Oceanic Bank recently announced the launch of its Oceanic Football Talent Hunt, a revamped version of the controversial Football Challenge with Fash. The show offered prizes of over N15 million in cash, 20 brand-new cars and a Honda CRV Jeep. Six of the cars were set aside for winners of the raffle draws in the six zonal trial centres, while 14 were reserved for the players that would constitute the winning team known as Fash FC. The first series of the program, which was hosted by the flamboyant ex-footballer, John Fashanu ended in acrimony after he was accused of pocketing a 25 million donation from Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

Reports claimed that the bank’s chief executive, Mrs Cecilia Ibru was so miffed about this revelation that she decided to terminate the deal between the bank and Black Sea, Fashanu’s production company. Oceanic Bank eventually appointed Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha as the face of the second edition of the program at a well attended ceremony in Lagos.
The bank also incorporated a separate company, Oceanic Football Promotions Limited headed by Charles Mekwunye, one of its executive directors.

After taking a critical look at the new Oceanic Football Talent Show, I still can’t understand how Oceanic Bank has been allowed to get away with this highly unethical project. Are there no watchdog groups in Nigeria? I first took an interest in the program after watching Okocha’s presentation on local television. At the event, I saw two shaggy-haired, unkempt young men take the stage and thank “Mummy” Ibru for giving them an opportunity to “make it in life”. As the diffident young men spoke in halting English, they listed the great prizes they received from the first edition and how their lives had been transformed.

However, there was no mention of a football contract or trials with a professional football club. That was when I took interest in the matter. I did some research and discovered to my surprise that Oceanic Bank and John Fashanu had actually charged these mostly dirt-poor unemployed youths a hefty 3,000 naira to participate in this so-called talent competition. After showing them on television going through some drills, the finalists were rewarded with gift prizes and supposedly given jobs with Oceanic Bank.

On May 3, 2009, Eric Dufegha, one of the winners of a Kia Car, granted an interview with to The Daily Trust’s David Ngobua. According to him, “we were given N1M naira each and jobs in Oceanic bank. So as I am talking to you, I am a staff of Oceanic Bank. We don’t go to work every day but they understand that we are footballers. We are paid our salaries as and when due.”

I’m beginning to feel that Oceanic Bank has huge corporate governance issues. What kind of management allows a publicly-owned company to employ unqualified people as a means of promoting a dubious football academy? What if all the winners are totally incompetent, uneducated touts? Would Oceanic Bank still make space for them in their banking offices or continue paying them even when they don’t come to work? What has playing football got to do with getting a banking job?

Such football programs are not about gift prizes and jobs. They are designed to help talented people become successful. In essence Fashanu and Oceanic Bank initiated a lottery where they raised money from donors, skimmed desperate mostly untalented youths of their cash and still managed to convince gullible Nigerians that they were doing something for the society.

In order to understand this matter, it is important to understand the meaning of a football academy. A football academy is a facility that identified talented youngsters and trains them for a period of time with the aim of developing their skills and transforming them into competitive sportsmen. Most academies collect fees and are supported by other organizations such as state governments and nonprofits. The age for admission is usually between 6 and 18 and applicants are only admitted when they have undergone successful trials and met several other criteria. It is not an all-comers affair and most clubs have their own academies.

In the light of this definition, it is difficult to understand how the Oceanic Football Talent Hunt fits into this category. Oceanic Bank is simply exploiting the fact that many Nigerians are poor and mad about football. That is why the bank had instituted what could be termed a “football beauty pageant” where people buy a “scratch card” in the hope of winning great prizes. How many trialists were produced by the first season of the program? I remember watching an edition of “Fash FC” where I saw a mediocre 28-year old man as one of the finalists. Is it realistic to expect a football club to consider hiring a 28-year old man who has never played professionally?

Even if Oceanic Bank argues that it is not running a football academy but simply rewarding talented ball jugglers with prizes, there is an ethical issue with the bank’s decision to collect money from applicants. Imagine what would happen if Barclays or HSBC decided to create a profit-making subsidiary to exploit aspiring British footballers even after collecting loads of money from sponsors. It is not just right, especially for a bank whose chief executive is a member of the United Nation’s Global Compact.

Dayo Coker
Public Affairs Analyst
dayo.coker@gmail.com
dayocoker.

I think you should bear in mind that it is more or less the norm to charge people to enter a competition back home. It is usually claimed to cover "Forms and application packs". Just walk around yaba college and see various posters calling for some kind of talent but wanting people to pay for the forms etc.

DayoCoker:





On May 3, 2009, Eric Dufegha, one of the winners of a Kia Car, granted an interview with to The Daily Trust’s David Ngobua. According to him, “we were given N1M naira each and jobs in Oceanic bank. So as I am talking to you, I am a staff of Oceanic Bank. We don’t go to work every day but they understand that we are footballers. We are paid our salaries as and when due.”

This country is one big joke - can u imagine - wanting to play football but ended up being a banker

ElRazur:

Off topic.

Blacksta please check your emails. Can you at least respond, or are you out?

I am in - i have checked will make payment today - dont often use that email - sorry for the delay.

blacksta:

This country is one big joke - can u imagine - wanting to play football but ended up being a banker

everyday i'm hustling, everyday i'm hustling

just because the are 'employed' by the bank don't mean they will be working as 'bankers'
they can be official poster boys, Oceanic Bank Role Models, and whats teh other one. . .
Oceanic Ambassadors
hey it might be inform of a scholarship, perhaps they've agreed to stay off weed to learn a trade

seems everyone employed by a bank is automatically called a banker now