Cybereagles

A friend of mine was reminiscenting on one of the popular figures that made Nigerian football interesting in the 80,, the person of late Prof. Sam Akpabot, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and also a sports columnist with the Nigerian Tribune. No one knew where or when this started from,but suddenly our prof came out professing to be a football oracle, one with the powers not only to predict the outcome of games but also one with the powers to influence its outcome.

On many occassion when Shooting stars of Ibadan are playing at home and are struggling to score, the self proclaimed oracle of Ibadan would go and position himself behind the visiting team's post, and he would even be seen with outstretched hands to the heavens praying for goals to rain down.

Talking about the legend that is Prof Akpabot, i remember my time as a player with Shooting stars of Ibadan. It was 89 season, the team was struggling badly in the league and relegation stared us in the face.

Typical of naija environment, all manner of measures to escape relegation was deployed. On the eve of our match to Rangers of Enugu at home, we brought in a so called spiritualist to pray for the team while in our camp. Well the man on top of the prayers instructed us that none of us dressed to play should speak to anyone from the time we enter the dressing, nor should we shake hands with anybody...una see me see trouble so!

The next day we filed into the dressing room like people attending a mourning procession,as we waited to be called in for the pre-match formalities, the prof aka the Oracle of Ibadan breezed into our dressing room. He announced to all that God has granted him special favors for the match, all we needed to do was shake his hands. So he proceeded to try to shake hands with the players, he stretched his hand to the first player, it was ignored, the second it was ignored, the third same thing....as he was approaching me i started trembling.

You see as an omoluabi i was not brought up to be rude to an elder, there was nothing in me that would make me to blatantly refuse an outstretched hand, especially one from a legend like the Oracle....what do i do?...Yepa mo daran!
As he approached the player sitting next to me, i quickly got up from my seat and made a hasty exit for the toilet...abeg i nor wan offend anyone, especially a whole oracle!

And who won the match?

mcal wrote:
And who won the match?

Because we did not shake his hands the matche ended 1-1, it took us 20mins Fergie time to equalise

K'oju ma ribi...

YemiBrazil wrote: K'oju ma ribi...

Ese lo gun e oh Yemi!

The problem here was that we had a Chairman in the late Pa Ogunshina who believed in all these spiritualist, and all those who brought him needed was a scapegoat to say .see baba omo buruku yen ...is the reason why the prayers did not work! I was sure i will shake his hands...so i had to exit the dressing room masa masa!

No mind Prof Akpabot and his antics...

He was always doing theatrics behind the goal-posts during important games, as if he was affecting the outcome of such games.

During Iwuanyanwu Nationale's perennial Continental sojourns in the late 80's, Akpabot's frequent theatrics at Dan Anyiam Stadium was comic relief from tension.

Professor Samuel Ekpe Akpabot! A true legend of Nigerian football. We were on the same flight that brought officials, Supporters Club and journalists to the 1994 World Cup match against Bulgaria in Dallas. Very educative discussions that I had with him. He used his larger-than-life personality to literally prevent US Immigration from being unduly intrusive when we landed. His presence definitely ensured we had a great outing in the World Cup.

oloye wrote:A friend of mine was reminiscenting on one of the popular figures that made Nigerian football interesting in the 80,, the person of late Prof. Sam Akpabot, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and also a sports columnist with the Nigerian Tribune. No one knew where or when this started from,but suddenly our prof came out professing to be a football oracle, one with the powers not only to predict the outcome of games but also one with the powers to influence its outcome.

On many occassion when Shooting stars of Ibadan are playing at home and are struggling to score, the self proclaimed oracle of Ibadan would go and position himself behind the visiting team's post, and he would even be seen with outstretched hands to the heavens praying for goals to rain down.

Talking about the legend that is Prof Akpabot, i remember my time as a player with Shooting stars of Ibadan. It was 89 season, the team was struggling badly in the league and relegation stared us in the face.

Typical of naija environment, all manner of measures to escape relegation was deployed. On the eve of our match to Rangers of Enugu at home, we brought in a so called spiritualist to pray for the team while in our camp. Well the man on top of the prayers instructed us that none of us dressed to play should speak to anyone from the time we enter the dressing, nor should we shake hands with anybody...una see me see trouble so!

