Former Nigerian champions, who also won the CAF Champions League back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 and were semifinalists twice in the 2008 and 2011 seasons, Enyimba Football Club of Aba is in the throes of self-rediscovery. CHRISTIAN OKPARA reports that the club is experiencing a reversal of fortunes brought about by the political class and its failure to build sustainable structures over the years.
For over a decade, Enyimba Football Club, which was once rated as the continent’s best football club, have not gone past the quarterfinal stage of the CAF Champions League for over five seasons.
For a club so rated in African football that it was easily the first to be contacted in West African football when considering teams for any elite invitational championship, Enyimba’s struggles in both the local and continental scenes are hard to explain, just as the reasons for its struggles are legion.
Most of Enyimba’s peers in Africa’s most prestigious championships have gone on to the global stage, where they played against the best sides of the world in the Club World Cup and other such championships. These include Etoile du Sahel, Al Ahli and Raja Casablanca, among others.
At the height of their powers at the turn of the century, Enyimba’s fan base stretched from Africa to such other places as Brazil, Ecuador and Italy. Perhaps, to demonstrate how popular the People’s Elephant were, Italian club side, Inter Milan, saw in Enyimba the ideal opponent for a friendly game to announce the return of former World Footballer of the Year and 2002 World Cup winner, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, from a 21-month injury layoff in 2001.
Between 2003 and 2005, Enyimba won all the biggest trophies available in African football and, with that, made so much money that most people saw their exploits as the gateway to building the strong base they needed to dominate the continent’s game.
Enyimba got $2.5 million as prize money in each of their CAF Champions League wins in 2003 and 2004. The team, which also got $200,000 for winning the CAF Super Cup in 2005, in 2004 became the first Nigerian club to sign a N100 million sponsorship deal when Globacom became their official telecommunications partner.
At every stage of their journey in African football, the club earned a lot of money and also attracted the best players in the West Africa region, who saw the People’s Elephant as the springboard to the limelight.
Some of the clubs Enyimba defeated on their way to the two CAF Champions League titles in 2003 and 2004, including Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, Esperance, also of Tunisia, Raja Casablanca and Wydad, both of Morocco, have since won the championship several times and also played in the FIFA Club World Championship, which is now known as the Club World Cup. So what went wrong with the People’s Elephant?
Most of those who have been involved with the Aba-based team blame its failure to leverage on their triumphs and popularity for greatness on the poor management structure that ensures that everything about the club revolves around the Abia State government, as well as the selfishness exhibited by some of the managers.
The general belief, however, is that Enyimba FC did so well in those glory days because Orji Uzor Kalu, who governed Abia State from 1999 to 2003, paid special attention to the club, and the government, which he led saw it as its major campaign tool, and therefore did everything possible to keep it away from people, who wanted to invest and take the club notches higher than the African league. Keeping the club in the government’s clutches, many allege, is also its bane.
This much was confirmed by Jude Anyadufu, who was Enyimba’s sporting director during the trophy-laden years, when he noted that the club was unfortunate to be the only viable project in Abia State, which the state government could dangle in front of the people during elections.
He said: “I remember that after that 2003 and 2004 CAF Champions League triumphs, we took Enyimba to the stock market because we wanted to liberate the club from the government’s apron string. Although the government was to retain 50 or 51 per cent equity, we intended to establish other streams of income for the club and build a fan base that would contribute to its growth. But, you know, since Enyimba was the only thing working in the state at that time, which people could use to campaign, the then government shot down the idea.
“Governor Kalu specifically asked us to tell him what he would campaign with if we sold Enyimba to the public because the club was so loved and popular that even local government chairmen hired buses to ferry people from their communities to watch Enyimba matches.”
Anyadufu also said that Enyimba could not erect any structure of their own because the government did not give the managers the chance to do that. He gave an instance: “I proposed personally to the chairman that we should build our sports camp at the Nsulu Games Village, which had been abandoned for years. But we could not do that because the politicians blocked it. There was nothing anybody could do under such conditions,” he said.
Anyadufu said the current managers are trying their best, adding that they would learn on the job with time, especially with some of those who worked with Anyansi Agwu still with the club.
“We left the N100 million cash prize money that we won from the 2023 Super Six playoff intact for the new management, as well as part of the money from the inaugural African Football League. We were not even supposed to feature in the African Football League as West Africa’s representative because Horoya of Guinea were rated higher than us…. they had been in the group stage of the CAF Champions League three times, while we had only two appearances in the championship in the years in question, but we won the right with the facilities that we presented to CAF, which were the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, and the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.
“The money CAF paid Enyimba for participating in the league came when we had already left the team, but instead of $1 million, Enyimba collected $750,000 because CAF deducted $250,000 as punishment for the improper numbering of our jerseys during one of the games in Uyo.”
Anyadufu advised Enyimba’s current management team to find a way of controlling the club’s finances, saying that depending on the state government for every one of their needs would always hinder progress.
“When we were in Enyimba, all the money that we made went to the Abia State government as internally generated revenue. But to be fair to all the governors, when they received the dollar equivalent, they gave us what we needed to run the club. But if Enyimba were to be run as a private club, the system would have been different.”
