Hello everyone.
I have a personal rule to rarely stray beyond Enyimba-related matters in my articles. But every rule has its exceptions, and today I’m making one to celebrate a milestone that enriches the NPFL and deepens football in Nigeria.
All over the world, players who reach triple figures in league goals are celebrated, some even inducted into a Hall of Fame, because they embody consistency, brilliance and longevity. Of the thousands of players who have graced the pitches and electrified stadiums with goals, only a select few have scored 100 or more to earn a place in the prestigious “100 Club.”
In the English Premier League, a league many of us follow religiously, whether supporting one club passionately or hate-watching others for fun, only 35 players have joined the 100 Club since 1992. Interestingly, only three of them are African: Mohamed Salah (193 goals), Sadio Mané (111) and Didier Drogba (104). The closest a Nigerian has come is Yakubu Aiyegbeni, whose 95 goals left him agonisingly five short.
In the NPFL, even fewer players have reached the mark, which makes it a rare feat indeed. That is why Godwin Obaje’s century last week was welcomed by fans regardless of club affiliation. According to available records, he joins league legends Victor Ezeji and Rabiu Ali, the latter remarkably still active past 40 and still adding to his numbers. Triple figures are not reached through a sudden burst of goals, but through hard work, perseverance and dedication over a long period, in a league as difficult as ours.
This is a league where strikers see the top scorer’s prize as a visa to go just about anywhere in search of the golden fleece. It is a growing and troubling trend, with top strikers funnelled into destinations chosen for immediate gain rather than long-term development: financially attractive but competitively modest leagues in Libya, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Oman, Bangladesh and elsewhere. More often than not, the move is short-lived, and they return diminished, unable to reach the heights that made them famous.
Obaje is not immune to the “japa” bug; he has caught it more than once. But each time he returned, he dug in and added to his tally. He first burst into the consciousness of domestic league fans in 2016, scoring across the country to finish top scorer with 18 goals for Wikki Tourists. Ten years later, his 14 goals for Rangers saw him finish joint top scorer last season alongside Wikki Tourists’ Jonathan Mairiga and Remo Stars’ Victor Mbaoma.
The trio took the race for the 2025/26 golden boot to the final matchday. Obaje led by a goal going into the last game and failed to score, but his club held on to win the title. Mairiga and Mbaoma both scored to draw level with him, but neither could steer his club away from relegation. It was celebration galore for Rangers fans, and a reminder that team success trumps individual ambition. Still, it did not go unnoticed that Obaje was one goal away from claiming the golden boot outright and reaching the 100 Club, which would have made it a triple celebration.
Delay is not denial, as they say. He has started his fifth season with the Flying Antelopes in fine form, a testament to his dedication to the NPFL. A breakdown of his 101 goals: 25 for Wikki Tourists, 16 for FC Ifeanyi Ubah, 1 for Plateau United, 20 for Abia Warriors and 39 for Enugu Rangers.
Amid all those goals, I was curious to know how many times an Enyimba goalkeeper had to pick the ball out of his net as Obaje wheeled away in celebration. A detailed search turned up three. The first two came across both meetings in 2016, when he was largely unplayable in Wikki Tourists colours, and the third in 2017 for FC Ifeanyi Ubah. He has drawn a blank against the People’s Elephant ever since. I hope mentioning that doesn’t provoke a reaction when Rangers and Enyimba meet in December.
From an Enyimba standpoint, one player I believe had everything needed to reach 100 was Mfon Udoh. He started with a splash, scoring 15 goals in his debut season for Akwa United in 2013. Snapped up by Enyimba, he scored a record 23 goals to finish as top scorer in 2014, the most ever in a single NPFL season. Then injury struck and kept him out for long spells. When he returned, it was sad to see that he had lost a yard of pace and the confidence that fuelled his famous appetite for goals. He did add more to his tally, including 10 on his return to Akwa United that earned him a share of the golden boot with Nasarawa United’s Sunusi Ibrahim in the abridged 2019 season. Udoh is credited with 77 NPFL goals: 42 for Enyimba and 35 across two spells at Akwa United.
We at ThatEnyimbaFan say congratulations to Godwin Obaje on this milestone. This is also a shout-out to every striker spicing up the league with goals, especially former Enyimba strikers Chukwuemeka Obioma and Chijioke Mbaoma. Both finished as NPFL top scorers while in Aba, in 2023 and 2024 respectively, and after short spells abroad, they now play for Abia Warriors and Rivers United. Keep adding to your numbers while you’re still playing here. You never know who will be the next to join the NPFL 100 Club.
