My grandma thought I died in 1979 National Stadium stampede – Gbenga Adeyinka

Award-winning comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka, talks about his passion for Nigerian sports and Arsenal, in this interview with ABIODUN ADEWALE

Apart from hosting sporting events, how involved have you been with sports?

I played football and volleyball. I have always been a lover of sports all my life. I anchor the GOTv Boxing Night and I dare say I am very much interested in sports and sports development. I think what brings me closer to sports is a combination of passion and my brand. I can’t run away from my brand but my passion too can’t be taken away from the brand. They work hand-in-hand. When you are interested in something, the energy you give it is different from what you do when it’s just money involved. And when it comes to sports development, there isn’t so much money, it’s just the passion and relationship you have with the people involved that will also propel it.

Was boxing a sport you enjoyed before becoming a part of the GOTv Boxing Night?

I have always loved boxing. I fell in love with boxing from the Muhammad Ali days because he wasn’t just a boxer, he was a poet. I think a lot more needs to be done with the art of boxing. More insurance and more improvement in the protectiveness of the glove and I think like every other thing in life, we can have improvement.

As a country, our first medal at the Olympics was from boxing. What do you make of our journey in a sport that looks like we have not harnessed its full potential?

I will say it is the rise, fall and the rise again. Like everything in Nigeria, we tend to allow things to go bad and we now try to revive and rebuild. I will not forget the great Joe Lasisi and Jerry Okorodudu. That was another era of boxing but with what I know and see now, there are so many great boxers in Nigeria that we need to harness. How do we do that? We need the private sector. Governments, like I have always said, have no business in doing business. All they need to do is provide the enabling environment by building facilities. I must commend Remi Aboderin. He has done a lot for boxing. More people need to come and see it as a business. Involve the right insurance and get sponsorships. Boxing is not just a sport, it is entertainment too like Jenkins Alumona has done with GOTv Boxing Night. When we started it looked stupid, for so many years, they have produced a lot of boxers who are going international competing for titles. And we need to do the same for football because as it is, our football is dying too. Kudos to Kunle Soname of Remo Stars too, I went to his stadium in Ikenne and I was blown away. So we need more people to invest.

Were you at the Remo Stars Stadium to watch a live game or just toured the facility?

I went there to watch a game and that was the CAF Champions League preliminary against AS FAR. Although we didn’t win, after the game, Mr Soname took me round the facility. I paid for a covered seat but he brought me into the VIP section. It’s a beautiful place and anybody who is interested in sports development needs to go and understudy Mr Soname.

The atmosphere in the particular game you watched was buzzing. How does it compare to what you have seen in the past?

Luckily for me, growing up, my grandmother whom I grew up with had a store inside the national stadium. So, I sold meat pie and drinks to the fans and at halftime, I would go up the stands and never come back until the games were over. I saw the Green Eagles then win the Nations Cup, I saw Stationary Stores lose to Zamalek of Egypt. In fact, there was a year we had a stampede and my grandmother was in America then and we had gone to sell. She was convinced that I had died in the stampede because she knew I would be among the spectators. I still don’t know why we left the national stadium. Their excuse was that the fans were hostile but if they play good football, the fans won’t be. Abuja and Nest of Champions have not given us what the national stadium has given us. An average Nigerian that I know is a pessimist, but once the team is playing, he becomes an optimist. He believes that we can beat the world. So, taking football away from the national stadium is one of the biggest disservices to sports development in Nigeria. Although it is also good, because they developed other places but I think the Eagles need to have a home and that home is in Lagos.

How terrifying was that experience for you?

I can’t remember how many people died but it was a big issue then. It was an FA Cup semi-final between Bendel Insurance and ICC Shooting Stars. It was time to go and they didn’t open the main gate of the covered seat and you know Nigerians, we can be very impatient. So, they started pushing the gate, unfortunately, there were people in front and the gate fell on them. Some fell down and people continued walking over them. They were thinking of cancelling the final but it still went ahead. It was August 14 1979.

Talk about the Super Eagles, do you think we can still make the 2026 World Cup?

I saw William Troost-Ekong at the Southwest Games and I went to punch him on the chest and told him, ‘don’t listen to what anybody says, I believe in the Nigerian spirit, we would qualify’ and I stand by that.

As an Arsenal fan, Saka is back but Gabriel is out. What are your chances against Real Madrid in the Champions League?

I believe where there is a will, there is a way. It looks very hard. As usual, Arsenal have refused to do the needful, we needed to get a striker in January. I believe football is played on the day of the match. Anybody can beat anybody. It looks impossible now, but I believe nothing is impossible. We can nick it but if we don’t, like we always say, we are a season film, you keep watching us next season.

How has been your experience at the Emirates Stadium?

I think I am Arsenal’s lucky charm, every game that I have seen at the Emirates Stadium, we have won and I have seen about 14 games. If I were the management, I would look for a way to buy me a season ticket for all competitions so that we don’t lose any matches.

As a brand, you’ve sold out halls for your shows. How about hosting one in a stadium as well?

We do the LaffMattaz in the Southwest states and even Ilorin. This year we are doing the UK, USA and Canada. Kennyblaq has done a show at the stadium before as well. We would keep pushing, it’s not my direction now but we’ll see what we can do. It’s a lot of investment and work and with the number of concerts I have in my hand now, I might not be looking in that direction but when one starts slowing down, one can look at one big concert for the year and that is it.