Open letter to Gov Uzodinma on Heartland by former Enyimba media chief

Dear sir,

I bring you good tidings from genuine members of the sporting fraternity, football in particular.

This is going to be the most difficult letter I shall ever pen for two reasons.

(1) The person I am writing to (My Gov and subject matter

(2) Anticipated action and reactions.

That said, may I go straight to say that, the lingering crisis in Heartland FC is long overdue for settlement, though it is not your fault but that of a disgruntled few.

May I buttress my point by going down memory lane to recall the involvement and leadership of Prince Lemmy Akakem (Okpata-Ozuoha) in the club.

Akakem was the first Iwuanyanwu FC General Manager, that metamorphosed into Heartland. Record has it that he (Akakem) that convinced Military Administrator Navy Commodore Allison Madueke in 1986 to approach Engr Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu (Ahaejiagamba) now an octogenarian to the glory of God, to  take over the then ailing Spartans FC. The result is now history…Success unlimited.

The essence of going down memory lane, albeit very brief, is to say that when the righteous is on the throne, the people rejoice.

Lemmy had passion for the game, same as Chief Iwuanyanwu and they succeeded. Permit me to say that the other people (characters, if you like) that managed the club after him had no passion, knowledge and interest.

Okey Ibeh 2014-2016, Bash Etuemena 2016-2018 and the worst of them all, the present management 2019-2020 can all pass for journeymen.

Of all these group, none had a thing to show for the tax payers money allocated to the club under their watch, not a single trophy was won.

Etuemena took the club to relegation and back…so that’s not an achievement.

Your Excellency, the main reason for my writing you an open letter is because I may not be privileged to have the chance to interface with you personally.

Justice and Karma have a relationship hence I appeal to you to right the numerous wrongs, injustices meted out to certain, players, managers of the club as their bitterness translates to a clog in the wheel of club’s progress.

For instance, as Imo indigene was appointed the General Manager by Rt Hon Ihedioha by name Ifeanyi Chukwudi but was never allowed to work by a cabal that are still holding the club to ransome.

Please Your Excellency, kindly allow the man to prove himself to either join the failure list or distinguish himself by winning laurels.

And for the other aggrieved persons, I kindly request for a peace and re conciliatory summit to placate all such persons.

May I, without fear or favor, suggest that the Past/present management should be confined to the garbage bin for being specialists in failure.

The club needs a breath of fresh air. Kindly reconstitute the management, but insist on excellence, record of achievement and above all interest on the job.

Like in insurance policies, “Nobody insures a property that he does not have insureable  interest in.

Target should be set for the new management to win laurels, developed the football talents in Imo state. Football is all about getting results.

In the state, talents abounds from where great players can be picked, this can be done by organizing an 8 team football tournament to be supervised by good coaches drawn from within and outside the state to ensure the ugly bane of our football…favoritism does not rear it ugly head.

Your Excellency, the Imo state Football association, referees council cannot be wished away in any of this, we need them to reposition the game, reconnect the club to the national grid. The “successive failure managers” that have been running the club, did more harm than good that it must be addressed by people of sound football knowledge.

I stand to be proved wrong or right if these measures are adopted and also ready to engage any of these specialists in failure managers in a radio discuss to buttress my grading of them.

Finally, Your Excellency, may I inform you that we have lost and still loosing millions of hard currencies to  European clubs due us as solidarity compensations because of the inept management we have had.

Recall that the first time any such payment was recovered from Europe was during Chief Fan Ndubuoke’s short lived era, cut short by the myopia of the authorities then.

Can you imagine sacking a man who had an accident while on active service while still on the sick bed. I challenge all those after Ndubuoke to account for the money that ran into millions of naira.I regret having to bore you with this relatively long epistle, but truth be told, Heartland deserves an overhaul.

Thanks and sporting regards. 

Yours faithfully

Nze Tonnex Chukwu

(Ohamadike 2 Azaraubo Emekuku Owerri North and former Head of Media, Enyimba FC, Nigeria’s most successful club).