Ernest Okonkwo: Remembering the phenomenal football commentator – By Zik Zulu-Okafor

“Silence greets the 34th anniversary of a sports legend’s walk into the other side of life”.

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Wednesday, August 7, made it 34 years. Yes, since he took his eternal bow. I still remember that solemn morning. Nigeria froze as the news resonated on the radio, that wireless device he ruled with his vibrant voice.

Do you remember him? That exceptional sports broadcaster  that reinvented the art of football commentary. His motivational voice and the nicknames he hung on players  for their heroics on the field of play spurred a generation of Nigerian footballers.

I write about Ernest Chidokwe Okonkwo, an intensely patriotic Nigerian and one of the greatest radio commentators in our football history. Best known as Ernest Okonkwo,  his voice, laden with accentuated  passion, gave flesh to the spirit of football on radio. If only Nigerian footballers in action could hear his stirring and inspiring voice, the extraordinary elocution and electrifying pace of  his commentary,  they probably would never lose a match.

He was simply an ultra committed icon in the theatre of sports.

Yes,  Wednesday, August 7, 2024 marked 34 years a football change driver  took a bow.

But nobody , not even the media perhaps remembered.

And that is the tragedy of this transient thing called life. Okonkwo, like many, is gone and life trudges on in its boundless wilderness.

But I remember him. Because the dramatic accoustics of his voice remain timeless and hangs at the aisle of my memory. He was the science of sound on radio football.

This sports broadcaster and football commentator whose genius thrilled millions of football fans in Nigeria would have been 88 years old if he lived. But he died 34 years ago. And since then radio commentary went into icy silence, dwarfed by television. When Okonkwo held sway, television volumes were killed and substituted with the vibrant descriptive voice of Okonkwo. That was the prevalent tradition.

The Ernest Okonkwo Foundation

Ernest Okonkwo had a distinguished career spanning over three decades, working with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN.

His iconic voice and passionate commentary style for which reason he was nicknamed Radio Chairman and Voice of Nigeria still echoes as a piece of treasured memory in many a football fan of the  1970s and 80s. And that’s why his children have decided that his voice must not die. They want the legacy of the man from Nando in Anambra state to live on. So, they have now set up the Ernest Okonkwo Foundation. One of his daughters,

Amaka Ernest-Okonkwo Oboh , a Lawyer with interest in Sports Law, who spoke passionately about her father and their plans for the foundation acknowledged it was coming a bit late but affirmed that it will activate, project and sustain their father’s name and his contributions to broadcasting and sports .

” I have to say the Ernest Okonkwo Foundation is coming a bit late , no question about that. But we will work passionately and with full commitment to bring about a renaissance  of his story and his works in broadcasting and football in particular and then try to escalate and sustain it”, she stated.

The foundation is expected to become very active from 2025 and will be a portrait of  Ernest Okonkwo’s mindset and a beacon of the dreams he shared with his five children and his wife before he passed. In his last words, he had told them with a fading voice ,

” I have run my race. I have found a new peace. I see  the glory of God…. I have played my part. I hope you can press on from where I stopped…..”

I ironically, neither of his two sons nor any of the three daughters  works in the sports arena except the daughter with interest in Sports Law.

Ernest Okonkwo received several awards for his distinction and excellence in broadcasting, including the national award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON.

No question,  Ernest Okonkwo will never be totally forgotten.

For those he listened to his commentary, his voice would continue to resonate as the soundtrack of the beautiful game, painting vivid pictures with every word, and transporting us to the heart of the action. His passion, knowledge, a  rich repertoire and charisma brought the game to life, making every match a thrilling and a chilling experience. He was more than just a commentator . He was a master storyteller, a weaver of words, and a guardian of the game’s greatest moments. His legendary calls will echo in our minds forever, and his impact on the world of football will never be forgotten.

Adiu, Ernest.