Recently Imo State marked its 40th year
anniversary with pomp and pageantry. The state governor, Rochas Okorocha
rolled out the drums to mark what is seen as a hallmark event in the
annals of the state nicknamed ‘Eastern Heartland.’
While enumerating the achievements of
his administration, Okorocha listed the back-to-back Federation Cup
victories recorded by Heartland FC in 2011 and 2012. Incidentally, that
has drawn criticisms from Heartland FC faithful who believe the club has
had dwindling fortunes due its neglect by the Okorocha administration.
The poor financial state of the club is
reflected in their position on the NPFL log where they currently sit in
16th place, just a place above the red line. Two points separate the
club from the 17th placed team. Things got worse when the club recorded a
second home loss of the season against Rangers last weekend.
Last weekend’s loss did not come to many
as a surprise. The club was in dire financial situations due to delayed
release of its monthly subvention from the government, a situation
which fans say has become a norm since Okorocha assumed office. Prior to
the game, morale at the club was at an all-time low as players were
leaving the club in droves. Paucity of funds meant the club couldn’t
make quality recruitments at the beginning of the season. And during the
mid-season window, the few good ones were looking at the exit door.
Akwa United alone poached four from Heartland, Ifeanyi Uba is taking two
just as it was learnt striker, Ifeanyi Onuigbo could have played his
last game for the club against Rangers.
The danger is that Heartland, a club
that holds the enviable record of never going on relegation since
inception, is under serious threat of going down. Formed in 1976 at the
creation of the state as Spartans, the club metamorphosed into
Iwuanyanwu Nationale and now Heartland. The club have won the league
five times, FA Cup thrice and lost in the final of the CAF Champions
League twice in 1988 and 2009; obviously, one of the most successful
clubs in the land.
Callistus Onyegbaduo coordinator of
Concerned Heartland Supporters International can’t imagine seeing the
club in the less-fancied NNL.
He stated, “Why would Rochas be
celebrating Imo at 40 when a club that is as old as the state is
relegation-bound as a result of his lack of attention? It is sheer
hypocrisy for him to even list the club’s two Federation Cup victories
to his administration because we know how they won that cup. If not for
Fan Ndubuoke (then Heartland General Manager), that wouldn’t have been
possible. The governor was not releasing money.
“Fan would go to his eatery (Mr. Fans)
and collect money to meet the club’s daily needs. That was how they were
honouring league matches every week. The players will be hungry; he
will tell them to go to Mr. Fans and feed. There may not be money to pay
salaries, but he helps the players financially for them to keep body
and soul together. That was how they were motivated to win that cup. But
the moment they qualified for the final, Rochas rushed to Lagos to take
a lap of honour at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. Today he is taking the
glory for the victory.”
Onyegbaduo’s group is at the forefront of ensuring that Heartland does not get relegated.
“Rochas should know that this club is
the pride of the Imo people. There had been no governor or military
administrator that had folded his hands and watched the club go down.
This should not happen under him. Generations unborn will not forgive
him if this club die under him. We have supported this club from
childhood. Some of us live abroad but we still have Heartland running in
our veins. We are appealing to him to do the needful and save the club
from collapse,” he added.
Heartland captain, Chinedu Efugh, threw more light on the mood in the team.
“We are really training hard; sometimes
the this distraction about money plays a role too. It’s part of it (why
the club lost to Rangers) , but we believe that everything is going to
turn around. To boost the team, we need the government to help us,” he
said.
Onyegbaduo believes the club have the potential to be competing for laurels but was undone by the Okorocha administration.
“Fan was trying to put together a team
that could do a Pillars and Enyimba and raid clubs for their top
talents. But in recent times, due to the club’s precarious financial
state, it keeps losing its best legs. The likes of Osas Okoro, Bobby
Clement and Kalu Orji that bolstered Rangers yesterday, were snatched
from Heartland penultimate season. A team that won the FA Cup
back-to-back are good enough to win the league but this government’s
neglect over the years has turned them into perpetual strugglers,” he
added.
According to Onyegbaduo, the situation
is even more disheartening taking into cognisance what is happening in
neighbouring Abia State, which has two teams in the NPFL: Enyimba and
Abia Warriors.
He said the government expends over N60m
on both clubs. Recently, Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu donated two
luxury buses to both clubs.
He added that Heartland’s monthly
subvention was cut from N28m to N18m yet it wasn’t coming in good time.
In the past five months, instead of N90m, the club has gotten N47m from
government, Onyegbaduo added.
“When you take into cognisance that Imo
gets more allocation than Abia, you wonder why this only child of an
affluent father is less comfortable than the two children of a less
illustrious father. It is all down to the fathers’ priorities. One cares
so much about his children’s welfare, the other doesn’t give a damn
whether his child feeds or not.”
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