Anyadufu commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for the massive infrastructural development he has embarked on in the state, adding, however, that he did not handle the Enyimba transition properly. He said, “I am happy that he is one of the best governors around, but in terms of Enyimba, he didn’t handle the issues well. You see, Enyimba is not Plateau United Football Club, or Heartland Football Club. It is Enyimba, and in Africa today, the biggest Nigerian club most people know is Enyimba. But the transition was not handled properly.
“The governor called us during the Super Six; he talked to the players and asked us to win the cup for him so that he would use it to settle down in office. We did that only to hear a few days later that the board had been dissolved, without notice. Nobody is saying that he wants to stay in Enyimba forever, but there should have been a farewell and proper handing over. We have contacts and structures that we would have handed over to the new managers.
“Again, you don’t treat a man who brought so much honour and joy to the people the way Anyansi was treated. Some people are even insinuating that we are working against the new managers…but that is far from the truth.”
A former Abia Warriors Team Manager, Imo Azubuike, believes that Enyimba will rise again if the new managers learn to concentrate on their job and stop looking for “detractors.”
Azubuike said that he wrote to Enyimba Chairman, Kanu Nwankwo, advising him on some of the things that he should do to lift the club when he was announced as the new boss of the club.
He added, however, that some of the people around the former Nigerian captain are not doing the club any good, hence he advised Kanu to seek Anyansi Agwu’s counsel and discard every talk of the former Enyimba boss working against a club that he led for over 20 years.
He also advised Kanu to scout for competent marketers to rebrand the club and sell it to the corporate world instead of relying on the state government for every one of the team’s needs.
He added: “Enyimba has become too large to be dependent on just monthly subvention from Abia State government. I am sure in the governor’s heart, he wishes to get Enyimba off his wage bills.
“This can be done, but Kanu and his team must be intentional about it…it starts with taking the right step and activating the market.” Azubuike accused Enyimba’s current leadership of coming with a vindictive mindset, hence it has drifted away from the club’s established winning ways.
He also accused the previous management of only concentrating on winning laurels instead of working to institutionalise the club. “When the institutions are in place, the successors would build on them, but when there are no legacies left, apparently whoever is taking over would be confused and wouldn’t know where to start from.”
Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Team Manager, Aloy Chukwuemeka, who also worked with the Anyansi Agwu-led leadership, said that Enyimba’s current problems stem from the current officials’ failure to consolidate on the achievements of the past administration.
“It is unfortunate that a management came and jettisoned the structure that once made Enyimba the best club in Africa,” he said. Chukwuemeka said that the club was successful because it had representatives all over the country, who scouted for the best players in the land.
“So, if a management comes in without taking into cognisance the structure and also jettisoning the people that were there, it will affect that body. I will advise them to reach out to Anyansi and ask questions. There is nothing wrong in seeking counsel from an elder.”
Speaking on plans to get the club back on its feet, Enyimba’s Media Officer, Samson Orji, said that the Kanu Nwankwo-led management team was forced to build from scratch, adding that the previous administration left nothing for them to work with.
He said: “When we came on board, there was practically nothing on the ground; there was no structure in the club. “Yes, they won trophies, yes, there were glories in Africa, but then, to what extent did it translate to structure?
“Apart from the stadium that was constructed by Governor Orji Uzor Kalu and renovated by Okezie Ikpeazu, there is nothing to show. The trophies, yes, they won nine league titles, two ACF Champions Leagues, and of course, four FA Cups.”
Orji said that despite these setbacks, the new leadership has started structuring Enyimba as an entity, adding that the future looks bright for the club.
“In the two seasons that Kanu Nwankwo has been in charge, we have done creditably well. In the first season, we came third. We were on the verge of challenging for the league title in the 2023/24 season, but we had a lot of unfair decisions against us, and we ended up in third position. But we were able to get back to the continent, which was remarkable for someone who just took charge of a former champion and was in the scene for the first time.
“In the second season, we competed well, not only in the league, but also on the continent, ensuring that Nigeria maintained its coefficient in CAF rating with four teams on the continent.
“We were the only team from Nigeria to enter the group stage of the CAF competitions, and that is why Rivers United and Abia Warriors have the opportunity to play on the continent.”
Orji pleaded that the new administration should be given time to complete the restructuring of the club, saying that it would release the blueprint of the project in due course.
Like Anyadufu, Orji pointed out that Enyimba is a government-owned club, whose managers are accountable to the state government and therefore have a limit to what it can do.
“Kanu Nwankwo has been working tirelessly to bring the best modern practice into the system, making Enyimba one of the best, not just in Nigeria, but in Africa as well. If you come to Enyimba International Stadium as we speak, you will see ongoing renovations.
“In the past, there was no gym in the stadium, but the new management has built a gym house, where the players now have their light workout and physical training, especially those recovering from injury. The arena is also wearing a new look with different facilities, the entrance, and so many other things. We are also taking care of the players’ welfare and their allowance, which we hope will translate to good performance.
“Kanu is also trying to drag those who are passionate about the club to contribute their quota to the growth of the club. Rome was not built in a day, as they say, but he is working on ensuring that the club is well structured.”
I remember that after that 2003 and 2004 CAF Champions League triumphs, we took Enyimba to the stock market because we wanted to liberate the club from the government’s apron string. Although the government was to retain 50 or 51 per cent equity, we intended to establish other streams of income for the club, and build a fan base that would contribute to its growth. But, you know, since Enyimba was the only thing working in the state at that time, which people could use to campaign, the then government shot down the idea
