Football and the Healing of Eleme

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By Nwafor Oji Awala

An African proverb says that when brothers sit around the same fire, the night grows warmer and shorter. On Sunday at the Alesa Unity Stadium, Eleme gathered around a different kind of fire, not of flames, but of football, and once again felt the warmth of togetherness.


The official flag-off of the 2025 Eleme Chairman’s Cup by the Executive Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Chief Obarilomate Ollor, was more than the ceremonial kick of a ball; it was the symbolic lifting of a people’s spirit. At a time when December bells are ringing and Christmas draws near, a season when Christians reflect on peace, love and reconciliation; football arrived as a timely messenger of unity.


Football, like life itself, needs no interpreter. Once the whistle blows, tongues, clans and political colours dissolve into a single language of hope. As our elders would say, the drumbeat that calls the children of the land does not ask about their fathers’ quarrels. On that lush turf at Alesa, Ogale and Alode did not meet as rivals born of bitterness, but as communities rediscovering the joy of shared identity. Alode’s 2–1 victory at full time mattered, but what mattered more was that Eleme itself won.


Eleme has tasted rancour before. Politics, like an untended fire, has at times scorched relationships and sown bitterness among brothers who once shared the same mortar and pestle. Yet, no matter how long the night is, the dawn will surely break. The Chairman’s Cup comes as that dawn, an invitation to allow the euphoria of sport to heal old wounds and remind us that blood, land and destiny bind us more strongly than ambition ever could.

Chief Obarilomate Ollor’s reaffirmation of unity and youth development strikes at the heart of communal progress. By engaging the youth through football, he has chosen the path our ancestors understood well: if you want to straighten a young tree, you do it while it is still tender. Sports channels youthful energy away from vices and into discipline, teamwork and purpose. The generous prize structure: ₦3 million for the winners, ₦2 million for the runners-up, and ₦500,000 for each participating team, further shows that this is not mere symbolism, but a sincere investment in the future.

Leadership, they say, is not shouting directions from the roadside, but walking ahead so others may follow. By personally performing the kick-off and presenting jerseys to the teams, the Chairman demonstrated that the hen that calls its chicks must first scratch the ground. Now, Eleme looks to him to continue leading by example: fostering fairness, inclusiveness and peace beyond the football field.

As Christmas approaches, when Eleme’s predominantly Christian population celebrates the birth of the Prince of Peace, this tournament offers a living sermon. Let us forgive where politics divided us. Let us cheer not just goals, but one another. For a community that plays together learns again how to pray together.

In this season of goodwill, may the Eleme Chairman’s Cup remind us that unity is our greatest trophy, and that when we pass the ball to one another, the goal belongs to us all.

Photos: Eleme LG-Media Team

Nwator Oji Awala 

©️ Prime Heritage Magazine 

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