@kaybaba99
The first time I heard about Ibukun Akinfenwa was when a fellow journalist from South Africa, David Siphile, called me up to ask for background information about the Nigerian player. I plead my ignorance but the Akinfenwa that came to my mind was Adebayo, the bustling striker who plays for AFC Wimbledon in England.
However, my colleague shocked me when he said no, he meant Ibukun, the youngster who’d been setting the Angolan league on fire with some scintillating displays such that everyone in the Southern part of Africa had been talking about him.
According to Siphile, Ibukun is undoubtedly the best midfield box-to-box player he has seen in the last decade in that part of Africa and the boy’s work-rate, intelligence and technical ability is second to none.
He plays with a confidence that belies his age and runs his socks off while wearying down the opposition with dribble moves that brings to mind memories of Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta. Little wonder Angolan fans drew enough parallels between him and the Barca captain such that he’s nicknamed Iniesta.
Coming from Siphile, whose judgement I’ve come to trust as much as he trusts mine, I immediately got interested and took it as a challenge to find out all I could about this boy and I was pleasantly surprised.
First, he has strong football credentials, being the nephew of former Nigerian international Olumide Harris who was the Nigerian League highest goalscorer in 1994 before taking his trade to Europe.
Ibukun grew up in Belgium and was on the roster at top side RC Mechelen in the Belgacom League before going on to sign for Farense in Portugal.
When his manager suggested going to play in Angola, Ibukun thought it was a rude joke because the normal trend was for players to go from Africa to seek greener pasture in Europe and not the other way round.
But the 24-year old was in for a surprise. He signed for Gira Bola giants Primero d’Agosto of Luanda, one of the country’s biggest teams financed by the Angolan military.
“I confess I didn’t know much about Angola until I got there and then I was pleasantly surprised by the level of organisation, finance and quality of the football played there,” he said in a radio interview recently.
Apart from the competitiveness of the league, Ibukun is also ready to swear on its quality which he claims to be better than what is obtainable in some Eastern and Central European countries.
He said: “Having played in Belgium and Portugal, and after meeting players from these Eastern European countries, I’m convinced they cannot compete with the Angolan league in terms of players’ take home pay. The only advantage is that they’re based in Europe and we are not.”
Because of his growing influence in his team, whom he helped to a photo-finish on the league standings with Recreativo Libolo with 60points each but Libolo snatched the league title on head-to-head difference, Primero fought tooth and nail to keep Ibukun away from other teams in the Gira Bola.
Such was the scramble for his services that Primeiro were forced to give him a two year contract extension, against the normal practice of one year for other players. Also, he’s had offers from Portugal and other parts of Europe but, according to the youngster, he’s bidding his time before making his next career move.
As reward for an outstanding season, Ibukun is in the running for Best Foreign player award in the league and, naturally, tongues are wagging about his lack of national team invitation from Nigeria.
“During international breaks, when other players go to play for their countries (we have as many as nine internationals in Primeiro), I’m usually asked to go and train with the youth team. I’ve become the butt of jokes from my teammates who usually wonder why I don’t get invited by Nigeria.”
This lack of interest in his ability by his own country has encouraged the Angolan Football Federation officials to moot the possibility of having Ibukun naturalise to play for them.
My South African friend first raised the possibility of Ibukun being encouraged to dump Nigeria for Angola but the player refused to be dragged into such speculation when I asked him.
“I carry a Nigerian passport because I’m a full-blooded Nigerian and my heart beats for this country. I’m ready to keep working hard until I’m given the chance to wear the green and white of Nigeria,” he said.
At 24, and almost reaching the peak of his career, how long will Ibukun wait before he gets a look-in or until his patience runs out and he decides to take up the Angolan offer.
Considering the fact that Nigeria’s Europe-based contingent have not particularly set our football alight in recent years, then it will not only be unjust but also illogical to continue to deny any player the opportunity to showcase what he has to offer the nation simply because such a player is not based in Europe.
Using a suitable analogy, the Super Eagles best player in the second and decisive leg of the 2018 World Cup qualifying game against Swaziland was not any of our Europe-based stars but Paul Onobi of Sunshine Stars in the domestic league.
Therefore, given his skills-set, it is high time players like Ibukun are given a look-in into the national team set-up to show if they possess the requisite qualities to help coach Sunday Oliseh unravel the particularly-troublesome creative aspect of our national game.
Ibukun deserves a place not only because he’s a Nigerian. He also possesses the needed ability to help the national team, is willing to make himself available despite overtures from other countries and is a breath of fresh air haven cut his teeth learning the rudiments of the game at some of Europe’s best youth football academies.
I watched Bamidele Alli’s wonder-goal against France during the last international window and I thought, albeit ruefully, that the Nigerian-born Tottenham Hotspur could have been scoring that goal in the green and white of Nigeria rather than in the colours of the Three Lions.
Alli joins a long line of Nigerian-born athletes who have been snatched by other countries either by reason of their birth-place or by circumstances of their existence.
Jordon Ibe of Liverpool, David Alaba of Bayern Munich, Marvin Ogunjinmi (formerly of Mallorca), are players we have lost to different countries but who could have added quality to our national team, especially at a time such as this, when Oliseh is labouring to build a virile team of which we can all be proud.
Hopefully, the Super Eagles manager will listen to the call of this obviously talented boy and give him a chance to contribute his quota or should we watch and let this one also get away like the several others before him?
The choice is ours.
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