THE MANY BATTLES OF STEPHEN KESHI

Chibuike Chukwu writes:

Lagos – The world woke up Wednesday to the shattering news of the death of Nigeria’s prince charming of classical football, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi. The horrific Wednesday brought out the larger than life personality of the football icon.

He was no doubt great in his life, but the blaze of consternation and grief that greeted his demise showed that he was even greater in death. Just as the legendary master of classics Williams Shakespeare wrote, “When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes…,”

Shakespeare probably saw into the future of such days as Wednesday June 8, 2016 when icons like Keshi will exit the stage of human community.

It was the day Stephen Okechukwu Keshi lost his last battle in life; from that day, Keshi would not stand again to tell players what to do in order to win a football match. From that fateful Wednesday, Keshi would not be able to say, “They can’t take my life, they can only take their job.” His search for a coaching job has come to an end. He now belongs to the past. That is the inevitability of life.

What the country has witnessed in the last 72 hours since the news of his death hit the airwaves has proven true the cliché that, “The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

Keshi became a ‘prince’ that the world is eulogising today simply because of the many battles he fought, and these fights were hinged on the principles he believed in.
The divide, which one belongs determines how one sees Keshi. To some, he was a troublemaker, to others a trailblazer. However, all will remember him as a legend.

David Mark, former Senate President, said of Keshi, “He was forthright and outspoken. He was steadfast. He never compromised his position especially on professionalism no matter whose ox was gored. Keshi was to African football what Mohammed Ali was to the Boxing world.

The first of his many battles was when he was slammed with a ban from playing football in the country along with four of his colleagues – Henry Nwosu (MON), Clement Temile, Sunday Eboigbe and Bright Omokaro – at the defunct New Nigeria Bank of Benin (NNB).

Though the plan to play professional football was already in the pipeline, the ban hastened the process. He left for Cote d’ Ivoire and in 1985 joined Stade d’Abidjan Football Club before joining another Ivorien side, Africa Sports a year later.

Chief James Onanefe Ibori, former Delta State governor, corroborating the fact that Keshi was a trailblazer, said, “let it never be forgotten that it was after Keshi, as New Nigerian Bank Football Club captain and national team player was slammed with a ban that he left Nigerian shores – and opened the floodgates for others to follow him into professionalism in other African countries and Europe.

Thus, whatever good has happened to Nigerian football because of any influence from our having numerous footballers performing in the world’s best football leagues, should be credited to Keshi. Most of all, he remained a mentor to both his mates and those that followed behind them.”

While the others returned about two months later when the ban was lifted, Keshi decided to stay back. He kept low when he returned initially, but as time goes on, he was accused of running the team.

This was as a result of his overriding influence on the team, the coaches inclusive. In fact, in 1990, while playing in Europe, Keshi was alleged to have requested for a jet that would fly him to and from Belgium and Algeria if the nation wanted his services. That was turned down, with Andrew Uwe called later as his replacement. Many would have lost their place in the team, but he was able to fight his way back with his captain band intact.

As captain, he was not only accused of influencing the team line-up, but also masterminding the exclusion of Chidi Nwanu from the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994.

Nwanu, a defender, then with RSC Anderlecht of Belgium, was one of Nigeria’s best performers in Europe and was touted to pair Austin Eguaveon in the team’s central defence. His exclusion was a major shock, with the media accusing Keshi of being the brain behind it.

His last battle as a player was at the 1994 World Cup in USA. Because his influencing on the field was waning, he has to fight the coach into playing the last group match against Greece, which Nigeria won 2-0. Not satisfied playing just a game, he did all within his powers to play against Italy in the second round encounter. There was crisis in the team with Keshi alleged to be brain behind it all. He was even quoted as telling Coach Clemence Westerhof then that you don’t change a winning team.

He retired from the team after Nigeria exited the World Cup following a 1-0 loss To Italy.
After securing his coaching certificate, he had a brief stint with the Flying Eagles. He then assisted Jo Bonfrere in coaching Super Eagles to the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations, where the team lost the title to Cameroon 5-4 on penalties. He also assisted Shaibu Amodu in 2002. Despite qualifying the team for the 2002 World Cup, he and Amodu were sacked after the team won bronze at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali.

His coaching career blossomed when he qualified Togo for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a tournament Nigeria failed to qualify.
Despite berthing Togo in its first ever World Cup, he was sacked with another coach asked to lead the team to Germany. And the reason was his burst up with Seyi Adebayor, Togo’s biggest player. The team’s poor performance at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt did not also helped matters.

The row with the star player did not go down well with some Togo officials. The row, according to the player, was because Keshi demanded to be his agent.
“Keshi told me that he had a good club for me. When he says this, it means that he wants to be my agent.

“I was not ready to accept this. A coach should be a coach,” Adebayor alleged, but Keshi denied it.
His next port of call was Mali in 2008. His mandate was a top four finish at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and a berth in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Mali performed abysmally poor, failing to go beyond the first round. He also failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Keshi was also accused of not managing some of the players and backroom staff very well, as he also failed to guide Mali to the 2010 Mundial in South Africa.

His dream of coaching the Super Eagles materialised in 2011, after Samson Siasia was sacked for failing to qualify the team for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. His mandate was to reach the Nations Cup semis and a World Cup berth. He surpassed his first mandate, winning the trophy in his maiden appearance as a coach in South Africa in 2013.

He caused a major stir a day after the success in South Africa, when he resigned as Super Eagles coach on the premise of undue interference from the officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). It took the intervention of then President Goodluck Jonathan for him to rescind his decision. From there, there was no love lost between him and the top hierarchy of the NFF.
Reports have it that contacts with some foreign coaches, ostensibly to replace him had been made. The marriage between Keshi and NFF became a marriage of convenience. His relationship with top players such as Joseph Yobo, Osaze Odemwingie, Ike Uche and many others was at its lowest ebb. While he reluctantly recalled Yobo and Odemwingie, he refused to recall Ike Uche, despite Uche been Nigeria’s hottest striker in the world in 2014, scoring 14 La Liga goals.

As a result of the leadership crisis that engulfed the NFF, Keshi’s fate hanged in the balance. Despite the refusal of Aminu Maigari-led NFF board to renew his contract, the then Sports Minister, Tamino Danagogo, hired Keshi to handle the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. When the coach was eventually sacked by the Amaju Pinnick-led board, the intervention of Jonathan stalled the action.

Reluctantly, Keshi’s contract that expired the day Super Eagles crashed out of the World Cup in Brazil was renewed.
With Jonathan out of the Aso Rock, it was a matter of time before Keshi was shoved aside. And the opportunity presented itself when he was accused of applying for Cote d’ Ivoire job, after failing to qualify the team for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. His romance with Nigerian football as coach ended in July 2015.

However, after his wife of 35 years, Kate, passed on in December 2015, Keshi seemed to have resigned to fate even as the football fraternity did little to help him out of his despire. And on Wednesday June 8, 2016, Keshi bid the world bye.

Independent newspaper.