It was the year 1989, the 13th of August. I was just a
teenager who had no interest in football but I recall vividly how sad the topic
of discussion was between one football lover, my father and one of his friends
as they discussed Nigerian football and the tragic demise of one of the
country’s professional footballer who was reported to have slumped and died on
the field of play the day before which was the 12th of August 1989.
As the months rolled by, a new song was heard among kids while playing as
they, including ‘yours sincerely’ sang the praise of the late footballer Samuel
Okwaraji who many of us never saw or heard of until the news of his death broke
as we all were merely kids who played more of skipping ropes, clapping hands
game and what was popularly known then as ‘c-way’ which was jumping from one
drawn circle on the ground in a bid to ‘win houses’ to another, including the Ludo and cards until a few
years later when ‘snake and ladder’ and ofcourse ‘monopoly’ joined the list of
games played by many including the older generation of youths.
Today, 27 years after, Nigerians remember the late Samuel Sochukwuma
Okwaraji who was born on the 19th of May 1964. He was only 25 years old
when he died as a result of what the medical experts called “congestive heart
failure” in Lagos after he slumped in the 77th minute of Nigerian football Team versus Angola game
during a world cup qualifying match at the National stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
It was a sad day not just for the family of the late footballer but also for
many lovers of football and Nigeria as a whole.
Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was not just a professional footballer,
but was also a qualified lawyer with a masters in international law from the
University of Rome who had a short football career in Europe during the course
of studying for his law degree and was called upon to join the Nigerian ‘Green
Eagles’ in 1988 for the African Nations Cup where he was to score one of the championship’s
fastest goal in history against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon even though
Nigeria still lost in the finals by a lone gone against the same Cameroonian
Team who also lost one of their players Marc-Vivien Foe, 14years after in the
same manner as Okwaraji which was due to an enlarged heart and high blood
pressure as autopsy revealed.
Okwaraji was only 10 minutes away to the end of the qualifying match when
he suddenly slumped and died.
Who knows, maybe if he had the slightest inkling of what was happening to
his heart at the time, he would have asked to be replaced before he slumped. But
then, that is all ‘maybe’ and in the past now as it’s already ‘happened’. May
his soul continue to rest in peace even as we pray that his family and
Nigerians will forever remember him as a hero.
As we remember him today, let us also remember in prayers, our Nigerian Team and Sportspersons who are out there in Brazil trying to give us a ‘face’ in the ongoing Rio Olympics, 2016 despite the financial issues they are having hoping that they will be well compensated when they return home.
Continue to rest in peace, Samuel Okwaraji!
Bring back gold, Team Nigeria!
God Bless Nigeria!
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