Taiwo Awoniyi and Bayour Issah: A confluence of thankless job and a sense of gratitude.

Following the deregulation of the telecoms sector and the liberalisation of access to the internet, social media, in particular, has become an arena where a glorified rumour monger regards himself as a journalist. It has become an arena for the democratisation of quackery in journalism. With this social media-induced bastardisation of the noble profession, the industry of thorough professionals gets mixed up with those who are far from being one.

The pen-pushing profession in Nigeria boasts of superstars (who are living legends, as far as the business is concerned, especially in the sports genre) like Mitchell Obi, Fabio Lanipekun (of blessed memory), Tayo Balogun, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, Demola Olajire, Ade Ojeikere among others. In other genres, those who have inspired me include people like Chief Duro Onabule (of blessed memory), Ray Ekpu, Dele Momodu, Tunde Olusunle, Dare Babarinsa, Olusegun Adeniyi, Dapo Olorunyomi, Eniola Bello, Simon Kolawole, Reuben Abati, Niran Malaolu, just to mention but a few. They have such awesome professional pedigrees that to mention their names in the same sentence as those purveyors of quack journalism on social media is nothing but embezzlement of history and their contribution to the development of the profession, using their God-given talents, garnished with a high level of integrity, discipline, and dedication to national development.

Unfortunately, sports journalism is not immune from the devastating phenomenon of quackery on the works of the industry’s shining lights and beacons of professional integrity. Worsening the situation is the lethal combination of liberalised access to the internet, especially social media, and the burning passion that an average Nigerian has for sports, especially football. That makes almost every Tom, Dick, and Harry sound or look like a journalist. The room for “copy-and-paste” does not help matters either as it facilitates plagiarism. People copy the works of others (perhaps journalists) without giving due credit to the authors. And readers think the intellectual thief is the real author. That gives the impression that he must be a journalist. For instance, about six out of every 10 social media pages owned by Nigerians do “breaking news” on all subjects, especially those relating to sports. So, it becomes much more difficult to separate the grain from the chaff. But the internet being such a global village, whenever one comes across the original author, metadata, through fact-checking, always reveals who the real author is.

The industry of sports writing, as it affects stories aimed at exposing raw talents, becomes less appreciated by a society that loves having almost everything pro bono. This is because there is that erroneous belief that why patronise the so-called professional if a self-styled social media influencer, masquerading as a journalist, could do the same thing at close to ₦00:00?

So it is a common thing for athletes whose careers have been massively boosted by the modest publicity engineered by the local journalists to look down on them, especially once their “Chi” has helped them crack their palm kernel – in the words of Chinua Achebe. I am not saying all of us in the pen-pushing profession have been covering ourselves in glory with the way some go about their jobs but the misconducts of a few should not, and cannot, be used to define the rest who go about their jobs with the required dignity (of labour), integrity, and passion for the development of sports in general.

One thing most people do not appreciate and some of those who know do not want to agree with is that the majority of us who do sports reportage do so, not for money, but out of passion for the job. We are not into it for the money for there is no money in it, especially in our part of the world. If it were to be for the money, 90% of people who are into sports journalism in Nigeria today wouldn’t be there because where is the money? If (sports journalism) were such a money-spinning venture, some Nigerian sports writers like one of the subjects of this piece (whose identity will be unpacked shortly) should, today, be rubbing shoulders with people like Aliko Dangote, and Femi Otedola, or even Elon Musk but that is not the case.

To the crux of this piece.

Super Eagles’ striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, is one of the emerging forces in the business of net-shaking (goal-scoring) in European club football. Awoniyi, who currently plies his trade in England, plays for Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League. He is the team’s leading goalscorer as well as the current player of the month (of August) and he also got nominated, alongside others, for the league’s player of the month.

Awoniyi, who hails from Olla in Isin local government area of Kwara state, started his footballing career on the streets of Ilorin before teaming up with Seyi Olofijana-founded Imperial Soccer Academy, Lagos, from where he was invited to the Nigerian national under-17 football team – the Golden Eaglets. He would later, in the years 2013, alongside others like Kelechi Iheanacho, Dele Alampasu, Musa Muhammed, Chidiebere Nwakali, Zahradeen Bello, and Francis Uzoho among others, go on to win the FIFA Under-17 World in the United Arab Emirates. Isaac Success was reported to be the number one striker for the team but as fate would have it, the injury had another script which it acted out, ensuring that Success was not available for selection in the UAE and Awoniyi was, thus, handed the responsibility of leading the attack. And he never disappointed with a decent return of four goals, two behind his teammate, Iheanacho, and three behind the Golden Boot winner – Valmir Berisha of Sweden.

