The All University Games just ended last
Saturday, April 30, but not without some drama. Cameroonians who were part of
the sporting jamboree may never forget what happened at the football pitch
prior to the finals of men’s football match, pitting the University of Buea
(UB) against that of Yaoundé I.
The match that started with a lot of
controversy and rules bending to favour the Yaounde team saw UB Vice
Chancellor, Nalova Lyonga, so repulsed that uncharacteristic of her, she openly
snubbed Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education.
The drama was ignited by players of the
Yaounde University team deliberate effort to stay away from the pitch while the
Buea team sat there waiting for hours. The Yaounde team actually walked in two
hours late. The Minister and other officials were forced to sit in wait too for
hours for the Yaoundé I team to arrive. After waiting to no avail, the main
pitch also known as stade d’intergration that was to host the match was given
to the ladies to have their match. When the team from Yaoundé I finally showed
up, players and officials of Buea insisted the game was over and that they were
winners by forfeiture according to the rules.
The Buea delegation, led by Nalova,
insisted the game was over, that the rule be applied and their team declared
winners. Nalova, the strong girl that she is would not want her team to step an
inch back into the pitch any more – she told them to leave the pitch for as per
the rules they have won.
Our sources say that the late coming was
as a well-orchestrated show to come after the ladies’ team was already
occupying the main pitch. This, they will be asked to play their own game in a
different pitch further away from the view of state officials where match
officials would be able to bend the rules and cause UB to lose the much coveted
Gold Medal that they won during the last games in 2015.
All man for UB get hot head lol. please continue...
When UB authorities got winged of this,
they asked their players not to play because the Yaoundé match officials would
do all to make the Yaounde team carry the day.
When Buea would not return to the pitch,
it was then that Fame Ndongo, the Minister, was forced to abandon the finals of
the female football competition to trek down to the secondary stadium where he
met UB authorities in attempt to broker a settlement. Nalova was invited into
the circle that had been formed to broker the solution. Surrounding the circle
were hundreds of UB supporters already losing patience. In the impromptu
meeting, Nalova Lyonga was heard categorically telling the Minister and other
officials that her team wasn’t going to play the match. People saw her nod her
head in disagreement of what was being agreed upon and then walked out of the
presence of the Minister who was left with his officials, including the Rector
of the University of Yaoundé I, Maurice Aurelien Sosso.
Nalova left the gathering, went and sat
under a man-made shade provided by her heavily imposed bodyguard and watched
the drama from a distance, continuing to give firm instructions to her team not
to enter the field.
After failing to bend Nalova, the
Yaoundé authorities resorted to the UB team’s captain, invited him into the
circle and tried coercing him to getting his team to play the match. But their
luck also failed here. The courageous team captain of Buea was unyielding as
his Vice Chancellor, telling them that his mates would not play. It wasn’t until
pressure started coming in from their coach, Asongu Nicholas that the UB
players yielded to the Minister and his cronies and got into the field without
the blessings of Nalova Lyonga.
The match, scheduled for 11am didn’t
take place till about 1pm, and though it could have gone into prolongation as
it ended a draw after 60 minutes, the match went straight into penalties
shot-out ending in the favour of Yaounde team with an aggregate 6-5 post match
penalties.
At the end of the day, a visibly angry
Vice Chancellor declared that she wasn’t happy with the outcome of the games.
“They organized the University Games for students to bring out their talents
but “people” come and impose rules.” She quipped.
The next edition of the games would be
hosted by the newly created University of Bamenda.
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