N10 Million Carrot

By Victor Ugborgu
Monday, December 01, 2003

Edo State snatches away coach of Lobi Stars football club with N10 million deal

Godwin Uwua, coach, Lobi Stars of Makurdi, is now chief coach of Insurance FC of Benin City, Edo State. He signed a N10 million contract last week with the Edo State Sports Council. He takes over from Kelechi Emetole under whom the team has not fared well.

The deal was struck in Abia State between Uwua and Lucky Igbinedion, governor of Edo State, during the semi-final match between Enyimba and USMA, in the CAF champion's league.

Uwua decided to leave Lobi Stars because differences between him and Dominic Iorfa, chairman of Lobi Stars. "I was called to serve my state by helping Lobi out of relegation. God used me to achieve that and I also won the FA Cup for them. But when the chairman started behaving funny, the next thing was to move on. I don't want people to read negative meanings to my decision to leave Lobi Stars after winning the FA Cup. It is not my intention to dump clubs after leading them to major titles. But I cannot compromise my career," he said. Uwua said the management of Lobi owed him N2 million.

Uwua is a good but controversial coach. He has successfully coached Enyimba FC of Aba, Insurance FC of Benin and Lobi Stars of Makurdi, to win both the professional league and the FA Cup. He was an assistant coach to the Super Eagles in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea. He left those teams under controversial circumstances.

Uwua helped Lobi Stars win the 2003 Coco-cola FA Cup played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna. The match between Lobi Stars and Sharks of Port Harcourt was more of a personality clash between Uwua and Shuaibu Amodu, Shark's coach. Uwua's club beat the Sharks 2-0 to lift the FA trophy. Lobi Stars will now represent Nigeria in the continental championship.

At the Insurance FC, Uwua's employers would expect him to lift the morale of the players and recruit good hands to bring laurels to the state. But is controversial Uwua the best man for the job?

Opinions are mixed on his ability to get the Insurance out of its problems. A.O. Adebayo, a sports analyst said: "Uwua is a coach I admire a lot. He is technically sound. Unfortunately, he has not been adequately rewarded. Look at the millions of naira Rivers State gave Sharks players and officials. Uwua got nothing for winning the Cup. I think his presence in Insurance will boost the morale of the players next session."

But Emma Obasuyi, a former footballer, said he preferred a foreign coach to Uwua. "If I were the governor, I would have gone for a foreign coach if we want Insurance to perform well. Football has gone beyond what it used to be. We need a capable hand and Uwua is not that hand," Obasuyi said.