Damman miracle! Damman miracle!! Damman miracle!!! People chanting with green leaves on their hands, bare-bodied, some on their motorbikes and tricycles, others walking barefooted as they drove and walked round what looked like Douglas and Wetheral roads in Owerri. It was a good sight seeing the youths of Imo State that happy and excited, acting like those liberated from prison after years of imprisonment. It looked real a scene, didn’t know I was in a dream.
What could such a dream mean? What would make the youths of Imo State chant Damman miracle with excitement? Where is Damman? What kind of miracle happened in Damman? These were my queries immediately I woke up from the dream.
Instinctively my mind went back to 1989 34years ago during the under 20 FIFA World Cup quarter final at Prince Mohanmed Bin Fahd Stadium, Damman, Saudi Arabia. It was a quarter final match between Nigeria and USSR.
29 minutes to 90 minutes Nigeria team was 4- 0 down by their USSR opponent.
I remembered how many started walking out of the viewing points sluggishly, cursing and blaming even those they shouldn’t blame. Some went to sleep only to wake to hear a different gist.
It was a miracle, a damman miracle!!. It shook the football world, a reference point up till today. From zero to hero, from the floor to an enviable height, from shame to shine, disgrace to gracefulness. Call it magical, miracle, signs or wonder, it was an event that taught many a huge lesson, never to lose hope until it is over and never say never, that life can be so unpredictable; betting on something with every sense of assurance and certitude even when one is one inch close to the winning tape could be futile and slippery sometimes.
Nothing could have made the Russians to believe otherwise that such a secured victory could slip off them.
Their victory was in their hands, grasped and clinched tightly. They saw their victory, in their minds the victory party was ongoing already.
It was a done deal for them, clinically delivered on a platter. I am sure they saw Nigeria team as a weak side, ill prepared to match them shoulder to shoulder.
What a dramatic twist of event when in 61 minutes Ohenhen scored the first goal for Nigeria. They didn’t see the quick succession, the unbreakable chains of goals that would turn in minutes their joy into pains, their victory into defeat and their excitement into moodiness. 15 minutes to go Elijah scored the second goal. At this point those that left the viewing points started coming back. Enthusiasm renewed, life came back into forlorned Nigerians and the possibility of Nigeria equalising became obvious. At 83 minutes Elijah scored the third goal. Come and see jubilation, the ecstasy was maddening and the joy volcanic. Before we could recover from the joy, Ugbade in the 84 minutes equalised. The commentator became ecstatic. Words were flowing, like a weaving bird he was weaving words to describe the miracle and magic that happened. Standing and watching, the Russians couldn’t explain what happened . Only God knows what was going through their mind. They thought it was dream and would have loved to be woken up from it.
That match ended in favour of Nigeria through penalty shoot out. This is the story of the Damman miracle, but how it relates to Imo state is something that remains a puzzle to me.
Will Imo state experience a contest soon? Will there be a football match in Imo state? Are there people who are already coasting home with victory, too sure nothing would stop them? Are there persons who seem too weak and ill prepared in this match that would eventually pull up a surprise?
I am just trying to hazard a guess and possibly find the reason why the chant of Damman miracle in my dream?
Could it be a foreshadow of the November 11th Gubernatorial election? Who among the Political parties are assuming the position and disposition of USSR? And which of them are the laggard Nigeria Team? Is November 11th election one that is won and lost in the minds of some persons?. Are there verifiable indicators showing parties that are ahead already coasting home and celebrating uhuru?
Though I may not be able to say exactly what that dream represents, however, I am sure there will be damman miracle in Imo State soon. Get ready for the joy, the ecstacy and the happiness unspeakable that would envelope the youths and indeed the masses. Whatever that will make them as happy as I saw them in my dream, dancing and singing like Paul and Silas, I am for it and I know every patriotic Imo person would too.
Damman miracle! Damman miracle!!Damman miracle all roads lead to Imo State. Game on!! We move!!, slow and steady!! Imo will rise again!!
Come 11th Nov Gubernatorial election in Imo state who among APC, PDP, Labour, AA etc is USSR? And who is Nigeria?
Jarlath Uche Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com
07068420002
