COMPUTER SCIENCE
Former Super Eagles winger, Tijani Babangida tells Coach
Stephen Keshi to resort to wing play before his Eagles can fly again in
the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, reports JOHN EGBOKHAN. T
ijani Babangida is an household name to followers of Nigerian
football.. Born on September 25, 1973 in Kaduna, Babangida, who operated
for country and clubs as a winger, whose pace and style were often
compared to those of the great Dutch legend Marc Overmas caused
sleepless nights for most defenders.
Though he spent the vast part of club life with Dutch giants Ajax, Babangida was privileged to play in five different countries on three different continents. At club level, Babangida spent nine years in Holland, playing for VV Venlo, Roda JC and Ajax where he won the Dutch title plus a cup double with the latter side.
On the other side, he played over 30 games for the Super Eagles,
including four matches at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He also
featured in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and was part of the
historic team that won a soccer gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. At
a time, he lost his place in the squad right before the 2002 World Cup
jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan but that was a temporary setback
as he was later recalled by the country’s officials after a two-year
lay-off from international football,
But his return was later cut short as he finally called it quits with international football, a decision which he told Saturday Vanguard Sports raised fresh posers for him. “I must confess that my retirement was not easy because of the passion that I had for the game. Football is the only thing that I have been doing all my life and when the prospects of retirement came calling, I was adamant to call it quit because I did not know what to do outside football.
“Football is the only thing that I have known all my life. I started from the streets of Kaduna and rose to the heights in Ajax and saw fame and fortune come my way. I was idolized by fans and foes and It was just too good to see this dream coming to an end”, said Babangida, who went philosophical on how he solved the issue.
“I knew that my time was up and later accepted my fate. I did not know what to do at first with my life after retirement. It was a new life for me and after three years of thinking about the whole issue , I came back to Nigeria with a determination to use football as my launchpad to greatness again”,the former Ajax winger said.
On returning to the country in 2009, Babangida started his mission of rediscovery by venturing into the savannahs of the far north region to scout for raw football talents, which he planned to groom into the next stars of tomorrow. “After searching for what I could do, I came to the conclusion that football is the only option available to me.
It was this that forced me into setting up an academy in the north because of the talents that are there but are not spotted due to the over-concentration on talents in the southern part of the country. Because of my popularity in the north, it was not difficult for me to sell my idea to the Governor of Sokoto, Wamako, who gave me the mandate to go round the states to look for talents, who he promised to support to stardom.
DISCOVERY OF U-23 CAPTAIN
Relying on his sixth sense of knowing a talent from afar, the pacy winger told Saturday Vanguard Sports that he took his new-found job with the Sokoto government in 2010 to a new level when he met with then unknown Usman Mohammed during a hunting exercise in the far depths of the Caliphate State.
“One year after getting the mandate from Governor Wamako, I discovered Usman Mohammed during one of our camping exercises. He was not even in the camp but we spotted him after the exercise and I told myself that it would be a disservice not to have this boy in our academy. “We gave him his chance and the boy impressed us and we took him in. He was with him six months and today, he is a prospect in the league.
As a player of Taraba FC, he is the engine room of the team and on the national side of things, he is the captain of the U-23 team being coached by Samson Siasia. ‘Mohammed is one of the five best ball passers in the country. Today, all the top teams are pursuing Mohammed, forgetting that it took the efforts of people like us to spot him and turn him to what he is now.
“ I am like a father to him. I told his father to allow him to join us and promised to take care of him, but his father was worried about his education and I promised that I would ensure that he Mohammed wrote his WAEC exams, which he did and passed. I am with what we achieved with him because we met him when he was a very raw material and turned him to what he is now.
FIGHTING INSURGENCY WITH FOOTBALL
With the scourge of insurgency ravaging the northern part of the country yet to abate and youths still falling victims of Boka Haram, Babangida has fashioned out a new warfare to combat the problem that seems intractable. In a bold and novel move, Babangida has counseled the incoming Mohammadu Buhari administration to use football to fight insurgency.
He said by actively engaging impoverished youths in the north through football that insurgency will wane and die a natural death in record time.
“We must come out with bold and new ideas to solve the many problems that are troubling our society. We cannot just fold our hands and allow things to continue the way they are. The north is like an abandoned region. We have many talents in there who cannot be reached by scouts and governments. I am talking from experience because I have moved around the region and have seen serious poverty. But I have also seen good talents who can become stars if properly guided.
If you meet these boys and tell them that you believe in them, they will give their all to prove you right. The north is like an untapped region, waiting to blossom and the challenge for the next government is to engage these youths in football to fight insurgency, poverty and economic hardship.
“Because of the distance, the youths in the north are not as exposed as those in the south and they often fall prey to these militants but if we engage the youths before insurgents reach them, we will beat these insurgents. That is what the Governor of Sokoto State has done with football and that is why you did not hear of bombings in the state.
