Pillars, Katsina United supporters should desist from violence

Last weekend, the image of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) suffered another serious setback after irate fans of Katsina United unleashed mayhem on players and officials of Barau FC during the week 12 match at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina. All hell was let loose after the vastly experienced Orji Kalu Okagbue had the […]

Last weekend, the image of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) suffered another serious setback after irate fans of Katsina United unleashed mayhem on players and officials of Barau FC during the week 12 match at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina. All hell was let loose after the vastly experienced Orji Kalu Okagbue had the “effrontery” to equalise Uche Collins’ opening goal for United. The equaliser woke up the monster in some of the home fans.

Instead of the home supporters urging their team to fight harder to score another goal, they resorted to hooliganism that almost claimed lives. Although no life was lost, a player of Barau FC, Nana Abraham, was seriously injured on the neck where he was hit by a dangerous object hurled into the pitch. So, there was absolute chaos, but no throat was slit as widely reported by some mischief makers.

Whether normalcy was fully restored or not, the match resumed after the disruption and proceedings continued under a tense atmosphere. In the end, the spoils were shared between the two teams as none was able to increase the tally after the ugly incident. Therefore, Barau FC, who are already battling against relegation, returned to Kano with a crucial away point.

However, the point earned on the road came at a great cost as the visitors suffered immense physical and psychological trauma following the unwarranted attack on them. Apart from the different degrees of injuries sustained in the melee, the windscreen of Barau FC’s bus was smashed by the hooligans.

In a swift reaction, the league organisers, acting on the match commissioner’s report, sanctioned Katsina United for various breaches of the NPFL Framework and Rules. For the various offences concerning unsporting behaviour and security breaches, Katsina United were fined N9 million. In addition, their venue was moved to New Jos Township Stadium, where they are to play their home matches behind closed doors till further notice.

Soon after the decisions contained in the Summary Jurisdiction by the NPFL was announced, Katsina United, who were given 48 hours from the time of the announcement to either submit to the verdict or go on appeal, denied any knowledge of the dastardly acts that had occurred at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium. Despite the overwhelming evidence, the club insisted that there was no attack on Barau FC before, during or after the match. Isn’t this a case of someone lying with a straight face?

Anyway, for now, Katsina United stands banished from the Dikko Stadium, and those fans who caused the banishment will also suffer the consequences. Many of them who call themselves supporters of the club do not have money to pay gate fees, not to talk of travelling to Jos to watch their club. But the biggest casualty is the club itself. In the NPFL, banishing a club to another venue is tantamount to sending the club on relegation. Once a club is denied “home advantage,” it is doomed.

It is quite unfortunate that the hooligans, masquerading as fans of Katsina United, chose to misbehave soon after their “colleagues” in Kano sent Pillars away from the Sani Abacha Stadium. Instead of Katsina fans learning from the mistakes of Kano fans, whose senseless attack on 3SC in week 8 led to the banishment of Pillars, they foolishly fell into the same trap.

Indeed, the recent football hooliganism in Katsina has shown that some of the fans still see football as war and not a source of entertainment. Consequently, they often allow their uncontrolled passion to boil over, making them a threat to the sport. Converting match venues to theatres of war is definitely causing great harm to Nigerian football.

It is indeed difficult for a football season in Nigeria to end without a case of fans disturbance involving at least one northern club. So, in spite of their positive contributions to Nigerian football, Kano Pillars and Katsina United are becoming synonymous with hooliganism. They are constantly in the news for the violent acts of their teeming supporters.

Although it is not, and it shouldn’t be an option, some Nigerians are forced to suggest that if the intolerable situation persists, the NPFL should be divided for clubs in the North to have their own league. This, they conclude, is to minimise the risk or dangers faced by visiting clubs in the hands of the dangerous elements, who call themselves football fans.

Personally, I do not subscribe to this idea, but something urgent needs to be done to address the lingering problem posing a serious threat to the league. The way forward is constant sensitisation and reorientation of the fans, which I believe the various fans’ clubs have been doing. Unfortunately, it seems the hooligans have outnumbered the genuine fans. Therefore, whatever individuals like my good friend, Officer Jameel Uba Adamu, a safety officer at Kano Pillars, are doing, is like fetching water using a porous basket.

Another way to remedy the bad situation is for the league organisers to be more serious with the enforcement of penalties imposed on erring clubs. It has been observed over time that apart from their relocation to banished venues, it is difficult to say if these clubs are compelled to pay the huge fines. It is on record that from 2019 till date, Pillars have been fined over N36 million for offences committed. However, there is no proof that they indeed paid everything. Definitely, if these clubs are made to pay the fines, they would feel the pinch and adjust accordingly.

However, if the offenders are continuously treated with kid gloves as has been the practice, the situation will persist and many sensible fans would stay away from the NPFL match venues. No football match is worth anyone’s life. The league organisers must do everything possible to stem the tide of hooliganism because it is not only capable of creating fans’ apathy, it can actually incite clubs from other parts of the country to begin to seek revenge.

Even as hooliganism in the NPFL is not witnessed only in the North, fans of northern clubs appear to be more addicted to this bad behaviour. It is not something to be proud of, but Kano Pillars fans are the only supporters with the courage to fight, even away from home. It will be recalled that in 2019, the same fans invaded the pitch and turned the Agege Township Stadium in far away Lagos upside down after their FA Cup match with Enugu Rangers ended in a 1-1 draw. Some say that even when Pillars win, they fight. When they lose, they still fight. So, nobody knows exactly what they want.

In view of this worrisome development, all genuine football stakeholders, especially those in the North, must do more to educate their fans to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship. Hooliganism is infectious, and if not treated urgently, it will continue to spread like wildfire. It shouldn’t be allowed to fester to a point that revenge would become the only option. If that happens, football would have contributed immeasurably to the numerous problems already threatening the unity of this country. So, all of us must unite against this monstrous agent of disunity called football hooliganism.