HAMILTON: THE WONDERBOY FROM ZIK'S ONITSHA TO KING GEORGE V

The exploits of Paul Ebiye Wonderboy Hamilton put smiles on the faces of football fans who watched him play, while those who heard the tales marvelled at his awesome skills. He could displace an entire defence with his dribbling skills and goalscoring was a feat he accomplished with little or no hassles. In this interview with ADEYINKA ADEDIPE, Hamilton, who was close to tears several times, said he might not have realised his potential if he had bowed to his father's wish.

HAMILTON'S contact with football started in his neighbourhood in Onitsha in the 1950s where, alongside other young boys, he played on the street whenever they had opportunity to leave the comfort of their homes. It was on the street that Hamilton, who started out as a goalkeeper, got his baptism. But even then, he was always the first to be picked for the street games and this endeared him to his mates.

According to him, it was a normal occurrence for him to be selected for games even before he got the chance to sneak out of his home to play. He disclosed: 'Even before I got into the primary school, I was a very good goalkeeper and the way I was moving then, many would have thought I would end up as a good goalkeeper. I am sure that nobody will remember I had a stint between the sticks.'

In 1950, Hamilton was admitted into Our Lady Primary School, Onitsha, where after few exploits between the goal post, he broke his arm and became a striker after he recovered, a move that took him to the pinnacle of his career. At Our Lady, he teamed up with other boys to play great game against other schools.

He recounted: 'In my primary school days, we were just happy to play ball and it was Holy Trinity that were our greatest rivals then. By the time I was in primary six, I had started to know the good, the bad and the ugly side of football. Despite this, I was determined to make a name for myself in the game.

'Playing against Holy Trinity held good memories but I cannot remember those that played with me then. However, the crowd that watched us play also brought out the best in us and we were always delighted to be part of the action.'

In 1957, he became the toast of many secondary schools owing to his prowess but he got into Zik Secondary School, Onitsha, which had good players who represented Onitsha at inter-zones and inter-state football competitions. But despite his growing reputation in the game, his father was very much against his love for football. The older Hamilton wanted his only son to face his studies and become a great scholar.

'My father's apathy toward my involvement in football grew even when I got into the secondary school,' he recalled. 'I was also a good student but I guess he felt it was not possible to combine sports and education and for him, education is key to success, so he wouldn't have anything to do with football.'

Instead of getting discouraged, the wonderboy broke into Zik's school team in his first year and his exploits endeared him to the senior players in the team, who gave him all the encouragement he needed to excel. He explains: 'There were lots of good players in the school at that time but because they knew what I was capable of doing, I was immediately absorbed into the main team.

'Also, the fact that I didn't stay in the boarding house gave me the opportunity to train with the Onitsha Football Association team, which was impressed with me but was surprised to know that I was still in secondary school.

'Each time I went to train, my mother always covered up for me and by the time I was in form three, I had become known in Onitsha. And whenever I passed through the markets, traders gave me clothes for my uniform and I always had problem taking the gifts home.'

Finally, the skilful Hamilton became an integral part of the Onitsha FA team when he got to class four. His school did not know this but a local newspaper called the Spokesman was always highlighting his prowess, and he was dubbed the 'Minister of Football.' Also in school, he became a star and his skills bailed him out of trouble on few occasions.

'There was a day I got to the school late and one of the prefects poured a bucket of water on the floor and instructed that I scoop the water with my hand as punishment,' he recalled. 'While I was still wondering how to carry out the task, the school captain, one Nezianya who was in the final year, asked that I should be pardoned, which was granted.'

With the Onitsha FA team, he became a cherished player as the FA Chairman, Egwu, would always come to Hamilton's house to pick him in his car for training. He added: 'Egwu's gesture put me in the limelight and neighbours would always ask me when the team would train.'

Training with the FA team, according to Hamilton, made him a better player in school and he always shone brightly playing against the likes of St. Augustine and some other missionary schools at that time. Though there was no Principal's Cup then, schools in each region engaged themselves in matches where players were picked for inter-region competitions.

In his final year in the secondary school, he got his big break with the FA team when he was introduced in a match against Uyo in which he scored two goals, with the game ending 2-2. He said: 'I was scared when I was introduced into this game but as luck would have it, I scored the two goals that gave my team a draw. It was then that I started getting all the attention in Onitsha.'

The next game came quickly for Hamilton and it was an FA Cup game against the same Uyo side that forced his team to a 2-2 draw. But there was a problem – the match was slated for Aba and there was no way to tell his father. He continued: 'Moving out of the house to Aba was a big problem and I had a plan with our chairman to come and pick me on the day of the game and also bring me back the same day.

'The team had great players like Emma Ozegbe, who was my senior in the secondary school, Oziri known as Ajasco, one Apam, our throw-in specialist, Iheukwumere, who was our goalkeeper, Abel, Ruben and late Asoluka. When I joined the team on match day, fans started hailing me and the shouts of Minister of Football rent the air.

'Fortunately for me, I scored four out of the five goals my team got and this time, we thrashed Uyo 5-2 with the stadium going wild each time I scored. Unfortunately for me, the same Aba fans turned against me when we beat their team 1-0 the following weekend in Onitsha.'

Unknown to Hamilton, one of his neighbours, Walter Obianwu, who was a national tennis player, was monitoring his progress and as soon as he left secondary school in 1961, he offered to get him a place in the Electric Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) football team. According to him, 'I was actually surprised when Obiawnu approached me with the offer. He approached my parents and had to talk to my father for four days before he was convinced to let me go.'

