As action revs to a climax this Friday in this year’s Super-4 competition of the lower-division Nigeria National League (NNL), I make bold to state that the competition has not been as ‘nice’ as I personally expected it to be.
Indeed, when I was called upon by the management of Sports247 to represent the organisation during the competition at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State, I saw it as a huge opportunity to relive the joy of covering events outside my base in Lagos … which I last enjoyed in 2009.
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Indeed, during my heyday as a budding reporter and later as an editor, I truly enjoyed the pleasure of travelling to cover competitions and matches. I still have fund memories of trips to Kaduna, Benin City, Onitsha, Aba, Akure, Gboko, Jos, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin Republic, Senegal, Spain, Austria and many others, all in the line of out-station reportage.
Sadly, the NNL’s Super-4 for this year revealed to me that the current generation of sports writers and reporters don’t have the pleasures and gains of out-station assignments that we veterans of the trade enjoyed when we were young.
Gone are the days of hub nobbing together in lively groups before and after each game. At the same time, the aura of unity and togetherness that used to be buoyed and spread by officials of Sports Writers Association (SWAN) – at both state and national levels – is no longer there.
No joint tours, excursions and syndicated visits that we used to enjoy. No well-coordinated interviews with organising officials, top shots of clubs and well-respected guests or personalities of high esteem. What happened to the spirit of camaraderie we enjoyed as SWAN members in those days of glee?
Someone hinted that I might have been overlooked and sidelined in the scheme of things, because I was an ‘old cargo’ in the midst of ‘Gen-Z reporters,’ but that insinuation only served to buttress my point that the SWAN of today is not the one of yore, when people like Jack Moses Ekwe-Ekwe, Bayour Issah, Ganiyu Salman, China Acheru et al would travel from their distant bases to cover events in Lagos and they would receive all benefits accruing to we the ‘home lads,’ while we would also get same measure of love when we go to places like Ibadan, Onitsha, Aba, Jos, Kano and Kaduna.
Sadly, the joy of those brotherly days did not radiate among us in Ikenne.
Instead of one for all and all for one, what we saw was OYO – on your own – and every journalist for himself.
By now, you might be wondering why I tagged this script ‘NNL Super-4, Not So Nice,’ considering that all my displeasure so far has been about the absence of love in the SWAN brotherhood as seen during this mini-competition in the town that produced Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Tai Solarin.
The connection in this regard simply is that the NNL’s top brass did not help matters. They took journalists for granted and never provided a well-articulated media unit that could be visible for all to see. So, instead of us knowing where to go and when to do so, we relied on speculation, conjecture, hearsay and roving eyes to keep abreast.
I actually feared this would happen when I learnt that NNL’s media officer, Amar Ignis would not be in Ikenne. What a misnomer, how could you hold such a huge event without your spokesman in attendance (unless there’s a development they don’t want us to know about)?
Sadly, the press gallery at Remo Stars Stadium is placed at an incongruous spot so high up in the stands and far away from easy access to the pitch. So, many of our colleagues opted to sit with normal spectators closer to the pitchside; while those who did ‘what should normally be done’ were left running helter skelter from the media gallery when it was time for interviews.
That too became a big minus for the 2026 NNL Super-4, because the media centre is located two buildings away and you need to be alert to find it. Someone then tried to arrange pitch side interviews but forgot that not all reporters present were from TV and radio that have microphones flowing directly into their equipment.
Hmm. What a litany of woes for the media (despite the fact that the current NNL chairman used to be one of us). However, even football fans did not have it as blissful as I thought they would. The turnout was actually very, very poor (with a rate card that was as low as 25% short of expectation).
Yet, for the few that came, there was no fans zone to relish, no well stocked eateries, no leisure spots, no hi-tec hubs, no branded points to get goodies of NNL’s partners, no stands for purchase of merchandise, no display of souvenirs and no memorabilia. So dull and so sad.
Even a publicity rally that was highlighted by the chief operating officer was not seen. So, the awareness level for the 2026 Super-4 in Ikenne was close to zero. No wonder the stands could be turned into sleeping zones during games.
In all of it, though, action on the pitch gave us something to cheer – especially when Sporting Lagos were playing. Such was the beauty of watching Buter Jeffrey’s team play (especially during Wednesday’s 4-0 thrashing of Doma United) that you forgot the agony of dashed expectations.
So, I say thanks to Sporting Lagos and the other three clubs for giving us something to cheer even when the organisers were not so fair!
