Born In Esperance
The Maghreb didn’t go to Timbuktu to search for gold, rather, they found the land route to Makurdi without a compass to land in a gold mine.
The mined gold was Michael Eneramo but not without it’s rawness which needed a quick polish.
Destination was Tunis, the Land of the Carthage, hosting giants Esperance, the super multiple Tunisian league and FA Cup champions.
Esperance were never short of quality gold and saw Eneramo as potentially the biggest thing to happen to the blood and gold. The eggheads were right after all as the former Lobi Stars’ hitman would eventually strikingly “buy over” Esperance with his goals.
It wasn’t an easy road for the rookie whose goal account and most importantly, huge prospects for local side, Lobi Stars, forcefully opened the Esperance doors.
Zambian superstar striker Kenneth Malitoli left a silhouette behind that the management and fans alike had turned a monument to leave a huge mountain to climb for his replacement. There was nothing Malitoli didn’t do in Tunis, except contesting for the Tunis Mayorship before he walked like a king.
That was the void the giant rookie from Kaduna was to fill. Unknown, raw, untested on the big stage, Eneramo was to be hauled the hopes of thousands of Esperance faithful on your young shoulders.
Was he prepared for this huge fans’, management and Malitoli’s test?
Eneramo was to do the unthinkable, fans watched and expected, pressures reached crescendos, Eneramo wasn’t to be barbecued.
Eneramo was to be farmed out on loan to USM Alger to get enough preparation for the great expectations.
Esperance knew the gold they mined in Makurdi, they were not letting go as they typically refused to waste time to harvest quality.
Eneramo was only raw and needed a faster polishing in Algiers to return a finished product. There was no time for that at Esperance as quality lived in a natural habitat there to force an arranged loan move.
Eneramo started like a house on fire at the Algerian multiple champions true to Esperance beliefs and expectations.
Goals visited him instantly as he arrived in Algeria, lots of them, plenty enough for a quick return.
Netting 13 times in 24 appearances was a huge test passed without a blemish and it was only time bound to hit Tunis.
The polishing was enough, total in Esperance’s estimations, as Eneramo returned to quickly grab the league title.
Esperance were not done with him preparing for a kill, another loan move to Saudi Arabia was quickly arranged for purpose.
Eneramo arrived in Riyadh for Al-Shabaab almost a turbaned Sheikh but his spell was as swift as it had started.
Just after eight games and a goal, Eneramo was quickly recalled to take charge, fully prepared.
Eneramo was to return to restart an Esperance journey that would be a massive reference forever.
Was Napoleon Bonaparte close to doing what Eneramo did at Esperance?
Even the moons and stars stood up for the greatest striker ever to grace the blood and gold in their history, his push was unprecedented, Malitoli was quickly “forgotten”
The huge Nigerian heritage Nigeria had enjoyed and propagated at Esperance knew no better heights than Eneramo’s immense contributions.
Garba Lawal, Julius Aghahowa before him, were stars as the Taraji fans hailed, but were star struck with Eneramo.
League titles, FA Cup honours, individual honours became regulars as Eneramo galloped on to goals.
A whooping five League titles, three FA Cup titles and goaledor twice, equalling Malitoli’s record of winning it back to back. Eneramo thus became the third player in the Tunisian side history to win the top scorer’s award back to back.
Esperance ran, Eneramo galloped, defenders shivered, goalkeeper sinned more by retrieving the ball from the back of the net. Club’s honours swole, delirium engulfed fans, Tunis stood still, Eneramo blasted again and again.
Was he ever looking elsewhere? Phone lines busied, offers flowed, club scouts visited, watched, but still not inked dotted lines.
Eneramo hung on, banged on, Tunisia FA lines intensified, Eneramo thought home.
FA continued luring even the Tunisia President fast tracked citizenship as the FIFA World Cup sang “This is Africa” in 2010, Eneramo had foregone his conclusions on his green and white life. The pride of fatherland burned fires in him, forced the late coach Shuaibu Amodu to extend a hand.
He did turn green and white for Tunisia who left Abuja not without an equalizer by Eneramo in the famous Super Eagles’ 2-2 draw in the 2010 World Cup qualifier game in Abuja in September, 2009.
He would agonisingly miss the train to South Africa World Cup but was good enough for nine more games for his country. Two more goals for the Eagles proved enough for the rampaging striker.
Back at Esperance, the eggheads had finally agreed to ship him to Turkey as Sivaspor brought him over.
The echoes of Eneramo continued to resonate even in Tunis’s caves and mountains several years after his departure.
None has since come close to equalling his mad goal rush, neither was any near his individual records.
His last shadows were painted red and gold as Eneramo returned to Tunis for one business, fun and the other.
The great beyond was the unlikeliest place for Eneramo and Esperance but the mortality in humans called earlier than expected. .
Eneramo collapsed on the pitch while playing a local game in Kaduna and was pronounced dead on arrival.
Esperance mourn their super hero as it’s so hard for them to say goodbye to yesterday.
Good night, Eneramo!
IKENWA ASHIBUOGWU NNABUOGOR
