Nigeria had veterans like Yakubu Ayiegbeni, then plying his trade at English side Everton, and Nwankwo Kanu, who came in for him, was at Portsmouth.

The rest of the squad had upcoming players like Swiss-based Obinna Nwaneri.

Kenya, on the other hand, had Duncan Ochieng’ in goal, Ibrahim Shikanda, Mulinge Ndeto in defense, Victor Wanyama, Robert Mambo, and Andrew Oyombe in midfield.

Mike Mururi was upfront as Denis Oliech started from the bench. Kenya lost 1-0, thanks to Norway-based Akabweze Chukwuma’s goal.

After the match, the players were entitled to an allowance of Sh20,000 each. Skipper Robert Mambo, then based in Sweden, told the officials that his allowance should go to the diminutive defender Ibrahim Shikanda.

Shikanda had played so well that Yakubu Ayiegbeni looked for him after the match to congratulate him. So, who is Ibrahim Shikanda?

The known Shikandas are the siblings Hezekiah and Dan, who played for AFC Leopards, with Dan also featuring for Gor Mahia.

They came out of Nairobi’s Eastlands estate of Kaloleni. Dan, a medical doctor, is the immediate former chairman of AFC Leopards.

However, there is the late Cletus Osman Shikanda, a defender well known as “man power”. He was among the first group of players who formed Mumias Sugar SC. Osman is the father of Ibrahim Chimwanga “Bura” Shikanda.

The younger Shikanda played for Tusker FC and Azam FC in Tanzania as a right back.

Before breaking into the Kenya Premier League, he featured for Mumias DEB Primary School and then joined Mumias Muslim Secondary School in 1999. He was made the football captain while in Form One.

Mumias was initially in Kakamega District, home of football powerhouses Kakamega High School and Musingu High School.

Then in the late 1990s, Butere-Mumias District was hived off Kakamega, and Muslim Secondary School benefited by reaching the Provincial level of the hotly contested Western Province Football Championships. Ibrahim Shikanda was responsible for this feat.   

He also played for the national Under 17 team under Mickey Weche in 1999. He used to play as a right back and also a left back.

He came of age with Denis Oliech, Patrick Oboya, Jamal Mohammed, among others of that generation.

Twahir Muhidin coached him later in the Under-23 side, where he played 16 matches for the national team from the 2006 Afcon qualifiers. He later played under Ghost, Bernard Lama, Tom Olaba, Francis Kimanzi, and Antoine Hey until 2010.

Earlier, he went for trials at Nzoia Sugar FC in the year 2000, but he was not successful. However, Uganda side Rockstars FC in Tororo had their agents in Nzoia that day.

They visited his home, and he agreed to play for them, where he went with Aloise Mangi, who was his schoolmate.

The club would come and pick them up on Friday and bring them back on Sunday. Upon completing secondary school, he rejected their offer and opted to go to Mumias Sugar SC. His schoolmate Hashim Mukhwana, who later played for Sofapaka FC, joined him at Mumias.

He was at Mumias from 2004 to 2005 when the club was disbanded. Shikanda told a local podcast that they didn’t know the club had been disbanded until Tusker FC team Manager the late Evans Omondi, showed up to recruit them. He went to Tusker with Aden Haasan, Augustine Etemesi, George Wesa, and Antony Marisie. 

He was at Tusker FC under Jacob Ghost Mulei, where they won the league in 2007. He later took part in the 2007 CECAFA Club Championship in Tanzania, where Azam FC spotted him, Osborne Monday, and Crispin Odula.

He speaks highly of Jacob Ghost Mulee and Twahir Muhidin as the two coaches who brought the best out of him.  He won the Kenya Premier League and the 2008 CECAFA Club Championships with Tusker FC under Mulee. Shikanda was known for his work rate, discipline, and easy-to-work-with approach.

Azam SC were promoted to the top-flight football of the Tanzanian mainland in the 2008-09 season for the first time.

The three Kenyans became the core of the team as they navigated their way in the Simba SC and Young Africans SC dominated league.

They struggled in the initial years to make an impact, but soon became the third force.

Osborne Monday and Crispin Odula did not last long with Azam, Monday leaving at the end of the 2009-10 season.

However, Shikanda stayed until the end of the 2012-2013 season and even skippered the side. In his last season, the club sponsored him for a CAF level C coaching course, upon which he transitioned to become the assistant coach.

He managed to assist Cameroonian coach Joseph Omog, who led Azam to their first league title in 2014.

He left the Tanzanian side and returned home, where he has coached several clubs like Nairobi Stima, Bandari, and Nzoia Sugar. That’s the other Shikanda.