The pathetic story of Niger Tornadoes

With one round of matches to go in the current Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, Niger Tornadoes, who started their campaign with a stunning away victory against Kwara United, are among the troubled clubs that must win or at least draw their last match to stand a chance of remaining in the Nigerian topflight. […]

With one round of matches to go in the current Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, Niger Tornadoes, who started their campaign with a stunning away victory against Kwara United, are among the troubled clubs that must win or at least draw their last match to stand a chance of remaining in the Nigerian topflight.

If Tornadoes fail to keep their place in the NPFL, it will be a rude shock to many because their performances in the first stanza inspired so much hope that they would end among the contenders for the title. Unfortunately, despite securing five away victories against Plateau United, Enugu Rangers, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars, they are not where they would have loved to be.

The questions most fans of Niger Tornadoes are asking are: Where did it go wrong for their darling club? How on earth would a team with five away wins in a tricky league like the NPFL be having relegation worries? Only the players and officials of the club can answer the questions.

Last season, Tornadoes escaped relegation on the last day, finishing in the 14th position with 51 points from 14 wins, 9 draws and 15 losses. Many people believed that the “Ikon Allah” boys struggled throughout the season because they played their home matches away from home at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium (ABS), Kaduna.

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Playing home away from home meant that Tornadoes missed the Nigerian version of home advantage. In the Nigerian league, home advantage sometimes means engaging in some dirty tactics to beat visiting teams. Elsewhere, it means the hosts’ familiarity with the pitch, psychological boost from the fans, potential referee bias, which at times happens unconsciously, and fatigue on the part of the visiting teams that at times cover long distances to arrive the match. But anytime a Nigerian club talks about home advantage, it means winning by foul means.

In fact, fans of some of the clubs go to any length to scare visiting teams into submission. For instance, it normally takes extraordinary courage to beat Kano Pillars at the Sani Abacha Stadium because of the intimidating presence of their fans, who are sometimes hostile to visiting teams. So, Tornadoes who lacked such a home advantage that they would have enjoyed at the Bako Kotangora Stadium (BKS) in Minna literally struggled to win at the ABS Kaduna. The fear factor was missing.

Determined to make a huge difference in the current season, Tornadoes obviously returned to the drawing board to correct the mistakes that nearly drowned them in the past season. So, they started the new campaign strongly with away wins that baffled many people. Even when they began to lose steam in the second round, they still produced three crucial away victories at Lobi Stars, Enugu Rangers and most recently, Sunshine Stars.

Indeed, it was the victory in Ijebu-Ode, Sunshine Stars’ adopted home ground that saved Tornadoes from what would have been a catastrophic end to a once promising season. Although they have one final hurdle at home to cross against Kano Pillars on May 25, it is hoped that the “Ikon Allah” won’t fold their hands and watch the ‘Masu Gida’ boys send them to relegation. If they lose to Pillars, the consequences would be dire, most especially if Katsina United, El-Kanemi Warriors and even 17th placed Heartland win their home matches.

Personally, despite the small reprieve after the win against Sunshine Stars, I feel Tornadoes still have their backs to the wall and those who wish them well must come forward now with every available support. The government and people of Niger State, especially leading football stakeholders like Alhaji Ahmed Yusuf, the “Fresh” man who has been a formidable pillar of support for the club, must ensure that Tornadoes do not go on relegation.

In fact, even if they survive, Tornadoes would need more support to perform better next season. It is sad that despite their achievements, which include one FA Cup in 2000 and two quarter-final appearances in the CAF Cup Winners Cup and WAFU B Club Championship, Tornadoes still lack adequate attention from their major sponsor.

Anyway, inadequate sponsorship is a common trend among NPFL clubs that are funded by state governments. Apart from clubs like Kano Pillars, Rivers United, Akwa United, Lobi Stars, Bendel Insurance, Enugu Rangers, Plateau United, Katsina United and Shooting Stars, the rest of the clubs are sponsored grudgingly by most of the governors.

To make matters worse, some of the club chairmen don’t deal honestly with the clubs. They prefer to line their pockets with allocations meant for the welfare of the players and the officials. Consequently, there are endless complaints over lack of money, making many conclude that the clubs are neglected by their sponsors, while in truth the governors are doing their best to support the clubs.

Whatever is the case in Niger Tornadoes, the time has come for the young and dynamic governor of the state, Mohammed Umar Bago, to give more support to the club that has refused to go down since their last relegation in 2012.

Considering how they have operated and achieved appreciable results despite limited resources, once can conclude that if Tornadoes are taken to the level of Akwa United, Rivers United, Kano Pillars and Lobi Stars in terms of sponsorship, they will surely do better than what they have achieved since their creation in 1977.

Moreover, the vibrant young governor, who is said to be youth-friendly, should do better than what his older colleagues are doing for their clubs. He can show more commitment to Tornadoes by not only appointing credible and competent individuals to run the club but personally supervising to ensure that allocated funds are judiciously utilised. 

More importantly, Bago should transform the Bako Kontangora Stadium in Minna into a world class sports facility to boost the performances of Niger Tornadoes and engender football development in the state. One of the problems that have continued to hamper the success of Tornadoes is no doubt the absence of a standard home ground.

 It is an open secret that due to the poor maintenance of their playing turf, which is built with natural grass, Tornadoes are forced to move about like nomads. Throughout last season, they adopted ABS Kaduna, where they struggled to survive.

In February this year, the NPFL withdrew the provisional approval for Bako Kotangora Stadium, forcing Tornadoes to move to Lafia Township Stadium, from where they moved to ABS Kaduna. This can be avoided if the governor would commit himself to upgrading the BK Stadium in Minna to save his club from the inconveniences of playing home away from home.

All said and done, the teeming fans of Tornadoes are waiting with bated breath to see how their darling club would once again survive relegation on the final day. If they escape the looming relegation, it would be right to say that the “Ikon Allah” boys came, they saw, they didn’t conquer but weren’t conquered, meaning that they will live to fight another season.