KESHI MUST RETURN TO THE WINGS
After meritoriously serving Nigeria to wide acclaim and scoring five goals in 36 appearances, Babangida is by every standard a real stakeholder, whose view on national issues should be respected. A fine winger in his days, he operated in the days when the Eagles were known for their strong wing plays, which was the character of the team on the continental and global stages.
Given the slump in the Eagles, Babanguda has advocated for the return to the wings. “The coach should not forget to return to the wings because that was what brought us glory. We have a lot of players who can play in the wings. I believe that if we can get good defenders and midfielders, we can use them in the wings.
‘Two of the midfielders can start from the centre of the midfield and change later to the wings when things are not working from the centre. But they have to be very pacy like myself and Amuneke. Teams are choking up the midfield and it is not going to work for us if we remain with that style. We have to return to our traditional style. Teams like Ajax, Barcelona and even Manchester |United are using the wings more often these days.
NO NATIONS CUP DANGER
With the qualifying race for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations starting next month, Babangida says that he is not expecting a dangerous time for Nigeria. “This time I don’t see any danger because we were not at the last tournament and are not the favourites. It is like a fresh start for us But Coach Stephen Keshi has to be helped because qualifying for the Nations Cup in Gabon would not be easy as we have Egypt in our group. And we cannot run down Chad just like that.
HOW KESHI MUST OPERATE
For Keshi to succeed, Babangida says “he must be open to former players, whose advise can be useful. I am in the league, I run Taraba FC and I know what goes on here and can offer something to Keshi. He must be be more around the league watching at least two games in a month
“He must not rely solely on what people tell him but go round to watch these games because those advising him on selection may be selfish at times. If keshi must succeed, he must listen to people who are in the league. Most of the players in the league are not playing, so he must be mindful of whom he is inviting to camp.
NIGERIAN LEAGUE
“What is happening now is 20 times better than what we had years ago. Imagine three referees were suspended the other day, something that was rare in the past. Teams go away and win matches. Imagine Enyimba falling at home to Giwa and Taraba FC going to Jos to play Giwa and we scored two goals from the penalty spot. These things are novel and it shows improvement in officiating, which is key in developing the game.
“Today, no team can beat their chest and say they would surely beat any team in our league again. The eyes of the world are gradually turning to our league “On the issue of funding and the problem of salaries owed players and coaches, the problem is that most of the clubs are run by governments, which have a lot of things in their hands and sometimes, take these clubs as secondary matter.
“The truth is that football cannot be a second choice. A short-term way out is for government to compel the big companies in its community to contribute 70 per cent to the funds for the clubs while the government pays 30 per cent. That will make for some stability and our players can smile again, pending when we have real sponsorship for clubs by big corporates”, added Babangida
Though he spent the vast part of club life with Dutch giants Ajax, Babangida was privileged to play in five different countries on three different continents. At club level, Babangida spent nine years in Holland, playing for VV Venlo, Roda JC and Ajax where he won the Dutch title plus a cup double with the latter side.
Tijani Babangida
But his return was later cut short as he finally called it quits with international football, a decision which he told Saturday Vanguard Sports raised fresh posers for him. “I must confess that my retirement was not easy because of the passion that I had for the game. Football is the only thing that I have been doing all my life and when the prospects of retirement came calling, I was adamant to call it quit because I did not know what to do outside football.
“Football is the only thing that I have known all my life. I started from the streets of Kaduna and rose to the heights in Ajax and saw fame and fortune come my way. I was idolized by fans and foes and It was just too good to see this dream coming to an end”, said Babangida, who went philosophical on how he solved the issue.
“I knew that my time was up and later accepted my fate. I did not know what to do at first with my life after retirement. It was a new life for me and after three years of thinking about the whole issue , I came back to Nigeria with a determination to use football as my launchpad to greatness again”,the former Ajax winger said.
On returning to the country in 2009, Babangida started his mission of rediscovery by venturing into the savannahs of the far north region to scout for raw football talents, which he planned to groom into the next stars of tomorrow. “After searching for what I could do, I came to the conclusion that football is the only option available to me.
It was this that forced me into setting up an academy in the north because of the talents that are there but are not spotted due to the over-concentration on talents in the southern part of the country. Because of my popularity in the north, it was not difficult for me to sell my idea to the Governor of Sokoto, Wamako, who gave me the mandate to go round the states to look for talents, who he promised to support to stardom.
DISCOVERY OF U-23 CAPTAIN
Relying on his sixth sense of knowing a talent from afar, the pacy winger told Saturday Vanguard Sports that he took his new-found job with the Sokoto government in 2010 to a new level when he met with then unknown Usman Mohammed during a hunting exercise in the far depths of the Caliphate State.