The next day we filed into the dressing room like people attending a mourning procession,as we waited to be called in for the pre-match formalities, the prof aka the Oracle of Ibadan breezed into our dressing room. He announced to all that God has granted him special favors for the match, all we needed to do was shake his hands. So he proceeded to try to shake hands with the players, he stretched his hand to the first player, it was ignored, the second it was ignored, the third same thing....as he was approaching me i started trembling.

You see as an omoluabi i was not brought up to be rude to an elder, there was nothing in me that would make me to blatantly refuse an outstretched hand, especially one from a legend like the Oracle....what do i do?...Yepa mo daran!
As he approached the player sitting next to me, i quickly got up from my seat and made a hasty exit for the toilet...abeg i nor wan offend anyone, especially a whole oracle!

Oloye,

You go kill person o!

oloye wrote:

mcal wrote:
And who won the match?

Because we did not shake his hands the matche ended 1-1, it took us 20mins Fergie time to equalise

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAaaaaaaaa

chendosplastic wrote:

oloye wrote:

mcal wrote:
And who won the match?

Because we did not shake his hands the matche ended 1-1, it took us 20mins Fergie time to equalise

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAaaaaaaaa

The fans simply told the ref..he wont leave the stadium alive if we lose, the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Feel free to argue even if you do not know the details. But before you do try to find out how selection of officials for matches can be influenced, dont just disagree because you want to, do so because you have your facts.

The same sec-gen did us a favor when we needed a ref to bail us out. Some of us did not just play in the naija system, we were privileged also to see how things work in the background.

Trust me on this ref, we all knew why he showed up in Ibadan and he did a damn good job ensuring Rangers did not lose !

I am a Rangers fan oooh ...so it is not the case of bias against Rangers. One day i will write a book on match officiating in Naija footy.

Yes he could have sent someone from Sokoto sef, but in this case it was an igbo man living in Lagos that he sent. This is not an anti-igbo tirade. When we went to play ACB in Lagos, our officials ran to sec-gen pleading that in the name of brotherhood, Rangers and Shooting going way back, he should do everything to help. He asked us to provide a ref favorable to our cause, we did, a yoruba man. The first thing we noticed (actually i raised the alarm), he was wearing a brand new boot, same brand the ACB players had...we knew he had dealt both ways!

He did a damn good job pleasing both teams, the game ended 0-0, but in the dying minutes of the game a skirmish happened around our box, there waa nothing worth blowing a foul for never mind a penalty, but he blew a penalty alright, one of our players booted the ball out in anger, another one Yidi ran to the ref and screemed right in his face....e be like say you don forget say you collect from us too.... It worked, the man changed his mind and awarded a goal kick to us.

oloye wrote:A friend of mine was reminiscenting on one of the popular figures that made Nigerian football interesting in the 80,, the person of late Prof. Sam Akpabot, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and also a sports columnist with the Nigerian Tribune. No one knew where or when this started from,but suddenly our prof came out professing to be a football oracle, one with the powers not only to predict the outcome of games but also one with the powers to influence its outcome.

On many occassion when Shooting stars of Ibadan are playing at home and are struggling to score, the self proclaimed oracle of Ibadan would go and position himself behind the visiting team's post, and he would even be seen with outstretched hands to the heavens praying for goals to rain down.

Talking about the legend that is Prof Akpabot, i remember my time as a player with Shooting stars of Ibadan. It was 89 season, the team was struggling badly in the league and relegation stared us in the face.

Typical of naija environment, all manner of measures to escape relegation was deployed. On the eve of our match to Rangers of Enugu at home, we brought in a so called spiritualist to pray for the team while in our camp. Well the man on top of the prayers instructed us that none of us dressed to play should speak to anyone from the time we enter the dressing, nor should we shake hands with anybody...una see me see trouble so!

The next day we filed into the dressing room like people attending a mourning procession,as we waited to be called in for the pre-match formalities, the prof aka the Oracle of Ibadan breezed into our dressing room. He announced to all that God has granted him special favors for the match, all we needed to do was shake his hands. So he proceeded to try to shake hands with the players, he stretched his hand to the first player, it was ignored, the second it was ignored, the third same thing....as he was approaching me i started trembling.

