Akhidenor publishes two books of Nigerian football’s memorable quotes

Award-winning journalist and author Victor Akhidenor has published two books documenting memorable quotes, remarks and conversations that have shaped Nigerian football.

The books, Journalists are like Mosquitoes: Nigeria Football’s Finest Quotes & Notes and If You Put 11 Herbalists on the Field…: Quotes and Notes from Nigerian Football, were released on Monday, 2 November, in Nigerian editions published by Abuja-based Books & Journals Hub.

The publications draw on Mr Akhidenor’s years covering Nigerian football and his interest in preserving some of the sport’s most colourful expressions beyond match reports and statistics.

The project dates back more than a decade. In April 2014, TheCable published a selection of the material under the headline The Game in Quotes, describing it as an introduction to Mr Akhidenor’s planned two-in-one book project.

One of the remarks behind the first title came from former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof, who famously said: “Journalists are like mosquitoes, you must kill them in time.”

The second book draws from the distinctive expressions and sometimes bewildering explanations associated with Nigerian football.

Mr Akhidenor said he was motivated by the need to preserve moments that often escape conventional sports records.

“Over the years, I have realised that some of the most memorable moments in football are not necessarily goals or trophies. They are the things people say, the arguments they start and the impressions they leave behind. I wanted to collect some of those moments and make them accessible to readers,” he said.

Mr Akhidenor began his journalism career in 2011 as a staff writer at Complete Communications Limited. He later served as sports editor at TheCable between 2014 and 2015 before working as an editor at FC Naija and Sports Nigeria.

He won the Diamond Award for Media Excellence in Sports Reporting in 2015.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Edo State University and a master’s degree in Media and Communication from Pan-Atlantic University. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Mass Communication at the University of Benin and has undertaken training in filmmaking, screenwriting, journalism and generative artificial intelligence.

His other published works include Football Memories, Our Daily Mask, Papa Goose Rhyme and Hallucinations of Abami. He also publishes his writing and commentary through his personal website, Unpopular Pele.

Akhidenor said he hopes the books will help readers appreciate the place of football conversations in the country’s sporting history.

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“I want readers to enjoy these books, but I also want them to recognise that the words spoken around football are part of our history. We should not allow those moments to disappear simply because they were not recorded in a match statistics database,” he said.

The books are available on Amazon for international readers, while copies for Nigerian readers can be purchased through “Unpopular Pele” (http://www.unpopularpele.com/).

Books & Journals Hub, Abuja, published the Nigerian editions.