Know your History with James Marvelous

Peace often time has been literally said to be the absence of war... Anyone with this layman understanding of the concept of peace and war isn't far from understanding these terms.

Nigeria as a heterogenous and multicultural nation over time has been marred by conflicts that has escalated into wars even if its amongst ethnic groups, clans, kingdoms or regions but the one with most citing and effectual effect on all regions of her entity (Nigeria) was the civil war that started on 6th July 1967 - 15th January 1970 between the Biafra agitators lead by General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and the acclaimed Nigeria government under Major General Yakubu Gowan.

Well today's history just takes us back to a very minuscule amount of what transpired during this time that very few could still capture or even remember; that's FOOTBALL role in a 72hrs ceasefire (Soccer).

Overtime many persons have come to the agreement that the unified strength of football is Undeniably extraordinary that some persons try to stay away from it, maybe for them they feel its an addiction!
Its saddening to tell any hater of football in Nigeria that this same dislike sport you feel for personal reason or the other has proven beyond doubts to be a unified force of peace on any society. E.g on the case of Ivory coast in 2005: but that's not our place of interest today.

In 1969, the greatest player ever to play the game of football as often agreed by many pundits arrived in Nigeria on his tour around Africa with his then team Santos FC of Brazil. the 1969 arrival in Nigeria of Brazilian soccer legend Pele brought a three-day ceasefire. Both the government and the breakaway Republic of Biafra accepted a truce to allow his team, Santos, to play two exhibition matches against local teams. For 72 hours, football was more important than war. Football brought peace! What diplomats and emissaries had tried in vain for two years to stop the fighting in what was then Africa's bloodiest civil war...

Pele's teammate Lima had said, "It was strange because the whole country was divided and in conflict. But as soon as they found out the game was to take place that was put on hold. It was a tiny pitch, I remember it well, the people arrived carrying chairs on their heads in order to watch the game."

Today's piece isn't coercing anyone into Liking football but a historical remainder into the preciousness we share as a country, to love one another and see beauty in whatever diversities that marred us as as a nation.
Though I must show my own respect to football and as the king of the game calls it 'The Beautiful Game'. This can as well serve as a drive into giving us a beautiful awareness of our responsibility to my our brothers and sisters across Nigeria!

Who knows�‍♂ maybe a fourth AFCON trophy is on its way to Nigeria again!�

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