The team ended up winning the tournament, for the fourth time in history. Nigeria would, two years later, go on to win the next edition in 2015 in Chile for a record fifth time. He has equally played for the national teams in the different age categories (Under-20 and Under-23). He now has, under his belt, seven appearances so far for the Super Eagles with two goals, the latest of which came last Sunday but one, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, in an AFCON 2023 qualifier against The Patriots of São Tomé and Príncipe in an AFCON 2023 qualifier match.

As the 2013 edition of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup took place in the UAE, scouts from all over Europe shadowed the team, to catch the next “big things” to come out of African football, and Awoniyi was expected among those who drew the attention of the scouts from big European club sides. Liverpool Football Club of England, it was, who eventually secured his precious signature. But due to issues relating to a work permit, he was farmed out on loan, several times, to clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium for years, before he finally secured a deal to join Union Berlin football club in the German Bundesliga, in the 2021-2022, after his initial loan spell in the previous season at the club was made permanent. Then, by the end of the season, in the summer of 2022, a newly promoted Nottingham Forest of England, came calling, and he wasted no time in agreeing on terms with them, and signing the dotted lines, to fulfil his lifelong ambition of playing in the English Premier League (EPL). This was a dream that made him choose Liverpool FC among other teams seeking his signature, after the success at the cadet world cup in the UAE. He has since established himself as a cult hero among the club’s fans, setting some goal-scoring records, as he returned from injury towards the tail end of the 2022-2023 season, to help them secure their premiership status. To the club’s supporters, escaping relegation, courtesy of Awoniyi’s vital goals, felt like securing a Continental ticket. He has, since the beginning of the current season, picked up from where he stopped last season. He has made it a habit, of scoring against big teams in the league. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United fans can testify to that. This is a trait that passes him off as a player for the big occasion – a vital ingredient for success at the level of the EPL.

As he clawed his way to stardom, from the Imperial Soccer Academy training ground in Lagos, Nigeria, to Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, he never forgets his benefactors – the society, which he believes has given him so much. He constantly gives back to society, through various philanthropic gestures. During his last off-season holiday, he painted Kwara State red, with numerous philanthropic gestures – he commissioned a newly constructed standard clinic for his community of origin – Olla. He equally paid an unscheduled visit to the General Hospital in Ilorin, where he settled medical bills for indigent patients, who could not afford to pay for some life-saving surgeries. He paid visits to his primary school, (Adetunji Nursery and Primary School), Alfa Yahaya, Ilorin, and his secondary school – Government Day Secondary School. Furthermore, he upgraded the football pitches of these schools. This is, in addition to sponsoring a football tournament aimed at discovering talents like himself, wherein, he handsomely rewarded the winners, as a form of encouragement.

All the above pale into insignificance on Thursday, the 14th of September 2023, when in the evening, news broke that Awoniyi had gifted an ace Sports journalist, Bayour Issah of Complete Sports fame, and publisher of Sports News, a Toyota Camry – the one popularly referred to as “Camry Muscle” in the Nigerian parlance, as a birthday gift, on the eve of the D-Day. This, according to a letter the player wrote, and personally signed, made available to the press by the recipient, is in recognition of the journalist’s immense contribution towards the development of Sports at the grassroots, through sports reportage. Meanwhile, I was still with the ageless Sportscaster earlier in the day, at his Ilorin Emir Road office, then we (I and the recipient himself), had no inkling, as to what was in the offing from the in-form striker, until another journalist, who doubles as the Director of Football, ABS Ilorin FC, Chief Alloy Chukwuemeka broke the news on his Facebook page, with a caption:

“Super Eagles star Player Taiwo Awoniyi donates Camry car to Bayour Issah as a birthday gift.
Congratulations to my mentor and boss”.

That is unprecedented in the history of the congenital marriage between athletes and sports journalists in Kwara State. But the trailblazing Awoniyi made it happen, in recognition of the thankless job of a consummate sports writer – Bayour Issah, in this case.

