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Football aficionado, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu, stands higher and above any other club football administrator in Nigeria, living or dead. With a record 28 trophies in the cabinet of Enyimba International Football under his watch in the last two decades, added to a plethora of individual awards of excellence, the Abia State-born football technocrat deserves all the accolades for his numerous achievements.
In this exhaustive and no-holds-barred interview with our Deputy Sports Editor, EMMA NJOKU, Anyansi said he has made costly sacrifices, including spilling his blood, to build Enyimba to the enviable height it has attained in African football today.
He also spoke on his pain and regrets as well as the legacy he hopes to leave when he finally bows out as chairman of the club, among other issues.
Q: After about two decades as Enyimba’s chairman, how would you describe your experience; are you fulfilled?
A: As long as I’m still in the business of football administration, I can really say I’m not a fulfilled man yet, not because we’ve not done enough to claim that, but because everyday you want to do new things and you keep having challenges, and you try to get around them.
But, so far, we’ve done a couple of things that people can appreciate and give us credit. Looking at the time we came on board, 1999-2000, even if I came in as a vice chairman of the club and rose to the position of chairman up till date, we have been able to win everything that is winnable, except the CAF Confederation Cup which, on two occasions, we have reached the semi final. Currently we are in the quarterfinals of the competition.That is the only trophy, in both the domestic scene and in the African continent, that is not in our cabinet.
On individual capacity, I’ve been honoured with the Best Football Administrator in Africa in 2004 and 2005. I’ve won other numerous awards both in Nigeria and in Africa. For the records, cumulatively, we have won a total of 28 trophies, and that, in my opinion, is an unbelievable achievement.
Q: Which of these achievements would you describe as your best moment ?
A: In the game of football, one is as good as his last game. But, one can look back and hit his chest and say, ‘I’ve done well’. That will be in 2003 when we won the Champions League. That was a record-breaking achievement. By then, it was about 39 years that the trophy had eluded Nigeria, and since 2004, when we won the trophy for the second consecutive time, no other Nigerian club has been able to win it again. So, 2003 and 2004 were my best moments as Enyimba chairman because of the recording-breaking achievement. It was an awesome experience.
Q: And your most regrettable moment?
A: One of my regrets was in 2003, when we won the Champions League for the first time, we were supposed to represent Africa at the World Club Competition, unfortunately, the competition was postponed; and in 2004, we also won the Champions League and, again, the World Club Competition was postponed. In 2005, we almost won the Champions League for the third consecutive time, but were eliminated in the semi final. That year, Al Ahly of Egypt won the competition and represented Africa at the World Club competition because it held that year. That is my biggest regret, each time I think about it, I feel like crying because it would have been an epic moment, an icing on the cake for me as a club administrator, to represent Africa at the world club competition in 2003 and 2004. This is why I’m still trying to turn the club around to see if we can win the Champions League again, in order to represent Africa at the world club competition.
Q: You couldn’t have achieved so much as Enyimba chairman without some sacrifices; what has ben your biggest sacrifice for the club?
A: My blood! I’ve spilt my blood on many occasions for the club and for football. The most recent one was a few weeks ago during our league match with Abia Warriors in Umuahia, when I was hit on my head and blood was gushing all over my body. A couple of times I’ve faced such ugly situations.
Q: …And you’ve never thought of throwing in the towel to preserve your life?
A: When you have passion for something, you don’t just chicken out because of some difficult moments; you try to surmount the difficulties and move on. So, we don’t look at the shortfalls, we rather look at the positives. There have been a lot of positives, and positives don’t come without challenges.
Q: You no doubt have worked with many players and coaches. Are there situations when you wish that certain players were still in the team to turn the game around?
