When former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Adams Aliyu Eric Oshiomhole, assumed office as governor of Edo State in November 2008, players and officials of Bendel Insurance Football Club celebrated late into the night. To them, the days of playing football without pay was over. But recent happenings in the club seem to be telling a different story, writes GOWON AKPODONOR.LAST week, football loving Nigerians were taken aback when players of the once indomitable Bendel Insurance Football Club took to the streets of Benin City protesting what they termed lip service by the Adams Oshiomhole-led government.Among other things, the players alleged that the government was owing them seven months salaries, as well as sign-on fees and backlog of match bonuses. In addition, the angry players, who held the workers at the state sports ministry hostage for several hours, protested what the team captain described as general lack of care from the government.Displaying various placards during the protest, the players chanted, We want our money, commissioner must go, pay us our match bonuses.The message from the players is clear: They are their families breadwinners and they are tired of unfulfilled promises by the government. To them, crying aloud through the protest was the only way to get the governments attention to their plight.To many football analysts, the protest was a bad signal from a state governed by Oshiomhole, who is a crusader of good welfare package for workers.Before the early 1970s, Bendel insurance FC (formerly Benin Vipers) existed with other football clubs in the Midwest, including the Ika Rangers (later Asabatex), Warri Wolves (Midwest Line) and Ethiope FC (later New Nigeria Bank, NNB).A re-organisation by the then governor of the Mid-Western region, Samuel Ogbemudia, saw the four teams up-graded to state owned companies and Benin Vipers was taken over by Bendel Insurance Company Limited.For ardent football followers in the then Mid-West, later Bendel and now Edo State, Insurance FC is an institution that must not be allowed to die. To them, Insurance FC is like Arsenal or Chelsea of England because the club has lived up to the aspiration of its supporters, winning many laurels, including the 1972 Challenge Cup, which was played outside Lagos for the first time, as well as the 1978 edition, beating Enugu Rangers 3-0 in the final.It also won the 1974 National League and represented Nigeria in the African Club of Champions Cup where it got to the final.Apart from winning laurels, the club was like a reservoir, where players were groomed for the national team. Such former national stars as Victor Oduah, Sebastian Broderick, Cyril Okosieme, Godwin Etemike, Peter Egharevba, late Felix Agbonifo, Sam Okpodu, Francis Monidafe, Rowland Ewere, David Adiele, goalkeeper Agwo Nnaji, Leotis Boateng, Isaac Semitoje, and Friday Elahor, are some of the players that came through the ranks of the Benin Arsenal to limelight.Then, the performance of Insurance was attributed to the fact that the players received good inceptives. But those are distant memories. The current players have never had it any good in the past five years.At a point, Bendel Insurance was one of the two old generation clubs never to be relegated in Nigerian league football, the other being Rangers of Enugu. But all that is now history, as poor welfare package forced Insurance into relegation about four years ago.Observers are worried that if the present condition continues, the club may find it difficult to return to the elite division. The Benin Arsenal is currently in the 14th position on the pro-league Division One table.Before the players took to the streets last week, the teams chief coach, Godwin Izilien, had allegedly staged a one-man protest to the government house demanding payment of his two years salary arrears, sign-on fees and other dues.According to Izilien, a former coach of the Golden Eaglets and Super Falcons, he was engaged as chief coach of Insurance FC for the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons, and was placed on N250, 000 monthly salary, with sing-on fees of N11 million for the two seasons. That was outside match bonuses.He told The Guardian in a chat that he was yet to be paid a kobo despite several entreaties to Governor Oshiomhole. I dont know why I should be treated this way after working for the club. I am dying in silence because there is no money for me to take care of my family, Izilien stated.It is trite to note that before Oshiomholes Action Congress (AC) dethroned Oserheimen Osunbors Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2008, the situation in the camp of Insurance was already precarious. But then, the people were full of expectations that Comrade Oshiomhole would turn things around for good.During the players protest last week, they besieged the premises of the Edo State Ministry of Youth and Sports calling for the sack of the Commissioner, Anita Evbuomwan.Assistant captain of the club, Robson Aituayuwa, said during the protest that they had not been paid salaries since September 2010, match bonuses, Christmas and New Year allowances and other entitlements.The question hanging on the lips of many football analysts is how does Edo State government expect the players to survive under such condition Could it be that commissioner Evbuomwan or some top officials of the sports ministry are playing a fast one with money being released by Governor Oshiomhole for the welfare of Bendel Insurance And how come his Excellency allowed players and officials of a state-owned club to go through such agony since September 2010However, as at press time, reports indicated that the Edo state government had approved N50 million to offset the arrears owed the players and officials.
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