Little Cheers, More Tears, As Chelsea Fans Celebrate Defeat Of Barca

The build-up to the second leg of 2012 UEFA Champions League semi-final match between Barcelona of Spain and Chelsea of England was tense.

Nobody gave Chelsea any chance of qualifying for the final, but they eventually did. However, while some of their fans across the world were celebrating Chelsea’s triumph at the Camp Nou, some crazy fans also went wild in Africa, including Nigeria, where some supporters lost their lives in the process.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, fans broke into uncontrollable celebrations when the English team parading Nigerian international, John Mikel Obi, drew 2-2 with Barcelona to qualify on a 3-2 aggregate.

Following the outcome, the fans trooped out into the major streets of Abakaliki, singing the team’s praises and making merriment in nearby drinking joints.

At Ugwuachara area for instance, the fans sang victory songs which went thus:, ‘Chelsea this is our year, ‘Man United, Arsenal and others must bow to the Blues’, ‘Barcelona, your time is up’

Restaurants and pub owners in Abakaliki made a kill from the celebrations, as most of them exhausted their stocks.

Mrs Euphemia Udu, a pub operator at Moses Ofoke Street in Kpirikpiri, and a football enthusiast, noted that she had to replenish her stock twice within the space of an hour.

“I wish foreign clubs who draw immense support from Nigerian fans would continue with their winning spree to enable us benefit from this kind of windfall.

“This is a challenge to Nigeria’s soccer authorities, to do everything possible for our clubs to draw such support from soccer fans,” she said.

The celebrations didn’t end in Abakaliki, as it also spread to Lagos, Onithsha in Anambra State and Enugu State.

In Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra, in spite of the match ending at 9.45 p.m., the booming sound of fire-works continued till the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The celebration turned out to be a good omen for owners of pubs who made brisk business and even extended their time of operation to accommodate the revelers.

In Enugu, the fans also stormed the streets of the coal city in jubilation of the victory.

Fireworks, especially the one popularly called ‘knock out’ filled the air, while some were seen chanting songs praising Chelsea.

The fans took over the major streets, including Nike Road in Abakpa Nike, Obiagu Road, Presidential Road and Ogui Road singing and dancing.

The pubs in the city were not left out as they had a rewarding day selling their drinks and making brisk businesses till the early hours of Wednesday.

In Lagos, the story was not different as Chelsea fans across the state who did not believe that Barcelona could be tamed, were overwhelmed with joy, celebrating the victory in different ways.

Also in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, thousands of fans took to the street to celebrate the victory obviously because of Didier Drogba, the captain of the Ivorian national team, Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire to the last Africa Cup of Nations, held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, where they lost narrowly to eventual winners, Zambia.

The West Africa Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN gathered that fans hung on moving vehicles waving the Chelsea colour, while others danced in street corners.

Prefera N’guessan, a Chelsea fan, said: “It is like a compensation for our loss at the African Nations Cup. We have not celebrated since then so it’s an opportunity to dance again.”

However, it was a bitter story for some of the fans, as a 23-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a makeshift pub at Shiro in Lagos during a fight between fans of Barcelona and Chelsea.

According to Police authorities, the boy was killed when supporters of the two clubs, some of whom were reportedly drunk, engaged in a fight following the outcome of the football match which favoured Chelsea.

The spokesperson for the state Police Command, Joseph Jaiyeoba, confirmed the incident, and stated that no arrest was made.

The Police spokesperson also said that “the owner of the pub said almost all her property was damaged during the fight as the fans went crazy.”

Also, two football fans lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident while celebrating their club’s victory.

Jaiyeoba confirmed the two deaths and warned fun seekers to be careful when celebrating.

Still in Lagos, seven Chelsea fans were reportedly burnt to death Tuesday night in a fatal auto crash at Ojota shortly after the remarkable victory.

The fans in a jubilant mood had already moved out of the Ojota motor garage to celebrate Chelsea’s victory, when the bus carrying about 11 persons suddenly somersaulted while on top speed and immediately went aflame. The passengers were burnt beyond recognition.

In Enugu, a fan, Chinedu Ibeabuchi did not live to see the final outcome of the match, as he slumped and died immediately Barcelona scored their first in a football viewing centre.

Similarly, separate bomb attacks by men believed to be members of Boko Haram sect left six persons dead in a village around Jos, the Plateau State capital, Northcentral Nigeria, during the epic semi final.