You see as an omoluabi i was not brought up to be rude to an elder, there was nothing in me that would make me to blatantly refuse an outstretched hand, especially one from a legend like the Oracle....what do i do?...Yepa mo daran!
As he approached the player sitting next to me, i quickly got up from my seat and made a hasty exit for the toilet...abeg i nor wan offend anyone, especially a whole oracle!

Dean, God bless you... love your stories.

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Very true!

Some of them are closer to you thank u know....

But I shall say no more!

txj wrote:

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Very true!

Some of them are closer to you thank u know....

But I shall say no more!

I know one on this site.....him bad belle for Rangers goes way way back to the days when Vasco was serving as feeders for Rangers

oloye wrote:

txj wrote:

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Very true!

Some of them are closer to you thank u know....

But I shall say no more!

I know one on this site.....him bad belle for Rangers goes way way back to the days when Vasco was serving as feeders for Rangers

Oloye,

I don't recall Vasco as a feeder team for Rangers o!!! Make una no reconstruct history. The truth is that Vasco suffered under an oppressive sports administration in the state and eventual death in the hands of the state machine has adversely impacted Rangers since then.

Enugu II wrote:

oloye wrote:

txj wrote:

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Very true!

Some of them are closer to you thank u know....


But I shall say no more!

I know one on this site.....him bad belle for Rangers goes way way back to the days when Vasco was serving as feeders for Rangers

Oloye,

I don't recall Vasco as a feeder team for Rangers o!!! Make una no reconstruct history. The truth is that Vasco suffered under an oppression sports administration in the state and the eventual death in the hands of the state machine has adversely impacted Rangers since then.

Txj see wetin u don cause

Anyways when wife no wan do wetin dem marry am for, na to send am back go her papa house. Vasco was meant to be a feeder and only a feeder to the great Rangers of Enugu.

oloye wrote:

Enugu II wrote:

oloye wrote:

txj wrote:

Aswani wrote:

oloye wrote: the ref was an igbo man living in Lagos, he was sent to ref in ibadan to protect Rangers interest by the sec gen then a certain Achebe i think, a die hard Rangers fan.

He said he wont give us any undue penalty, so we continued playing until we scored.

Sir, you know not all Igbo people support Rangers, in fact Spartans and Vasco supporters probably detested Rangers more than IICC fans did!

I am not sure I agree with your statement on this. He could have sent someone from Kwara state (based on some of your stories suggesting anti IICC feelings) to do the dirty deed.

Very true!

Some of them are closer to you thank u know....


But I shall say no more!

I know one on this site.....him bad belle for Rangers goes way way back to the days when Vasco was serving as feeders for Rangers

Oloye,

I don't recall Vasco as a feeder team for Rangers o!!! Make una no reconstruct history. The truth is that Vasco suffered under an oppression sports administration in the state and the eventual death in the hands of the state machine has adversely impacted Rangers since then.

Txj see wetin u don cause

Anyways when wife no wan do wetin dem marry am for, na to send am back go her papa house. Vasco was meant to be a feeder and only a feeder to the great Rangers of Enugu.

I don't think Vasco was a feeder team for Rangers,they do "steal" players from each other.
Just like IICC/3SC and Water Corporation in Ibadan
Stores and ECN/NEPA in Lagos etc.
They are/were rivals.

Kako wrote:I don't think Vasco was a feeder team for Rangers,they do "steal" players from each other.
Just like IICC/3SC and Water Corporation in Ibadan
Stores and ECN/NEPA in Lagos etc.
They are rivals.

Kako

No mind dem. People should recognize that Vasco survived and achieved under a hostile environment that was intensely oppressive. If Vasco had half the resources expended on Rangers then the old African Clubs Cup would have made Enugu home.

Enugu II wrote:

Kako wrote:I don't think Vasco was a feeder team for Rangers,they do "steal" players from each other.
Just like IICC/3SC and Water Corporation in Ibadan
Stores and ECN/NEPA in Lagos etc.
They are rivals.

Kako

No mind dem. People should recognize that Vasco survived and achieved under a hostile environment that was intensely oppressive. If Vasco had half the resources expended on Rangers then the old African Clubs Cup would have made Enugu home.

