If there was a striker who was the scourge of opposing defenders in the Nigerian league of the early 80s and whose fearsome reputation preceded him to all match venues across the country, that must undoubtedly be Rangers International’s Charles Okonkwo.
Nicknamed Hurricane for his no-nonsense approach to the game and the metaphorical manner he swept defenders away on his way to goal, Okonkwo was the arrowhead of the generation of young players who stepped into the shoes of the old guard at Rangers at the end of the 70s.
Okonkwo was born into a sporting family, with elder brother Tony an accomplished 400m runner, but it was at the renowned Nike Grammar School, Enugu that his skills were honed in the true tradition of a school with a rich history of combining sports and educational excellence.
| Charles Okonkwo’s Bio-data |
| Name: Charles Okonkwo |
| Date of birth: 21 Sept 1965 |
| Place of birth: Enugu, Nigeria |
| Position: Midfield/striker |
| Youth career |
| 1. Anambra state Academicals |
| Senior career |
| 1. 1979-81: Brica Waves, Enugu |
| 2. 1981-89: Rangers – 296games (72gls) |
| 3. 1989-91: Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus) |
| National team |
| 1. 1984-89: Super Eagles – 37games (19gls) |
“At Nike, we had a sports-loving principal COC Chiedozie who ensured that no talent was wasted and went out of his way to recruit talented sportsmen to the school. Apart from my brother Tony, I was privileged to be in school with gifted boys like Christian Okoye and Innocent Egbunike, the quarter-miler who went on to win many laurels for Nigeria. It was in this culture of sporting excellence that our talents were nurtured.”
Right from childhood, there was only one thing the young Okonkwo wanted to be: a footballer and the only club he wanted to play for was Rangers International of Enugu.
“Rangers is a symbol of who we are as Igbos, particularly given our history as survivors of the civil war. So, to prove our ‘igbo-ness’, it was Rangers or nothing. Besides, all our heroes at that time played for Rangers so as a little boy all I dreamt of was growing up to play and score as many goals as possible for Rangers.”
Though he got his wish to play for Rangers, the road to superstardom was far from plain and smooth-sailing. He was a member of the Anambra Academicals where he started out as a midfielder of repute but if those who saw him then thought he showed promise, he was yet to become the finished article. After schooling, he got signed on to lower-league BRICA WAVES FC in 1979 but, like a goldfish, he had no hiding place and news of his exploits soon spread around Enugu and all over the Eastern part of Nigeria.
Rangers came calling in 1981 and he was picked with a few other young but equally talented players such as Mike Emenalo (current Chelsea FC’s Director of Football), Ike Ofoje, Benjamin Okaroh, Loius Igwillo, Ben Ugwu, Chibuzor Ihelegbu, etc
At Rangers, they met a team with established stars such as Christian Chukwu, Sylvanus Okpala, Kenneth Boardman, Chris Ogbodo, Emeka Akubueze, Aloysius Atuegbu, Emmanuel Okala, Samuel Onyeaka among others who were already household names in the country at the time.
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He recalled: “We were on the bench and it was an honour to be playing for Rangers at all but I was fortunate to be drafted into the first team even though I was a young boy of 17 or 18 at the time. It was a great achievement and I think the coaches saw something in me for them to give me such a huge responsibility and I played in the midfield alongside Okpala. I was actually living my dream and I treasured every moment.”
Okonkwo played almost 300 times for the Flying Antelopes but the story of how he transformed from a midfielder to become the scourge of defenders in the league as well as on the continent when Rangers represented Nigeria in club competitions is worth re-telling.
“That must be in 1984,” he recalls. “Rangers played Canon Sportif of Cameroun in the Cup Winners Cup and we lost the first leg 4-0 away. (Christian) Chukwu was the coach then but the NFA drafted in Coach James Peters to assist in our preparations for the second leg. Probably due to the huge deficit from the first leg, some of the senior players claimed they were injured or sick so we were left without a recognized striker. Coach Peters took me aside and said I was going to play in attack. The game was played in Lagos and Canon Sportif paraded the legendary Thomas Nkono in goal so we knew we were in for a difficult afternoon. We had to overturn a four-goal deficit but the first half ended 0-0. In the second half, I scored with a powerful half-volley from all of forty yards and we got two more goals with about 10 minutes left to play. At 3-0, the whole stadium got behind us and hope was rekindled. We needed one more goal to take the game to extra time and possibly penalties but it was not to be. It was painful that we fell short after coming so close but from that day I never played in midfield again.”
Thus was born the legend of a fearless marksman who delighted fans at many match venues where he played. Unlike now where few spectators throng match venues to watch the domestic league, Okonkwo recalls with a tinge of nostalgia how stadia across the country were always packed to the rafters every weekend.
“The stadiums were filled to capacity before the advent of European football on our television screens. Each club had well-known stars that everybody wanted to come and watch and the stars hardly disappointed their fans. You are always sure of top football action at any center and the fame of these players was widespread in spite of the fact that few of the games were on television.”
For him, the real el-clasico of that era were the many battles fought between Rangers and IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, a rivalry that spilled over to the continent when both teams met in the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup.
“Before the likes of Abiola Babes, Leventis United, Iwuanyanwu et al, IICC Shooting Stars (3SC) versus Rangers was the game everybody looked forward to each season, home and away. It drew the largest crowds and, as a player, it was the game you always wanted to play in.”
By 1984, he was at the peak of his game and an invitation to the senior national team, the Green Eagle was not long in coming. He joined the team after the Nations Cup and was an integral part of the set up for the next five years until 1989 when he played his last game for the Super Eagles.
His first competitive match was against Kenya in a 1986 World Cup qualifying game in Kampala and, fittingly, his last was another World Cup qualifier, this time against Gabon in Libreville where he got substituted for late Sam Okwaraji in the race for Italia ‘90 World Cup. His record with the national team stands at 19 goals in 37 appearances.
Okonkwo grew up and played in an era of great strikers like Rashidi Yekini, Dominic Iorfa, Mike Obiku, Amaechi Ottiji and a host of others. What set him apart such that he became such a fearsome player even though he had a gentle disposition?
He said: “Yes, maybe I had a dual personality. During my playing days, a part of me was gentle but there was the other part that was not gentle at all. I loved to wind opponents up, get on their nerves and forced them to make mistakes. I used to wind Bright Omokaro and Sunday Eboigbe up as we warmed up for games. Most strikers were scared of those two guys but I wasn’t. Infact, I think they were scared of me. Incidentally, Omokaro became my very good friend later in the national team.”
Looking back at what he called the “golden years” of Nigerian football, he attributed the success of that period to meticulous planning even though the country was under military rule.
“We had inter-house sports, state sports festivals, national sports festivals, NUGA, NIPOGA, YSFON etc. There was money invested in all aspects of youth culture, not just sports. Little wonder we produced so many great sportsmen and women. And all these were during the era of the military!” he said.
“Our generation and the ones immediately after us went through a process, time and money were invested in us, from a very early age. And unless we go back to that glorious era, a time will come when we will find it difficult to qualify for major competitions, let alone doing well in them.”Okonkwo may have retired from the beautiful game but he’s far from being tired. He still does the occasional kick-about when he has the time.“Yes, I still play for fun but what gives me the greater joy is when I get to play with my son Cass. I play for Egbertians FC in the Veterans League and he sometimes comes along to play with us. He’s a phenomenal player and is three-times the player I was at his age. He’s destined for greatness in the game.”
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