Did you know the real story behind Nigeria's incredible AFCON 2013 victory? Join Chinima Oko as she sits down with football journalist David Meshioye for an exclusive look at one of football's greatest chapters, told by someone who was there.
Meshioye takes us behind the scenes of the 2013 AFCON tournament, revealing the challenges and triumphs of the Super Eagles. Discover the unique motivational tactics of legendary coach Stephen Keshi, who famously instilled a fighting spirit in his team by emphasizing that "they don't like us."
Learn how Keshi defied expectations, transforming a team written off by many into champions. Meshioye shares intimate insights into Keshi's leadership, his unconventional team selections, and his profound impact on Nigerian football, including the lasting legacy of empowering players from the local league.
This conversation delves into the "off-record" moments and the intense atmosphere within the camp, showcasing Keshi's unwavering belief and his commitment to his players and country. It's a deep dive into the heart of a historic win and the man who made it happen.
#AFCON2013 #StephenKeshi #SuperEagles #NigerianFootball
Meshioye takes us behind the scenes of the 2013 AFCON tournament, revealing the challenges and triumphs of the Super Eagles. Discover the unique motivational tactics of legendary coach Stephen Keshi, who famously instilled a fighting spirit in his team by emphasizing that "they don't like us."
Learn how Keshi defied expectations, transforming a team written off by many into champions. Meshioye shares intimate insights into Keshi's leadership, his unconventional team selections, and his profound impact on Nigerian football, including the lasting legacy of empowering players from the local league.
This conversation delves into the "off-record" moments and the intense atmosphere within the camp, showcasing Keshi's unwavering belief and his commitment to his players and country. It's a deep dive into the heart of a historic win and the man who made it happen.
#AFCON2013 #StephenKeshi #SuperEagles #NigerianFootball
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00:00I'm Chinima Oko and today I'll be speaking with David Meshioye as we revisit one of the greatest
00:07chapters in football history through the eyes of someone who lived it. This is our conversation.
00:15Thank you Mr. David for joining us. The pleasure is mine. You've covered football for 24 years.
00:20You've been in stadiums, dressing rooms, training camps and you know different tournaments. But when
00:27you think back to AFCON 2013, what's the very first image that comes to mind?
00:33It's a big question. The first that really comes to mind has to be Stephen Keshe's impact, you know,
00:39in driving that team towards success. Because one of my closest encounters with him, I was on the
00:44training ground one day and off record he drove out the journalist outside but I was there as a reporter
00:49as a
00:49PhD. And he said to the boys, Mokunari hear me now. They don't like who now. Always know they don't
00:55like who now.
00:55And I'm not going to win this cup. They're here too now. You know, you're always trying to spike them.
00:59So when I say coach, why are you kidding me? Why are you doing that? He said that's the best
01:03way to
01:03bring out the demon in the players. Make them play. Make them give their best and at least win the
01:07cup for Nigeria.
01:08Thank you very much. AFCON 2013 is remembered as a triumph today. But before the tournament began,
01:14what was the mood around the Super Eagles? Were they regarded as a team that had prospect or they were
01:22completely written off?
01:23Nobody. Nobody gave them a single chance. Because our first game was against Rwanda.
01:28In Kigali, I was there. I remember after that game, we didn't play. We played draw.
01:32We drilled with the Amar Vubic. And while we were going for post-match talks,
01:38Keshe said, oh, my boy. And they tell you now. Talk to Aikbeni. Talk to your boys.
01:43They messed up. I know they caught them again. You know, that was big balls. It was furious. You know,
01:48because they didn't really
01:48play according to instructions, you know. After that, we played so many games. He decided to stop the
01:54professional. He stopped calling them into the camp. And he brought in young boys from the league.
01:59He looked inward and decided to raise his own players, you know, from Nigerian league. So that was how.
02:04But then, people criticized the team. Nobody loved the team. Nobody believed in the team.
02:10Probably because Keshe believed in his own system. He wanted to pick players from the league.
02:15a kind of a fusion of professional and local players. And that is exactly what they want to do.
02:20But they kept telling those doubting Thomas's back then. That Nigeria would be going to the
02:24Afghans to make up the numbers. He want to win it. And eventually, that is exactly what happened.
