From the eastern heartland where he was unearthed as a raw diamond by his primary school's games master, a certain G. Okeke,Christian Chukwu (MON) got the backing of the late Dan Anyiam, whose contributions gave the later day legend a head start in football, as the budding defender strove to acquire secondary education. With steady and sure steps, he learnt the ropes, moving up the ladder gracefully. Chukwu, who captained his primary school, later became the youngest player in his secondary school's football team and was also in the East Central State Academicals team that beat Kwara State to lift the Nigeria Academicals Cup in 1971.He was thereafter selected to be part of Nigerian Academicals team that squared up against Ghana before he moved to Rangers Football Club of Enugu. Ultimately, he was invited to the defunct Green Eagles, which he captained to the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations victory. After his playing days, and with his wealth of experience, Chukwu tried his hands on coaching. On this turf, he coached his former club, Rangers FC, the Harambee Stars of Kenya and afterwards the Super Eagles. In this interaction with ENO-ABASI SUNDAY, he rekindled fond memories of his sojourn in football circles, which spanned over four decades. He also gave vent to his views on how government could return the country to winning ways in sports. .THERE are very few Nigerian players whose stint with the senior national football team, the Super Eagles, has remained indelible over time, either because of their personal contributions to the team's success or because of the panache and dexterity they displayed when they were in their element. Former captain of the defunct Green Eagles, Christian Chukwu, is a member of this exclusive club.Apart from his membership of this club, Chairman, as he was fondly called by his admirers and colleagues because of his commanding performances at the rear, is among the very few Nigerians who hold the distinction of playing, captaining and thereafter coaching the Nigerian national football team.In a country that has churned out innumerable ex-internationals,clocking these milestones definitely did not come easy. That perhaps explains why the Africa Cup of Nations winner said that more than any other thing, he was still basking in the fame the beautiful game bestowed on him. .The bulky former defence ace set sail for the journey to the zenith from Christ Church School, Uwani, Enugu State, where the then games master, Okeke, was the first to notice his ability to tame prowling attackers. As he recalled, 'I began playing football at Christ Church School in the 1950s. I started off being a member of the Colt's Team before being moved up to the senior team.'The Colt's Team was meant for student less than four feet in height. From there, if one was considered good, he would be moved to the senior team, where you could start representing the school. That was the process I went through. Things were so structured in school in those days that as footballers were going to the field to play, those that were interested in tennis, baseball or cricket also headed their ways, while the girls went off to play netball.'All these happened during the period allotted for games in the evening. However, while these went on, the games masters were always on hand to make selections and give advice. They were always well trained and made to attend different seminars regularly to update their knowledge of the different sports that students played..'Sadly, what is happening today is a situation where students go to schools and come back daily without their sporting abilities being harnessed, as the opportunity to exhibit their talents is just not there.''.'Though Chukwu's parents were never really at home with him embracing sports beyond the realms of recreation, his profile began to rise from primary school, where he captained the football team to the Primary Schools Sports Festival in the late 1960s. He said: 'I would say that even though my parents were the type that always wanted their children to end up being doctors, lawyers, engineers and all that, I was very much interested in football.'Consequently, I devoted a lot of time to it. Of course, that had its consequences, but despite all that, I was lucky to always have the captain's armband with me. Most primary schools in my neighbourhoodwere mission schools. And in those days, we competed against one another. But the most important competition then was the Primary Schools Sports Festival - that was when we played a lot among ourselves. It was here I started representing my school.'It was real fun in those days when the elimination series started because it was from the local council that you qualified to move to the state level. At the state level, it was also a very exciting timebecause we had to be at our best because, apart from playing to win with your school, you had to beselected to travel to represent the state in other parts of the country.'Upon gaining admission into National Grammar School in Nike, Enugu, in 1965, Chukwu was again enlisted into the coach's team and by the time he was in class three, he was playing for both the junior and senior teams. The Nigerian Civil War, however, punctuated his educational pursuit, which he later completed after the war..'Being a missionary school that had a lot of interest in football and sports generally, we played a lot with schools within our neighbourhood,' he noted. 