For sports lovers, in the late 80s, 90s, and earlier this century, especially those who were avid readers of “The Complete Sports”, “The Complete Football”, “The Sports Souvenir”, and other titles from the stable of Complete Communications Limited, “Bayour Issah” is a name that needs little or no introduction, for those who were old enough to read those papers then. He passionately reported, and still does up to this moment, grassroot Sports in a way a John Cross, a Tom Victor, or a Matthew Cooper reports grassroot football stories for the Mirror in the UK. If you are also in love with listening to sports news on radio and television, in Kwara State, and beyond, the name, “Bayour Issah” would ring more than a bell in your ears. His baritone signature voice is unmistakable, and a delight to listen to, especially with his unique style of Sports presentation. You would also meet him at venues of local football and other sports competitions, running live commentary, to the delight of spectators. He is so passionate about, and good at it, so much so that sometimes, spectators would, sometimes, leave what is happening on the field of play and direct their attentions to the master of sports-casting, in admiration of how he captures proceedings on the field of play with lucidity of language, laden with an unparalleled humour. This has, over the years, endeared him to sports fans in Kwara State and beyond. Yours sincerely would, occasionally, join him in the commentary box, having been inspired by his very contagious passion. As he runs commentary, he also dispatches his team of mentees, young interns, and “student-reporters”, who are attached to his outfit – Sportspro News, for hands-on training, to take notes, preparatory to writing a report for publications.

This (being associated with the alumnus of the famous London School of Journalism) goes a long way in encouraging local talents to be more focused and dedicated to their training. There can be no better non-monetary motivation for local talents than reading about themselves, and their exploits, in a reputable, national newspaper like “The Complete Sports”, while participating in local competitions, courtesy of a local hero like Bayour Issah. That is what the Dean of the Sports Faculty, whose birthday is celebrated every 15th of September, has been doing for decades. For those who do not know, the moniker, “Dean of the Sports Faculty” was given to him by a late Professor of Human Kinetics, Lasun Emiola, of the University of Ilorin, after having wowed the late academic with his excellent reportage of the 1992 edition of the Nigerian Universities Games (NUGA).

Do not mistake him for a “local reporter” who has never been to world-class events. For the record, he has covered “The Complete Sports, an international competition, outside Nigeria. Events like the FIFA senior and Cadet World Cups; the Commonwealth Games; the African Cup of Nations; the Senior African Athletics Championships; and the All African Games among others, are under his belt. He is also a veteran reporter of CAF club competitions, the Nigerian league matches, and matches involving the national teams like friendlies and qualifiers.

His office at Number E110, Emir Road Ilorin, a resource centre, is a Mecca of sorts for those who value, or need records of sporting events, for research purposes. The place could pass off as a museum, due to the plethora of artifacts-like sports memorabilia on display, and old magazines in the library. We call the two-room office, The University of Common Sense. You cannot be in that office for an hour without an athlete (active or retired), or a coach, paying him a courtesy visit, in appreciation of the positive impacts his stories have had on their lives and careers, ditto for journalists, young and old. That is Bayour Issah’s persona.

The dean of the sports faculty would always tell me: “Bayo (remember we are namesakes), we are into sports reportage, not because of anything, but for the passion we have for the development of Sports in Nigeria; for the benefits of our teeming talented youths in the country”. “We do stories to project their talents and bring same to the attention of scouts,” he would add. He always says this whenever I, out of my limited experience, get discouraged by how some so-called sports administrators and athletes look down on the works of a journalist. This is true of some athletes whose bread God has buttered. “Mr. Sports”, (as some people love to call him) would always say: “The work of a sports writer is a thankless one. Nobody can fully defray our fees, considering the impacts some of our stories have in shaping the lives and carers of most sportsmen and women, most of whom rarely remember to even return to express gratitude verbally, let alone bearing material gifts”.

In the case of Bayour Issah’s selfless job of sports reportage, and Awoniyi’s exemplary sense of gratitude, it is a confluence of a thankless job, and a sense of Gratitude – a very rare combination in this clime. The ex-Union Berlin striker accompanied the brand-new vehicle with a personal letter of appreciation that evoked emotions. That underscores the fact that the player did what he did, not for showmanship, but out of a genuine sense of appreciation for a man whose industry he confesses to have been following for about 15 years of impactful journalism.

On this note, I, on behalf of the entire members of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Kwara state chapter, say to Awoniyi: “Thank you and God bless you, for all that you do, especially this birthday gift to our mentor. In all of us, you just irrigated a seed of sport reportage for positive impacts on our society”. Wishing you and your teams (the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and Nottingham Forest football club) all the best in the seasons ahead.

And to the dean of the sports faculty – the “Birthday Boy” who turned 58 last week, I say: “Happy birthday and many Happy returns of the day to you Sir!”

Abubakar writes from Ilorin, Kwara state. He can be reached via 08051388285 or [email protected]