It has almost become hackneyed to hear people say that sport is the one thing that unifies people. But the truth is, it really does unify the people, and it has done so time and again.
As Nigeria celebrate Independence Day on October 1, KweséESPN digs into the archives to find five times the earth stood still for Nigerians as their sporting heroes unified the country.
RANGERS V 3SC: THE BATTLE OF THE BROTHERS, LAGOS/KADUNA1977
No game, before or after, has energised, polarised and then unified Nigerians like this Africa Cup Winners Cup semifinal tie between Rangers and defending champions IICC Shooting Stars in 1977.
Everybody, from the ordinary citizen, to the then-military governors of Oyo and Anambra States - Brig. David Jemibewon and Col. John Atom Opera, respectively - and all the way through to Head of State Gen Yakubu Gowon, were invested in the build-up to and outcome of the game.
At the time, the domestic rivalry between both clubs was at its peak. The bulk of players played for the national team, the Green Eagles, came from both teams. Despite that, club loyalty and following reigned supreme.
Such was the expected intensity of the game that the NFA and National Sports Commission (NSC) requested that rather than play both legs in Ibadan and Enugu, respectively, the games should be hosted in Lagos (Shooting) and Kaduna (Rangers). And so it turned out.
The entire country was split down the middle in support for these two clubs. There were even fears that the hostility could lead to violence between both sets of supporters. To the extent that the Provost Marshall of the Army, Col. Karufa called a press conference to announce strict security measures for the game.
It all turned out to be unfounded.
On the eve of the game, Rangers captain Christian Chukwu and goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala turned up at the National Stadium Surulere to pick up his equipment from the Green Eagles camp (as the team were preparing for a World Cup qualifier), both sets of fans formed a guard of honour, laid their shirts on the ground and serenaded him with adulating chants.
The same thing happened when Segun Odegbami, IICC captain turned up a couple of hours later with Sam Ojebode and Muda Lawal.
There were controversies surrounding the game, there were rumours, there were headlines, both front and back page, and the entire country was dominated by news of the two games. Thousands travelled from all over the country, and over 50,000 spectators packed the stadium to watch, while millions of others kept their ears glued to Ernest Okonkwo's sonorous relaying of minute-by-minute prose.
On the field, the games did not disappoint. Although both legs finished 0-0, the whole country had stood still for 180 minutes, plus the additional 30 minutes extra time in Kaduna.
Oh, and as for the penalty kicks, after misses by Sam Asante and Best Ogedegbe, Chukwu stepped up and scored the winner to knock IICC out and progress to the final.
Nigeria came to the brink of catastrophe, peeked out the corner but in the end, the sport and two of the greatest clubs ever, united the nation both by the gentlemanly carriage of the players, and the mutual respect of the fans for each other.
NIGERIA BEATING BULGARIA 3-0, USA 1994
People poured onto the streets in the early hours, motorcycle riders performed all manner of stunts on their bikes, cars screeched around the streets burning tyre in doughnut turns, as fiends and strangers hugged each other and danced till morning.
The occasion? Nigeria's first game and first victory at the FIFA World Cup in 1994.
Winning the Nations Cup earlier in the year had raised expectations for a good World Cup, but Nigeria had been drawn in a difficult group with Argentina, Bulgaria and Greece.
The South Americans had Diego Maradona. Nothing else needed to be said. But then they also had Claudio Canniggia, who was just as deviously talented.
But first Bulgaria. The Europeans had the dangerous trio of Hristo Stoichkov, Iordan Letchkov and Krasimir Balakov. By the time the smoke cleared, the Super Eagles had claimed a 3-0 win. The nation erupted, and that was the beginning of the legend.
OBISIA NWANKPA VS. SAOUL MAMBY, LAGOS, 1981
Boxing has always been close to the hearts of Nigerians, and in 1981, Nigeria's great boxing hope Obisia Nwankpa went up for the world title against Jamaican Saoul Mamby.
Nwankpa came into the fight on the back of an impressive array of wins. He had won the African lightweight title, the African Boxing Union light welterweight title and the Commonwealth lightweight title.
Mamby held the WBC world lightweight title and Nwankpa was making a beeline for it.
Hosting the fight in Lagos looked like a masterstroke. The entire country was heavily caught up in the build-up to the fight. Column inches were spread generously and airtime was in even more ample supply.
On fight day, the hall was packed full as thousands thronged the National Stadium. National broadcaster NTA had all stations nationwide hooked up for the live broadcast.
The fight went the 15-round distance, with Nwankpa dominating the first six, but then taking a knockdown in the seventh. That was to prove costly, as he lost the fight on a split decision.
Judge Dick Young of the United States scored the fight 144-143 for Mamby. Juan Guerra had Nwankpa 146-145 but Italian Marcello Bertini of Italy had the Jamaican winning by 145-143.
Gut-punched Nigerians, like their defeated champion, simply slinked home.
UNDER-17s WINNING WORLD TITLE, CHINA 1985
Few knew and even fewer acknowledged it, when a collection of teenagers assembled mostly from competitions organised by the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) flew out for some obscure FIFA Under 17 World Championships in Beijing, China.
But within a couple weeks, as they marched into the final, the names of almost every single player in the squad had been turned into song back home in Nigeria.
Their final match against West Germany led to shops being closed and television sets installed in offices. Thankfully, schools were on break at the time, but it is entirely possible that if that were not to be the case, they would have gone on recess too.
When they claimed that victory over the Germans in the final, the country went wild. It was Nigeria's first ever football title on the world stage, and it had been delivered at a time when the Green Eagles had been christened Papa Eagles for their consistent poor performances.
On their return, Head of State Muhammadu Buhari promptly christened them the World Golden Eaglets, gifted each player plots of land in Abuja, and directed their respective state governments to name streets after them.
It was a measure of how significant their achievement was that Fatai Atere tried to get the Lagos State government to name the iconic Broad Street after him.
He was quickly shut down, of course. But the boy shad made their mark, and history. And united a nation.
ENEFIOK UDOBONG ANCHORING THE RELAY RACE, SYDNEY 2000
Not many things in Nigerian sport come close to being anywhere near this inspirational.
Nigeria's 4x400m relay team looked dead in the water. Anchored by local boy Enefiok Udo-Obong, the Nigerian looked well out of it as he picked up the baton from Sunday Bada with Nigeria in fourth behind Jamaica and the Bahamas.
But Udo-Obong summoned up some deep well of mental strength, forced his legs to obey as he stretched every last sinew and slipped in on the inside to sneak past both Caribbean countries to claim silver behind the USA.
There were goosebumps across the length and breadth of the country in the dead of night back home in Nigeria. Families woke each other up to watch the replay. NTA replayed the footage so much it seemed they had nothing else, but Nigerians did not care as they gobbled it up, day after day. Udo-Obong became an instant hero and legend.
Such a lung-bursting run deserved nothing but gold, and although silver was the immediate outcome, the gold eventually came home. The Americans were disqualified after a doping scandal, and the IOC belatedly presented the gold medal to the Nigerian years after.