Writing in his tribute to the late Coach Amodu Shaibu, former national team captain, Segun Odegbami, described Pa Alabi Aisien as one of Nigeria’s most erudite and knowledgeable coaches of the late 70s and early 1980s.
Odegbami said Assien was a genuine ‘professor’ of football, whose true worth was shielded by the effect of the rapid turnover, continuous depletion and dilution of quality football administrators at that time. Complete outsiders eventually took over the game’s administration and have not surrendered ever since.
“Alabi was one of a number of gifted and knowledgeable first generation coaches, whose intellectual depth and understanding of football were ignorantly not exploited enough to drive and sustain proper football development in the country. ‘Professor’ Alabi Assien was an absolutely brilliant man, a deep thinker, very eloquent, well cultured, passionate and thorough. That was the man that took Amodu Shaibu under his wings as his assistant coach in Mighty Jets FC of Jos in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It was on this rock that Amodu built his foundation.”
In the 1970s up to the early 1990s, Alabi Aisien strode the Nigerian football firmament like a colossus who knew perfectly the ingredients that when put together would result in a sumptuous soccer meal. In Eto Amaechina of Enugu Rangers, Chris Udemezue of Ranchers Bees, Austin Ofuokwu of Stationery Stores, Monday Sinclair of Sharks, Isaac Nnado of Spartans and Adegboye Onigbinde of Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Aisien was in great company.
Perhaps, one event that brought the erudite Aisien to public attention was his ability to lead a very young Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin to a 3-0 defeat of the legendary Enugu Rangers, which had nine regular members of the Green Eagles in its line up.
Enugu Rangers in 1978 was invincible. The team embodied everything that was dreaded of Nigerian football and had just conquered the continent to become the African Cup Winners Cup champion.
Bendel Insurance on the other hand, was the ultimate underdog. It was an also ran in the league, with its biggest claim to fame up to that Challenge Cup final in 1978 being beating Mighty Jets of Jos to win the 1972 Challenge Cup and the league in 1973.
These victories were achieved before Enugu Rangers and Shooting Stars of Ibadan held Nigerian football by the jugular, exchanging titles as if they were the only teams in the land. But unknown to many, Bendel Insurance, helped by the grassroots development programme instituted by Governor Samuel Ogbemudia, was gradually building a strong team of young school leavers under the wings of Aisien.
Before arriving in Benin, Aisien was the coach of the dangerous Vasco Da Gama, which was a serious thorn in the flesh of city neighbours, Enugu Rangers.
Aisien arrived in Bendel Insurance in the middle 1970s and went about getting the best legs from every corner of Midwest to the Benin team. The result was that by 1978, Insurance had such deadly stars as Henry Ogboe, Chris Ogu, Chris Ogu, Sylvanus Oriakhi, Solomon Etoroma and Anthony Oviawe.
There were also Francis Moniedafe, Kadiri Ikhana, Rufus Ejele, Leotis Boateng, George Omokaro, Agwo Nnaji, and Prince Afejuku.
Enugu Rangers of the 19780s was known for the English brand of football characterized by long balls and to neutralize it, Aisien adopted the possession type short passing game, which meant that the ball was always on the feet of Bendel Insurance players.
The outcome of such tactic was that half way into the game, Rangers’ players were panting and short of breath. Insurance hit the Nigerian champions three times, with Peter Egharevba’s free kick beating Emmanuel Okala for the opening goal. Henry Ogboe scored the second goal and also wrapped up the game seven minutes to the end with the third goal.
That game signaled the arrival of Bendel Insurance as the third arm of the quadruplet, who ruled Nigerian football. The others were Rangers, Shooting Stars and Stationery Stores.
It also brought the Insurance line up to national reckoning, with those of them who were not already in the national team fast tracked into the squad.
Among those stars were Goalkeeper Agwo, Nnaji, David Adiele, Francis Moniedafe, Leotis Boateng, Kadiri Ikhana, Felix Agbonifo (captain), George Omokaro, Christopher Ogu, Peter Egharevba, Henry Ogboe, and Rufus Ejele, who was replaced in the 65th minute by Ebenezer Badger.
Since he retired from active coaching about a decade ago, Aisien has been spending the latter days of his career in Benin, where he is enjoying the dividends of his labour.
The Guardian met with Pa Alabi Aisien, who is now 82 years old, during the recent South South Champion of Champions competition, where he barred his mind on the recent events in Nigerian football, among other things. He also believes that he still has a lot to offer Nigerian football even in retirement.
He said, “I did not start my football with Bendel Insurance. I rose to the pinnacle of coaching in the National Sports Commission Zone One. I was also in Zone Three. We had four zones in the early years and I was the only black man, who controlled a zone as it were.
“When you talk of Bendel Insurance, it brings back memories of the good things we did in the good old days. But again, the question is, do we learn from history.”
A thorough football mind, Aisien still goes to the Ogbe Stadium to watch matches, even when his beloved Bendel Insurance is no longer the great club it used to be. Aside that, he is also engaged in teaching the upcoming ones the rudiments of club management. “I have been keeping fit. I believe that health is wealth. That is why I have been keeping myself busy because I know that at any time I might be called upon to serve my country. It is never over until it is over.
“Apart from that, I have family duties to perform and I am moving. My belief is that if I cannot run, I walk, if I cannot walk I crawl, but I keep moving. Again and again I also go to sporting venues to relax.”
Even in retirement, Aisien still follows events in Nigerian football, which ‘unfortunately, is not growing the way it should.’
He said, “When I look at our football today, I wonder if we are developing; and if we are developing, at what rate? Is it commensurate with what obtains in other countries? We seem to take two steps forward and five steps backwards.
“But all is not lost. By the special grace of God, when you stay long in darkness, you begin to see. I think we have stayed long in the dark and it is now time to come out and look for ways to move forward.”
Aisien is still keen to serve Nigerian football in may ways, but he advises the current administrators of the game to change their attitude to experienced and retired coaches.
“I still run seminars and workshops. So, I am still in the game and I contribute my little quota from time to time. But the problem is that Nigeria doesn’t seem to learn from history. They forget that there are people who can advise them. The leaders do not listen and when they listen they don’t seem to understand what we are saying.
“I passed through the crucible of Nigerian football and I think some of us should be consulted when things are going wrong. I have been looking forward to the day I will have a one-on-one with the NFF people to tell them where things are going wrong.
We have been fluctuating and it behoves on the relevant authorities to harness the country’s resources and look for solutions to the problems.”
