Chapter 1. 1 I, Stephen, was on the Island of decision, after my sojourn in wilderness of Togo and Mali. 2 And I heard the Lord saying “Go back to the land of your birth and answer the call of service. For this purpose have I sent you to the wilderness all these years, to teach you endurance and to equip you”. 3 Say to the nobles and princes of the ‘glass house’. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, to mend the broken glasses. Influence me not in this assignment, for I shall only do the bidding of the Lord. 4 “That I may choose those in whom the lord has put the spirit and skills of soccer. To build a great army for the land”. 5 To the king and princes in d palace, even Aso Rock shall you say. “The Lord has called me to show you the way by which things can work in this land flowing with milk and honey. To show you that men called to serve do not stain their hands with filthy lucre. And that this assignment shall reveal to the land My brand of tomorrow’s men”. 6 And to the mafia of old brigade in the soccer army say: “The day of mafia gangsters is gone. The elitist band of tired legs, those who measure their ages by themselves, shall no longer reign”. 7 That by my hands the Lord will raise mighty men of valour, a raiding soccer army. Chapter 2. 1 And on that day the Lord spoke to me saying, “Arise, go ye to the four corners of the earth and gather to me brave and skillful boys in whom I have put the spirit of soccer, patriots burning with passion. 2 “In the Anglo land ye shall find one Victor, the son of Moses. The one about whom it was written by the Anglo press: ‘Holy Moses has parted the red sea’. For by him I shall part every ‘red sea’ before my army. 3 “Go, do not be afraid of his history, for I have infused him with patriotism beyond reasons. I have a purpose even in his story when, like Jephthah, he was driven from the land losing everything, even his loving parents in my service, by zealots who think they can fight for All-powerful God. 4 “ I have ordained that to show my generation of tomorrow’s servants how to be patriotic”. 5 And the Lord said “Go in to the East in search of Emmanuel, the son of Emenike, of the house of those who know that the battle is not to the strong. In him I have put strength and pace to torment every line of defense before my army. By his lethal boots, he shall deliver my people. 6 “And to the four corners of my land Nigeria go, gather local warriors. These will show my people that to do battle is not by where one plies his trade or association or education. It is by the skills endowed by Me. 7 “Among these you will find a certain son of Mba, the one called Sunday, for in crucial times, I will stir my spirit in him and he will say to the enemy ‘mba’(no)” especially on the day of the Lord. 8 And I, Stephen, gathered this band of raiding armies, even men without records. 9 And the Lord said “over these I appoint you a commander and Joseph, the son of Yobo, in whom I have put a humble spirit, as captain. And the veteran Enyema shall keep the posts. 10 “I am sending you to command a glorious army, of the type you captained in the 90s”. We camped and trained even for five weeks, only five weeks! Chapter 3. 1 And the month of the battle came and I heard a still small voice saying “ These are the arrow heads of my battle: Attack with the rampaging trio of Moses, Emenike and Ideye. Any ball that escapes the bulldozing legs of Emenike shall not pass that of the pacey skillful legs of Moses and occasionally the shrewd Ideye shall do the damage”. 2 And this army went raiding, beginning with the Abokis from far zone, from the land called Burkina faso. The battle was fierce but Emenike was fast to pull one against the far warriors. At the end of the day it was all square but the Lord said “Go, for your day of victory against them shall be the final battle”. 3 Then we said bia(come) to the champions from Zambia. It was a battle against the champions and was not easy. Again Emenike drew the first blood. They came level and it ended again a drawl. 4 I then cried to the Lord: Have You brought us out to these battles to be disgraced? The Lord answered me and said. “These champions shall never win a battle but you will win. I told you the battles will be tough in the beginning”. 5 Then came the final battle of the preliminary against the Ethiopian unholy eunuchs. The Ethiopians were gallant but in the dying minutes they paid dearly for their indiscretions. 6 Their unlawful challenge on our rampaging Moses gifted us penalties. Moses parted the red sea with his sharp shootings and we passed on dry grounds to the quarter finals. 7 The came we up against the giant elephants from Ivory Coast, the adversary of Nigeria. The boasting Ivorians captained by their Goliath, even the one called Drogba frightened us greatly. We were like grass hoppers before them and we look even so to our people back home. 8 But it was Sunday, the day of the Lord and the commander sought the praying Nigerians to pray. The spirit of the Lord rose mightily upon us and we arose boldly to fight the elephants. 9 The Nigerian tomentator, Emmanuel, who knows the battle is not to the strong(emenike) was quick to draw the first blood. But the Goliath Drogba, flanked by his generals roared greatly, setting up his protégé, a certain Tiote to draw level. 10 It was then Sunday, the one anointed to do battle on the day of the Lord who said ‘mba’(no), this Goliath shall not go free. He then powered his ballistic missile and the Ivorians were utterly destroyed. 11 The semi-final was really a semi battle, against the Malian fake eagles. 12 And I charged the army saying “Know ye that they are psychologically your slaves, for their land should fall apart safe for your soldiers protecting it”. We moved and utterly sacked them. Even the keeper of their posts confessed, that he sees fifteen men instead of ten swopped on him like bees! 13 And came the final battle on another day of the Lord, to decide the final contest with the aboki warriors from the far zone. 14 Again prayers were sought from Imams, pastors and prophets and on mountains and in camps, prayers were offered, prophecies released. 15 But our heros, Emenike and Moses were injured and after prayers the Lord answered and said “Go, for you shall prevail, that in this you shall know that my strength is made perfect in weakness”. 16 And the Burkinabes played, seeking to create offset of offsets but alas, they were no match for our army. 17 Emenike was not listed for battle but strong holy Moses was there raiding. The one anointed to do battle on the day of the Lord, Sunday said mba(no) to the abokis, skillfully powering home the winning shot early in the battle. Praises: 18 All hail the champions! These young brave warriors, purveyors of lost glory, the hope of a new generation. 19 The Nation celebrates the golden heart Moses, carrying on his shoulders the land where he lost everything. You are indeed a victor, winning against the unholy extremists that sought to terminate your dream. Your parents, martyred in the vineyard, are sure smiling. Your story evokes both tears and joy. 20 All hail Emenike, Mba, Ideye, Musa, Uche, and Ejike! There have never been such rampaging armies. 21 All hail Mikel, Onazi, Nosa, Fegol, Reuben and Obiorah. You belong to a golden generation. 22 All hail Yobo, Oboabona, Ambrose, Echiejile, Omeruo, Juwon and Azubuike. History will not forget you. 23 All hail Enyema, the brave veteran keeper of posts, with your men Austin and Chigozie. 24 O this army, this team, you represent the dawn of a new nation, the shining examples of tomorrow’s men, the beacon of hope for new Nigeria. And Stephen Keshi, you symbolizes the brand of leader we all dream, a hope that they are still men who can fix the mess. Arise Nigeria! Abah John Abah, Geologist/sailor lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
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