Giving First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu Her Flowers — How She Welcomed Home the Flamingos, Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Champions

By Paul Lucky Okoku

𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 — 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑’𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

Politics has its place. Football deserves a conversation of its own. In this piece, I’m giving First Lady Senator 𝐎𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 her flowers for the way she welcomed the Flamingos home and took the time to speak directly to them about what they had earned.

Nigerians of different political affiliations came together to cheer these young women as they wore our country’s colours. We were all rooting for Nigeria. Let’s bring that same spirit to the way we recognise what they achieved.

On 𝟏𝟏 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, at the State House in Abuja, First Lady Senator 𝐎𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 announced on behalf of President 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 that 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 would receive a savings certificate worth ₦𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Watch what she does after announcing the amount. She lifts her head from her prepared remarks, looks at the girls and smiles. She asks if they know what a savings certificate is, then takes a moment to explain that the money will be held in trust for each of them until she turns 𝟏𝟖. I saw a mother’s warmth in the way she spoke to those young women.

Four days earlier, the girls had beaten Japan 𝟐–𝟏 in Rabat to become the first African team to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. They knew what they had earned on the pitch.

At the reception, the First Lady took time to help them understand what they had been awarded and why it was being held for their future. That moment deserves recognition in its own right.

I remember another reception. On 𝟐𝟖 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, Senator Tinubu welcomed the Super Falcons at the Presidential Villa after their tenth Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.

At the reception, President 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 approved the naira equivalent of 𝐔𝐒$𝟏𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 for each of the 24 players, along with national honours and housing.

When I call them a family of sports, I’m thinking of these two occasions and what each of them did to recognise Nigerian athletes.

𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘𝐒 𝐈 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑

On 𝟖 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑, we beat Guinea 𝟐–𝟎 in Lagos and became the first Nigerian national football team to qualify for a FIFA tournament.

𝐀𝐥𝐢 𝐉𝐞𝐣𝐞 was our captain, and I was his vice-captain. 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐳𝐮𝐞 coached us, assisted by 𝐈𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐘𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐛𝐮. In 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟑, we became the first Nigerian national football team to qualify for a FIFA tournament, the 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 in Mexico.

To recognise that achievement, President 𝐀𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐣𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐡𝐮 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐢, acting on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, announced through Sports Minister 𝐁𝐮𝐛𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 that he had awarded each of us a scholarship to further our education. President Shagari also promised to confer on us the national honour of 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 (𝐌𝐎𝐍). More than four decades later, my teammates and I are still asking the Federal Government to honour both commitments.

A year later, on 𝟏𝟖 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒, I was part of the senior Nigeria team that won our country’s first silver medal at the 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. We lost 𝟑–𝟏 to Cameroon in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It was the first time Nigeria had reached an AFCON final away from home.

We opened by beating defending champions 𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝟐–𝟏. We drew 𝟐–𝟐 with 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢 and 𝟎–𝟎 with 𝐀𝐥𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚. Then came the semi-final against 𝐄𝐠𝐲𝐩𝐭 on 𝟏𝟒 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. We came back from two goals down and were still level at 𝟐–𝟐 after extra time. The first five rounds of penalties couldn’t separate us. We went into sudden death and beat Egypt 𝟖–𝟕 on penalties. If you followed that match, think back to the joy in Nigerian homes, in Nigeria and around the world, when we reached the final.

Right after the final, as we were heading back to our hotel, 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚 came aboard our team bus with former Nigerian international 𝐌𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐰𝐚 𝐎𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞. Abiola gave us a pep talk. He told us how proud he was of us and how proud we had made Nigeria. I still remember that he came to tell us himself, right there on the bus, when the loss was still fresh.

When we landed back in Nigeria, we were picked up at the airport and taken back to the 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 near 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐂 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧, in the 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝟐 area of Lagos. It was the same hotel where we had camped before travelling to Abidjan for the 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒 𝐀𝐅𝐂𝐎𝐍.

There was no ceremony. There was no crowd of fans waiting to welcome us. From the hotel, each of us found his own way home. That was it.

Think about it. We had just won 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐅𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐥, and that was our homecoming. I remember how it felt to go home that day, as though all the work we had put in and all the joy we had shared with Nigerians had been forgotten at the final whistle.

We had earned that silver for Nigeria.

We deserved to be welcomed home for it.

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘

When I gave President 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 credit for supporting football, some readers raised the cost of living. I understand those concerns. Families feel the price of food, transport and electricity every day, and they have every right to ask what the government is doing about it.

Here, I am concentrating on football and what Nigeria’s First Family has done to recognise the young women who represent our country.

The way we support and reward our players deserves a discussion of its own.

The National Bureau of Statistics groups Nigeria’s economy into agriculture, industry and services.

Farming, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, banking, telecommunications and entertainment all help drive the economy.

Football has its own place in that bigger picture. A single match creates work for broadcasters, kit suppliers, drivers, hotel staff and food vendors. When we say Nigeria should treat football as a business, that responsibility starts with the players who make the game possible.

Give them what they need to prepare, honour what they earn and follow through on the commitments made to them.

Think back to when the Flamingos were playing. In living rooms across Nigeria and wherever Nigerians were watching abroad, we held our breath when the girls came under pressure and cheered when they scored.

We were all pulling for the same team.

When the First Family welcomed the Flamingos home, it was recognising the achievement we had celebrated together.

At the State House reception, I watched First Lady Senator 𝐎𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 look up from her prepared remarks, smile at the girls and explain why their award was being held for them and what it could mean for their future.

I give her credit for taking the time to speak directly to the players about what they had earned.

Think back to the joy the Flamingos brought into our homes.

For a moment, wherever we were in the world, we were cheering together as Nigerians.

Those girls gave us that moment.

When they came home, they deserved to hear it from us just as clearly as we had cheered for them on the pitch.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝.

𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Investigative Football Writer | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund (GTCF)

PaulOkokuMediaHub@gmail.com

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