Godwin Odiye's Header, the infamous own goal that became folklore in Nigeria, every football loving father handed down the story to their kids...And even some millennial kids today can vividly discribe Odiye's header as if they saw the game live.
Not many knew Odiye was the best central defender we had in the country for a longtime, who even helped Nigeria win the first ever African nations cup 1980. But he is remembered for this one blunder of 1977.
It was a hot Saturday afternoon when Tunisia came calling for what was our final match in the three team final round of matches. As at that time the general feeling was that a win will put Nigeria through to Argentina. The country was geared up for a win – at least the Surulere part of Lagos.
The sports pages of the newspapers carried stories and opinion pieces saying that a win will take Nigeria to Argentina. The trick in West Africa at the time was to play matches against North African teams around 2pm when the sun was at its highest. The idea was that they were not used to the kind of heat from the Nigerian sun.
Those matches used to be played in Lagos so I doubt if the city could have been hotter than Rabat/Marrakesh/Algiers/Cairo/Alexandria and the other cities in North Africa. It is even laughable now thinking about it.
Anyway, back to the Tunisia match. Again there was no live TV, while the ticket prices were increased. Ernest Okonkwo, the popular commentator and the Radio Nigeria crew were at the ready. I was a nervous wreck from the morning of the match till the 2pm kick off. There is actually very little of the day I can remember. Very little of the commentary I can remember in terms of action or match incidents. What I do remember ever so clearly was when Okonkwo screamed “it is a goal” and I started to celebrate believing surely that Nigeria had scored.
I was quickly shouted to keep quiet by my father as Okonkwo continued “…a goal by Nigeria against Nigeria“. What made me realise immediately that something was terribly wrong was the silence coming from the radio and streets. This silence was also all around me, no shouting in the neighbourhood. It was Tunisia with the lead courtesy of an own goal by Godwin Odiye. The rest of the commentary was a blur. Don’t remember.
Game ended in a defeat. Campaign over. There will be no Argentina ’78 World Cup for Nigeria. Hours later the match was on TV. I wasn't ready to watch it. What was there to watch, I ask myself. See the tricks the mind plays on you: I can recall the earlier victory over Egypt but this Tunisia match, I don’t want to see it. But NTA keep repeating the footage now and again for a long time. So I have no choice but to watch it one of those days.
I grieved over that defeat for long. How much of that match I can remember, nobody in Nigeria did forget this own goal, in fact, it entered as one of football's folklore, taken after the story of Thunder Teslim Balogun shot that Pearce through the stomach of a defender.
Let us read Godwin Odiye's Account:
I still remembers the event of November 12, 1977 as if it was yesterday.
He peeled off the date, place and time.
“How can I forget? he blurted and went ahead to vividly describe the goal that dashed Nigeria’s dream of qualifying for its first World Cup in Lagos against the Tunisia and Nigerians had to endure 17 years’ long wait before featuring at the biggest global football tournament.
“That goal was the highlight of my football career and it defined the course of my life, thereafter,” began Odiye in a recent interview with our correspondent.
“We were hard pressed to score a goal when the game was about 15 minutes to end and we went into massive attack with Christian Chukwu overlapping and supporting our midfielders.
“I was the only one behind and I got a pass from Muda Lawal supporting the defence and I immediately passed it on to Sam Ojebode at left-back. Ojebode ventured into attack but his cross was headed back to a Tunisian who controlled the ball and raced down the left side position.
“As I was alone with no help coming I took a decision that, if the Tunisian player crossed the ball, I will go for a corner kick header. The player did what I expected from him, but it was a spin, which grazed my head. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala had come out and the ball was in the net.
“What surprised me mostly was the noise from the commentary box. Okonkwo was shouting repeatedly, ‘Nigeria score Nigeria’ and that must have enraged our fans and many Nigerians that were listening on radio.
“I was really disappointed. It was not funny after the game as I was smuggled out of the stadium by my friends.”
The drama became fiercer for Odiye. “The following day, I wanted to gauge people’s feeling, so I got on a bus heading towards the National Stadium and all the talks were about the game and me and I was called all sorts of name and some even abused my forefathers.
“One man sitting beside me rained curses on me not knowing he was talking to the same Odiye. I did not say a single word but when I alighted he looked back, recognised me and I waved at him.
"It was the headline on Daily Times and in all newspapers the next day. It was like a torture, Godwin Odiye's header and own goal was reeled in news round ups on Radio Nigeria every hour. It was first on 9 O'clock news on NTA. I felt like a murderer. I murdered the hope of over 100 million Nigerians then.
"Thereafter, I made up my mind that football was not for me. Though I came back to win the Nations Cup in 1980, I knew football wasn’t my thing.
“Even in the United States many years after, I was in a social gathering of Nigerians and a man was boasting that he would beat me up should he meet me because of that own goal. I just smiled and left the place.
It is like a stigma that wouldn't go away. Till today, if you introduce me to any Nigerian, ''this is Godwin Odiye,' he or she immediately recall and refer to that own goal."
