Good day All.
It is the first Friday of December, and Christmas is already tiptoeing into view. Normally, this period should smell like harmattan, roasted corn, and that familiar December joy, but Aba is busy giving us rain in a month reserved for cracked lips and white fog. Elsewhere, people are wrapping scarves; here, we are wrapping our heads around Enyimba’s latest stretch of confusion.
And confusion really is the best word for it. Two weeks ago, the management asked Stanley Eguma and his assistants to step aside “to halt the rot.” Since then, Lawrence Ukaegbu has taken charge on an interim basis. Two matches later, we have one win, one loss, four goals scored, four conceded. Balanced on paper, unclear in direction. It is the kind of form that leaves everyone unsure whether the team is improving or simply standing still.
Meanwhile, the name echoing everywhere is Coach Deji Ayeni. He was spotted in the stands against Rangers, which naturally fueled expectations of an imminent announcement. But days have passed and the club has said nothing. No official statement, no unveiling, no confirmation of his role. For a club that prides itself on prestige, leaving fans to guess the identity of the man leading training sessions is not ideal.
Well, it does appear that “before Enyimba can formally announce Ayeni as Technical Adviser, they must first conclude the outstanding contractual steps with Eguma.” The club faced something similar with Finidi when he was ousted, so this is not new territory. It is simply a matter of completing formal procedures before the next man can occupy the chair officially. In the meantime, Ayeni has resumed quietly as Head Coach and will be confirmed as Technical Adviser once the paperwork is settled.
That said, the delay has exposed something the club must address honestly. Enyimba moved faster than their administrative preparation. They made the decision to part ways with Eguma without ensuring all the legal and contractual steps were in place, and now everything else is waiting for the paperwork to catch up. It is not the end of the world, but it is yet another example of the sloppy operational habits that have become too common.
The important thing now is making sure this limbo does not disrupt Ayeni’s work. He has a squad to assess, a philosophy to install, and a season that will not pause just because the documents are still shuffling across desks. If the club takes too long to tidy up loose ends, it risks weakening the very rebuild they are hiring him to lead.
So as we head into the weekend, the hope is simple: let the formalities be handled quickly, let the announcements be made clearly, and let the club stop drifting and finally step into December with direction. Clarity is not a luxury for a club like Enyimba; it is the bare minimum required to build anything meaningful.
See you tomorrow.
EnyimbaEnyi 💙
