I'm a die-hard fan of the Nigeria Super Eagles (this name is associated with the male players which represents us at the national level proper). I am and I'll always be. One of my proudest moments occasioned with intense feeling of euphoria came memorably on the 1st of September 2017 when we thrashed the Cameroonians four goals to nil. This was near extraordinary to football loving Nigerians based on the well known fact that the Eagles hardly win, let alone by a flattery scoreline as such. (This was very much case before Gernot Rohr - the gaffer - came on board).
I had enthusiastically hurried back for the internet to read follow-up comments on how well our national team players performed. You could see different kinds and varieties of comments - the optimistic - believed the Eagles have been syringed back to life, that its only a matter of time before our dearest Super Eagles are back to the pinnacle of World football. The pessimistic, on the other hand - laughed it off; choosing to believe it's merely a one-off. 'Is it not the Super Eagles? Forget..., they'll be back to their usual escapades in no time!' one of those comments read. I enjoyed them, smiling and laughing intermediately as I read through as many comments as I could. Just when I was about calling it a day on the internet, I stumbled on one irritating comment - so irrelevant. Here, this bloke chose to forget about the players, the coach and virtually everything that had happened on the field of play and instead dwelt on something that is of no use and has no place whatsoever in the game - ETHNICITY! You could see his feeble and desperate attempt to outline all twenty-three Eagles in camp with their corresponding ethnic groupings. And from what he came up with conclusively, one could see that the bulk of these #SS players were Igbo oriented. Brazenly, he finalised 'up Biafra'! What a shame that was. Absolutely tragic. Only a sicko - retards would think of something like ethnicity in such a joyous and fun-filled moment like we had!
But at a second look at it, one could see the point he was trying to stress. The 'Biafrans' (Igbos) do actually make and/or take the largest fraction in the Eagles squad. But why is this so. Why do one group of people have to overly populate the national team far afield and near absolute subjugation of other groupings? Paul Adujie had this to say on the same subject in his article 'Federal Character and Quota System in Nigeria' that
"...it is important, particularly, in a plural society such as Nigeria, that all citizens feel a sense of equal voice, equal representation and equal participation. No citizen or group of citizens should feel marginalized" In other words, no one group of homogeneous people anywhere is intrinsically more capable than another and as such, in a multic-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual state as Nigeria's, equal chance and opportunity should be the watchword.
Our national team deserves the best out there and therefore to ensure we have nothing short of that - the administrative bodies should do away with favouritism and preferential treatment that defies every sense of rationality. This is even more conspicuous in our political sphere and the society at large where such is the order of the day.
Every nook and cranny of this country should be combed thoroughly in search of raw talents - not ethnically a selective few. Our diversities is a blessing and should be properly engaged and made use of. Football competitions should organised from the grass roots levels where talents are collected, groomed and showcased to the world.
In whatever disguise it comes, let us arise and say 'No' to quota system in football and the Nigerian state at large.
#Selah
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