The season is almost at the door. In about two weeks, the wait will finally be over and Enyimba will begin the long journey with a trip to Minna to face Niger Tornadoes. It is not a match that will define the season, because one game cannot possibly tell us how the next nine months will unfold, but it can give us something equally important at this stage: confidence. A good start can calm the nerves, restore belief and give everyone something to hold on to as the campaign begins to gather momentum.
As Enyimba supporters, our expectations have never exactly been modest. For us, a successful season is almost automatically one that ends with a serious title challenge or, at the very least, continental qualification. That is not necessarily pressure by our standards; it is simply the burden that comes with history. We have become so accustomed to success that winning three league titles in a decade can almost feel like something to tick off a checklist. We have been thoroughly spoilt, and we make no apologies for it. So when Enyimba miss continental football in consecutive seasons, it does not feel like an unfortunate occurrence. It feels like something has gone seriously wrong.
That brings us to what has been happening around Nigerian football. Many people criticised the Abia State government’s rather heavy-handed approach to appointments and interventions, particularly towards the end of last season when Enyimba were confronted with the very real possibility of relegation. There are legitimate questions about the methods and processes involved, but the events surrounding our football house also offer an interesting lesson. When a team falls far enough below expectations, people who previously looked the other way suddenly start paying very close attention.
And when that happens, football administration can quickly become an uncomfortable place. Heads roll, new people arrive, responsibilities change, some figures are pushed aside and others suddenly find themselves carrying duties they probably never expected. It may not always provide the perfect solution, and decisions made in the heat of a crisis will inevitably produce mistakes, but intervention at least demonstrates that somebody has recognised that the existing situation cannot continue.
Not every appointment will work. Not every restructuring will produce immediate success. But where the intention is genuinely to correct a bad situation, that intent deserves to be acknowledged for what it is. The next question, however, is far more important: what happens after the changes have been made?
Let us come back home to our darling Enyimba.
Nobody was happy with what happened last season. Nobody. By Enyimba standards, it was arguably our worst campaign in more than two decades, with perhaps only Paul Aigbogun’s first spell coming remotely close. That team finished 10th in the league, but there were mitigating circumstances. Enyimba were competing in the CAF Champions League, playing away from Aba and sharing a group with Zamalek and Mamelodi Sundowns. Mfon Udoh even finished as the competition’s leading scorer.
Nobody would describe that season as successful, but there was at least another demanding battle being fought on the continent. Last season offered no such consolation. The performances, results and general direction of the club left far too much to be desired, and survival only arriving at the very end made the entire experience even more difficult to accept.
When a club of Enyimba’s stature reaches that point, questions are not necessarily signs of disloyalty. Sometimes, they are simply signs that people care enough to want answers. That is why it is not unreasonable for supporters to ask for better communication and greater accountability. Enyimba is not some random football club operating in isolation. It is deeply connected to the people of Abia and sustained by the commonwealth of the people.
So when a supporter who contributes to that commonwealth asks questions about the direction of the club, that person should not immediately be treated as an enemy. Ask the questions. Answer what can be answered. Explain what can be explained. Where something genuinely cannot be disclosed, say so. Silence does not always protect a brand; sometimes, it damages it.
And make no mistake, the Enyimba brand needs rebuilding.
The name still carries enormous weight. The trophies remain in the cabinet and the history cannot be erased, but football does not reward reputation forever. There is always a pecking order in the game, and clubs that stop progressing eventually discover that others have quietly moved ahead of them. We have already seen enough warning signs to know that Enyimba cannot afford to become comfortable with decline.
The encouraging thing is that a new season gives us something football rarely offers: a clean slate.
Whatever happened last season is now history. The poor results, the arguments, recruitment mistakes, changes, promises and interventions have all brought us to this point. They cannot be changed anymore. What can be changed is what happens next.
Now comes the difficult part: execution.
The drastic decisions and changes around the club must eventually translate into tangible improvement. Not necessarily overnight, because football does not work like that, but quickly enough for the average Enyimba supporter to recognise that the club is moving in the right direction.
The first match in Minna will not win Enyimba the league. It will not repair everything that went wrong last season or suddenly restore the club to the summit of Nigerian football. But it can start something. A good performance and a good result can be followed by another, and then another, until confidence slowly replaces the uncertainty that surrounded the club for much of last season.
That is how rebuilding works. Not through one dramatic announcement or one spectacular afternoon, but through the steady accumulation of good decisions and good performances.
Hopefully, when we look back at this campaign months from now, Minna will not simply be remembered as matchday one. Perhaps it will be remembered as the point where Enyimba finally began moving forward again.
The wait is almost over. The slate is clean.
Now, let us write something worth reading on it.
Nzogbu!
