Forty-eight years after the Federal Government shortchanged Enugu Rangers, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has finally stepped in to right the wrong.
At an emotional ceremony in Enugu on Wednesday, the apex Igbo body paid each surviving member of the 1977 African Winners Cup–winning squad ₦1 million, fulfilling a pledge the Federal Government never redeemed.
In 1977, when Rangers conquered Africa, the government rewarded them with ₦25,000, half of what Shooting Stars of Ibadan received for the same feat a year earlier.
The disparity sparked outrage across the Southeast, seen as another slight against Ndigbo in the post-war years.
Decades later, Ohanaeze says it could no longer wait for justice.
“This was a debt owed by the Federal Government, but it is the Igbo nation that has redeemed it,” declared Ohanaeze President General, Senator John Azuta Mbata.
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“If the government forgot, the Igbo did not. Rangers gave us hope when we had nothing after the war.”
The event drew emotional scenes as football legends Emmanuel Okala, Dominic Nwobodo, and other surviving heroes received their cheques. Families of late players, including Coach Christian Chukwu, also got payments.
“Many of our teammates didn’t live to see this day,” Okala said tearfully.
“Since 1977, we’ve waited. This gesture means the world to us.”
For Ohanaeze, the gesture goes beyond money, it’s about memory, dignity, and the enduring Igbo spirit.
“Rangers were more than a team,” Mbata added.
“They were a symbol of resilience, proof that from the ashes, we could rise again.”