'Because we had a school bus, we were touring to play friendly matches with some other schools in and around our neighborhood because at that time there were very few football competitions among secondary schools.'I also played in the East Central State Academicals Football Competition. Unfortunately, my school did not win any of them. At a point - about 1972 when we played against St. Patrick's College, Emene, Enugu - I was the youngest member of the school's senior football team.'''The unenviable record of not being able to win the few competitions available notwithstanding, Chukwu busied himself polishing his game.This earned him a deserved place in the East Central State Academicals team, where he played alongside the current Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Patrick Ekeji, Godwin Ogbueze, Dominic Ezeani andKenneth Ilodigwe, among others,who are now in the United States (U.S.) after they took advantage of an American university that came around to recruit sports talents and eventually award them scholarships..According to Chukwu, 'this continuous support that school sports enjoys in America is the reason the country has overtaken the world in sports development.' Having showed enough brilliance as a member of his school's football team, it was not difficult for the late Dan Anyiam-led selection team to spot Chukwu and draft him into the state's academicals team. .'Anyiam was the chief coach of the region then and, alongside coach Paulinus Nzerem, eventually sent the result of the selection to Lagos State, the country's capital then,' he explained. .To date, it is on record that the East Central State Academicals, which Chukwu played in, was a crack team the opponents sweated profusely to contain.One of the sweet scenes that have remained evergreen in Chukwu's memory till date was when the East Central State, shortly after the Nigerian Civil War, won the National Academicals Cup in 1971. This is because, 'to get to the finals, we beat Lagos State 4-0 and went on to beat Kwara State 2-0 in the final match to lift the trophy.'An attempt to defend the trophy the following year failed. However, after the victory in 1971, Chukwu was selected for the Nigerian Academicals that played against its Ghanaian counterpart that same year. The Nigerian former international recalled that the national academicals' victory took many by surprise because itwas at a time people were saying it would take the country about five years to make any impact, because 'we just came out of the civil war.'Incidentally, Rangers also won the national league the year Chukwu won the National Academicals trophy. Shortly after completion of his secondary education, he started his career football in 1972, 'as three of us - Dominic Ezeani, Godwin Ogbuezeand I - were drafted from the State Academicals team to Rangers Football Club, while about nine others, including Ekeji, went to Vasco Da Gama Football Club to play. Basically, it was the clubs that came in those days to entice and pick the players they wanted.'''Chukwu confessed that he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Rangers, where he played for years in the 1970s, giving immense joy to the club's legion of fans for years. With the passage of time, he grew to become a club legend. While he recalls with great pains Rangers' loss to Hafia Football Club of Guinea in the 1974 Champions Cup, the defunct Green Eagles' former skipper says his happiest moment with the club was when'we won the Cup Winners Cup in 1976 at the expense of IICC.Meanwhile, the 61-year old kicked off his coaching career with Rangers, and with the club won the League Cup in 1983 andFA Cup in 1984. In the 2008-2009 season of the Nigeria Premier League, the club finished sixth, butunsatisfied with his performance, he was axed by the club's management on August 5, 2009 for failing to achieve set target ..In the history of Nigerian football, Chukwu is best remembered for leading the Green Eagles to its first Africa Nations Cup triumph with a resounding 3-0 trouncing of the Desert Warriors of Algeria in the final in 1980. Fittingly, he said that in his entire playing career, his happiest moment waswhen Nigeria won the Nations Cup, a trophy he had the singular honour of lifting.That set of Green Eagles had the likes of Segun Odegbami, Emmanuel Okala and Adokie Amiesimaka. Conversely,his 'worst moment was when we lost to Tunisia in the race to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1978.' In 1998, the Rangers legend was appointed coach of the Kenyan national team, the Harambee Stars. He did not record great success with the club for the period he held sway. .Later on, the defunct Nigeria Football Association (NFA),under the leadership of Ibrahim Galadima, appointed Chukwu manager of the Super Eagles. He was in office from 2002 to 2005. While there, he led the Eagles to the semi-finals of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations. However, his modest strides were rubbished during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.After he wasaccused of ineptitude and roundly blamed for improper management of the team, he was suspended from duty with two matches left on the cards. The team failed to win in both encounters - an away and a home game against the eventual winners, the Palancas Negras of Angola. Consequently,Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup after having appeared at all World Cup finals tournaments since its debut in 1994 under the guidance of Dutchman Clemence Westerhof. .In his defence, Chukwu has been persistent in his claim that the pressure brought to bear on the team and its handlers by certain external forces led to its failure to qualify for the Mundial. Looking back, he lamented that sports ' ordinarily meant for people with talent - is today an all-comers affair: 'We played sports in those days first as a form of recreation, but it was talented people who had the most interest,' he said.'However,the greatest thing that some of us are proud of is that it brought us fame and recognition. In those days, the motivations we had were things like working hard to win plastic wares or to be selected to represent your state in Lagos or any other part of the country.'' .'Asked to proffer solution to the country's inability to raise sports stars, as was the case in the days of yore, he said that radical and far-reaching decisionsmust be taken to return the sector to the part of rectitude. According to the Super Eagles' former coach, 'in our days, academic excellence went side-by-side sporting excellence and most of the schools were particularly noted for sporting excellence.'If we go back to that, we may return to where we used to be, but anything to the contrary means we are just wasting precious time because the talents that are hidden in schools all over the country will never be found.''.' However, in a rather rash way of arresting the country's abysmal decline in sports development, the Super Eagles' former gaffer said the Federal Government should withdraw the operational licenses of schools that cannot boast playgrounds and sundry sports facilities.. He also stressed early discovery as key to attaining excellence in sports, adding that heeding this advice would only be testament to the fact that government is not just free from paying lip service to the issue of driving sports development from the grassroots, but also matching words with actions..'He asked: 'How can a block of flats with two or three rooms be approval to be used as a primary or secondary school and when it's time for recreation the kids do not have where to run or play football' So tell me, how do you figure who is interested in playing football or who has the capacity to become a track star' ''What is also militating against our attaining excellence in sports is the fact that people without the talent are the ones forcing themselves in to do sports because there is money to be made from it now. And this is part of the reasons we are not producing great athletes any longer. .'Parents are also forcing their kids on administrators and administrators are presenting people that are not talented as our representatives in major sports events. How can we make any headway in this kind of atmosphere''''He, therefore, charged education authorities in the country to make, as pre-requisite, the availability of sports facilities before granting licenses for nursery, primary and secondary schools..'In the primary school I attended, Christ Church, Uwani, Enugu, up till today - and even my secondary school, National Grammar School, Nike, Enugu - the available space there can be used as two standard football fields and this is a school that was run by missionaries,' he said.THERE are very few Nigerian players whose stint with the senior national football team, the Super Eagles, has remained indelible over time, either because of their personal contributions to the team's success or because of the panache and dexterity they displayed when they were in their element. Former captain of the defunct Green Eagles, Christian Chukwu, is a member of this exclusive club.Apart from his membership of this club, Chairman, as he was fondly called by his admirers and colleagues because of his commanding performances at the rear, is among the very few Nigerians who hold the distinction of playing, captaining and thereafter coaching the Nigerian national football team.In a country that has churned out innumerable ex-internationals,clocking these milestones definitely did not come easy. That perhaps explains why the Africa Cup of Nations winner said that more than any other thing, he was still basking in the fame the beautiful game bestowed on him. .The bulky former defence ace set sail for the journey to the zenith from Christ Church School, Uwani, Enugu State, where the then games master, Okeke, was the first to notice his ability to tame prowling attackers. As he recalled, 'I began playing football at Christ Church School in the 1950s. I started off being a member of the Colt's Team before being moved up to the senior team.'The Colt's Team was meant for student less than four feet in height. From there, if one was considered good, he would be moved to the senior team, where you could start representing the school. That was the process I went through. Things were so structured in school in those days that as footballers were going to the field to play, those that were interested in tennis, baseball or cricket also headed their ways, while the girls went off to play netball.'All these happened during the period allotted for games in the evening. However, while these went on, the games masters were always on hand to make selections and give advice. They were always well trained and made to attend different seminars regularly to update their knowledge of the different sports that students played..'Sadly, what is happening today is a situation where students go to schools and come back daily without their sporting abilities being harnessed, as the opportunity to exhibit their talents is just not there.''