From lifting the prestigious Lagos Principal's Cup in 1965 as a student of Ahmadiyya College, Muyiwa Oshode thrust himself into the heart of soccer and the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria FC (now PHCN) snatched him up for the 1966 Federation Cup. Oshode's mesmerising skills attracted Stationery Stores, which engaged him from ECN. In 1967, he netted one of the goals that earned Stores 3-0 victory over Ibadan Lions to lift the trophy and was also an integral part of the victorious 1968 Stores team that defeated Mighty Jets of Jos to retain the title. Oshode, 66, told OLALEKAN OKUSAN that it was through the Federation Cup he shot into limelight.AS a schoolboy, Oshode was popular among his contemporaries as a skilful footballer and a member of the Methodist Boys High School football team in the 1960s. But it was when he got to Ahmadiyya College in Agege that he soared. For two consecutive years that Ahmadiyya played in the final of the Lagos Principal's Cup, Oshode was an integral part of the team that included the likes of Flying Eagles' former coach, Tunde Disu, and Maj.-Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rtd).Ahmadiyya narrowly lost the title to King's College in 1964 but won the competition in 1965, after which Oshode and some members of the team were called up to the Lagos State Academicals. However, he was the target of top football clubs in Lagos and in 1966, he joined ECN FC, with which he competent in the 1966 Federation Cup.'After my school, Ahmadiyya College won the Principal's Cup in 1965, so many clubs in Lagos were willing to sign me up and I joined ECN in 1965,' he disclosed. 'We played in the final of the Federation Cup in 1966 but I did not make the first team because I was still young. That year, I got an invitation to the national junior team.'Then Stationery Stores was a very popular team in Lagos and the owner of the club, late Israel Adebajo, invited me to join the team. At that time, it was the dream of every player to play in the Federation Cup, especially in the final, which was always played at the Onikan Stadium.'Stationery Stores was the darling team of Lagosians and playing for the team alone came with a lot of goodies, especially from the fans and the owner of the team, who took most of us as his children. We played very well in the Federation Cup of 1967 and got to the final.'At that time, Lagos was the capital of Nigeria and this made it a great source of joy for any team that made it to the final to play in Lagos. Being the home team, the stadium was filled to capacity while dignitaries in government used to come to the stadium to watch the final in Lagos.'He added: 'In the final of the 1967 edition, we confronted the Ibadan Lions. In our team we had great players. I was also nicknamed 'Lucky Boy' because on several occasions I had saved my team from losing. It was either I scored the equaliser or the winning goal. So people started calling me 'Lucky Boy.''We won the final against Ibadan 3-0 to the admiration of the Lagos fans and I scored one of the goals. For me, that was the beginning of my football career because I also got invitation to the national team. Before this period, I had already started playing for the national team.'For Oshode, playing in the Federation Cup was one of the highs of his footballing career as the competition was the most glamorous tourney in the country then. According to him, 'playing in the Federation Cup was a big honour because it was the biggest football event in Nigeria. As a player, we all looked forward to playing in the tournament, especially in the final, because it commanded a lot of followership.'In 1968, Stationery Stores also made it to the final against Mighty Jets of Jos and Oshode recalled what happened before and after the encounter against the star-studded Northern Nigeria-based team. He said: 'In 1968, we were to face Mighty Jets of Jos in the final and at that time, Mighty Jets had the likes of Peter Anieke, Tony Igwe, Sam Garba and Ismaila Mabo.'The final at Onikan was explosive. So many northerners based in Lagos came to support the Jos team and as usual, the Lagos fans were behind Stores. The encounter was so tense that we only managed to beat Mighty Jets 2-1 to win the trophy back-to-back. After the match, most of their players made the national team. That year, King Sunny Ade waxed a record for the team after the victory and this alone excited me because it was a big honour for a 22-year old school leaver. I was loved by fans.'The Federation Cup brought me fame e and from it I reaped a lot of things because people wanted to associate with me. During my first trip abroad, Lekan Salami of Ibadan gave me a wristwatch because of my exploits in football and I also got many gifts from fans. At that time, we used to get free meat from butchers, who were our fans.'Also, playing in the final of the Federation Cup consecutively at the Onikan Stadium was a big achievement for me, especially as it was the biggest football competition in the country. Anyone who played at the Onikan Stadium believes the sky was the limit. Also, the owner of Stationery Stores really helped some of us because it was the team that brought us to limelight.''After the 1968 triumph,' he said, 'I started playing for the national team and was jostling between Stores and the national team. It was in 1970 I travelled abroad for further studies. I could also remember that my exploits in the Federation Cup earned me the Lagos State scholarship while I was a student in the United States.'For the efforts of the Lagos State Government to bring back the glamour associated with the tourney, Oshode said: 'In those days, there was more publicity for the competition unlike now and I want to commend Governor Babatunde Fashola for lifting the quality of the competition.'I think the present-day players should also aspire to play in the Federation Cup final while the Nigeria Football Federation needs to work hard to complement the efforts of Lagos in returning the glory of the championship.
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