02:28And looking back and, you know, looking forward now, how is that decision or how did that decision impact the
02:36Nigerian national team having to look into the national-based league?
02:42On-based league. On-based league. That has been the problem with the team now. We always want to
02:46bring our players. I know our best players, they are based abroad. Fine, you can't just see, you can't
02:51ignore the league. That is exactly what Keshe was saying back then. Look, bring in few good players from
02:56the league. Try to give them the explosion. Give them the platform. Let them play with their foreign-based
03:02counterpart. And we'll have a national team. But then, you know, the ocean has changed. And that is why we
03:07are
03:07struggling. We are where we are today. What kind of coach was Keshe behind the scene when the public did
03:14not
03:14get to see him? Honestly, a great man. May he so rest in perfect peace. Because you don't get to
03:19know him, you
03:20got to know him on the pitch and off the pitch. But as you come into that, many of my
03:24journey with him, nocturnal
03:26meetings, nocturnal movement, run with him. The other person, I was always, bring, I would hold his carb. He would
03:33tell me,
03:34guy, get me a very full AC car. I don't want to suffer any stroke. So once I get out,
03:40people call, people will call,
03:42Keshe, I am hungry, I'm not eating. Coach, I have this problem. He kept helping people there. He was always
03:48helping people.
03:49He's a coach who believes in himself. He believes you're not bigger than Nigeria. If you're not going to bow
03:55down
03:55for him and do whatever they ask you to do, he's going to dump you. That was why he had
03:59issues with Ode Winge. Ode Winge
04:01loved to speed the beans all the time. But Keshe said, look, we can't succeed with that. We need peace
04:05in the team.
04:06So if you were around the team, you were around the team during the tournament, and if you could take
04:12us into
04:13Keshe's camp for just one day, what would we have seen that the cameras never captured?
04:18I just, like I said, it is the training. Before the training, after the prayer, he would gather the
04:22boys together and tell them, they hear me now. Nobody likes us. They won't make us fail. We
04:28cannot pray like I said, I won't die. They don't like us now. Forget them. They greet you now. And
04:32I
04:33asked him, coach, are you kidding me? Why are you doing that? And he said, Dave, if I don't do
04:37that,
04:37these boys won't bring out the demons in them. He needed that for them to play. He wanted to give
04:41out
04:41the best. And exactly what they did in South Africa, winning the trophy.
04:46Yeah. What would you say was his biggest challenge that he had to overcome in lifting that trophy?
04:51So the biggest challenge the boss had them was the general trying to push the professional
04:55on him, telling him, look, we don't have players. The league players are not good enough.
04:59Bringing players from abroad. And the man kept saying, no, I wanted to build my team from Nigeria.
05:04That is the problem he had with the NFF. What's the aftermath of that victory? Having
05:08seen that people like to identify with success. It was fine. It was sweet. Honestly,
05:14you know, people not believing in your vision. And every day your vision came to pass. Everybody
05:19wants to identify with success. I could still recall vividly when the team arrived at the
05:23Innamdi-Aziku International Airport in Abuja. Big boss was wearing very dark shit. Very dark shit.
05:29You want to say big boss, congrats. He didn't even recognize me because he knew a lot of people
05:33wanted to identify with him. So after all, the governor kept coming. He kept hosting the team. We kept
05:39traveling from one state to another. I quite bombed to so could everybody want to identify with success.
05:45You know, I want us to go down memory lane. Yeah. And one name that would often come up in
05:50discussions
05:51about AFCON 2013 is late TB Joshua. Oh. Some people describe his role as spiritual support,
05:59while others will say, oh, it went beyond that, right? So what exactly was his relationship with the
06:07team at the time? And how involved was he behind the scenes? I'm going to say this today. I've never
06:13said it to anybody. But actually, personally, I know TB Joshua when I went there for a program.
06:19And then back then he had a football club. That club was named as a Synagogue FC. He later showed
06:25it to my people FC. Okay. I sent him my proposal to become the club media officer,
06:30which he accepted. That was how I got to meet that man. I thank God for his life. Honestly,
06:35afterwards, when I saw the team, I just proposed to him. I said, Daddy, Daddy, let us take our
06:40players to the 17th. He said, is it possible? I said, yes. Go ahead and do something as a media
06:45person.
