Smark of the Dark Side, and Dark Arts In African Football: Referencing the Libya vs Nigeria AFCONQ 2nd Leg Fixture
By: Chinedum Ohanusi
Sunday, the 13th day of October, 2024 began like any normal day, for millions of Nigerians, until the sad and harrowing events that occurred at the Al Abraq Airport, an abandoned military airport located about 200 kilometers, off the Libyan City of Benghazi, the designated venue for the return leg of the Nigeria vs Libya 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Qualifiers.
The first leg in Uyo two days earlier, ended 1-0 in favour of the Super Eagles of Nigeria. But even before a ball was kicked, the Libyans, through their Captain and other officials voiced their discontentment with the reception, accorded them by the NFF, which as the host Federation was duty bound to provide the visiting delegation a dose of hospitality.
But the NFF, through their Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire bluntly rebuffed the claims made by Captain of the Mediterranean Knights, and clarified as follows:
1. That the Libyan contingent was not forthcoming with information, about their arrival in Nigeria, and only notified the NFF of their flight to Port Harcourt, an hour after take off.
2. The NFF which had made plans to receive the team in Uyo, had to scamper to get its officials to move to Port Harcourt, where the Libyan delegation landed.
3. Arrangements made to that effect, included the provision of a coach to convey the players and officials to Uyo by road; but the Libyans rejected the bus, and opted to make their own vehicular arrangement; while the NFF provided the security that guided the convoy all the way to Uyo, and their hotel.
4. But the Libyan Captain voiced his team’s resentment, as to the stress they experienced, while the convoy drove on partly unmotor-able roads and in the dark.
5. The NFF, through Mr. Olajire responded by saying that, having on their own opted to fly to Port Harcourt, rather than Uyo, the Libyans were architects of their own misfortune, and all the pain they grappled with were self-inflicted. No doubt these comments infuriated and emboldened some of these guys.
6. Immediately after the 0-1 defeat handed them by the Super Eagles, rumours were rife that the Libyans were terribly vexed, and were planning vengeance; which they eventually delivered.
After the plane to Benghazi, which was piloted by a Tunisian landed, with the NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, and Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu in it, the players were held hostage, without food and places to sleep; and there were claims that the order to divert the plane, and restrict the movement.of.the Nigerian contingent came from the very top.
After over 12 harrowing hours of this ordeal, Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong took to Social Media to announce the decision of the players, not to play the game, and as soon as the NFF, and Sports Ministry concurred with the players, the game was off, and after a few more alterations, the plane was refueled, and the team landed safely in Kano.
Moments later, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially cancelled the fixture, and transferred the case file to its Disciplinary Committee for adjudication. Since then, there has been an endless debate, by those who are bent on preempting the outcome of the Disciplinary Hearing.
While many are rooting for a replay of the match, at a neutral venue; others want the points on offer awarded to Nigeria, and the Libyan Federation penalized for this and other infractions of similar magnitude.
But I am one of the negligible few, that believes the matter may not just end up, at the Disciplinary Committee or Appeals Committee level. My prediction is that it may end up at the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS), in Switzerland; especially if the ruling at CAF level does not favour Libya.
Empirical Facts to Note:
1. Once in Port Harcourt, the Libyan delegation were automatically guests of Nigeria (NFF)
2. With the insecurity in the land, it would be foolhardy for the NFF to allowe the Super Eagles, travel by road to Uyo in the dark, for any reason.
3. Had an infraction or security breach occurred, because of the so-called indiscretion of the Libyan delegation, and a player was killed or injured, can we say Nigeria has no fault in this.
4. Would it be completely out of place, or too much for the NFF to avoid all these quagmires by making contingency arrangements to accommodate the Libyans in Port Harcourt, and move them to Uyo at dawn? Personally, I don’t think it will cost big brother Nigeria a fortune to do so, and nip in the bud all the other brouhaha that followed.
5. Now, were the Libyans correct to allege mistreatment. In my candid opinion, it’s within their rights to do so.
6. Was it right to seek vengeance. My response is yes and no.
7. No, in the sense that they over-reacted by diverting the plane, and holding the players hostage for at least 12 hours, under dehumanizing and harrowing conditions; thereby compromising their physical and mental health; and projecting the very Dark Side of African Football to the world.
8. Was it right for the Nigerian players to decide not to play the game, again I will say yes and no.
9. Yes in the sense that the aggression of the Libyans was tantamount to an act of war, and who knows if they had more wickedness in stock, should the match eventually go on.
10. No, in the sense that, the Libyans also complained of maltreatment, but they did not for once contemplate not playing the match.
11. I also think CAF needed to have been the ones to cancel the game, not the NFF or the Super Eagles.
12. What happened to the age-long parlance, “play under protest”.
I also wish to say here that for the Super Eagles players and the NFF, it was easy for them to forfeit the game, even before CAF cancelled it. It was not a must-win game, and even without the points on offer, the Eagles are still sitting pretty at the top of the log. Conversely, the Mediterranean Knights are precariously languishing at the foot of the table, and are fully aware that the points are tied to their remaining in the race for qualification.
Recall points 5 and 6 above, and I will use the examples of events of 1983, when the Flying Eagles of Nigeria played their counterparts from Ethiopia, in Lagos. On that fateful day, Nigeria won the game by a wide margin, but fans threw all manner of bread and poff-poff on the Ethiopian players, and mocked them for not putting up a fight, apparently because they were hungry, as.a result of the severe draught that ravaged all of the horn of Africa, that year.
As a consequence, the Ethiopians went back home disgusted, and after losing the second leg 1-2, hell was let loose, and not even Radio Nigeria’s Ace commentator, Ernest Okonkwo was spared. I recall vividly that Kingsley Mature Onye had his head badly cut by the irate fans, who invaded the pitch, while our players scampered to safety. This was one of the darkest moments of African football; and CAF reacted by scaling up its security arrangements for matches to unprecedented heights.
The point I want to share here is that we threw bread at their players, but they hauled dangerous objects at ours. A case of “do me, I do you, god of soccer no go vex”. Ethiopia was also banned for a couple of years, but the results of both legs stood.
In another twist, in 1993, a Zambian military plane, conveying the golden generation of Chipolopolo players after a match in Senegal, had a stop over in Gabon, and requested that their plane be refueled and checked, for an engine malfunction. Apparently because Zambia was not a French speaking country, the checks done were haphazard, and as soon as the craft went up in the air, the same engine was at it again, and the Pilot panicked by switching off the functional engine, instead of the faulty one. Only a couple of these Stars, who were unable to join the squad survived it, as all including the entire crew, perished off the coast of Libraville.
Like I posited above, and borrowing from the postulation by Ahmed Gara Gombe on this same trajectory; to a neutral, Nigeria were the ones that opted not to play, because of a seeming immigration hiccup. Note that no Nigerian player was physically harmed or assaulted while the saga lasted. On the other hand, the Libyans had their own tale of woes, but endured and played the match. I have also been able to remind us that we may after all be overreacting to this issue, because we feel our ox is goared.
With the Algerian and Moroccan federations quickly lining up behind Maghareb brothers Libya, and Nigeria thinking they can have their cake and eat it; I do not pity CAF and its jury, at all. The odds are slightly in favour of the Libyans.
