The transfer market is open, clubs are moving, players are switching shirts, and supporters across the NPFL are already imagining what their teams might look like next season.
At Enyimba, however, the loudest movement seems to be coming from press statements, social media arguments and attempts to explain why one player or another had to leave.
There is an African proverb that says, “If you watch your neighbour eat an insect in the evening, neither of you will sleep that night.” That proverb feels particularly relevant now because Enyimba supporters can already see the warning signs. We watched this team survive relegation on the final day, yet the urgency expected from such a narrow escape has not shown itself in the transfer market.
Over the past week, I have watched the club attempt to rewrite last season’s story. We are being encouraged to believe that Enyimba’s problems can be traced to a handful of bad eggs who have now conveniently disappeared. It makes for entertaining reading, but football is rarely that simple.
If the problems were only the players, why did the administration oversee the worst league campaign in decades? If removing a few individuals is the solution, where are the players who will make Enyimba better? Because a purge is not a rebuild. A rebuild begins the moment better players start walking through the door.
That is why I have come to one conclusion. There is a sickness in Aba, and its name is transfer allergy.
Ever since Enyimba escaped relegation on the final day of last season, I expected urgency. I expected recruitment meetings, credible transfer links and a clear attempt to attack the market with the same desperation the team showed in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Instead, we have had press statements, counter-statements, social media wars, theatrical articles and character attacks. Everything except the football. Look around the NPFL. Clubs are strengthening. Newly promoted teams are recruiting because they understand that sentiment does not keep you in the top flight. Ambitious clubs are identifying weaknesses, replacing departed players and preparing for another long season.
Meanwhile, what is Enyimba doing?
Embarrassing club captains and stalwarts. Arguing over salaries and bonuses. Explaining why former players were supposedly the problem. Winning the social media league while losing ground in the transfer market. If this is truly a rebuild, where are the builders? After showing experienced players the exit door, where are the replacements? Who replaces the leadership of Kalu Nweke? Who replaces the energy of Ufere Chinedu? Who replaces the experience already walking out of the club? Who replaces the goals, assists and stability that disappeared with them?
Or are we honestly preparing to enter another NPFL season with the roadside recruitment strategy? Perhaps some dropouts from the more ambitious clubs could look our direction? Supporters are constantly told to trust the process. Fair enough. But every process should produce visible progress. What is the recruitment strategy? Which positions have been identified as priorities? Which players are coming in? How does the club intend to improve a team that struggled all season?
Those are the conversations supporters should be having. Not another public relations battle. Football clubs are rebuilt through planning, recruitment and good decisions, not through narratives.
The painful truth is that Enyimba no longer possesses the pull it once had. There was a time ambitious players saw Aba as the quickest route to league titles, Continental football and national recognition. Today, the club is heading into another season without Continental football, complaints about player welfare continue to surface, experienced players keep leaving, and recruitment appears painfully slow.
That should worry everyone who genuinely loves this football club. The irony is that the administration appears allergic to the one thing that can actually change Enyimba’s fortunes: recruitment. Good recruitment. Quality recruitment. Purposeful recruitment.
Those, not propaganda are what will return Enyimba to where it belongs.
The People’s Elephant will not charge back to the summit through press releases. It will not intimidate opponents with Facebook posts. It will not qualify for the continent by winning arguments on social media. It will only get there by assembling a squad good enough to compete. Perhaps this transfer allergy will disappear before the season begins. I sincerely hope so.
Because my only allergy as an Enyimba supporter is mediocrity.
Those entrusted with this great football club have a simple choice.
Step up.
Or step aside.
EnyimbaEnyi.
