Legendary goalkeeper of the Nigerian national team, Emmanuel Okala, who turned 70 earlier in the week, speaks to GODFREY GEORGE about his background, career and feats on the pitch
You just turned 70. What are you most grateful for?
I am grateful that God found me worthy to spare my life. It is a thing of joy, and I am very happy. I will continue to praise Him for the rest of my life.
How was your childhood like?
I grew up like every other child. I was very playful. I loved football a lot as a child. I wouldn’t say my parents were too poor to care for me, but we were not rich either.
Like every other child, I wished I could combine playing football with studying. I wanted my parents to be proud of me. But, you know, you cannot serve two masters at the same time.
How did you start out in football, especially at that time when there was little or no recognition for footballers in the country?
The game of football is in our family. My father, when he was in the Police Force, played football for the police. His younger brother was a goalkeeper in his prime. So, it was in our blood. Also, I had serious interest in the game. I was following the Onitsha Red Devil’s players all along when I was much younger. I envied them; I wanted to be like them. This motivated me a lot. The late Francis Ibiam was my role model. I used to play upfront or defence. I hadn’t always been a goalkeeper.
Were your parents supportive of this decision?
Nobody will be happy when their child prefers to play football every day to taking his studies seriously. They were not in support, at first; but as time went on things changed. They saw the passion, the drive and they just had to leave me be. I left Onitsha for Enugu and missed out on many educational opportunities, but I knew what I wanted and nothing could stop me from achieving my goals.
What are some of your unforgettable moments on the pitch?
There were many of them – the great ones, the bad and sad ones. My most memorable moment was when we went to play a match at Congo and Sunny Oyerepa scored our first goal the first minute. The rest of the match was played in our 18; it was me versus the Congolese and I stood my ground, becoming a hero that day. In Kaduna, one time, our team was challenged by other teams, and we had been winning the league. When we played, we still came out victorious. There are a number of them too numerous to recount, but I don’t take them for granted.
Who were some of the defenders you loved playing with?
We had a great team. In a team like Rangers, for instance, for you to be a member, you had to be very good, except on days someone had an injury. So, there were many good defenders I loved playing with. I enjoyed playing with most of them, and they were very friendly, awesome players!
You said you didn’t start out as a goalkeeper. How did you end up as one?
First and foremost, the gift of goalkeeping was God-given, though there is a story to how I started goalkeeping. It was in secondary school, before the civil war, when we played for our junior team – Coal’s Team – and our goalkeeper was sick and couldn’t play. Our then Games Master, Chief C. N. Ugbaka, asked the team who could replace the sick goalkeeper and I opted to try. My only experience was that I was a goalkeeper for a small village team back in Onitsha. He (the Games Master) allowed me to try, and that was how the goalpost became a permanent place for me. After the war, I still continued with goalkeeping, as I had fallen in love with it.
Looking back at the years gone by, what would you say was your greatest achievement?
That would be the Best African Football Player of the Year award, because I was the first Nigerian player to achieve that feat. That is my highest.
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I won’t change anything. I give God all the glory and honour for the position and everything He has given me. I am very grateful to him.
You manned the goal post for the national team for 10 years. What was the experience like?
It was a good experience, because we were winning so many matches. The relationship in camp was a very cordial one. At a time, Segun Odegbami came to the national camp around 1973, and we were roommates till 1980 when I left. He was a jolly good fellow, a gentleman to the core. He was one man that I could trust as a friend. We’ve been good friends till date.
What was the experience you had during the civil war of 1967-1970?
It was a very bitter one that I don’t pray happens again. I saw people die, both by shelling, gunfire and hunger. I survived, because I was related to the then Chief of Air Staff, the late Colonel Louis Chude-Sokei, who was my uncle. So, when he died, we all took cover, because some of our relations had already died. So, somehow, we made it through and survived.
Would you say football was a tool of national unity at the time, considering the fact that you were part of the earliest movements of the post-civil war football club, Rangers International Football club of Enugu?
Football has always been a serious uniting factor in Nigeria; as it is today, so it was then. When you see the national team playing, we see everyone on one page, cheering them on, tribe and religious sentiments put aside. Everyone is focused on the match. After then, we may continue with our quarrels but football brings all and sundry together.
What virtue would you say has kept you relevant all these years?
I am currently the Senior Special Assistant on Sports to the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie ‘Mmaduaruchukwu’ Obiano, and I have served the state honourably since June 1, 2014. What took me there is hard work, excellence and persistence.
How did you meet your wife?
(Laughs) Well, we met as most couples meet. Ours was by some connections from our parents and grandparents. You know, connections pay a lot in this world. We have been living very happily since then, with mutual understanding and love. Whatever we do to each other, we remember where we first started and those who made efforts for us to be together. Once we remember this, we forge ahead.
Do you still get to play football sometimes?
I don’t. My exercise these days revolves around walking and little indoor routines. My physiotherapist gave me a few rules which I am keeping to. And you know this age comes with a lot of health challenges, but I am grateful to God that I am still strong by His special grace.
I will keep on saying this to youngsters: be patient, be obedient, be humble. Especially now that there’s a lot of money in football, if they are lucky and blessed by God, they will make it. They will make their families, villages and towns happy.
You’ve been on the football scene for decades. How would you grade Nigerian football over the years?
Before we will do well again at sports in Nigeria, we must go back to our primary and secondary schools and discover raw talents and potential. I love that the current Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has started it at the secondary school level. Let him still go down to the primary schools; there are talents there. This is why I cherish this Channels TV football competition, where they support children, who have dreams to be footballers. We need to identify these talents and start grooming them on time, because that was how people like me started. See where we are now. This will help this country a lot. Let us not forget school sports. This is why the Nigerian football space has been unstable. This depends largely on the administrators. If a governor, for instance, doesn’t like sports, there is nothing you will tell him to make him understand. It is the duty of those around him to convince him, showing him the value of sports. It will push out these young men and women, causing us trouble it will take them, off the streets. Our administrators are trying though, but there is always room for improvement.
