It took just a year after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) introduced the Africa Player of the Year award for a Super Eagles player to claim it. The late Rashidi Yekini won in 1993 after a stellar year lighting up Portuguese football with Vitoria Setubal.
It would mark the beginning of a wonderful period for Nigerian football, one that coincided with the dawn of a so-called golden generation.
In the next six years, Nigerians went on to win the aforementioned prize four more times: Emmanuel Amunike (1994), Nwankwo Kanu (1996, 1999), and Victor Ikpeba (1997).
A new era of Nigerian CAF POTY winners?
Three decades after Yekini opened the floodgates — following a barren spell in the first two decades of the 21st century — a Nigerian was named CAF Player of the Year again.
That victor was Victor Osimhen, as a deserved reward for a 2022/23 season during which his goals powered Italian club Napoli to a first Serie A title in 33 years.
And just as happened in the year after Yekini's win, another Nigerian, this time Ademola Lookman, based in Italy like Osimhen, has picked the prize, doing so at the CAF Awards ceremony on Monday in Marrakech, Morocco.
The logical question to ask, then, is whether this back-to-back success for Nigeria would, like in the nineties, usher us into a period when the nation's stars could dominate the CAF Player of the Year award.
It is worth noting that there are not many elite African footballers in their prime (or thereabouts) at Europe's biggest clubs right now; of the relatively few in that bracket, quite a few are Nigerian.
That is not to say, of course, that the present generation of Nigerian footballers is anywhere near as ‘golden’ as that which represented the country when the Kanus and Amunikes were in their pomp.
But there is still enough talent — attacking talent, to be precise — to ensure Nigerian footballers compete favourably in the years ahead.
Who are the other potential Super Eagles CAF POTY winners?
Then there are those waiting in the wings, yet to taste the feeling of being officially adjudged Africa's finest but with the potential to do just that. Two, Victor Boniface and Samuel Chukwueze, readily come to mind.
Boniface arguably deserved to be in the conversation this year after delivering 31 goals and assists for Bayer Leverkusen. His efforts led the club to Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles, with their only loss coming against Lookman-inspired Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Yet he, too, is also pretty young, aged just 23, and, barring any setbacks, is on track to achieve great things.
Chukwueze is another bright hope, having set Europe alight during his time with Villarreal.
Since moving to AC Milan last year, he has struggled to replicate his form, but the 25-year-old winger is showing signs of rediscovering the trajectory that once had many predicting he could become a world-beater.
International success will be a decisive factor
While club success plays a significant role — as it did for Osimhen and Lookman — Nigeria's earlier Player of the Year awards were largely influenced by national team triumphs, including the 1994 AFCON victory and the 1996 Olympic Gold.
It stands to reason, then, that the aforementioned players — and, for that matter, any other hopefuls — would have to pull their weight on the international scene, as their prospects of individual laurels and recognition would almost certainly be tied to the Super Eagles’ fortunes.
That no doubt helped in Lookman's case, considering how good an outing he had at the 2023 AFCON; conversely, it was likely Boniface's lack of participation in that competition that, fairly or not, explained his being overlooked for even a top-ten nomination.
With the next edition of the AFCON coming up next year, as well as an expanded FIFA World Cup in 2026, good showings for Nigeria on those platforms could prove decisive for Osimhen, Lookman, and co.