“One year after getting the mandate from Governor Wamako, I discovered Usman Mohammed during one of our camping exercises. He was not even in the camp but we spotted him after the exercise and I told myself that it would be a disservice not to have this boy in our academy. “We gave him his chance and the boy impressed us and we took him in. He was with him six months and today, he is a prospect in the league.
As a player of Taraba FC, he is the engine room of the team and on the national side of things, he is the captain of the U-23 team being coached by Samson Siasia. ‘Mohammed is one of the five best ball passers in the country. Today, all the top teams are pursuing Mohammed, forgetting that it took the efforts of people like us to spot him and turn him to what he is now.
“ I am like a father to him. I told his father to allow him to join us and promised to take care of him, but his father was worried about his education and I promised that I would ensure that he Mohammed wrote his WAEC exams, which he did and passed. I am with what we achieved with him because we met him when he was a very raw material and turned him to what he is now.
Tijani Babangida
With the scourge of insurgency ravaging the northern part of the country yet to abate and youths still falling victims of Boka Haram, Babangida has fashioned out a new warfare to combat the problem that seems intractable. In a bold and novel move, Babangida has counseled the incoming Mohammadu Buhari administration to use football to fight insurgency.
He said by actively engaging impoverished youths in the north through football that insurgency will wane and die a natural death in record time.
“We must come out with bold and new ideas to solve the many problems that are troubling our society. We cannot just fold our hands and allow things to continue the way they are. The north is like an abandoned region. We have many talents in there who cannot be reached by scouts and governments. I am talking from experience because I have moved around the region and have seen serious poverty. But I have also seen good talents who can become stars if properly guided.
If you meet these boys and tell them that you believe in them, they will give their all to prove you right. The north is like an untapped region, waiting to blossom and the challenge for the next government is to engage these youths in football to fight insurgency, poverty and economic hardship.
“Because of the distance, the youths in the north are not as exposed as those in the south and they often fall prey to these militants but if we engage the youths before insurgents reach them, we will beat these insurgents. That is what the Governor of Sokoto State has done with football and that is why you did not hear of bombings in the state.
KESHI MUST RETURN TO THE WINGS
After meritoriously serving Nigeria to wide acclaim and scoring five goals in 36 appearances, Babangida is by every standard a real stakeholder, whose view on national issues should be respected. A fine winger in his days, he operated in the days when the Eagles were known for their strong wing plays, which was the character of the team on the continental and global stages.
Given the slump in the Eagles, Babanguda has advocated for the return to the wings. “The coach should not forget to return to the wings because that was what brought us glory. We have a lot of players who can play in the wings. I believe that if we can get good defenders and midfielders, we can use them in the wings.
‘Two of the midfielders can start from the centre of the midfield and change later to the wings when things are not working from the centre. But they have to be very pacy like myself and Amuneke. Teams are choking up the midfield and it is not going to work for us if we remain with that style. We have to return to our traditional style. Teams like Ajax, Barcelona and even Manchester |United are using the wings more often these days.
NO NATIONS CUP DANGER
With the qualifying race for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations starting next month, Babangida says that he is not expecting a dangerous time for Nigeria. “This time I don’t see any danger because we were not at the last tournament and are not the favourites. It is like a fresh start for us But Coach Stephen Keshi has to be helped because qualifying for the Nations Cup in Gabon would not be easy as we have Egypt in our group. And we cannot run down Chad just like that.
HOW KESHI MUST OPERATE
For Keshi to succeed, Babangida says “he must be open to former players, whose advise can be useful. I am in the league, I run Taraba FC and I know what goes on here and can offer something to Keshi. He must be be more around the league watching at least two games in a month
“He must not rely solely on what people tell him but go round to watch these games because those advising him on selection may be selfish at times. If keshi must succeed, he must listen to people who are in the league. Most of the players in the league are not playing, so he must be mindful of whom he is inviting to camp.
NIGERIAN LEAGUE
“What is happening now is 20 times better than what we had years ago. Imagine three referees were suspended the other day, something that was rare in the past. Teams go away and win matches. Imagine Enyimba falling at home to Giwa and Taraba FC going to Jos to play Giwa and we scored two goals from the penalty spot. These things are novel and it shows improvement in officiating, which is key in developing the game.
“Today, no team can beat their chest and say they would surely beat any team in our league again. The eyes of the world are gradually turning to our league “On the issue of funding and the problem of salaries owed players and coaches, the problem is that most of the clubs are run by governments, which have a lot of things in their hands and sometimes, take these clubs as secondary matter.
“The truth is that football cannot be a second choice. A short-term way out is for government to compel the big companies in its community to contribute 70 per cent to the funds for the clubs while the government pays 30 per cent. That will make for some stability and our players can smile again, pending when we have real sponsorship for clubs by big corporates”, added Babangida
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