Though the weather advisory for Lagos on Saturday, August 12, 1989, suggested a hot sticky day many a Nigerian soccer fan would soon remember it as cold, grey and unforgiving. And who could blame them?
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First of all came the unfortunate sequence of events off the field. Recently refurbished and still basking in a fresh coat of paint The National Stadium was being tested for the first time in its new FIFA approved version which had 20,000 less seats - something that seemed to have slipped by the phalanx of host officials.
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Shame !
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I say this because despite being dressed up as merrily as a communal hut during a new yam festival, these much smaller specs as now handed down from Zurich were simply ignored and crucial safety devices like stop watches and individual counters were discarded for folded Naira notes by the legendary corrupt security men bent on maximizin every square inch of the stadium.
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It was business as usual. Soon of course a bottleneck would rear its ugly head, tear gas would be unimaginably released and the unavoidable would happen and just like a stampede of mad cows at least 7 fans would be killed on a day that their only crime was to come and glorify Nigerian football/ Meanwhile on the field below things did not look any brighter.
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Sure the game may have been an important World Cup qualifier for Italy 90 but no one seemed to have told either team. Despite a shocking 2-1 defeat to minnows Gabon just weeks earlier in June, the Eagles seemed clueless as to the ferocity with which arch rivals Cameroon were eyeing that same solitary Group C seat.
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And it would cost them dearly.
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As usual Nigeria had promised everybody James Bond but was now delivering Amitabh Bachchan.
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Sure the choreographed footsteps may have looked nice and intercoursey but they lacked the substance of anything serious and making matters worse, the Angolans were not cooperating with the sub titles they were supposed to provide.
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Instead of being willing participants to a beautiful game, they were hawkish brutes who made it seem like fouls earned them extra Kwanzas at home.I mean if you can find a better excuse for the 9 cards issued within just 90 minutes - then please tell me.
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Nigeria's game was unimaginative, plain, tasteless, bland or simply put just plain dull. Her attack wilted over and over and soon the fans started to fume over the crimes committed both by Stadium Management against them in the stands and the ones on the field by the Eagles, not knowing that a bigger one – soon to rob them of their brightest ray - was just looming around the corner
All I know is Nigeria has improved effectively when it comes to football in Africa. We hope they qualify for the World Cup so we'll see what they can do.