Who named our Sunshine Stars Owena Whales or Owena Waves?
Who named our Sunshine Stars Owena Whales or Owena Waves?
By Steve Alabi
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Where did the media get the idea that the appellation of the most overt sports initiative in the Sunshine State is Owena Whales or Owena Waves? Who named our Sunshine Stars Owena Whales or Owena Waves? This question becomes pertinent in the light of the repeated media exposure of the names as the moniker of our team.
What is in a name, you wonder. Everything is in a name. A man should naturally bear a name he is named. In the same manner, an institution should naturally bear a name it is named. Conversely, a man should not bear a name he is not named. In like manner, an institution should not bear a name it is not named.
As far as my memory can serve me, nobody named our Sunshine Stars Owena Whales or Owena Waves. Owena Whales we know but Owena Waves, where did it come from? The moniker, Owena Whales belonged to the defunct Water Corporation FC of Ondo. It must be stated clearly that Sunshine Stars FC is not an offshoot or a successor of Water Corporation or any other defunct club in the state. As such, it did not, and cannot inherit their names or monikers.
Those of us who created Sunshine Stars find it abominable when some mischievous fellows try to reinvent the story of how the club came into existence. One of the lies they spin is that Water Corporation became Sunshine Stars or that Sunshine Stars took over Water Corporation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth of the matter is that the regime of the then Col. Ahmed Usman established the club as a state-owned club on January 11, 1995. Water Corporation FC had already been scrapped and was already dead before the end of 1994. The other big club in the state, Housing Corporation had also gone into oblivion earlier.
The only connection between Water Corporation and Sunshine Stars was just a slot. The Owena Whales had played in the professional ranks in Division Two in 1994 but got relegated at the end of the season which led to its scrapping. Up till that time, there were only two divisions in the professional ranks. The NFA however decided to create a third division with relegated teams from Division Two having automatic slots in the new division, the reason why Water Corporation had a slot even though the owner-management of Engr. Eben Alade, the then General Manager of the corporation had scrapped the club at the end of the season.
In the proposal the government considered in birthing the club, two options were presented to actualize the founding of the club. One, to purchase an existing First Division club; Two, to take over the slot of the defunct Water Corporation FC in the newly created Division Three. The Military Administrator of the state, Col. Ahmed Usman, in his wisdom, chose the latter. Despite this gubernatorial fiat, some former officials refused to hand over the slot until it was paid for. If Col. Usman had not acceded to our request to establish a state-owned club, the slot would simply have lapsed.
Even when a club buys another’s slot, it is not and cannot be a successor of the original slot owner. It is the slot that is bought, not the club. For example, Osun United of Oshogbo bought the NNL slot of Collins Edwin Sports Club of Lagos this season. It is not bearing the latter’s name and the latter is still in existence, competing in the NLO. Kwara United of Ilorin just bought the Premiership slot of Delta United of Warri, which itself bought the original slot from Kada City of Kaduna. The buyers neither bear the names of the sellers nor their monikers.
At establishment, three names were forwarded to the Founder, Col. Ahmed Usman to choose from: Owena Sunshiners, Owena Rocks and Sunshine Stars. Nothing like Owena Whales or Owena Waves. Owena Sunshiners creatively combined the name of the state’s major river with Sunshine, which had become another generic name for the state. Owena Rocks emphasized the two main geographic features in the state, the state’s major river and rocks dotting its landscape. Col. Usman chose Sunshine Stars on the argument that Sunshine had become another generic name for the state and the club should aspire to become stars in the Nigerian football firmament.
During the administration of the late Chief Ade Adefarati, the club’s management gave it the moniker, Adefarati Babes, in honour of the football guru. We have since had Agagu Babes, Mimiko Babes, and now Aketi Babes. That is acceptable. The proprietor of the club at any point in time deserves to be encouraged. What is not acceptable is Owena Whales or Owena Waves. Our club is simply Sunshine Stars, not Owena Whales or Owena Waves or the more annoying Akure Gunners. We are not Arsenal. In fact, the London club is a poor reference point for football ambitions. There is no sensible connection between Sunshine or Stars and Whales or Waves, which have affinity with water, rather than Sunshine or Stars.
Beyond the needless and irritating appellations, Sunshine Stars have shown better commitment in recent times. The 3-0 away victory over Adamawa United in Yola some games back was a great reminder of the good old days and the height the club is capable of reaching. Kudos to the management. Unlike the past three seasons when they merely survived relegation, they are now repaying Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s huge investments in the club with a heartwarming oscillation between the top six positions. They must not rest on their oars, beginning with today’s cracker against high riding Plateau United of Jos in Akure today.