks- Imasuen, Sam Garba, Mabo and Kekere.
Mighty Jets lost to Viper’s of Benin in the 1972 final which was decided at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. It was the first time the grand finale would be played outside Lagos. Jets lost, again in the final, to Enugu Rangers in 1974.
What Olagbemiro could not achieve as a player, he did as Chairman of Plateau United. For the first time, the cup was won by a team from Jos, in 1999. The same team had lost in the 1993 grand finale.
He excelled in administration and made it to the board of the Nigerian Football Association. Olagbemiro was Chairman of JIB Rocks, another Jos side.
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What he failed to do as a player, the man did later in life. His Ogbomosho brother and Governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala invited him home as Chairman of Crown Football Club, Ogbomosho.
Olagbemiro, also known as Eusebio, died in New Delhi, India, August 15, 2009. His sons, Olayinka and Michael also played soccer.
Everyone knew him as Sule Kekere, that was not his real name. Sule Yusuf earned that nickname from Balali Dauda, chairman of Black Stars football club, Jos. When he joined the team, he was a goalie. Kekere is Yoruba for small.
It was a good decision to move Kekere out of the post for he was brief in stature. That was in no way demeaning for the diminutive player turned out even better. Black Stars also had Aloy Atuegbu upfront.
Born in Jos, 1942, Kekere was unable to go beyond Nurudeen Primary School because his family did not have the fund. He chose soccer. By 1963, his team, Sea Never Dry, played him as a Central defender.
Black Stars converted him from keeper to schemer. Kekere played for Federal United and Highlanders before teaming up with friends to form Mighty Jets in 1970. He was also part of the Northern Lions. One of his team mates, Tony Ikazoboh, later became Sports minister.
Kekere was not lucky with the national team. He did not play any international game as a Green Eagle and while in camp played for Jets against the Eagles scoring as many times as the opponent. That was something Rashidi Yekini swore he would never do- play against Nigeria.
Goal was Kekere’s second nature. On the way to National League victory with Jets in 1972, he bagged a hattrick in the 5-3 demolition of Octopus.
Kekere had legion nicknames. Banana shot, Wizard of the field, Goal getter, Mai kwanar salati and more. He neither got a yellow nor red card all through his career. His son, Nasir also played for Jets.
Kekere was so loved by fans that when he left soccer to work with BEPCO, owned by Abdullahi Adamu, the later day governor of Nasarawa State, threats followed his employer.
Sule Yusuf died in February 2020, leaving behind eight children, five men and three women
Gabriel Babalola Olugbodi, one of the pioneer players of Mighty Jets also made it to the Green Eagles in 1971. He was in camp with Mabo, Olayiwola and Sam Garba Okoye.
Goalkeeper Duro Atuma was part of the Jets team that lost 2-0 to Enugu Rangers in the final of the 1974 Challenge Cup. The Atuegbu brothers, Mathew, Nicholas, Andrew and Aloy were there as well as Ali Lime and Uba Junior.
Johnson Olajide Dina, a centre back who passed away on March 11, at 70, attended St. John’s College Jos, like Andrew Atuegbu and won bronze with the Green Eagles’ at the Ghana ‘ 78 African Nations Cup.
He was dropped at the last minute from the Eagles team to the Montreal ’76 Olympic Games for his bosom friend Segun Odegbami. After embarking on a training tour of Brazil with the Eagles in 1979, Dina could not make the cup winning team of 1980.
While Patrick Ekeji and Francis Moniedafe walked away for further studies abroad, Dina walked back home. He turned to coaching and was at Nasarawa United from 2006 to 2009.
