BEVERLY HILLS, May 24, (THEWILL) – On Monday, May 17, 2021 a living legend of Nigeria’s football heritage, Emmanuel Okala, MON, clocked 70 years. The maverick goalkeeper in his heydays was adored by millions of football fans and sports administrators for his skill and exploits on the pitch. His 70th birthday therefore presents an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the dual-pronged subject matter of a life dedicated to service to country.
To address the subject properly, it is apposite to recall the humble football origins of one who went on to become easily one of the most recognisable footballers on the continent and beyond for his unmatched skills.
Emmanuel Oguajiofor Okala was born in Onitsha, the Anambra State city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in 1951. At birth, nobody would have guessed that he was destined to be an imposing mountain of a football player at 6’6” tall.
Okala’s years of total and complete dedication to everything he devoted his time to doing, which was at the very foundations of his exceptional professional career, began long before he started representing the country in his traditional Green-White-Green jersey. There were already glimpses of those values when at the tender age of 15, he was set on the course his life would evenually to take with a career with the Onitsha Red Devils Football Club.
That distinctive character that placed a high premium on self-denial, which also considered no bar too high to reach for success, was at the very heart of Okala’a senior career, when in 1971, just five years after he joined the Onitsha Red Devils, he joined the Enugu Rangers International Football Club at the age of 20, following its formation after the Nigerian Civil War.
Everywhere he went, Okala carried his enormous stature and imposing influence with grace and his resilient spirit was infused into the very DNA of the Enugu club that the mere thought of a fixture against them was tension-inducing for other clubs in the league, especially as his imposing frame was the last line of defence between the goal posts.
The width of his palm and the long fingers they held allowed Okala the leverage to easily wrap his gloves around a ball with one hand. When he spread both arms wide, he almost covered the goal posts. Kicking the ball out immediately placed it in the opposition area for contest. To be honest, he launched many a Rangers attack from his post and his long reach was effective in intercepting crosses into his box. Attackers knew better than to run into him.
Okala would convert his single-minded predisposition for settling for nothing less than the superlative when he joined the national side, the Green Eagles, as they were known then. He brought a solidity to goalkeeping that had never been witnessed before. His coming coincided with the era of the rise of goalkeeping excellence with the likes of Inua Rigogo, Peter Fregene, Amusa Adisa and Eyo Essien who were making waves at the time in the country. But, he was the standout regular. He conceded two goals in his first cap in the national team in a friendly against Tanzania in Lagos that Nigeria won 3-2.
There was nothing Okala detested more than conceding against the opposing side. He considered it embarrassing and beneath him to retrieve the ball from his net after having failed to prevent it from going in in the first place. Even in training, he was hard on himself when he conceded, how much more in competitive football. To avoid conceding carelessly, Okala trained to the extreme and as far as his body could endure. Then, he challenged the best goalscorers for duels to improve on his reflexes and techniques.
Two years after joining the national team, he was in the victorious side that secured the football gold at the All Africa Games in Lagos in 1973. Returning to team football in the 1977 season, Okala provided Rangers the goalkeeping they required to win the African Cup Winners’ Cup after a brilliant domestic season. His continental accomplishments included a bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 1978 and a silver finish at the All Africa Games in Algiers that same year.
However, when Nigeria hosted the AFCON two years later in 1980, Okala, who was the 6’6” body of mass and muscle with the imposing frame and fearsome intimidating mien, was ready to make sure all hands were on deck to produce the sort of displays that ensured the country took her premier continental football trophy and that was how it came to pass.
Yet, as with every true success story, there was a couple of occasions that marked a low point in Okala’s glorious career. Of those moments, two stand out for the remarkable goal tender that left indelible scars on the otherwise amazing goalkeeping career. On a balanced note, one of these was a domestic league loss, and the other was a loss for Rangers in a continental meet.
Rangers lost the 1978 FA Cup final to a young Bendel Insurance team coached by Alabi Aissien in one of Okala’s most hurtful experiences as a goalkeeper. Given his detestation of conceding just one goal, it is only imaginable the ignominy of him having to retrieve the ball from his net three times in a final that they were favourites to win. But, the Bendel side, which swept aside Shooting Stars International of Ibadan, which, at the time, featured some of the best players in the national team, in the semi-finals, were the better side on the day.
The continental low point was about the same time though the match took place in Algiers, at the home stadium of the Algerian side they faced. Several factors accounted for their loss, which saw them ship another trio of goals. Changes in pitch technology meant that on a bitterly chilly night, Rangers played on an artificial turf, which are synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass and used in sports arenas, for the first time but without the appropriate football boots. All he did was not enough to prevent Okala conceding three goals in a second match.
However, none of such moments detracted from his inherently superb overall consistency so much so that Okala became one of the most recognisable sports figures on the African continent. His physical attributes, the imposing 6’6” frame, and his fearsome disposition between the goal posts made it difficult to miss him in a crowd full of footballers and their coach and crew.
When he was recognised as the 1975 Africa’s Player of the Year by the African Sports Journalists Union, there was no contest because his performances bore witness to the facts. Yet, it is to the credit of his repute that never before and never again has there ever been another goalkeeper to be so acclaimed, in the presence of amazing attacking footballers, who almost always win such awards.
Okala received his award at the ASJU congress in Lomé, Togo. Unfortunately, that was the last time ASJU gave out those awards. That is partly why many people are not aware of that recognition of his prowess.
However, as relayed by another living football legend, Segun Odegbami, who though a contemporary of Okala, was younger, the patriotic and dedicated, imposing and energetic Okala of old is now old and frail with the effects of aging rendering it difficult to walk. That stature that instilled fear in a generation of opposing footballers is not what it used to be due to arthritis while he resiliently contends with poor eyesight, heart conditions, monitored sugar levels that mean he must make do with a daily cocktail of very expensive and very potent drugs.
It is the ravages of age exacting a pound for the strain of youth. Yet, those times he pushed himself to excellence, he did as a service to club and country with the accolades, laurels, awards, trophies and medals to show for them.
Post-active career welfare for the legends who have made the country proud and have etched the name of the country forever in gold internationally while giving up to a lifetime of pleasures with sacrifices for the perfection winning requires, is unfortunately nonexistent. Action has not followed years of government promise for a welfare fund for career athletes and retired athletes have been forced to fend for themselves with practically nothing to fall back on.
There must be, with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the icon Okala, a renewed determination to bring an end to this depressing narrative. Government and the private sector can collaborate, especially corporate bodies who already associate with sports for the benefits of their bottomline, to institutionalise the welfare of the individuals and personalities that make sports the productive source of big money it has become today.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
