Stationery Stores of Lagos: The Oldest Surviving Football Club in Nigeria

Stationery Stores Football Club was founded in 1958 by Israel Adebajo, who ran the very successful Nigerian business, Stationery Supply Stores Limited. They immediately established themselves as one of the dominant teams in Nigeria, supplying the bulk of the first team players of the national team and winning a total of 13 Lagos State Challenge Cups, the preliminary round for the Nigerian FA Cup, and 4 National FA Cup competitions. The club’s glory years started in 1967.

The first 11 of the Nigerian national team in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic football event had 9 Stationery Stores players, including Sam Opone and Peter Fregene.

The team also provided a steady supply of goalkeepers to the Nigerian national team—The Super Eagles, notable ones being the celebrated Peter Rufai and Ike Shorounmu. Between 1973 and 1993, Stores was in the top division of Nigerian football. Throughout those years, the team enjoyed a healthy but sometimes acrimonious rivalry with three equally big club sides—WNDC (later IICC) Shooting Stars (now known as 3SC Football Club), Enugu Rangers International F.C.and Bendel Insurance of Benin.

“We needed to win five out of our remaining seven matches to escape relegation, and with the support of my other colleagues, I ensured that we achieved that aim. I scored the winning goals in three out of the five matches, and that saw us through the relegation scare in 1989”, Taiwo Oloyede, the captain of the club that season said.

This was how close the Stationery Stores FC of Lagos’ golden generation was to football oblivion before they kicked off what would later become the greatest era in all the history of the club between 1989 to 1993.

Taiwo Oloyede, who played alongside Nigerian internationals like goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu (Ike Anobi), Ajibade Babalade (Kunde) of AFCON 1992 fame, Dele Bob-Manuel, Ebitimi Collins (Barbed wire), Dotun Alatishe, the Ghanaian duo of Kwesi Bonsu and Ezekiel Alamu, Wasiu Adetoro, Sanusi Yusuf and many more.

A generation that was notorious for its flair and unorthodox style of play.

The generation also included Ganiyu Ajide, Teslim Fatusi, Julius Akpelle, Adeshina Shobayo, Arthur Moses, Stephen Botchway, precious Monye, Edward Okoyomon. Abdul Sule, Golden Ajeboh, Felix Aladesanmi, Ibrahim Babangida, Sunday Ilevbare and Wakilu Oyenuga.

Football is a game full of beauty. Wonder goals, slick passing, miraculous saves, mesmerizing dribbles and skill moves—poetry in motion, the Flaming Flamingoes (as they are fondly called) of that generation was an epitome of all these.

Though they did have some good players in the 60s and 80s like inua Dagogo, Peter Fregene, Haruna Ilerika, Tarila Okorowanta, Peter Rufai, Godwin Obiyan (Mr long Throw) etc, but it was the 1989 to 1993 generation that pushed the bar a bit by winning the Nigeria’s FA cup and coming second on the league table in 1990 only to lose the crucial match at Onikan stadium to a star studded Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri that paraded the likes of Uche Okechukwu, Ben Iroha and Ishaya Jatau.

The same generation of Stationery Stores’ players then went ahead to win the Nigerian professional league in 1992, the first time and the only one till date in all their history.

Oloyede said, “I remember Stores Cup final match against Rangers at the National Stadium in 1990, which we won. The semi-final game against Ranchers Bees that was played twice was amazing; the stands were filled to capacity.

In 1992 when Stores won the national league playing 30 matches and losing only four, Shooting Stars games were part of the matches they lost. Stationery Stores is not just a football team but an institution that is well recognised.

The fierce rivalry between the 3 traditional clubs, Rangers of Enugu, Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Stationery Stores of Lagos was so bitter that Rangers caused a huge stir in Nigerian football when they were trying to snatch Dotun Alatise from Stores. At the end of the day, Alatise had his way and he became the first Yoruba man to play for Rangers. Ike Shorunmu is one of the very few players to play for both Stationery Stores and Shooting Stars.

In 1993 there was an encounter, the most titanic of clashes. Egyptian powerhouse, Zamalek SC FC of Giza, Egypt (a team very well known to Nigerian soccer fans on account of its previous clashes with two of Nigeria’s dominant clubs at one time, that is, the IICC Shooting Stars FC -now 3SC Shooting Stars FC and Enugu Rangers International FC both of Nigeria) were the opponents of the most flamboyant and most vociferously-supported football team on the continent of Africa —Stationery Stores FC of Lagos Nigeria. It was a semi-final encounter of that year’s African Cup of Champion Clubs (now known as the CAF Champions’ League). Zamalek had edged out Moloudia Chabia FC of Algeria in the Quarter-Final, while Stationery Stores had edged out Wydad AC (Casablanca) of Morocco also in the Second round and AS Sogara of Gabon in the Quarterfinals. Pundits asserted that whoever emerged from the Zamalek-Stores semis was most likely going to win the cup!

