Femi Fani-Kayode Denounces Fake News Linking Him to NFA Chairmanship

*W’ Cup Qualifiers: How Super Eagles Coach Ruined Nigeria’s Chances by Ignoring Primate Ayodele’s Warnings*

By Adedayo Olumide

While we were still kids, we would rush home or to a neighbour’s room whenever the Super Eagles had football matches to play. I remember our schools would allow us to close early whenever a match was scheduled for the evening.

During World Cup matches, we would try to finish whatever we had to do so we could watch the game from beginning to end. I will never forget one particular match Nigeria played against Argentina around 3 a.m.—we literally kept vigil just to watch it. Those were the good old days.

Sadly, many Nigerians today cannot remember the last time they had that kind of zeal to watch Nigeria’s matches, especially the Super Eagles, because their performances have been so disappointing in recent years.

Nigeria, the self-acclaimed Giant of Africa, failed to qualify for the last World Cup and, as it stands, it doesn’t seem like we will qualify for the next one unless a rare miracle happens. It is sad that a nation once the pride of the continent in World Cup tournaments now struggles even to qualify.

One major factor has been largely responsible: Super Eagles coaches. They have been obstinate, arrogant, stubborn, irresponsible, and ultimately the reason behind the nation’s downfall on the big stage.

I remember the last match that sealed Nigeria’s fate in the last World Cup qualifiers—it was against Ghana. Before the match, popular Nigerian prophet Primate Elijah Ayodele warned Coach Austin Eguavoen about certain players he should not field. He specifically warned against playing Musa. But instead of heeding the warning, Eguavoen brushed it off and responded by asking the prophet to pray for the team instead. He went into the match, fielded Musa against the warnings, and cost Nigeria a place in the tournament.

This was his response to Primate Ayodele’s warning:

“He is a man of God and sometimes you’ve to give it to them. But he is a Nigerian; if you know him, please tell him to overturn it because it will be a joyous thing for Nigeria to be in Qatar in 2022.

He can overturn it because he is a man of God and he prays, and God listens to him. He is an intermediary between us and God. It is easier said than done. We have worked hard and fought to make sure we want the ticket more than Ghana wants it. You know Nigeria is a country that prays a lot, so we will continue to pray, but we will work hard. We want it more than Ghana and we will get it.”

Now, with the new coach, Eric Chelle, Primate Ayodele has been warning him since the qualifiers began regarding the use of some players. The prophet, who has always openly supported Nigeria and prays for the team out of passion, warned against fielding Captain William Ekong. In fact, he stated that Ekong should not be allowed to lead Nigeria to the World Cup because it would amount to nothing.

These were his words in July:

“Nothing can stop Nigeria from going to the 2026 FIFA World Cup except if we don’t listen. There are three things the NFF needs to do. If that captain Ekong, or whatever his name is—the one who drew tattoos—leads us to the World Cup, we will fail.”

Many who saw this prophetic warning may have thought Primate Ayodele had a personal issue with Ekong. But with the last two matches we played, anyone with that perception would now understand that Primate Ayodele was right.

In the match against Rwanda, Ekong did not start, and Nigeria scored—we emerged victorious and were pumped up for the next game against South Africa. But the downfall began when Ekong scored an unbelievable own goal, putting Nigerian players under pressure. We later equalized, but sadly it wasn’t enough to secure victory.

Just imagine if Ekong had not played in that match. Nigeria might not have conceded that own goal, and with Bassey’s goal, we could have won and positioned ourselves comfortably on the table.

Coaches need to understand that in sports, there is not only physical strategy but also spiritual strategy. If that weren’t true, Primate Ayodele’s prophetic advice has now made it clear. It has happened twice with Nigeria, costing us great opportunities and privileges—we cannot afford to continue this way.

The Forgotten Heroes Who Built Nigeria.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by saharaweeklyng.com

They gave us a nation, we gave them silence. It is time to remember.

History is never neutral. It is either remembered with honor or buried with neglect. In Nigeria today, too many of our NATION-BUILDERS – men and women who labored, sacrificed and sometimes died to give us a country, have been reduced to footnotes in dusty textbooks, if mentioned at all. We celebrate political survivalists and forget the visionaries. We elevate temporary rulers and ignore those who laid the bricks of our independence, our institutions and our unity.

Yet, as the historian John Henrik Clarke once said: “History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography.” When Nigeria forgets her heroes, she loses both her clock and her compass.