.'Though Chukwu's parents were never really at home with him embracing sports beyond the realms of recreation, his profile began to rise from primary school, where he captained the football team to the Primary Schools Sports Festival in the late 1960s. He said: 'I would say that even though my parents were the type that always wanted their children to end up being doctors, lawyers, engineers and all that, I was very much interested in football.'Consequently, I devoted a lot of time to it. Of course, that had its consequences, but despite all that, I was lucky to always have the captain's armband with me. Most primary schools in my neighbourhoodwere mission schools. And in those days, we competed against one another. But the most important competition then was the Primary Schools Sports Festival - that was when we played a lot among ourselves. It was here I started representing my school.'It was real fun in those days when the elimination series started because it was from the local council that you qualified to move to the state level. At the state level, it was also a very exciting timebecause we had to be at our best because, apart from playing to win with your school, you had to beselected to travel to represent the state in other parts of the country.'Upon gaining admission into National Grammar School in Nike, Enugu, in 1965, Chukwu was again enlisted into the coach's team and by the time he was in class three, he was playing for both the junior and senior teams. The Nigerian Civil War, however, punctuated his educational pursuit, which he later completed after the war..'Being a missionary school that had a lot of interest in football and sports generally, we played a lot with schools within our neighbourhood,' he noted. 'Because we had a school bus, we were touring to play friendly matches with some other schools in and around our neighborhood because at that time there were very few football competitions among secondary schools.'I also played in the East Central State Academicals Football Competition. Unfortunately, my school did not win any of them. At a point - about 1972 when we played against St. Patrick's College, Emene, Enugu - I was the youngest member of the school's senior football team.'''The unenviable record of not being able to win the few competitions available notwithstanding, Chukwu busied himself polishing his game.This earned him a deserved place in the East Central State Academicals team, where he played alongside the current Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Patrick Ekeji, Godwin Ogbueze, Dominic Ezeani andKenneth Ilodigwe, among others,who are now in the United States (U.S.) after they took advantage of an American university that came around to recruit sports talents and eventually award them scholarships..According to Chukwu, 'this continuous support that school sports enjoys in America is the reason the country has overtaken the world in sports development.' Having showed enough brilliance as a member of his school's football team, it was not difficult for the late Dan Anyiam-led selection team to spot Chukwu and draft him into the state's academicals team. .'Anyiam was the chief coach of the region then and, alongside coach Paulinus Nzerem, eventually sent the result of the selection to Lagos State, the country's capital then,' he explained. .To date, it is on record that the East Central State Academicals, which Chukwu played in, was a crack team the opponents sweated profusely to contain.One of the sweet scenes that have remained evergreen in Chukwu's memory till date was when the East Central State, shortly after the Nigerian Civil War, won the National Academicals Cup in 1971. This is because, 'to get to the finals, we beat Lagos State 4-0 and went on to beat Kwara State 2-0 in the final match to lift the trophy.'An attempt to defend the trophy the following year failed. However, after the victory in 1971, Chukwu was selected for the Nigerian Academicals that played against its Ghanaian counterpart that same year. The Nigerian former international recalled that the national academicals' victory took many by surprise because itwas at a time people were saying it would take the country about five years to make any impact, because 'we just came out of the civil war.'Incidentally, Rangers also won the national league the year Chukwu won the National Academicals trophy. Shortly after completion of his secondary education, he started his career football in 1972, 'as three of us - Dominic Ezeani, Godwin Ogbuezeand I - were drafted from the State Academicals team to Rangers Football Club, while about nine others, including Ekeji, went to Vasco Da Gama Football Club to play. Basically, it was the clubs that came in those days to entice and pick the players they wanted.'''Chukwu confessed that he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Rangers, where he played for years in the 1970s, giving immense joy to the club's legion of fans for years. With the passage of time, he grew to become a club legend. While he recalls with great pains Rangers' loss to Hafia Football Club of Guinea in the 1974 