We were young, but we were already learning that football could open doors — if we did not allow it to close the others.
In 1982, while in the Flying Eagles camp at Bembo Games Village, Ibadan, some of us — including Paul Okoku, Segun and Femi Olukanni, Taju Disu, Alphonsus Akhahon, Christopher Anigala, Raymond King, Tarila Okorowanta, Samson Siasia and Patrick Udoh — had just returned from Sweden after winning the Gothia Cup against Ayr of Scotland with the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, YSFON.
A year earlier, many of us had been selected by Coach Chris Udemezue following the National Sports Festival in Benin City, tagged Edo ’81. By the time we arrived at camp, we were already three weeks late because of Sweden.
Before long, we were back in Lagos football with National Bank for the Oba Cup.
We defeated NEPA in the semi-final and Stationery Stores in the final to win the 1982 Oba Cup. Not long afterward, National Bank reached the Challenge Cup final against ACB, losing on penalties.
Then came another memorable test.
In 1982, National Bank played a friendly against IICC Shooting Stars at Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, and they came with their full strength — Segun Odegbami, Mudashiru Lawal, Best Ogedegbe, Orlando John and others.
It was a serious examination for a very young National Bank side just back from Sweden.
Our team included Abia Ekaete in defence alongside Emmanuel Thompson and William Eke, Yemi Adebanjo in goal, Aiyepe as captain, Leonard Eyo, Segun and Femi Olukanni, Paul Okoku, Affinnih Taiwo, and Mensah Kweku, among others.
We were young. They were established. But we competed. And people were watching.
Through all of this, John Masteroudes had been paying attention.
He repeatedly sent George Hassan, a former Green Eagles midfielder who had been with IICC Shooting Stars and later linked up with Masteroudes, to our camp to persuade some of us to leave National Bank for Carpet Royal — the club that was preparing to become Leventis United.
It was not an easy decision.
National Bank had treated us like family. We were still students when they recruited us in 1981, while we were preparing for our West African School Certificate examinations.
They supported us while we were in school. They gave us free bank luncheon vouchers, which allowed us to eat throughout the month, and they promised us permanent jobs at the bank’s Broad Street, Lagos location when we finished secondary school. They kept that promise.
So walking away was difficult. It took us months.
Then came this picture. This was the moment the decision became real.
Tony Soleye, our team manager, even wrote the resignation letters for us. We signed them, and he carried them from Ibadan to National Bank headquarters on Broad Street in Lagos — a tall order.
From the story he later told us about what happened inside that office, Tony Soleye will probably laugh about that day for the rest of his life. How he came out alive from the bank’s headquarters on Broad Street? He lives to tell the story.
And that was how another chapter began.
Carpet Royal became Leventis United. We helped build something special.
We won the Oyo State League. We played the elimination match in Kano to qualify for the National League Second Division, where Paul Okoku scored a half-volley from a beautiful cross by Emmanuel Akpan. We won the Oyo State Challenge Cup in 1983. We became champions.
But football was never the final destination. Even as young players, we wanted security. We wanted education. We wanted a future beyond the pitch.
The beautiful thing was that within our small circle of friends, we thought alike: Education. Future security after football.
We played together. We moved together. And in 1984, we left together to pursue higher education.
Football was never our destination. It was our transportation through life’s journey. A means to an end. And this photograph captured one of the stops along the way.
