The 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, held in Senegal from January 12 to 26 in two Senegalese cities of Dakar and the capital of the Eastern Province of Casamance  Ziguinchor.  It was a competition held during uncertainties in Senegal as the Eastern Province was violently agitating for a separate state from Senegal through the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) since over a year before the competition. Many African Countries were concerned over safety as such there was anxiety on whether the competition would hold or not. On the heels of these were internal wranglings within the rank and file of the leaders of MFDC, while Salif Sadio claimed overall leadership of the MFDC’s armed wing, Caeser Badiatte was leading a faction and Mamadou Niantang Diatta was leading yet another faction. Despite these uncertainties, the Senegalese President at the time, Abdou Diouf brokered a ceasefire which saw a venue for the games being ceded to the Eastern Province to be hosted by Zigiunchor the capital. This elated the combatants but the icing on the cake was also naming of the National team captain in the person of Jules Bocande, himself a son of the soil from the Eastern Province. Senegal’92 began on the 12th of January 1992 with Nigeria defeating Senegal by 2-1. Nigeria’s goals were scored by Samson Siasia 13’ and Stephen Keshi 89’ while Senegalese lone goal was scored by Jules Bocande 36’ inside the main bowl of Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor. The most difficult terrain we had to pass through was going to cover a match from Dakar to Ziguinchor. First there were no commercial flights between the two cities since hostilities engineered by the separatist group’s armed violent conflict. Second the only route by road was to go through Banjul the capital of The Gambia and the get to Ziguinchor through an engine boat with delays and its attendant risks. We were billed to cover all the matches and unfortunately some matches were billed to be played there. Fortunately for me, CAF chartered a military cargo aircraft which took officials and journalists across on the day of the matches and returned immediately after the matches with makeshift seats. Very tough but I had to endure it. Every one kilometer from the airport to the stadium in Ziguinchor presented an army check point, very deliberate and thorough, but with smiling faces. I was told there were more checkpoints coming by road. Very tough, but I had to endure to get the job done, but to those back in Nigeria, you were enjoying. I was even happy that I had gained additional experience over and above my other colleagues who remained in Dakar. It wasn’t that there was nothing to enjoy, we did. On free match days we were taken on excursions to the historical monuments such as the Island of Goree, famous for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Of course, we visited the House of Slaves and the Fort of Nassau in Goree Island We were also in Saint-Louis regarded as the former capital of French West Africa as well as Rufisque which makes up the Four Communes of Senegal. Flying to the Casamance Region is to literally fly deep inside and round the Gambia. You would have left Senegal territory and then do a retour and fly past Rivers Gambia and Senegal, considered as very significant waterways in West Africa. If you fly across these rivers, you will understand why the Senegalese President Abdou Diouf tried to form the Confederation of Senegal and Gambia (SENEGAMBIA) in 1982 but was later dissolved in 1989 due to differences in economic policies and governance structures between the two countries.
Back to football, and back to the Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal ’92 which held on January 12-26, 1992, in two Senegalese towns of Dakar, the country’s capital and Ziguinchor the capital of the Eastern Region in Casamance province. Ziguinchor, a once “charming” town with a mix of French colonial and African influences, tucked behind the Gambia’s creeks, by road, by sea and by air, bore the scars of war, buildings long abandoned since the violent agitations began ten years earlier and the streets bore eloquent testimonies of emptiness still retained a bit of its charm as the Cup of Nations attracted some 12 countries to Senegal especially on a visit to Cara bane Island which still remained intact despite the separatists’ violent agitations. Perhaps the semifinal game between Nigeria and Ghana was a toast giver to Africa as the two traditional rivals battled for a piece of the cake for the final ticket. Nigeria with an avalanche of stars such as Mutiu Adepoju who scored the first goal in the 11th minute of the match, Rashidi Yekini, Samson Siasia and Finidi George were battling Ghana with Nii Lamptey, Tony Yeboah and Abedi Pele. Our first policy in commentary is to be neutral but must be empathetic to all the sides, that day we threw such “pretense” out of the window. The major reason was that there was a Ghanaian commentator who never allowed us Nigerians to drink water and keep the cup. He started taunting us from the first day we qualified to play Ghana, boasting that they would beat us by 2-1 with goals from Abedi Pele and Prince Polley. The commentary position placed the two countries side by side, wouldn’t know how it happened but we could touch each other, we could hear one another. Now the match started and within 11 minutes, Nigeria scored through Mutiu. Tolu Fatoyinbo was on commentary, and he shouted so much when the goal was scored that he started coughing loudly. I had to take over and I was now alluding and taunting our Ghanaian colleagues to the excitement of most people around. The moment we never envisaged was brewing when Ghana had to make a change, removing their talismanic Tony Yeboah. Tolu said it loud that Ghana was finished, that Prince Polley was not in the reckoning. This change came in the 34th minute and by the 43rd minute Abedi Pele equalized for the black stars. Chai! Inside me I was praying because I knew Odartey would roast us if Ghana won. If wishes were horses, every poor man will live near the racecourse. Nine minutes into the second half, Prince Polley scored what became the winning goal for Ghana. How do we Nigerians cope with these Ghanaians? One of them came and touched Tolu and (TF) as we fondly call Tolu, was in rage, eyes red, hands shivering, adrenaline pouring over and…...and ……and TF gave him a back hand {I was on commentary then} very good one to the corner of the” insolent” Ghanaian eye. I now heard TF screaming……you, you are very disrespectful.  I am a Director in Radio Nigeria, I am bigger than your supervisor, I will report you to the CEO of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC. Chai, Chai, football, football, football! Well, the match ended 2-1 in favor of the Black Stars. I came out, held TF, and began to lead him out of the stadium. He wanted me to acknowledge that Odartey and his Ghanaian brother were wrong, I did even if pretentiously, at least to douse the tension. I was just a level 10 officer at the time! And Odartey came to apologize but TF was livid, wouldn’t want him to his sight. Chai, football. The night came and we all said goodbye to a very horrible day to us Nigerians. Final day; January 26,1992; Ghana vs Ivory Coast; Venue: Stade de L ‘amitie, Dakar, Senegal. I went to Odartey and told him I was backing Ivory Coast, and I really did! I told him that happiness or sadness in life is “turn by turn”. As the commentary was on, you could hear my screams. I was an Ivorian that day, but inside me, I was praying that Ghana should be defeated. That final match will forever live in my mind, and he minds many football lovers in the world. It was the longest penalty shootout in AFCON History. 24 shots were taken. That meant that every player on the field took a penalty the first time such was happening in a major football tournament, but Ivory Coast goalkeeper Alain Gouamene was the hero of the match as he stopped Ghana’s kick. Ivory Coast won 11-10 against Ghana and won the championship for the first time. It was indeed “TURN BY TURN” for everybody and we sang and laughed together, all the African journalists/broadcasters. Nigeria won the bronze after beating Cameroon 2-1 and Rashidi Yekini became the highest goal scorer with 4 goals. Another turn by turn!  
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