Last Wednesday, Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 through penalty kicks to book a place in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, final against hosts Ivory Coast in Ebimpe, Abidjan.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, was named Man of the Match after saving two penalties that helped Nigeria limp into the final of the 2023 AFCON. “Nwabali,” a Nigerian online newspaper wrote, “has been excellent in the AFCON so far with only two goals conceded as he remains arguably Nigeria’s best player in the tournament thus far… Nwabali has won the hearts of millions of Nigerians with his impressive outing in the tournament.”

Kelechi Iheanacho scored the last goal to give Nigeria a 4-2 victory over South Africa. Also, Carl Anka, a journalist who covers Manchester United for The Athletic, described how everyone could almost sense more than 200 million Nigerians holding their breath when the referee was called over to the monitor to watch the incident where the VAR had spotted Nigeria midfielder, Alhassan Yusuf, foul Percy Tau in the penalty area at the start of the move after Edo State-born Osimhen tapped in Bright Osayi-Samuel’s cross that would have made it 2-0 in the 84th minute.

All Nigerians were happy with Stanley Nwabali and Kelechi Iheanacho. No one bothered about the state of origin of Osimhen, Alhassan Yusuf, Bright Osayi-Samuel or other Super Eagles players.

Some Nigerian politicians were in Ivory Coast, either to watch the matches or cheer the Super Eagles. None of them raised any objection over the ethnic identity of any player. None of them insinuated, as they did during the 2023 general elections, that a footballer from one ethnic group should not play for Nigeria.

When it comes to football and other competitive sports, both on the pitch and amongst the teeming population of Nigerians, there is no Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw, Itshekiri, Benin, Asaba, Tiv, Fulani, etc. Everyone is a Nigerian. The goals scored by Osimhen or saved by Nwabali are for all Nigerians. The gold medals won by Chioma Ajunwa at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Tobi Amusan at the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Oregon, USA, are for all Nigerians.

But any time election comes for Nigerians to choose the persons they think are best qualified to manage their affairs, Nigerians will allow themselves to be divided along ethnic and religious lines by politicians for selfish political interests. Similarly, the time to make political appointments is always a time to profile one ethnic group in order to show why they do not deserve to be appointed into sensitive positions.

All that must stop. Our patriotic dispositions and the united fronts we put up whenever it comes to football and other competitive sports should teach us something important about the need to live in peace as a united country, even with our cultural diversity.

As the Nigerian Super Eagles prepare to meet Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Sunday, we pray for victory, while urging Nigerians to learn from the unity and love football instils in all of us.

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