The first leg match that was played in Cairo ended 3 – 1 in favour of Zamalek, while the second leg played at the Onikan Stadium Lagos Stores won 1 – 0 and Arthur Moses’hit the cross bar in the dying minutes for a goal that should have sent Stores to the final, only for the ball to cannon to Safety. Stores crashed out narrowly by 3 – 2 aggregate, recounted Hakeem Ogunlade, who played all SSFC games in that competition).

Olusola James, an ardent fan of the oldest football club in Nigeria-Stationery Stores FC-tells a story of this great club from his own perspective…

“Super, flaming flamingoes, Lagos darling club, Adebayo babes, “Pọ́ọ́kú l’owó ẹ̀ (a club with a very modest budget). Those were great moments, he recounted.

With white handkerchief around the neck of players. Stores was the most glamorous team in Nigeria those days passionately followed by an average Lagosian though the club had no money but was loved by all ranging from park touts to state governors.

Then came one Sola Anonymous who pumped real money into Stores in the early 90’s and the team became so strong with beautiful jerseys played wonderful football, rubbed shoulders with the likes of Al Ahly of Egypt. Lagos Wembley stadium (Onikan) was always filled to capacity though about 50% of spectators will gatecrash into the stadium without paying. It was fun supporting Flaming Super Stores elegantly displaying the white handkerchiefs in the air.”

Up Super. Triple Flaming. Gbogbo wa l’ọ̀rẹ́ Adebajo. Iyo!!!.

Unfortunately these same passionate fans became the undertaker of the club when in 1995, a match between Rangers and Stores that ended in a fiasco in Ibadan and a life was lost. Igeniwari George, the younger brother to Finidi George, lost his life in that FA Cup match, it was a tough match that ended in a big tragedy. It was a tragic event because Stores were being branded trouble makers anywhere they went because they had very fanatical supporters and this incident led to the ban of Stationery stores for 2 years from which they never recovered from till date.

Stationery Stores FC Lagos players in handshake before their 1970 African Cup of Champions match with Ashante Kotoko of Ghana at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan.

The Lagos derby.
Stationary Stores Dele Bob-Manuel takes on Meremu Okhara of Julius Berger FC Lagos.

1994 CAF African footballer of the year, Emmanuel Amunike of Nigeria played for the African club’s continental giants, Zamalek of Egypt against Stationery Stores FC of Lagos at the semi finals.
He was a star man in the Zamalek team that eventually won this African champions cup in 1993

Stationery Stores football club of Lagos captain Taiwo Oloyede lifted the national FA Cup trophy after the final game in 1990

Julius Akpele

Zamalek of Egypt in 1993

Chief Israel Adebajo (Late).
The founder Stationery Stores FC Lagos with the national Challenge Cup stores won in 1967.

Wakilu Oyenuga aka “Headmaster”

Goalkeeper Ike Shorumu aka “Ìkẹ́ Ànọ́bì”, Ghanaian international Arthur Moses and their Stationery Stores teammates celebrating a goal together in the early 90s

Stationery Stores Versus Julius Berger.
Nigeria Professional Football League 1992.
Julius Berger FC of Lagos Abiodun Idowu shadows Stationery Store’s Abdul Sule during a league game while veteran shot stopper Dosu Joseph of the Nigerian “Dream Team” that won the Olympics football gold medal in Atlanta 1996 watches keenly between the sticks.

STATIONERY STORES FC LAGOS IN 1992.
Standing L – R : Leye Akinde, Tokunbo Gbadamosi, Sunday Okosa, Authur Moses, Sunday Audu, Julius Akpele, Abdul Sule, Steven Botchway and Ike Shorunmu.
Squatting, L – R : Wasiu Adetoro, Ibrahim Babangida, Titus Olufemi, Teslim Fatusi, Hassan Santos, Yusuf Sunusi and Akeem Ogunlade.

1992 NIGERIAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS.
Stationery Stores Football Club of Lagos in pictures during the team glorious outing in 1992.
Ex-Nigerian international, goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu introducing another Super Eagles teammate Abdul Sule in the photo

Nigeria’s flamboyant goalkeeper, Peter Rufai was a star player for Stationery Stores in the early 80s

Stationery Stores Lagos “magic feet, Taiwo Oloyede gritfully shields the ball from Bridge Boy Biodun Idowu during FA Cup Super Play – off in 1988.

AUTHOR:

Kehinde Fagbuaro, 01 November 2025