FOSLA’s Ogbelu bringing back memories of ‘school boy internationals’

Once upon a time, it was common to see young and talented Nigeria players who represented the country in international football straight from either secondary or tertiary institutions. Such gifted youngsters were commonly referred to as ‘school boy internationals’. It simply meant that they were still students but good enough to put on the green-white-green […]

Once upon a time, it was common to see young and talented Nigeria players who represented the country in international football straight from either secondary or tertiary institutions.

Such gifted youngsters were commonly referred to as ‘school boy internationals’. It simply meant that they were still students but good enough to put on the green-white-green jerseys of Africa’s most populous nation.

For instance, the late Haruna Ilerika was a student of Zumratul Grammar school when he played in the Principal’s Cup which was the platform he used to showcase his talent to the world.

Subsequently, the ‘master dribbler’ as he was nicknamed played in the national team from 1971–1976, the same period he distinguished himself at Stationery Stores.

Similarly, Henry Nwosu was a key member of the national team from 1980–1991, scoring eight goals in 60 appearances. He lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 1980 as a 17-year-old boy from Saint Finbarrs College.

Once regarded as one of Nigeria’s strongest defensive midfielders in his playing days, ex international, Tajudeen Disu nicknamed ‘Ghaddafi’ was a student of Ansar Uddeen College.

He was a prominent member of the great YSFON team that brought glory to Nigeria, winning youth competitions from Sweden to Denmark and to the USA in the early 1980s. He was also an integral part of the first Flying Eagles team to qualify for the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mexico.

Disu was in the silver-winning Green Eagles team at 1984 AFCON in Ivory Coast, and held sway in the defence of defunct Abiola Babes that reached four straight FA Cup finals between 1984 and 1987.

Another Nigerian who played football as a student is Adokiye Amesiemeka who as a law student at the University of Lagos played for the Enugu Rangers Football Club (of Enugu), Sharks Football Club Port Harcourt, African Continental Bank (ACB) Football Club, Lagos, and the 1980 victorious Green Eagles.

Later nicknamed ‘Chief Justice’ by late ace commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, Adokiye also represented the country at the 1980 Summer Olympics and featured prominently at the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Late Stephen Keshi was 19 years old when he made his debut for the national team, the Flying Eagles as a student from Saint Finbarrs College, Akoka.

He was captain of the Flying Eagles and Super Eagles, leading the latter to triumph at 1994 AFCON in Tunisia and qualifying the country for the senior World Cup for the first time in the USA in the same year.

Another product from St Finbarrs College, Samson Siasia represented the country at U20 level before graduating to Super Eagles, scoring 16 times in 51 appearances from 1984–1999.

He was part of the team that won AFCON in 1994 and reached the second round at FIFA World Cup in USA the same year.

The former Nantes striker also excelled as coach of the Nigeria U20, U23 teams, guiding the latter to a second-place finish at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing before taking charge at Super Eagles from 2012 to 2013 and briefly in 2016.

Yet again, St Finbars College produced the Olukanmi brothers, Segun and Femi who both represented the country at U20 level and later graduated to the Super Eagles, where they had few games before leaving for the USA.

And Tunde Disu, Tajudeen’s elder brother, played as a striker for Ahmadiya College Agege and was among the first set of players to make the national team from school.

After his graduation, he played for Electric Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) and Nigeria Airways football club even as a teenager, winning the Oba Cup in the ’60s with the former.

He later coached various national teams, and is renowned for guiding the U-20 team to a second-place finish at the 1989 World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia, where the team came from 4-0 down, 28 minutes to full time to beat USSR at the semi-finals in what is still referred to as the ‘Damaan miracle.’

Disu later served as the Technical Director of the defunct Nigeria Football Association.

Indeed, examples of ‘school boys internationals’ abound in Nigerian football. Unfortunately, the same country appears to have abandoned school sports and the resultant effect is the alleged over-aged players for even intermediate competitions.

However, it is in this era of age-falsification, commonly associated with African countries that FOSLA Academy and few others are doing their best to return to the glory days of ‘school boys internationals.’

 In the present squad of the national U-20 team, the Flying Eagles who recently won the WAFU B championship in Niamey to qualify for the 2023 Junior AFCON in Egypt, there is a school boy international.

He is 18-year old Onuche Ogbelu, the immensely talented student of FOSLA Academy in Karshi. In the midst of academic activities, the youngster took part in Coach Ladan Bosso’s screening and was picked to represent the country in Niamey.

At the championship, he put up eye-catching performances as the Flying Eagles went all the way to the finals and picked their maiden WAFU B U-20 championship title.

After the victory, Ogbelu returned to FOSLA Academy, a school owned by a former president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi, to write his Senior Secondary School Examinations (SSCE).

The ‘poster boy’ of FOSLA has said coming back to continue with his examinations was not a problem because every student in the school is used to the deliberate efforts by the school to ensure that they seamlessly combine education with their football career. 

He said “Our proprietor cannot accept any excuse for failure. He expects you to excel in whatever task that you are faced with. That is the major reason all the students always strive to be among the best.

“I know that I will be faced with my final examinations as soon as I return from Niamey, so I went there with my books. I thank God that in the matches I played, I tried to make my mark.

“My focus now is my examinations. Once I am done, I will join my team mates in FOSLA FC to ensure we gain promotion to the National League (NNL) next season,” he said. 

Confirming his availability for the examinations, the principal of the Academy, Josephine Ebohdagbe, said the player returned from the national assignment early enough to meet up with the examinations.

“Yes, Onuche Ogbelu returned to school early enough to meet up with his examinations. He is a science student. Though the examinations had started before he returned, he met all his core subjects. We advised him to travel with his books, which he actually did. He sat for his mathematics examination at the weekend”.

She described him as a very brilliant student, eager to learn and always determined to succeed in his career. 

Ogbelu who hails from Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State is among the students on scholarship in the mixed school that combines education with football. He was identified at the 2017 edition of the Academy’s screening exercise in Kogi State.

Interestingly, he was a member of FOSLA Academy team that won the resuscitated National Principals Cup in 2021. Expectedly, he is also a member of the FOSLA FC that is playing in the NLO Division 1 League. 

The story of Ogbelu is an interesting one because he has invoked sweet memories of ‘school boy internationals’ at a time when the country’s cadet national football teams are said to be dominated by players who use what is now known as ‘football age’.