Etubom Öyö Örök Öyö (Nigeria's Mr Football) (1922 - 2008)

Birth

This epitome of sports was born on 27th August, 1922 in Tete Street, Duke Town, Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State of Nigeria to Chief Orok Oyo Ita and Madam Efioanwan Orok Oyo Ita all of Duke Town, Calabar.

Education

He had his primary education at Duke Town Primary School from 1927 – 1938 and his full secondary education at Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, from 1939 – 1941.

Traditional Elevation

Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo, after retiring from football administration, which took the greater part of his life as amplified infra, was elevated by his Royal Family to the position of Etubom and head of the Oyo Ita Royal House in the year 1993 after Oyo Ita’s partnership with Etim Efiom Royal House amicably terminated in 1989 leading to Oyo Ita House being elevated to a separate House in Efik kingdom in 1993.

Football Career

As a player, Oyo Orok Oyo started his football career at a very tender age. At 15, in 1937, when he was in class III secondary school, he played football for his school house – that was the first representative team he played for. Later years before he completed his secondary school education, he had graduated into playing for his school team proper. When he left school, he joined the Calabar Athletics Club founded by the late Chief Michael Ani, he played football for the Zik Athletic Club in 1942 when he went to Port Harcourt to join the Nigeria Railway Corporation. In 1943 – 44, he played for the Markudi Railway Football Team.

In 1944 – 47, he played for the Kafanchan Railway Team. In 1948 when the exigencies of duty took him to Enugu, he became one of the pioneer players at the Enugu Football Association.

He stopped playing in 1950 and switched over to the administrative side of the round leather game and was still being involved in football administration till his death on the 10th of September, 2008. It was in Port Harcourt in 1951 that he really started organizing football. That was where the foundation for his elevation to football administration at all levels, (i.e. the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA)) was laid.

Football Administration

From 1951 – 1958 in Port Harcourt, he served as the zonal Football Association Secretary. It was while in Port Harcourt that his football administration prowess really blossomed in that it was under him that the Port Harcourt Football Team won the Challenge Cup in 1955 and 1958 thus becoming the 3rd football team to take the coveted trophy out of Lagos after Kano in 1953 and Calabar in 1954. In November 1958, he moved to Lagos to become the Assistant Secretary of the then Nigeria Football Association. He was elevated to Administrative Secretary between 1960 – 1962 when he was transferred to the National Sports Commission as Assistant Secretary. In 1965, he returned to the NFA, this time as full time Secretary General, an office he held till 1974 when he quit the employment of government.

Meanwhile, in 1972, he contested and won a seat on the Executive Committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF). In 1974, he again contested for and won another election into that Africa’s soccer ruling body (CAF) as the 2nd Vice President, a post he held till 1998 when on retirement from elective post, he was conferred with the position of honorary 2nd Vice President of CAF.

Back in 1980, he also contested for and won a seat in the Executive committee of the world soccer governing body, FIFA, a post he held for eight years from 1980 – 1988.

Achievements

In all, Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo had been on the elective Executive committee of CAF for 26 years, an achievement not matched by any Nigerian, past or present. It is on record that he remained, till his death in September 2008, the longest serving Executive Committee Member of CAF in Africa.

Etubom Oyo could be said to have had many 1st credited to him in his various sporting endeavours while on earth, thus, he commenced the administration of football at the National level in November 1958 where he was being prepared as the first black African to take over and actually took over the administration of football in Nigeria from the then colonial masters under Sir Darby Allen at independence in October 1960:

  • He was the first organizing secretary of the Nigeria Football Association and in fact the longest serving secretary general of the national football body, 1960 – 1974 (14 years);
  • He was the first Nigerian to be elected into the Executive Committee of CAF;
  • He was the first Nigerian to be elected into the Executive Committee of FIFA;
  • He was the first African to be made an Honorary Vice President of CAF, and this remained so until his death in September 2008;
  • He was the first Nigerian to be in Africa’s sports’ “WHO IS WHO”;
  • It was Etubom Oyo who did the spade work for Calabar to be one of the venues for the FIFA under 23 Football Tournament tagged “Nigeria ‘99” and this invariably placed Calabar, his birth place, on the international sporting map;
  • The First Nigerian to be granted Order of Merit in Gold by CAF, February 2000;
  • The First Nigerian to be granted FIFA Order of Merit the year 2000.

Awards

Etubom Oyo Orok Oyo received numerous awards in his lifetime; some of which included:

  • Award of the Grand Commander of the Order of Ivory Coast in 1982 by the Ivorian government;
  • In 1992, at the 6th National Sports Award in Abuja, he was honoured with Certificate of Merit in recognition of his numerous sporting achievements;
  • He was honoured by the Sports Writer Association of Nigeria in 1995 for his contribution toward sports development in general;
  • The National Association for Nigerian Footballers also honoured him in 1996 for his immense services in the field of sports;
  • Still in recognition of his contribution to sports developments continentally, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) bestowed on him its highest honour, i.e. the Order of Merit in Gold, in February 2000;
  • To crown it all, FIFA, in July 2000 considered Etubom Oyo a fit and proper person to be among 6 the world over to be honoured with its Order of Merit in a ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland;
  • He was included among the 100 greats in the last millennium for excelling in his chosen profession of football by the government of Cross River State of Nigeria.

Finally, here is presenting a humble man who served football in all capacities ranging from playing the game to administering it at the highest level. It should also be mentioned that he served as chairman of the Cross River State Sports Council from 1988 to 1990, most of these in spite of his visual handicap. Even unto death in September 2008, at 86 years, his opinion was still being sought by sports administrators and writers alike on knotty sporting issues.