FOR LOVERS ONLY: IF STEPHEN KESHI WERE ST VALENTINE

The much awaited ‘val’ season is here again this year, just a few weeks after the celebration of the New Year and days after Nigeria’s reiteration of its position as giants of Africa. Hopes are rising everywhere, with the word ‘love’ being used rampantly and consequently losing its much coveted meaning.

Only on Sunday, Stephen Keshi, the coach of the Nigerian Super Eagles delivered a landmark victory in Johannesburg, South Africa at the orange African cup of nations. This was seen as a divine intervention by many as they proclaimed their love for the coach and the country. Indeed, Stephen Keshi had delivered Nigerians a valentine gift. The passion with which the Super Eagles competed in the tournament for the past two weeks thereabout was invigorating, something that could only have been borne by a love for motherland.

St Valentine, as history has it was an ancient martyr who was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry under the Roman empire. He is further said to have healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. St Valentine, while dying was said to have inscribed ‘From your valentine’.

On the other hand, St. Keshi, as I would call him is an ancient Nigerian player turned coach who was almost sacked for choosing players who had not faced AFCON battles before under the Nigerian empire. He is further said to have healed Nigeria of her long-standing football ill-luck. However, while the great martyr, St, Valentine had to die for his cause, St. Keshi did not have to die for his, instead he has to remain to grant more victories. Stephen Keshi, however while delivering the Nigerian victory inscribed ‘The orange AFCON 2013 cup’

One student of the department of Physical and health education, Obafemi Awolowo University, while pleading anonymity, said ‘The way the Super Eagles played, especially from the quarter finals of the tournament really showed that they held on to something, there was that passion from within, there was patriotism, there was love’

Another student of law at the Ekiti State University said ‘Keshi has indeed given Nigerians a Valentine gift’

However, after a few 24 hours of post-victory, when nothing else mattered to Nigerians, where the average Nigerian was in love with its nation once again, Valentine’s Day is here again, and surely those ladies are not ready to hear that Keshi has paid the valentine price. ‘Is he Jesus?’ they’ll ask ‘that can pay the ultimate price’. So, the joys of the male folk seem to be short-lived as the demand for ‘BB torch’ and ‘BB Porsche’ seems to have come with even greater intensity this time. Vendors of candy and artists of cards have resumed business in full force, confidently assured that another period of soaring sales has come.

 It is still quite unfortunate then, that after this ‘Valentine’s Day’, a lot of people fall out of the ‘love’ they professed 24 or 48 hours ago. It then seems like every other day is ‘hate day’. This is because valentine has been made so materialistic, or could it be because of Cupid?

Let me quickly tell you a little about Cupid. Associated mostly with valentine and love poems, Cupid is referred to as the god of love. He could always be seen in drawings with his baby-like face, white wings, and bow and arrow, and the story is that when he shoots it at people, they fall in love, although such love may hurt in the end because of the pain from Cupid’s arrow.

Well, I don’t know how true that is, but if we say we choose a day to celebrate love, then let’s celebrate it wholly; completely, not based on candy or flowers or any material stuff, but in its purest sense based on ‘love’. Most of all, we should not forget that the love of our nation, Nigeria, is paramount at a time like this because when we love our nation, we’d overlook tribal, religious or ethnic differences to succeed as a nation. Let’s learn from St. Keshi and his Super Eagles team, and let’s soar with the eagles this valentine. 

*This piece was written by me and published on 14th February in the Nigerian vanguard newspaper