ACP Gideon Akinsola: My Life As Super Eagles’ ‘Gateman’ ; Does Not Regret Sending Babayaro, Agali, Aiyegbeni Out Of Camp

                                                                                                        

There was no missing the look of satisfaction that radiated on the face of recently retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gideon Akinsola whose name for a while has stuck on the lips of many for the role he plays in Nigerian football.

For a man who devoted 35 years of his life to the service of Nigeria as a Police Officer, waking up this particular  Friday morning for this chat was nothing but just routine that his body is accustomed to. My thoughts that being a retired officer now would afford him the luxury of time was proved wrong as he got to the National Stadium, Lagos before the scheduled time.

When he saw the puzzled look on my face as I checked my watch, he was quick to say, “I am still trying to get used to life in retirement. I had wanted to spend time with my family to make up for all the time duty for the Police and country has kept me away but this is an appointment I have to honour.”

Looking back to his years of service with the Nigerian Police Force, Akinsola simply described it as the story of a man who went into the Lion’s den and came out unscathed. Life he admits has not been a bed of roses but he would not look elsewhere than God to give all the thanks for his protection over the years especially when he came close to death in the line of duty.

Akinsola, in this chat speaks on his challenges as the FIFA National Security Officer for Nigeria, hooliganism in sports, his active days as a Taekwondo practitioner, his role in sending back home the trio of Celestine Babayaro, Victor Agali and Yakubu Aiyegbeni from Tunisia 2004 during the Nations Cup and many more. Enjoy it.

background

I have always had a passion for sports and had particular interest in Taekwondo. I practiced and even led the Nigerian contingent to the World Taekwondo festival in Chingcheon, South Korea back in 2001. I must give thanks to the Nigeria Police for all the support I enjoyed carrying out my duty.

Due to my excellence in sports, I was appointed Force Sports Secretary of the Nigeria Police Force. I did my best to ensure that the Force was not lagging in that area.

I became FIFA national security officer for Nigeria since 2009 and I must give thanks to the steadfastness and sincerity of Ambassador Fanny Amun, then Secretary General of the NFA who despite pressures from very high quarters was instrumental to my appointment from FIFA. There were several Commissioners of Police who were interested in the job but I think the passion I brought into the job played a big role for me.

Before that, I had gotten into the Nigeria Football Association Board under the leadership of Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima and was saddled with all security arrangements from 2002 -2004. It was that Board that began the restructuring which saw the Military, Police, SWAN, NAWIS etc out in line with FIFA status. That took us to what we now see of members of the board coming from the zone.

Short term on the Galadima board

Haven written to FIFA and gotten approval to run the NFA according to their statues, all the bodies I had earlier mentioned had to leave the board without seeing out its tenure. Though, it had been agreed, there was no need throwing out all of us the time it was done. Alhaji Galadima in an effort to carry out FIFA’s approval was hasty in sending all the bodies out. That action left him vulnerable and an easy prey for those who schemed him out of the Glass House eventually.

Hooliganism in sports

Before addressing the issue of hooliganism, there’s a need for us to understand its origin. In a simple form, hooliganism is a disorderly behaviour that does not conform to normal human life. Let’s recall that hooliganism came into being by the killing of a London Policeman. His killer was named Patrick Hooligan and that informed the word hooliganism today. There are different classes of hooliganism which is grouped into executive and common hooliganism.

The first, like the name implies, is carried out by an executive body. Let’s say for example an official who threatens match officials by saying his team must win at all cost or hell will be let loose. The common one is the one we see frequently by fans at match venues. They are in most cases violent and displayed publicly.

It is for this reason that security is very important. Security in this light is the arrangement of an atmosphere that is devoid of fear; threats to life and intimidation of any kind to all football stakeholders that include both teams, officiating officials, the media, grounds men and the stadium management as well as infrastructures are safely secured.  FIFA emphasis on these three key areas of ensuring that there is security before, during and after the game.

Before the match, it has to do with preparation for the arrival, camping of both teams and the match officials. During deals with absolute security being guaranteed and that nothing disrupts the match while the after has to do with the safe departure of both the home and away teams as well as match officials without any breach.