06:46So I invited John O'Boo, our 17th coach back then. So he came to the church and he took
06:51O'Nazio again here and Emmanuel, San Emmanuel. I remember very well. So those guys today,
06:56they are history now. Emmanuel turned out to be the most valuable player of that tournament.
07:02You know, he went to FU4. He went to Geneva. He was invited. Sadly, injury step in and O'Nazio
07:09took over.
07:10Back then, you know, Kashi was going for a super good job between CSIA and Kashi.
07:15But Nigeria wanted CSIA. So NFL settled for CSIA. But I said, coach, you won't get this job.
07:22You are the best for now. But Nigerians want CSIA. NFL settled for CSIA. So when CSIA failed,
07:29how did he fail? There was a game we needed to win, to qualify for Kutura Guinea Gabon-Afcon.
07:34Nigerians needed to win in Abuja. And Team Chusha, I said, David, come. I saw a vision that
07:40if we don't pray, we may not qualify. I said, ah, you don't do that to pray. Let us qualify.
07:45He said, it's not me. Can you go and call CSIA for me? I remember the man paid for my
07:50flight. I went,
07:50I called her. I said, CSIA, coach, this is happening. I started speaking his grammar. I don't have time for
07:57those things, you know. David, tell him, let's pray. Pray, but I won't be able to come.
08:01He never showed up. That guy, to call the old long story short, who did not qualify.
08:07After the game, I was at the lobby of Transcop in Abuja and Osas. Everybody were afraid to talk
08:12to him, but that was the only person that was bold enough to approach the player. Osas said,
08:17David, ah, but I heard one man of God said we will not qualify. Why can't the NFF do something?
08:21I said, but I called your coach. He never answered. Immediately, I said, I walked out and said,
08:25David, and you told me. I said, but coach, I told you. You didn't take it serious.
08:30I was trying to tell you how Kashi came into the picture now. CSIA was fired and Kashi became the
08:37coach. When Kashi came to Nigeria, I just said, I said, coach, I know, I may not know the Bible
08:43like
08:43you, but the Bible said, give one to scissors. What belong to scissors? I said, look, there's somebody I
08:48wanted to make. He said, who? I said, TB Joshua. I said, why? I said, because this and this happened
08:52to CSIA.
08:52She has had to disobeyed when he said something. That man was predicting a lot of things at that time
08:56about football. It's always coming to pass. I stand to be corrected, but that is what I mean,
09:00I understand then. So, so, I went to Kashi's hotel around the culture back then, around 9 p.m.
09:08I bought him. I took him to the church. Kashi, he just, you know, he tried to cover his face,
09:13no people not to see him. They took us to their best room and we waited for TB Joshua. We
09:17never saw him.
09:18We never get to see him on the 4 a.m. He walked in. We said, hello, ah, Kashi,
09:22how are you? He took the extreme greetings and the man said, what do you want? He said,
09:26I want to win Afcon 2013. After a lot of discussion, the man was saying, I even had
09:31players in Lazio. Onazi was in Lazio back then. So, if you think it's good, invite him. That was how
09:37Onazi came to Super Ego. You know, honestly, I'm telling you what happened. I've never told anybody this,
09:41because I was Kashi PE. If Kashi is coming to Nigeria, I'll be the one to arrange his hotel,
09:46arrange everybody to pick him up. So, if he tells me, Dave, I'm a boy. We are going to church.
09:51I'll pick him. If I'm with my wife, I will leave what I'm doing. I will go and pick him.
09:53So, after that,
09:55so, the man started the prayer. He said, he's going to pray the team for us to win. They went
09:59to the
10:00Afcon. The first day, we drew. Second day, to call the long story short. The final day, the man called
10:05me to
10:05church and said, David, we're going to win that game if we score first. He has prayed at him. I
10:10said,
10:10Daddy, what do you do with all this? He said, I usually take the player's picture to the mountain.
10:15He has a mountain. I go to Baghdad. So, after those prayers, he said, you will see God's face. Fine.
10:22You often happen like a dream. You know, because TB Joshua, he knows that football is like a mirror
10:29that reflects the socioeconomic reality around it. If the country is happy, if football is doing
10:34well in Nigeria, Nigerians are happy. If Nigeria is winning, everybody's happy. If you're not winning,
10:39everybody's sad. Yeah. So, that was why the man stick to it. He's gone. He loved football.