Champions Cup, the defunct Green Eagles' former skipper says his happiest moment with the club was when'we won the Cup Winners Cup in 1976 at the expense of IICC.Meanwhile, the 61-year old kicked off his coaching career with Rangers, and with the club won the League Cup in 1983 andFA Cup in 1984. In the 2008-2009 season of the Nigeria Premier League, the club finished sixth, butunsatisfied with his performance, he was axed by the club's management on August 5, 2009 for failing to achieve set target ..In the history of Nigerian football, Chukwu is best remembered for leading the Green Eagles to its first Africa Nations Cup triumph with a resounding 3-0 trouncing of the Desert Warriors of Algeria in the final in 1980. Fittingly, he said that in his entire playing career, his happiest moment waswhen Nigeria won the Nations Cup, a trophy he had the singular honour of lifting.That set of Green Eagles had the likes of Segun Odegbami, Emmanuel Okala and Adokie Amiesimaka. Conversely,his 'worst moment was when we lost to Tunisia in the race to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1978.' In 1998, the Rangers legend was appointed coach of the Kenyan national team, the Harambee Stars. He did not record great success with the club for the period he held sway. .Later on, the defunct Nigeria Football Association (NFA),under the leadership of Ibrahim Galadima, appointed Chukwu manager of the Super Eagles. He was in office from 2002 to 2005. While there, he led the Eagles to the semi-finals of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations. However, his modest strides were rubbished during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers.After he wasaccused of ineptitude and roundly blamed for improper management of the team, he was suspended from duty with two matches left on the cards. The team failed to win in both encounters - an away and a home game against the eventual winners, the Palancas Negras of Angola. Consequently,Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup after having appeared at all World Cup finals tournaments since its debut in 1994 under the guidance of Dutchman Clemence Westerhof. .In his defence, Chukwu has been persistent in his claim that the pressure brought to bear on the team and its handlers by certain external forces led to its failure to qualify for the Mundial. Looking back, he lamented that sports ' ordinarily meant for people with talent - is today an all-comers affair: 'We played sports in those days first as a form of recreation, but it was talented people who had the most interest,' he said.'However,the greatest thing that some of us are proud of is that it brought us fame and recognition. In those days, the motivations we had were things like working hard to win plastic wares or to be selected to represent your state in Lagos or any other part of the country.'' .'Asked to proffer solution to the country's inability to raise sports stars, as was the case in the days of yore, he said that radical and far-reaching decisionsmust be taken to return the sector to the part of rectitude. According to the Super Eagles' former coach, 'in our days, academic excellence went side-by-side sporting excellence and most of the schools were particularly noted for sporting excellence.'If we go back to that, we may return to where we used to be, but anything to the contrary means we are just wasting precious time because the talents that are hidden in schools all over the country will never be found.''.' However, in a rather rash way of arresting the country's abysmal decline in sports development, the Super Eagles' former gaffer said the Federal Government should withdraw the operational licenses of schools that cannot boast playgrounds and sundry sports facilities.. He also stressed early discovery as key to attaining excellence in sports, adding that heeding this advice would only be testament to the fact that government is not just free from paying lip service to the issue of driving sports development from the grassroots, but also matching words with actions..'He asked: 'How can a block of flats with two or three rooms be approval to be used as a primary or secondary school and when it's time for recreation the kids do not have where to run or play football' So tell me, how do you figure who is interested in playing football or who has the capacity to become a track star' ''What is also militating against our attaining excellence in sports is the fact that people without the talent are the ones forcing themselves in to do sports because there is money to be made from it now. And this is part of the reasons we are not producing great athletes any longer. .'Parents are also forcing their kids on administrators and administrators are presenting people that are not talented as our representatives in major sports events. How can we make any headway in this kind of atmosphere''''He, therefore, charged education authorities in the country to make, as pre-requisite, the availability of sports facilities before granting licenses for nursery, primary and secondary schools..'In the primary school I attended, Christ Church, Uwani, Enugu, up till today - and even my secondary school, National Grammar School, Nike, Enugu - the available space there can be used as two standard football fields and this is a school that was run by missionaries,' he said.
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