What Football Teaches Us About Leadership - 26-06-2018

Why does sport especially football affect us so much? As always I get to wondering how sports is such a unifying factor, for not just my country, but other countries of the world, all of a sudden mortal enemies forget that they are mortal enemies, and they unite behind one flag. What is it about sports especially in a country like Nigeria where we argue about so many things and seem to be divided about so many things? What is it about sports that unify us? I was outside my base when Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0, and the whole place erupted in rapturous joy, and nobody wanted to know what side of the country Musa was from, there was no federal character, that they thought ‘you cheered him up because he came from your area” I do not think anybody knows or cares where he comes from. They just cared that he had won for Nigeria. As a sport I would rather examine football than athletics, because in athletics its one person sprinting and we’re all rooting for one person. Football best represents what leadership is in many nations. A team of people, who are playing for the others, each one is not as strong as the other; each one does not have the same skill set the other has. Rather like a cabinet, of ministers, led by a president, so we understand that it takes a team to achieve success. Why does football unify us so much? ‘Common visions, common goals’, we believe that they have skill, we believe that these people have something to offer and we respect them inherently. There are definitely lessons to be learnt from this sport that are applicable to the national community, state, every aspect of leadership. We thank the Super Eagles for making us proud. Congratulations to us, congratulations to the Super Eagles.