How would you describe the Nigerian league season? It's okay; at least we can see some of the things that have changed in the Nigerian league. Officiating has improved and teams can now play away and earn points. Earning points away was very rare in the past but this season, we had a sharp improvement.
What do you think should be done to make our domestic league world-class standard? Some of the pitches now have synthetic surfaces. Now, the players can play on better pitches. But in actual sense, we need to try and repackage the players. Their welfare must be taken into consideration. Not that you sign a player for N6m and pay him N2m. And the player won't receive any money again until he joins another club. That is not good. They should look at issues concerning clearing of players for transfers; it's very critical but they have to get players welfare right first. Once a club sacks you, they have to pay you off but these days, clubs sack you and still hold your money and clearance papers. That is why you see players scattered all over the country without a job. Some of the clubs owe them. If you check the records, some clubs owe players since 2010.
How are the players going to feed their families? Sometimes you travel for games, and your friends, who are players in the Nigerian league, come begging for money. They need to try and do something about that.
Why were Kwara United not among the title contenders? We were pushing and contesting for the title before the fans became unruly and the club was banished to Abuja. I think the club would have done better if we were not banished in the first place.
You are a member of Nigeria's beach soccer national team. How did you feel watching the beach soccer World Cup from home after Nigeria failed to qualify? Of course, it was really painful because I feel if we had gone to the competition, we would have done very well. Watching Spain beat Brazil and also watching Tahiti reaching the semi-finals made me feel we could have gone far in the tournament if we had qualified. We are better than Tahiti, so it means we could have gone as far as the semi-final. If we were encouraged and we kept the team we took to the last World Cup, I think we would have qualified and gotten to the semi-final.
How would you compare the welfare package for the Super Eagles and the Sand Eagles, having played for both sides? There is no basis for comparison at all. We have won three Nations Cup and reached the final once and we have won the Copa Lagos back-to-back. We don't earn as much as our Super Eagles counterparts. That is why you see most of the players have left; they don't value beach soccer at all. We are there because we are playing for our country.
Has it been easy for you combining beach soccer and football? I hadn't played beach soccer before until Kadiri Ikhana recommended that I should be invited to the beach soccer national team because of my aggressiveness and stamina. That was how I found myself playing beach soccer. Beach soccer is more tasking because you don't wear anything on your legs; sometimes you kick the sand or even an opponent's leg, which can be very painful. It takes much more strength to run on the beach than on grass or synthetic turf.
After winning the CAF Champions League twice, it was expected that you would move abroad like most of your teammates did. What happened? You can't question God. Most of the people I played with have stopped playing football but I thank God I am still playing. I have gone for trials abroad and came back. Not every player that has played at the World Cup is playing in Europe. Some are back home. So, I appreciate where I am now.
Don't you think your eye defect may have contributed in clubs abroad not wanting to sign you? Well, I can't say. If God says yes, who is that man to say no? I still believe in God pushing me up in my career. Once I am playing, I focus on my football. I am on the pitch to play, not to focus on things like that. Every human being has a problem. As far as football is concerned, there is no one who doesn't know me in Nigeria. If God didn't want me to play football with this condition, He wouldn't have created me like this; I don't think He would take me to where I am today.
Again, you are one of the country's best left-backs, why have you not been given a look-in by the Eagles present coach? I have been there (Eagles) before but changing of coaches sometimes means changing of players. Most times, they don't give home-based players chances in the team. But I appreciate what (Stephen) Keshi has been doing, giving the domestic league players the opportunity to show the stuff they are made of.
Do you think you have been left out due to your physical disability? I will say football is a turn-by-turn thing. When you are given a chance, you showcase yourself. Maybe after the 2014 World Cup, more focus will be on the home-based players. I am not the only player that has not been invited to the team, so I cannot tell you any reason behind not getting called up to the team. Everybody has to be given a chance to fight for a place in the team. Actually, I am hoping to get a club in Europe or outside the country. That is when they value you more. The Super Eagles is not on my mind; all I am thinking of now is how to further my career.
As a left-back, how would you rate Elderson Echiejile, who plays that position for the Eagles? I and Elderson have been friends right from our Bendel Insurance days. I used to encourage him. At Enyimba, I had Vincent Enyeama and Romanus Orjinta as players who encouraged me. So when I moved to Benin, I saw Elderson as a player I could encourage as well. I took him to my house to live with me when he came from Pepsi Academy.
So, seeing him in the Eagls makes me happy. Football is about opportunity. Celestine Babayaro and Taye Taiwo were playing that role before Elderson. You can't say Elderson is Nigeria's best left-back but he has been given the opportunity and he is making use of it. I am happy for him. He has really been doing well.
Enyimba had to come back from a 6-1 defeat before moving on to win the 2003 Champions League. How was the team able to get back to winning ways? We were not used to the speed balls they used in the match and we were trying to adapt. But before we knew it, they had scored a lot of goals and the problem was compounded when I was sent off and Enyimba was one man down. When we got home, we studied the game and brought some speed balls, which we started training with and we got used to it.
We told ourselves after then that all hope was not lost. The coach, Kadiri Ikhana, the then Abia governor, Orji Kalu and the chairman of the club, Felix Anyansi-Agwu told us not to lose hope in the team. Nigerians were also behind us. That was what made us didn't give up.
What was it like being among the first Nigerian players to hold aloft the once elusive CAF Champions League in 2003? As a young player, that was my first year in the Nigerian topflight league and my first year playing in the CAF Champions League. I was very happy to have my name written in gold both in Nigeria and in Africa.
And then you won it again following year ... It was the same team that won the cup in 2003 that played in 2004. There were not much changes in the team, so there was consistency. With determination added to that, there was no stopping us.
Was it football you really wanted to play? Actually, I have four brothers playing in the Nigerian league, so football is in my blood. Anthony plays for Sharks, Ikechukwu who once played for Wikki Tourists, Nassarawa United and Ocean Boys is now in Bangladesh; Chibuike plays for OUK while Bernard plays for Heartland. There is also Onyekachi.
Is there any time other players tried to use your defect against you? I can't say. It has not affected me in any way. I play as a normal footballer. If God can take me to where I am today, why will I say it is a disadvantage?
What are your best and worst moments? I think winning the Champions League in my first attempt ranks as my best. We were the first players from Nigeria to achieve that feat. But not qualifying for the 2013 beach soccer World Cup is my worst moment. We were relaxed while the likes of Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire were in camp for months. So, it was sad.
Are you fulfilled as a player? I can't say I am fulfilled because I am still playing and want to play abroad. But in the Nigerian league, I have made my mark and happy about that.
What is your advice to people with disabilities? They have introduced Paralympics, so that people physically challenged can compete too. Nobody should underrate his or herself. When I travelled to Europe, I saw people who couldn't walk involved in shot put, tennis and other sports. I think Africans should emulate and encourage that, so that everyone can be involved. It's not good when you turn physically challenged people to nuisance.
God knows why He created some people with disabilities. There are a lot of healthy people, who are not better than physically challenged people. I thank God because where He has taken me, the able-bodied people have not been able to get there.
What has been your inspiration? Looking at my people and looking at where I grew up from inspired me. Right from my childhood days, I knew that football was in the family. My senior brother started playing football before my father forced him to go back to school and complete his studies. Along the line, I was in school and a member of Pepsi Academy.
I was doing that and I told my younger ones, 'Hey, you guys have to do something for yourselves. If you look up to me for the money, you won't work hard.' Everybody in the family wanted to play football and they started making something for themselves. I also thank Kadiri Ikhana; he was the coach that really pushed me.
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