10:44And that was how TB Joshua and Kershi's relationship became more strengthened, you know.
10:50But after we won the Afcon, Kershi never showed up. Ordinarily, as a woman being, you know,
10:56where you went to pray, where you went to seek spiritual support, you know, after you won the
11:01trophy. Even if you don't pay a trophy, Kershi never showed up. And the man was saying, David,
11:06what is happening to Kershi? I wouldn't see him again after he has gotten in the Afcon. I said,
11:11that he, you know, he has been going from state to state with the team, blah, blah, blah,
11:14trying to cover up for him. But four months later, Kershi called me from US and said, Dave,
11:20I'm coming to Nigeria tomorrow. Get a cab for me. We're going to church. I said, after four
11:24months, he just, he came in. He came in through Delta Airlines. I took him to the church. You know,
11:30usually when we come in, they welcome us like king, you know, put us in special room. They ask
11:36us, what do we want to, are we going to eat? But this time around, they took us to supermarkets.
11:40Supermarkets. We stood there for four hours. Nobody attended to us. Until they eventually
11:44called and said, Mr. David, daddy is not going to see that man. Where was he or his wife? But
11:49that
11:49was the last time Kershi attended that church. So for me, I started to be, I saw it all, it
11:55all happened
11:56from my eyes because I was the one who took Kershi to come. The spiritual aspect of that AFCON triumph,
12:01you can't write it off, is the truth. You cannot write it off. So we would say, without the spiritual
12:07support, AFCON 13 would not have been possible. If that is me, you can say it loud and clear on
12:15her.
12:15Without that spiritual support, we were very good. Our team was that good, fine. But a lot happened
12:21behind this that people did not know. So in addition to the spiritual backup to the team,
12:27because some people would say, oh, there was more to it or there was maybe anything lesser or otherwise.
12:35Otherwise. What other role did TB Joshua play in Nigeria securing the AFCON 13?
12:44AFCON 13, you know, fine. I won't, financially I won't say it really pumping money, but it was always
12:50encouraging players. When or not it comes around, you ask, what is, how is the team doing? Do you need
12:54anything? It was only supporting Kershi, financially. Honestly, each time we go to synagogue, we'll go back
13:01home with nothing less than 3 million in cash. I'm telling you this all the time.
13:07And this was solely for super ego.
13:08You know, you don't give it to Kershi and say for your TFA. It needed the money to survive at
13:12that time.
13:135NFF were doing their best to pay, but the payment was not really, was not that big, you know.
13:18When we say it was the lack of money or lack of appropriation of funds.
13:23It is the problem we've always had from time and memory, a coach will come into the picture,
13:27some people doesn't like him, they don't give him what he wants to work. The other thing the coach
13:31was asking for, they were not giving to him. But if he goes to TB Joshua, he will support you.
13:37I have records of so many support that I might give to most of our national team from other
13:4317. He will only support them. But you know, NFF will not say that.
13:47If you were to describe Stephen Kershi in five words.
13:50Five words. Five words.
13:52He was a good leader. He was a good man.
13:54Astrid, you can't bring him down. And he knows how to overcome challenges.
13:59That is one thing about Kershi. He knows how to overcome challenges.
14:01Finally, you have been one of the people preserving these memories for generations.
14:07What has it meant to you to spend 24 years witnessing and documenting this journey?
14:15Ah, that's a big question. You know, it's a lot to me. It means a lot to me. Because,
14:19you know, the road has not been easy. It's been bumpy for me. You know, through topsy-topsy,
14:24we have a lifestyle. But then, I really want to say I thank God for being able to keep my
14:29head above
14:29the parapet of unbelief. You know, stay close to my vision, stay close to my dream.
14:35There might not be that money you want, but the pleasure, the joy of doing the job,
14:39meeting people, traveling around. It's a great thing for me, you know, to be in sport. Fine.
14:44I may not be fully in sport now, but then all I've learned today, because I was given the kind
14:49of platform, you know, to cover football, to cover athletics. Thank you so much, Mr. David,
14:54You're welcome. Thank you. Sharing your memories with us. Thank you for having me. Thank you very much.
14:57Thank you for having me. It's a great opportunity.