A: (Laughs) Yeah! A lot of players have passed through the club, but I can’t start comparing my players because they come at different times. However, there are players who are very exceptional; players like Vincent Enyeama, Obinna Nwaneri, Onyekachi Okonkwo, Muri Ogunbiyi, David Tyakase, Musa Aliyu and so on. Those were fantastic players. But you don’t just compare players because there are different times and different challenges. We have always had eyes for quality players at every moment, that’s the advantage we have as Enyimba. We don’t go for substandard players, we go for player who would give you what you want, those who can face whatever challenges. But the difference now is that we no longer have seasoned players.
Young players emerge today and the following year they are somewhere else; they don’t really stay here and mature the way they should unlike before. Vincent Enyeama was with us until he matured and started playing for Nigeria before he went abroad for professional career. Today, somebody would trap the ball in his village, the next day he has travelled abroad for professional career, and that has affected the standard of football in Nigeria generally.
Q: How about the quality of Nigerian coaches?
A: Then we used to have quite a number of experienced coaches like Kadiri Ikhana and a many others. Presently, there are some young coaches with different mentality, but Nigerian coaches need to do more. They should find time to improve themselves by going for refresher courses on modern techniques and tactics in football; that is what we are lacking at the moment.
Q: How has football administration affected your life as a family man?
A: It’s very difficult to talk about my passion for football and my family life. In fact, my family has paid the price for the success we have recorded so far. Every time one is not with his family, and that’s a big minus. Whenever I talk about it I get emotional. There was this particular day I returned from a trip and I came into my house, as I dropped my bag I remembered that I forgot something in the car and wanted to go and get it, my son who is seven years now (then he was about five) said to me, ‘daddy, are you going again? I looked at him and tears filled my eyes because that is what they see on daily basis; you just come in and in the morning, you’re gone. It’s quite emotional and I don’t like talking about it because my family has paid a huge price.
Q: With your pedigree as the most successful club football administration in Nigeria, one wonders why you don’t seem to be interested in heading the nation’s football administration.
A: Without sounding immodest, our achievements are there to speak for us. But I’m not someone that is too ambitious. There are a lot of issues as to who should be at the helm of affairs in Nigeria football administration at some point. At the moment, I’m a member of the football federation and I’ve headed the technical committee at some point, in addition to other positions. So, I’ve always been part and parcel of the Nigeria Football Federation. It takes a lot to be the president of the federation. So, I have to wait for the right time. Once the time is right, I know things will fall in place.
Q: What kind of legacy would you like to leave as Enyimba chairman?
A: The best legacy of a good leader is to produce a successor who would continue from where he stopped. I will not like to see Enyimba fall after I’ve left as the chairman. When you leave a position, you should put in place structures that would ensure that whoever takes over succeeds. That is the best legacy. If I leave as Enyimba chairman without a successor I have failed; that would be a disaster and I wouldn’t want it to happen. I want someone who will do better than I’ve done. That is the Enyimba of my dream
Q: Would say you have groomed somebody who can succeed you? And have you put in place the structure that would enable your successor to build on your achievements?
A: That’s a tricky question. It’s not really in my hands to appoint my successor. Enyimba is a government-owned club and government plays a bigger role when it comes to who occupies certain positions. Its also imperative that we guide the government to know the right set of people who can do much better than what you have done. It is important to point out that football has become more sophisticated. It’s not an area you just put anybody and expect good result immediately. It’s not a magic wand. It’s not politics where governors can choose their successors. There are people within the system who have been understudying you, just as there are those out there who are knowledgeable in the administration of the game. So, it depends on how it is arranged. But what is important is that continuity. You cannot buy experience in the supermarket.
Q: Finally, how have you been able to handle the pressure and tension associated with football?
A: …By making sure that I take my drugs for high blood pressure on daily basis. I developed high blood pressure in less than one year after I took up the Enyimba job, and I’ve been managing the ailment for the past 19 years. You can assume the rest. There’s an unbelievable pressure in the game of football. Sometimes, the result of some matches can make you not to eat. Some matches make you cry, others leave pain in your heart for a long time. We have been through a lot. Football is not a bed of roses.