I agree just like Water Corporation in Ibadan. But that doesn't change the fact, Vasco na Rangers feeder team.

Cellular wrote:

oloye wrote:A friend of mine was reminiscenting on one of the popular figures that made Nigerian football interesting in the 80,, the person of late Prof. Sam Akpabot, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and also a sports columnist with the Nigerian Tribune. No one knew where or when this started from,but suddenly our prof came out professing to be a football oracle, one with the powers not only to predict the outcome of games but also one with the powers to influence its outcome.

On many occassion when Shooting stars of Ibadan are playing at home and are struggling to score, the self proclaimed oracle of Ibadan would go and position himself behind the visiting team's post, and he would even be seen with outstretched hands to the heavens praying for goals to rain down.

Talking about the legend that is Prof Akpabot, i remember my time as a player with Shooting stars of Ibadan. It was 89 season, the team was struggling badly in the league and relegation stared us in the face.

Typical of naija environment, all manner of measures to escape relegation was deployed. On the eve of our match to Rangers of Enugu at home, we brought in a so called spiritualist to pray for the team while in our camp. Well the man on top of the prayers instructed us that none of us dressed to play should speak to anyone from the time we enter the dressing, nor should we shake hands with anybody...una see me see trouble so!

The next day we filed into the dressing room like people attending a mourning procession,as we waited to be called in for the pre-match formalities, the prof aka the Oracle of Ibadan breezed into our dressing room. He announced to all that God has granted him special favors for the match, all we needed to do was shake his hands. So he proceeded to try to shake hands with the players, he stretched his hand to the first player, it was ignored, the second it was ignored, the third same thing....as he was approaching me i started trembling.

You see as an omoluabi i was not brought up to be rude to an elder, there was nothing in me that would make me to blatantly refuse an outstretched hand, especially one from a legend like the Oracle....what do i do?...Yepa mo daran!
As he approached the player sitting next to me, i quickly got up from my seat and made a hasty exit for the toilet...abeg i nor wan offend anyone, especially a whole oracle!

Dean, God bless you... love your stories.

Wasn't Prof Sam Akpabot a musician as well?

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:

Cellular wrote:

oloye wrote:A friend of mine was reminiscenting on one of the popular figures that made Nigerian football interesting in the 80,, the person of late Prof. Sam Akpabot, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan and also a sports columnist with the Nigerian Tribune. No one knew where or when this started from,but suddenly our prof came out professing to be a football oracle, one with the powers not only to predict the outcome of games but also one with the powers to influence its outcome.

On many occassion when Shooting stars of Ibadan are playing at home and are struggling to score, the self proclaimed oracle of Ibadan would go and position himself behind the visiting team's post, and he would even be seen with outstretched hands to the heavens praying for goals to rain down.

Talking about the legend that is Prof Akpabot, i remember my time as a player with Shooting stars of Ibadan. It was 89 season, the team was struggling badly in the league and relegation stared us in the face.

Typical of naija environment, all manner of measures to escape relegation was deployed. On the eve of our match to Rangers of Enugu at home, we brought in a so called spiritualist to pray for the team while in our camp. Well the man on top of the prayers instructed us that none of us dressed to play should speak to anyone from the time we enter the dressing, nor should we shake hands with anybody...una see me see trouble so!

The next day we filed into the dressing room like people attending a mourning procession,as we waited to be called in for the pre-match formalities, the prof aka the Oracle of Ibadan breezed into our dressing room. He announced to all that God has granted him special favors for the match, all we needed to do was shake his hands. So he proceeded to try to shake hands with the players, he stretched his hand to the first player, it was ignored, the second it was ignored, the third same thing....as he was approaching me i started trembling.

You see as an omoluabi i was not brought up to be rude to an elder, there was nothing in me that would make me to blatantly refuse an outstretched hand, especially one from a legend like the Oracle....what do i do?...Yepa mo daran!
As he approached the player sitting next to me, i quickly got up from my seat and made a hasty exit for the toilet...abeg i nor wan offend anyone, especially a whole oracle!

Dean, God bless you... love your stories.

Wasn't Prof Sam Akpabot a musician as well?

Yes he was a musician also.