BY PAUL LUCKY OKOKU
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐ช๐๐ข ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง
Some defenders clear the ball at the first sign of danger. Others tackle, and leave the creative work to their midfielders.
Then there was ๐ช๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ.
A defender so comfortable with the football that even his teammates sometimes wondered what he would do next.
I played alongside him in our historic 1983 Flying Eagles team, and I still remember the extraordinary confidence with which he handled the ball.
Imagine a defender receiving possession near his own penalty area, an opponent closing in, and instead of simply clearing the danger, he calmly decides to beat his man.
Your heart skips a beat.
But Wahab knew what he was doing.
A body movement. A quick change of direction. A beautifully controlled touch.
And suddenly, the opponent was the one in trouble.
That was Wahab.
๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฎ.
๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ โ๐ด๐ญ: ๐ช๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ง ๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ฅ
Wahab belonged to that generation of Nigerian footballers whose abilities were discovered through school competitions, state tournaments and national sporting festivals.
One important chapter was the 1981 National Sports Festival in Benin City, popularly remembered as Bendel โ81.
Wahab represented Benue State, having previously participated in the 1978 National School Sports competition in Calabar and the 1979 National Sports Festival in Ibadan.
He was among the talented young footballers who came to the attention of the national youth-team selectors during that period.
Under our late coach, Christopher Udemezue, Nigeria was assembling a generation of players capable of breaking a barrier that had frustrated the country for years: qualification for a FIFA World Cup tournament.
Wahab eventually joined us in that historic undertaking.
He brought something special to our defensive department.
๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ข ๐ง๐ข ๐ง๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐
Born Abdulwahab Adio Adesina, Wahab grew up in Otukpo, Benue State, in a family whose roots connected Osogbo and Otukpo.
His education took him through Methodist Central Primary School in Otukpo, Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School and Commonwealth College of Commerce in Jos, and Government Secondary School, Otukpo.
Long before national recognition, he was developing his football abilities with local youth teams, including Touch & See, Flamingos and Obe Babes.
One published recollection describes how he would arrive at the training ground ahead of his teammates, practising his ball control and juggling relentlessly.
That detail matters.
The seemingly effortless confidence I later witnessed on the football field was supported by years of practice.
What spectators celebrated as natural brilliance was also the product of discipline.
๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ช๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐
To appreciate Wahabโs nickname, one must remember the Argentine legend Daniel Alberto Passarella.
Passarella captained Argentina to victory at the 1978 FIFA World Cup and subsequently played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan in Italyโs Serie A.
He was a defender who could do considerably more than defend.
He possessed technical ability, vision, confidence on the ball and the willingness to initiate attacks from deep positions.
Those were qualities we recognized in Wahab.
He could receive the ball under pressure and manoeuvre out of situations that would make a conventional defender nervous.
Sometimes, watching him take another touch instead of clearing the ball, I wondered whether he had forgotten how close we were to our own goal.
But Wahab would beat his opponent and carry on as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐๐.
That combination of composure and daring made him unforgettable.
๐๐๐ก๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ด, ๐ญ๐ต๐ด๐ฏ: ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ
One of the historical photographs I particularly treasure shows Wahab and me jogging together in training before our decisive World Youth Championship qualifier against Guinea.
The photograph appeared in The PUNCH as Nigerians prepared for that historic encounter.
We had travelled from Bembo Games Village in Ibadan to Lagos, knowing exactly what was at stake.
On January 8, 1983, at the National Stadium, Surulere, Nigeria defeated Guinea 2โ0.
Humphrey Edobor and Tarila Okorowanta scored the goals that secured our qualification.
For the first time, a Nigerian national football team had reached a FIFA World Cup tournament.
Wahab was part of the family that achieved that breakthrough.
Months later, we represented Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico, held from June 2 to June 19, 1983.
The experience introduced our generation to the world and established a foundation for the international successes that followed.
๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐โ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฆ
Wahabโs football journey extended well beyond the Flying Eagles.
He helped Niger Tornadoes reach the 1982 Challenge Cup final, where they lost to Stationery Stores.
He subsequently played for Abiola Babes, becoming part of the team that won the 1985 Challenge Cup after defeating BCC Lions of Gboko on penalties.
In 1986, he joined Leventis United, contributing to a remarkable double-winning campaign in the Nigerian league and Challenge Cup.
His later career included Julius Berger, Shooting Stars and Concord FC of Abeokuta.
Wahab also earned opportunities with the senior Green Eagles, although injuries affected his international career.
Following retirement, he relocated to Dublin, Ireland, according to published biographical accounts.
From the school fields of Otukpo to the national team and major Nigerian clubs, his journey illustrates the opportunities that football could create for talented young Nigerians.
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ
More than four decades have passed since we wore the Flying Eagles jersey together.
Our generation has travelled different roads, built families and pursued lives beyond the stadiums where we once competed.
But when I remember Wahab Adesina, my mind does not first return to his trophies or the clubs he represented.
I see him with the ball at his feet.
An opponent approaching.
The rest of us expecting him to clear.
And Wahab choosing instead to demonstrate why we called him Passarella.
It was football played with imagination, courage and remarkable technical assurance.
Otukpo produced a footballer who represented his country on the world stage.
Nigeria gained a defender whose qualities deserve to be remembered.
๐ช๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น.
๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐.
And for those of us privileged to share the field with him, that is a memory worth preserving.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐น ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ข๐ธ๐ผ๐ธ๐
FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Investigative Football Writer | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Childrenโs Fund (GTCF)
๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐:
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๐ฃ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ.
