Today 12/8/2021 marked another year for the remembrance of the death of the late Nigerian international and a scholar Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji.
The late football icon and a patriot died on Saturday, 12th August,1989 at the mainbowl of National stadium Surulere, Lagos during what sports analysts described as a make or mar Italia 1990 World Cup qualifier and tension soaked match between the Green Eagles and Angolan National Team.
His death however has designated him as Nigeria’s first football matyr.
According to reports, Okwaraji collapsed in the 77th minute of the encounter and was later confirmed dead. Late Okwaraji may have died but there are pertinent attributes of his worthy of emulation.
He was not just a footballer, he combined it with academics and as a result became lawyer and before his death had Masters in International Law from University of Rome while as footballer with a view to impacting on the society positively.
He was a committed footballer at both his various clubsides and National Assignment each time duty calls. He was one of those that hold sway to the notion of thinking of what you can do for your country and not what your country can do for you resulting to his sponsoring himself each time with his money and also offsetting whatever cost from his oversea clubside just to come and make a positive input for his beloved country.
He is multi-talented and has a record of scoring one of the fastest goal in African football history. He believes in hard work and the fact that one must work hard to earn shirt in a club and to be successful. He was a team player and a motivator of all the time and believes that through hard work and commitment, we can change base metal into gold like alchemist of the old. It was recorded also that at all time, he was ready to make those sacrifice that will be required to ensure he plays for the green eagles at his own expense amongst other things.
He also upheld his integrity and never compromised as to putting up his interest first over the generality of the society.
Indeed, he may have gone and beating in mind that in any event there must be history and the history revolves around patriotism, love, integrity, hardwork, team player and motivator, humility because as a lawyer of international repute playing with his mate, he never allowed his qualification to decide the pace of his relationship with others. He was always willing to make sacrifice for others to grow.
We have to reciprocate the gesture of late Okwaraji by ensuring that wherever we get ourselves as young minds, we should reflect on those Okwaraji’s attributes and also discover ourselves for greater society by shunning those negative tendencies that will promote rancour, bitterness, crime and criminality but those virtues that will help the society to grow. It is all about integrity and patriotism and let’s remember that one of the truest test of integrity according to late Professor Chinua Achebe, is its blunt refusal to be compromised.
