Towards the 1993 general election in Nigeria, one of the candidates in the presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola used the above title as his campaign slogan.
Today I use it, not for a political campaign but for the round of 16 football battle the Super Eagles would be going into at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.
Why did I use this title? It is because of the controversy stirred up by the reported prophecy of Primate Elijah Ayodele concerning one of the Super Eagles players, Ademola Lookman.
The man who could be described as a prophet of doom, was reported to have advised the coach of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle never to use the player otherwise they will not do well, or better put, win.
A lacuna was left in the so-called prophecy, I believe, so that the prophet could wriggle out in case it falls flat on his face.
What I know prophets like Primate Ayodele do is that, they give an advice on what to do to avert such negative prophecies.
In the case of Lookman, it was like a finality. He never offered a solution to avoid the failure of the Super Eagles from occurring. He was too sure that Lookman was a bad omen, maybe from what he saw in his crystal ball. Nigerians never reacted. The NFF, Chelle and Lookman himself took it with a pinch of salt.
The Bible says in Job 22:29 that “When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up”. I don’t know how religious or spiritual Lookman is, but I guess he trusted in his abilities to play football and must have left his fate at the AFCON in the hands of God.
I don’t know why Primate Ayodele picked on Lookman. But God being on Lookman’s side has lifted him despite the casting down.
If Chelle was a believer in prophecy or one who consults oracles before going to a football battle, he may have dropped Lookman.
I said earlier that the prophet left a lacuna he could wriggle out from. He wasn’t specific at what stage the Super Eagles would fail if Lookman was fielded.
T h a t i s w h y h e h a s f o u n d a w a y t o say his prophecy was misunderstood.
According to him, “the prophecy was a warning, and what I said was that Lookman will not help the team in the tournament, not exactly the match against Tanzania.”
To buttress his stand, he added that “this is just the beginning of the (competition). We have just started the game and played only one match already; we should all wait before attacking the prophecy. One game cannot judge our performance in the tournament.”
And then the clincher for him now is this: “It would be my greatest joy if the Nigerian team wins, but that can only happen if they listen to advice. I have always rooted for the Nigerian team and this is why my prophecies about them always come up. I want them to lift the trophy and come back home victorious, but it will only happen if my advice is listened to.”
If Lookman would be the problem of the team at the AFCON, would he have given two assists and scored two of the eight goals the Super Eagles have recorded so far in the competition?
If the former African player of the year winner wasn’t rested in the last group match against Uganda, maybe he would have also contributed to the defeat of the Cranes.
Prophets should not drag God into football matters. The God of Soccer people talk about is not the Almighty God but the little gods they consult believing it will help them.
The Almighty God is not a partial God. He has given everyone, including footballers and coaches, talents. It is left for them to use it. God will never support one team against the other.
That is why Nigerians have reacted to the prophecy, telling Primate Ayodele to face his calling and stop meddling with football. One of such Nigerians is Jimada Gan who wrote, “The pitch doesn’t recognise prophecies, only goals — and Lookman answered with one.”
The prophecy hasn’t affected Lookman. His performance so far has earned him a place in the AFCON X1 team after the group stage, the only Nigerian player for that matter.
After a hundred percent record in the group stage like Algeria, the Super Eagles are on the march again as the knockout stage began yesterday. They will take their turn against Mozambique tomorrow in an attempt to pick the quarter-finals ticket.
Chelle and his wards are already plotting strategies on how to handle the Mambas of Mozambique who have never beaten the Super Eagles.
Between 1999 and 2023, both teams have met six times with Nigeria beating them five times and drawing only once, with 12 goals for the Super Eagles and only four for the Mambas.
So going into tomorrow’s game, the Super Eagles have a better head to heads record and may triumph again, all things being equal.
However, they must not bank on past records because no two matches are the same. Like Nigerians say in local parlance, I get am before no be property.
That is why the team’s former captain, Sunday Oliseh has warned them to beware of the Mambas, who like the snake they are named after, could sting them when they least expect. That time Primate Ayodele will laugh last and say he warned them against playing Lookman.
He will not remember that Lookman played the first two games against Tanzania and Tunisian and contributed immensely to the victories. From SportsGuard therefore, it is goodluck to the Super Eagles.
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