On February 12, 1961, Hamilton arrived in Lagos with excitement, having heard so much about King George Stadium and other places of interest. As he narrated, 'at the ECN (PHCN) head office in Lagos, I signed the necessary paper and was introduced to the team, where I met late Fabian Duru, who was voted the sportsman of the year in 1960. The next day I got to the camp and I met senior players like Okoro, Omokachie and many others.'

The new ECN recruit impressed in training and got his first game against Town Council FC. He inspired his new team to victory and quickly caught the attention of Dan Anyiam, who was the coach of the Green Eagles, and got invitation to the national team just two weeks after arriving Lagos. He enthused: 'I was surprised to be invited to the Eagles, but I was in the team for 14 years till I quit in 1975. Most of the national team players at that time were from ECN and Stationery Stores.'

In 1970, Hamilton and some of his illustrious colleagues moved to the Nigeria Army in 1970: 'After the end of the civil war, I think the army wanted to make a bold statement by employing credible people and showing the world that the army was not all about fighting wars. People like Kenneth Olayombo and Sam Opone, who were national team players, also joined the army. Raymond Braimoh, who was into handball, also joined the army.'

The Wonderboy's playing career took him to the Olympics in 1968. The team had great players such as Olumodeji, Peter Fregene and Austin Ofuokwu while Sebastian Broderick was his good friend. The Brazilians forced the Nigeria team to a 3-3 draw in the opening game of an encounter Hamilton described as a great game.

In the army, Hamilton was one of the lucky few that were sent to Budapest, Hungary for a Physical Education course in 1974. He narrated: 'I must say I was very fortunate to be among the people sent for that course alongside Braimoh. In the army, I rose to the rank of Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) before I moved out in the 80s.'

After quitting the army, he became a coach with Iddo Tiger (a team under Leventis, Iddo) before joining John Mastourodes to form the Leventis United of Ibadan, which brought together all the Leventis football teams under the umbrella. He continued: 'After the formation of Leventis United, Mastourodes ensured that the team was based in Ibadan and I moved to Moniya.

'In 1984, Leventis Sports Council sponsored me to attend the Nations Cup and that same year I left Leventis to join Fr. Tiko in the Junior Eagles, which later became the Flying Eagles.'

His speedy, steady rise took him to the National Sports Commission (NSC) when late Isaac Akioye offered him a job as a principal coach in 1983. Though the army was reluctant to let him go, common sense, however, prevailed and he was allowed to move to the NSC. He said: 'I was deployed to the Flying Eagles with Sam Ojebode under Fr. Tiko, garnered enough experience there and took over the team in late '84/early '85 and I led the team to a bronze medal finish. I had players like Monday Odiaka, Andrew Uwe, Waidi Akanni, Kingsley Onye, Samson Siasia and many others.'

To Hamilton, winning the bronze medal was great but came with a price, as he explained: 'As we were playing the first game, the Nigerian students in Moscow came with a demoralising news that a military coup had taken place. It affected us early in our opening game against Canada but we later won the game 3-2. After the game, I told the players that they had to keep on playing well to ensure they stayed longer in the competition instead of going back home where we were not sure of what we would meet.'

After the success in Moscow, Hamilton was drafted into the Green Eagles in 1986. He led the Eagles to qualify for the Africa Nations Cup in Morocco and the Seoul Olympics in 1988. He worked with players like Henry Nwosu, Bright Omokaro and Sunday Eboigbe, among others. Hamilton was also at the head of the technical crew that led Nigeria's failed qualifiers for the Italia '90 World Cup. However, he attributed it to the introduction of Clemence Westerhof two games to the end of the qualifiers.

'We would have qualified for the 1990 World Cup in Italy if the Nigeria Football Association had believed in us,' he lamented. 'The problem began in Gabon when Westerhof came in. Players like Peter Rufai and Etim Esin were shut out of the team. We had just beaten Cameroun 2-0 in Ibadan and only needed a good result in the away fixture, but unfortunately we lost.'

After this disappointment, he was deployed to form the first women football team, which he coached before he left in 1995. He stated: 'Forming the maiden female national team was a big challenge. At that time, we had no league but we had female teams that played ceremonial and inter-club games. Some of the teams we got players from at that time were Ufuoma Babes and Jegede Babes, and the coaches were also of help.

'After the initial hurdle, we formed a team, which had the current coach of the Falcons, Ucharia Uche; Florence Omagbemi and Chioma Ajunwa. Though we did not do well in the maiden Women World Cup, as the team failed to score a goal, but it was adjudged the youngest and most inexperienced.'

In 1999, Hamilton became the NFA Lagos Liaison Officer and was also appointed CAF coaching instructor, which paved way for many other Nigerians in CAF. He also headed the technical committee department of the NFA from 2000 to 2002 before he retired from public service.

He then came down to Lagos to begin his pet project, the Weekend Soccer Academy: 'The focus for me now is to spot talents through the academy and I am happy I have been able to do this for over eight years,' he said. 'It has not been easy but I am happy I have come this far.'

While noting that he would still be a footballer if he had a second chance, he lamented that the NSC, which he served, demolished his office at the National Stadium, Lagos. He cried: 'This is a big regret for me. I couldn't believe that the people I served could demolish my office in a stadium I played football in.'

However, he said that sports could be organised better from the schools if the authorities have listening ears.