Challenges as FIFA national security officer for Nigeria

Given the importance FIFA places on the issue of security for its matches, its my responsibility to ensure that the necessary checks are put in place to forestall any security challenge. I carry out periodic lectures to all stakeholders on FIFA safety guidelines which include the roles of stakeholders in all matches be it local or international. Let me commend the League Management Committee, LMC, for giving me the opportunity to interact with club owners before the commencement of the current league season.

Another critical issue is the role of policemen during matches. There’s still need to further educate and train them properly for the task ahead. I have had several challenges on security because each venue has different behavioural patterns.

I have had the misfortune of being drenched in urine at the National Stadium, Surulere. That particular match, I recall was sold to a sponsor. I was already inside the stadium deploying policemen when I was told that a policeman had shot a fan.

I quickly went out to handle the matter. Incidentally, the policeman involved was attached to the sponsor that the match was sold out to. That unfortunate incident was as a result of lack of proper education. In the first instance, fire arm is not allowed in a sporting arena because it is not a war theatre. However, I was able to handle the matter before the match commissioner arrived the scene and I thank God for the wisdom I used in handling it because it would have turned all the policemen within the complex into easy targets for irate fans if the matter had escalated.

It’s important that all stakeholders understand their roles at every match venue and this is not just the football fan only, it also applies to the security officials at the venue, the media, the players, grounds men and even more.

In the EPL, the Italian Seria A, La Liga and other leagues, teams win matches away and nothing happens. It’s not by accident that you see the fans go away peacefully. It’s simply because there has been an orientation for the fans and other stakeholders over and over again. This is what we need in Nigeria to make all stakeholders more responsible and see football matches as entertainment.

I first got an insight into what security is about matches in France’98 when the President General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo gave me that exposure. I learnt from there that the match venue is a place to ease off tension, make friends and relax; not a place to fight or make trouble. Nigerians are of good conduct at match venues but we’re still not there yet but I can say we’re far better than many other countries.

New NFF board

While I congratulate the newly elected Board of the NFF led by Pinnick Amaju, I want to say that they have a big task in ensuring that peace continues to reign in our football. The task of maintaining peace is one that cannot be compromised.

We should continue to build on the gains we’ve achieved over the years. Security is a very important aspect of any match and we should not cease to educate all those involved in every game. As FIFA national security officer for Nigeria, I count on the cooperation of the board for us to make things better.

Support from Nigeria Police Force

I cannot thank the Nigeria Police Force enough for their understanding and support. I had enormous support from the former Inspector General of Police to the Force management team. All the AIGs, the DIGs and Commissioners of Police were there for me all the time.

Every match venue I’ve been to, I got all I needed for the job to be done. The authorities are happy that I have represented the Nigeria Police Force well. I also want to thank the current IG of the Police for all the encouragement he gave me while I was in service. He has been a wonderful mentor given his pedigree as an astute sports administrator.

on Nigeria Taekwondo Federation

As a practitioner, I want to pay glowing tributes to the founding fathers of Taekwondo in Nigeria. The likes of Grand Masters Koffi Anani, Dominic Bassey, Emmanuel Ikpeme, George Akinola and NTF president, George Ashiru as well as Jonathan Nnaji of the NOC. Special thanks go to Tayo Popoola of the Lagos State Sports Council.

I am a member of the new board and I dare say that those that have led the NTF before now did their best under the circumstances they found themselves. The likes of Captain Gowon and his board did their best and got Nigeria a gold medal by Emmanuel Peters.

The biggest challenge we have is that of funding and most importantly the lack of competition for the athletes. For us to have the right kind of competitions we need for the athletes to be in shape, we need corporate organisations to come to our aid. In the past there have been cases where there is only one national competition before the athletes go out for international championships. In a situation like that, what do we expect from the athletes?

The exploits of Chika Chukwumerije is simply due to the sponsorship that comes from his father. Athletes need as many local and international matches to be in top form for any championship. My people say you cannot give what you don’t have. The present board of the NTF has put in place various programmes in place to get Nigeria in a pole position to win a gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. But for the Ebola Virus Diseases that hit Nigeria, we had already put machinery in place for several competitions that would see our athletes busy.