Who Built Nigeria?
The popular narrative reduces nation-building to a few familiar names ie Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa. Indeed, they were towering figures. But Nigeria was not the handiwork of four men. A longer roll call reveals activists, journalists, unionists, women leaders and intellectuals who carried the heavy stones of struggle.

Herbert Macaulay, often called the father of Nigerian nationalism, ignited the fire long before independence was in sight. Through the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) and later the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), he planted the seed of self-rule.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, one of Africa’s most fearless women, led protests against colonial taxation, founded women’s organizations and fought for suffrage decades before feminism became a fashionable word. She was so effective that the colonial government once described her as “a danger to the British Empire.”

Margaret Ekpo, through unionism and politics, championed women’s rights and national liberation. She turned markets into platforms of resistance and inspired countless women to join political action.

Michael Imoudu, the labor leader, shook the colonial economy by organizing strikes that proved the Nigerian worker was no longer a silent tool. His defiance weakened the colonial state more effectively than many speeches.

Alvan Ikoku, an educationist, made sure that independence would not only be political but also intellectual. His relentless push for free and compulsory primary education laid the foundation for Nigeria’s intellectual capital.

Anthony Enahoro, who, at just 30 years old, moved the historic motion for Nigeria’s independence in 1953. Few Nigerians today even know his name.

These are not just names. They are the scaffolding without which Nigeria’s house would never have been built.

Why We Forgot Them.
Why does Nigeria forget its heroes?

First, politics of convenience. Our political class has always preferred personalities who fit their regional or party narrative. Thus, textbooks and public discourse highlight “ACCEPTABLE” figures while downplaying others.

Second, lack of historical infrastructure. Unlike Ghana with its Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum or South Africa with its Apartheid Museum, Nigeria has no serious national museum of independence, no well-curated memorials, no state-driven national archive accessible to students. Memory has no monuments, so it fades.

Third, deliberate amnesia. Leaders often prefer citizens who cannot connect past failures to present misrule. If you do not remember that corruption scandals derailed the First Republic, you will not notice the rhyme when it happens again.

Finally, our cultural weakness in record-keeping. We celebrate birthdays and burials but neglect institutional memory. The result is a nation where an entire generation may know more about foreign celebrities than about their own freedom fighters.

Why Remembering Matters.
Forgetting heroes is not just disrespect; it is dangerous. When young Nigerians grow up without knowledge of the sacrifices that secured their citizenship, they become cynical, rootless and easily manipulated.

The Nobel laureate Chinua Achebe warned: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Nigeria today is dangerously rootless. Our youth consume imported histories while their own heroes gather dust in silence.

Remembering matters because:

It instills pride. Heroes are mirrors. When citizens see that ordinary Nigerians achieved extraordinary things, they believe in their own agency.

It teaches lessons. Funmilayo Kuti’s defiance, Imoudu’s organizing, Ikoku’s persistence; these are models of civic courage.

It builds unity. Heroes came from every region, every tribe. Their collective story undermines today’s poisonous tribalism.

A Nation’s Debt.
What do we owe the forgotten heroes? We owe them more than monuments. We owe them integration into our civic life. That means:

Curriculum reform – Every Nigerian child should know these names before they learn about foreign presidents or monarchs.

National Heroes’ Day – A public holiday dedicated not to a single leader but to all freedom fighters. Ghana celebrates Founders’ Day; why not Nigeria?

Memorialization – National monuments, renamed streets and scholarships that keep their legacy alive.

Public storytelling – Documentaries, films, plays and books that bring their struggles into popular culture. Nollywood spends billions telling fictional stories but often ignores the real drama of our liberation.

Lessons for Today.
If the heroes taught us anything, it is that nations are built by sacrifice, not slogans. Herbert Macaulay risked imprisonment; Funmilayo Kuti risked her life; Imoudu risked his livelihood. Compare that with today’s politicians, who risk nothing but the inconvenience of defending ill-gotten wealth.

Nigeria’s new generation must recover that spirit. Without heroes, we will remain a country of spectators waiting for miracles. With heroes, we will once again believe that history bends when people push.

The late Nelson Mandela once said: “Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.” Our forgotten heroes inspired, moved and gave us a nation. Now it is our turn to remember, honor and emulate.

Final Verdict.
A nation that buries its heroes is digging its own grave. Nigeria’s crisis is not just economic or political; it is also mnemonic – a crisis of memory. Until we reclaim the forgotten heroes who built Nigeria, we will continue to stumble, rootless and rudderless.

The call is simple but urgent: teach their names, tell their stories, build their monuments. Because if we forget the builders, the building will collapse.

Let the children of tomorrow never say of us: they inherited a nation, but they betrayed its memory.