EAGLE EYE ——— Two trips to Owerri in three months

This week, I take some time to reflect on a personal experience as I chronicle two trips I made to Owerri, Imo State, in three months. The first was from February 1 to 17 and the second from April 12 to 23, 2026.

Both trips were at the behest of a former player agent, Victor Macdonald, who is now a clergyman based in the Kingdom of Eswatini, a small monarchical country that shares a border with South Africa.

I was hired to write a biography of a prominent personality in Imo State (names withheld), a task for which I worked alongside veteran sports writer Afolabi Gambari, Prince of Ilorin and nephew of the very popular Dr. Ibrahim Gambari. I fondly call him ‘Afo’ and he calls me ‘Femo’ as we share a bond that dates back to 1996, during my days at Complete Sports.

Together in February and April this year, we enjoyed the hospitality of Pastor Victor Macdonald at his palatial country house in Irete, outside Owerri, the capital of Imo State. He arranged round-trip transportation, as well as food and lodging for a total of five weeks (spread over both months), during which time Afo and I occupied ourselves by frantically typing on our laptops every afternoon and until midnight most days.

It was work, but also a lot of fun as we are both ranked among the best wordsmiths to ever appear in Nigerian journalism, not just sports writing. I express it this way with every sense of humility, at the same time that I remember the saying of a lizard that falls from the tree to the ground and nods its head silently, tacitly implying: “If no one greets me, I will praise myself.” A refined expression also points out that the best trumpet sound is the one you play yourself.

That being said, I dare say it was fun to work with Afo once again, despite some heated debates we had to iron out ideological differences, especially in the choice of headlines and what angle to shoot each chapter from.

This has always been the case, since we previously worked together on the biography of a politician in Eswatini and an autobiography that Pastor Victor also brought us.

Interestingly, this was the first time Afo and I shared so much time together while working on a project; but the fun we had went far beyond putting together creative words on the ‘lapy’, it included the opportunity to see places that had previously seemed distant and somewhat strange to us.

For me, it was a chance to refresh memories with the Lagos route to Eastern Nigeria, which I first enjoyed as a ‘youth corporator’ in Umuahia, Abia State, from November 1992 to October 1993. These latter trips proved to be a real eye-opener, although I had previously returned to Umuahia for a courtesy visit sometime in 2001, as well as having undertaken two trips at the invitation of Macdonald in 2011. (first with my wife and then with some fellow sports journalists for a grassroots soccer competition he organized in the field).

My last two trips to the southeast helped me get to know the Benin City bypass (which means travelers no longer need to drive through the Edo State capital as they head east) and I also got to see the new Niger Bridge from Asaba to Onitsha.

Fortunately, I escaped the ugly spectacle of heavy traffic on that route (day and night), until my second trip back last Thursday (when I spent four hours between Ijebu Ode and Sagamu alone, then arrived home at 11:30 pm).

I thank God for the mercies on both trips, especially because we also had to travel within Imo State to interview acquaintances of the personality whose life story we were putting into a 20 chapter book.

We met royal parents, village elders, a native doctor, a high priest, a former judge, a former chief of staff to the governor, and relatives (including very intelligent grandchildren) of our biography protagonist.

We enjoyed the various places of interest in Owerri: Garden Park, Douglas, Amakohia, Fire Service, Holy Ghost College, Naze, ITC, Orji, Wetheral Road, New Owerri etc. There was also a visit to Macdonald’s alma mater, Township Comprehensive Secondary School, Amaifeke (TCSSA), where I had the pleasure of interviewing a budding footballer called Sixtus.

Mentioning that interview reminds me of the many stories I was able to gather for Sports247 during each of those trips in the space of three months. There was an exclusive interview with the Imo State Sports Commissioner, special attention to the abandoned Samuel Okwaraji Stadium in Orlu, his closed family home in Umudioka, the surprising discovery of a truly promising midfielder, Victor Chijindu of Chika FC (during his training session at Orji Primary School) and Chidera Ezeakor of Comet FC (Heartland U-15 team).

All said and done, my two trips to Owerri in three months helped me mentally recharge, make new friends (especially Prisca from Imo State Broadcasting Corporation), gain new knowledge about Igbo culture and gain an appreciation of the values ​​of grassroots football outside my comfort zone in Lagos, all thanks to Pastor Victor Macdonald of God’s Glory Ministries (GGM) in Mbabane, Eswatini… may the Almighty bless you more.