Last Friday could also have gone down as the day Guinness made Lagos stand still for the victorious national team of Nigeria, the Super Eagles, who are now officially the football kings of Africa.
Guinness, official title sponsor firm of the Super Eagles had picked that day to officially receive the team which had been resting in Abuja from South Africa, where they achieved the feat for a third time. The team was now been expected in Lagos, having stopped over in Asaba, the Delta State capital from Abuja.
The grand reception which included the official presentation of the trophy to the Guinness Plc board, to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, also included the much-anticipated trophy tour of select routes in the state and a A-list concert at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
That Friday saw the ever-busy Ikeja traffic suddenly become a ghost-town of vehicular movement, of sorts, as cars, buses, tricycles, motorbikes, vanished leaving the roads to resemble the airport tarmac extension with only the LASTMA traffic controllers in view.
That Friday saw the hordes of airport workers at both the international and new domestic terminals of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Ikeja abandon their delicate job stations to swarm the arrival halls of both terminals just to catch a glimpse of the football heroes.
That Friday also saw hundreds of both junior and senior staff of the Lagos State Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, as they threw caution and work ethics into the air stampeding to the gates of the Secretariat complex and later the offices of the state governor just to catch a glimpse of the heroic Super Eagles.
The heavy anticipation overwhelmed the over four-hour wait by football enthusiasts along the designated routes, along with the hordes of mediamen, the traffic controllers, the police, motorists, street hawkers, school children, pedestrians alike as all stood still for the arriving icons. Hectic would not aptly describe the rush by all concerned to capture the passion of the moment.
It has been long time since the streets and residents of the state emptied into the roads lining up to meet and greet arriving sports achievers under showers of confetti, hence the heightened emotions attached to the Friday’s formal reception and trophy parade facilitated by Guinness Plc.
The hours of waiting did not dampen the enthusiasm of the dignitaries from the Lagos State governor, Fashola, the Oba of Lagos, HRH Rilwanu Akiolu, the Board of Guinness Plc, the hundreds of motorists stuck in traffic that had been diverted to make way for the Eagles, the thousands of commuters who ordinarily should have felt inconvenienced by the turn of events.
When the victorious team finally arrived touched down at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport including only the five home-based players, the coach Stephen Keshi, Daniel Amokachi as well as the loud and boisterous Supporters Club members, the wild celebrations, the massive excitement rented the air as people did not mind the fact that they had been standing in the sun for hours.
Phones, cameras, iPads, tablets, in fact anything that had a camera attached was held out taking shots as the crowd scrambled to get pictures of the heroes who made Nigeria proud at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, even the intimidating number of security operatives could not deter the crowd.
At the first port of call, Guinness Headquarters, the team presented the African Cup of Nations trophy to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seni Adetu, who congratulated them on their heroic feat despite doubts in some quarters over the capabilities of the team to do well prior to the commencement of the tournament.
According to Adetu, however, Guinness had at no point doubted the Super Eagles resilience and strong determination to counter the challenges before them at the tourney in South Africa because Guinness believes the team is made of more.
“It is indeed great to be here today. Our joy in Guinness Nig. Plc knows no bound, we are simply ecstatic. When Guinness launched the Fly with the Eagles campaign in November 2012 to galvanise the support of millions of Nigerians for the Super Eagles at the tournament, many people do not believe nor see reason why we are so committed to supporting the team. Today, we all are here to reap the reward of that confidence we had in this team” Adetu said.
He continued “the Super Eagles have definitely made us proud, they have also made the millions of Nigerians who shared Guinness’ conviction in the team proud. It is an elated moment for every one of us. As we receive this trophy here today, we enjoin all Nigerians to continue to support the team at all times because this team is great and made of more”.
Commenting on the Fly with the Eagles campaign, Marketing and Innovation Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Austin Ufomba said it was indeed a successful campaign. According to Ufomba, Guinness has been vindicated for throwing their weight behind the Eagles despite the challenges faced by the team.
“What more can we ask of a team that many did not give any chance of making it beyond the group stage at the tournament let alone winning the trophy. However, at Guinness, we believed in the team and we demonstrated it when we launched the Fly with the Eagles campaign at a grand occasion in November 2012. We prepared the ground for the over 160 million Nigerians to rekindle their support for the team” Ufomba said. He went on: “We sincerely thank all our partners especially the media for their continued support. We have called on you severally and you have not disappointed us. To our great Eagles we could not have asked for more, this trophy sitting here is the icing on the cake. Guinness will continue support the Super Eagles as we all revel in this success”
While addressing the team, Governor Fashola noted that dominating the bragging rights in African football for at least the next 10 years should be our ultimate goal even as we prepare for the confederations Cup in June, “we are ranked 30th in the world, while in 1994 we were ranked 5th and so it is time everyone gives maximum support to Stephen Keshi or anyone who is the coach to get to an achievable height,” he said.
The team later boarded the specialized “Eko O’ ni baje” open bus for their victory road tour amidst cheers and endless photo sessions, as they proceeded to the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, where they were entertained by top artist, Terry G, Tuface Idibia, Sound Sultan, amongst others.
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