Most trying moment

It was back in 2009 when FIFA was in her last lap of inspection of facilities for the FIFA World Cup for U-17 men. As chief security officer, I had to follow FIFA on the inspection tour of the stadia for the tournament. We made several trips across the country to Calabar, Enugu, Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Kano and Ibadan.

Just when we were rounding up after 53 flights on the chartered aircraft the federal government provided for the inspection, we were returning to Abuja from Enugu, a journey of about 45 minutes. We took off at 4:00pm but spent over six hours before getting to Abuja. We ran into a storm just as we approached Abuja but we could not land and were directed to Ilorin. The storm was so harsh that it dented the body of the plane and while it lasted, we thought we were going to crash. I was seated just behind Jack Warner in that flight that also had Dr Amos Adamu, John Schumacher who was then head of FIFA administration as well as other FIFA and Nigerian officials.

It was so terrifying that everyone feared for the worst, I finally found my voice and with the small Gideon Bible in my pocket I called on God for the storm to cease and He answered us. It was going to be an international calamity had the plane crashed but God took charge and we saw ourselves in Ilorin where we stayed until 12 midnight before heading back to Abuja.

In my regular police duty, I’ve come face to face with death against armed robbers but in all my years I have never shot a bullet to kill anyone and I thank God for the grace.

AS Camp commandant of the Super Eagles

I might not be a trained coach in football but I’ve worked with many coaches and have learnt a lot from them. Over the years as Super Eagles camp commandant I have never lost any match. As far as I am concerned, there is the spiritual and physical aspect to every game. Many people don’t know that as Super Eagles camp commandant, I often embark on a 3-day fasting before every game. I ask God to take charge of all I have to do and grant the team victory to cap our efforts and prayers.

The other important aspect in carrying out my duties is ensuring that discipline is maintained. I believe it’s the bedrock of any team. I don’t sleep while monitoring the Super Eagles camp and the players don’t like to be followed closely. In the course of my job I’ve been seen as the enemy by many of the players but I really don’t care because for me I’m only doing my job. The interest of the country comes uppermost and for that I cannot compromise anything for it.

Back in 2004 in Tunisia when I was on the board of the NFA, I was the leader of delegation to the Nations Cup and like the players know, I don’t take kindly to breaching of laid down rules. While we were on duty, three of our key players broke camp rules and as much as we needed them in the team, there was no way other players would be working for the success of the team and the others are somewhere ruining their efforts.

It was a very tough decision to take but it needed to be taken for the good of the country and to restore sanity in the team. Celestine Babayaro, Victor Agali and Yakubu Aiyegbeni fell short of the rules and keeping them in camp would be giving other young players in the team the latitude to misbehave. For me there was no mixing business with pleasure. The job must be done first and if they want to celebrate anywhere of their choice after victory is achieved, there’s no problem about that. When I look back to that incident, I ask myself what would be my reaction if faced with the same circumstances. My answer is that I would do it again for the love of the country, Nigeria. I have no regrets for the action I took then and the NFA and the technical crew supported me fully.

Family

First, I want to thank God for the wife he gave me. She is the guardian angel sent to watch over me and I appreciate her. Let me say this here, in all my years of service, this is the first time that I have been at home to spend quality time with my family.

In my days with the Police Mobile Unit, I was the best parade man and that keeps me on the call when there’s a parade. By the special grace of God, my wife has also taught and trained the kids in the ways of the Lord and they are God fearing. God has blessed me with a wonderful family.

My other family has been in Taekwondo which I have spoken about and then there is my other family which is the national teams. I wish to give special thanks to the Nigerian media without whom I won’t be where I am today. Their role in building me is what money cannot pay for. I’m in deed grateful to them. My thanks also go to the previous NFA boards, the NFF under Sani Lulu, Maigari and the board members. All the local and foreign coaches I’ve worked with over the years and the players too. I have had a great time as camp commandant and even in my role now as FIFA national security officer, I will not relent in carrying out my duties.

The Sun Interview by Joe Apu