PARADOXICAL DISCOVERY
“The Horse.” Coach Burgos called right in the dressing room, squatting.
“Yes, Coach.” Ikem responded as he was seated on the tiled floor
unwinding himself.
The tete-a-tete was necessitated
by a football match Ikem’s team just had few minutes back with their closest
rival, in the city of Toledo, Spain.
Ikem Ogbuehi - popularly known as ‘The Horse’, a Spanish-based Nigerian
striker who played in one of the second-division Spanish clubs, Superoni FC had
been the talk of the day ever since he joined the club about eight months back
owing to his resilient and exemplary attribute. Prior to his stay in the club,
he was actively playing in one of the amateur clubs in Nigeria. Aside his
dogged and fascinating style of approaching football, since he became a player
in Superoni FC, there was no match he couldn’t score at least a goal for the
club; as a result of this outstanding and historic record, he was reckoned to
be the Horse of the Superoni FC, which remained one of the most respected
football clubs in the history of Spain. Ikem who doubled as an Under-17 (U-17)
player in the Nigerian Golden Eaglets was doing everything humanly possible to
ensure that he lived up to the expectations.
“You really did very well in that match.” Coach Burgos complimented,
still squatting.
Ikem’s Spanish coach, Mr Wilson Burgos had thought it wise to commend
him for his wonderful performance, which wasn’t unusual, during the match the
club just had with their rival. In that very match, Ikem who played wing number
8 both in the club and in the Nigerian U-17 team scored a hat-trick. The coach
just moved very close to where he was unwinding amid his fellow players.
“Thank you, Coach.” He replied, head bent. Still seated on the tiled
floor.
“If you continue like this,” Coach Burgos rode on. “I bet you, you will
go places.”
Ikem listened attentively.
“You’re a blessing to your generation.” The coach asserted, paused. “But
you must remain consistent and persistent, because you still have places to
go.”
Ikem remained calm.
“And,” Mr Burgos continued. “Stay away from women.” He teased, pointing
one of his right fingers at him.
Ikem laughed. “Thank you, Coach.” He appreciated.
“That’s my boy!” the 40-year-old white coach exclaimed cheerfully,
stylishly tapped Ikem’s head with his left hand concurrently. Stood up and
walked away.
Ikem smiled as he watched his pleasant boss depart for other corner in
the resting room.
The following week of the year (2006), Ikem Ogbuehi was invited by the
Nigerian U-17 team coach to feature in the upcoming qualifier match against
their Ghanaian counterpart for the 2007 U-17 World Cup to be hosted by South
Korea, and he complied as usual.
The match which was meant to take place in Benin City, Edo State,
Nigeria was scheduled for March 17, 2006.
On Wednesday 15th of March, 2006, two days to the awaited
match, every invited player had assembled at the camping ground in Lagos State
and therein they headed in unison for Benin City the venue for the match; the
team which was made up of over 25 home and foreign-based players coupled with
three coaches was travelling via land in two white Coaster buses amid tight
security. It was initially a smooth journey till they ran into an unfortunate
situation along the Benin-Asaba Expressway in Benin metropolis, Edo State about
one kilometre to the hotel they were meant to lodge in. At the front gate of
the University of Benin commonly addressed as UniBen, the leading Coaster bus struck
one of the male students of the university who was about crossing the
expressway as it (the bus) tried to dodge a glaring pothole situated in the
centre of the federal road.
Every player in the two buses
including Ikem who was in the second bus quickly moved out to rescue the
relatively conscious victim who happened to be a 24-year-old final year undergraduate
student of the school amidst an abrupt crowd.
“Chidi…!” Ikem shouted furiously the moment he got to the spot.
The sudden and surprising exclamation aroused
striking looks from his fellow players as well as coaches.
“Daddy...!” the victim who was lying by the roadside subconsciously
responded, gasped for air.
He was hurriedly rushed to a nearby hospital, and therein the doctor in
charge assured them that the poor dude would bounced back in a short while
having ascertained the real state of his entire body system.
“Who’s that guy?” the head coach of the team Mr Damilola asked Ikem
having called him out to one of the lonely corners in the hospital for a
crucial inevitable interrogation in respect to what transpired at the scene of
the accident.
“Which guy?” Ikem pretentiously dished out.
“The victim, of course,” Mr Damilola reiterated. “We all heard him; he
called you Daddy.”
“He’s my son,” the interviewee who wasn’t obviously in a good mood
finally answered. “If you must know.” He added frankly.
“What?”
the astonished Damilola uttered. “Your son?”
What a paradoxical discovery!
The mind-blowing and untold truth was that Chidi, the victim, who was
begotten out of wedlock twenty-four years back, was the first child of Ikem
Ogbuehi; the Lilliputian Ikem who was actually born in February 1961 begot him
(Chidi) when he was barely 21-year old, few years after his secondary
education. Unfortunately, at that point in his life, nature chose to unravel the
hidden idiosyncrasies that were covered by his miniature look; just as the
saying goes, ‘Three things cannot be long hidden – the sun, the moon, and the
truth’.
Apparently, the 45-year-old Mr Ikem Ogbuehi was left with no option
right in that hospital than to let the cat out of the bag.
The following day, the banner headline of virtually all the local and
national tabloids in Nigeria read, ‘An U-17 player fathers a 24-year-old man.’
Consequently,
Ikem was indefinitely suspended by his Spanish league, whereas he was asked by
the Nigerian football governing body to apply for voluntary retirement.
But, who was to be blamed for Ikem’s bogus
odyssey? Think about it!
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