The storm is over for Stephen Keshi. He must be in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, shouting out instructions as the Super Eagles gaffer. The World Cup appearance jinx has been broken, even though unholy whispers which suggest the need for technical assistance for the team is dead on arrival. We are NOT interested! It is the universal call and the Big Boss is relieved.
The talk everywhere has been that the Eagles have not been convincing in their displays. A few people feel that the results earned by the team have been lucky breaks. I don’t think so. It takes more than luck to win matches. The point is that any country pitched against Nigeria on the continent gives its best, hence the Eagles’ hard fought victories.
Again, it must be said that Keshi is still rebuilding the side, even though many feel that it is about time this house was built. What no one can take away from Keshi is that the Eagles are back to winning ways. No more “Super Chicken.” It is on this plank that this writer feels that the Big Boss shouldn’t be sacked after the 2014 World Cup.
Will the World Cup in Brazil be a learning curve for Keshi or will we sacrifice the Big Boss on grounds of lacking the required tactical savvy to compete with the best? Have we factored into our plans for the 2014 show Keshi’s future after the World Cup? No country wins the Mundial on a two-year plan. Will Keshi be sensible enough to demand for afresh contract now that his word is law on Eagles’ matters? Does Keshi deserve another stay with the Eagles, irrespective of our results at the Mundial?
Did I hear you say Ade is back with his controversies again? The choice is yours, but my fear is that decorum will be thrown out of the window whenever the Eagles exit from the competition. If it happens, we would be back to the proverbial drawing board. Will this drawing board have Keshi’s inputs? I see us returning to the chaos of the past. The fragile peace now in the system will erupt into tales of the unexpected which will consume everyone. Let’s not forget that after the Mundial are the NFF elections. As we stand, nothing will stop the current board from returning, the first in recent times. But will this winning trend continue? Will this board be allowed to remain in office, if things go awry in Brazil? We have suffered a lot from throwing away the child with the bath water after every World Cup.
Will Nigeria be like France, whose players revolted and caused major embarrassing scenes in their camps before, during and after the Mundial? Will we wait until this scenario plays out before addressing the issues?
We won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and we couldn’t celebrate because Keshi resigned his appointment in a radio station interview, even with the Sports Minister still in South Africa. It was laughable, more so when the minister heard of Keshi’s resignation from his driver, a South African, who listened to it on radio.
One has read a lot of reassuring words from the federation’s chiefs. But those are familiar refrains, reminiscent of what transpired before the South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, until the cookies crumbled with Keshi’s resignation.
Keshi doesn’t look a happy man. His body language suggests so. Watching him from a distance, he paints the picture of a man with pent up anger. He always wants to call his time with the Eagles. No one will blame him if he does. Would we be wise people if he goes the South Africa way?
Truly, we need to negotiate Keshi’s future with him. And such discussions must be done with the hierarchy of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). The outcome of this meeting must be made public with Keshi and NFF men telling Nigerians what was agreed. This parley must be done before the 2014 World Cup.
I’m not a prophet of doom. Being a nosy reporter, I know a lot of what happens behind the scene. I feel it is only fair that I stir this discussion. Many will see me as an alarmist, but I must say that our football would be back in the doldrums if we fail to reap from the benefits of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Such benefits should start with the retention of the technical crew. They should be sent on refresher courses and made to immediately prepare for our defence of the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015.
Football is unpredictable, yet we shouldn’t use the outcome of the World Cup games in Brazil to stop a rebuilding process that we all can see is bringing results.
When the Eagles struggled with smaller football nations with slim 1-0 wins and lack-lustre drawn matches, I joined issues with Keshi. Now that the team is playing better, I will root for him. No apologies for this shift in position. If the Eagles fumble in Brazil, I will say so and Keshi won’t be surprised.
One is glad that the code of conduct for players, officials and NFF men has been given to the football federation to implement. Sincerely speaking, there is no big deal in the code. It simply spells out everyone’s duties. And our players have this code in their European clubs.
I don’t expect any player or officials to be undisciplined during the competition, knowing its importance. Yet, the biggest challenge for the Eagles will be match bonuses and allowances. The NFF insisted on paying $5,000 for the qualification games. I expect the amount to be doubled. But the question would be, how much are the other countries being paid, especially the African nations? The players expect that as African champions, they should be paid the highest. No problem with that.
If the NFF settles for $10,000, can our government officials allow the players earn what they negotiated by ensuring strict compliance. What we have seen in the past is government officials arbitrarily increasing the bonuses, especially if the team is tottering in its matches. It gets worse when the team hits crucial stages of the competition, with men in high places storming the venues to peddle political influence as if they were not in the country before the team departed.
Such intervention leads to a crisis. It also belittles the NFF men, just as it ties their hands in executing other assignments since such needless increases is often deducted from their fiscal budget. Government officials must learn how to be team players.
Thank God that the Sports Minister is not thinking of constituting any Presidential Task Force (PTF). Such bodies don’t help to galvanise the Eagles. In no time, members of such committees print cards which they flaunt about. They see themselves as the NFF and invariably sideline the federation people. This setting precipitates a feud. It also divides the players, with some disgruntled few in the NFF aligning with them.
Rather, one aligns with the minister’s thinking of organising a Presidential Dinner with the President where the deep pockets and business moguls would donate to the country’s quest to lift the trophy in Brazil next year.
Monies realised from the dinner can be disbursed by a three-man committee whose function would be to dish out cash for projects approved by the federation. Money from the dinner shouldn’t be used to search for a foreign coach. It is meant to prepare the team for competition and reassure the players that their countrymen appreciate what they are doing.
Warning to CAF
The time is already ticking fast ahead of the 2012/2013 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Player of the Year Award.
With the show barely a month away, the expectation cannot be any higher. Players on the shortlist are looking ahead to the momentous occasion billed for January 9, 2014, in Lagos.
The shortlist of the ten top players includes four Nigerians: Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Emmanuel Emenike of Fernabache, Vincent Enyeama of Lille and Ahmed Musa of CSKA, Moscow. Others include reigning African Footballer of the Year and Manchester City star Yaya Toure of Cote d’Ivoire. Didier Drogba also of Cote d’Ivoire and Galatasaray, Asamoah Gyan of Al-Ain (UAE) and Ghana, Jonathan Pitroipa of Stade Rennes and Burkina Faso, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund and Gabon; and Mohamed Aboutreika of Al Ahly of Egypt.
While we do not question the expansiveness of the list, we make bold to urge for caution on the side of transparency so that the ghost and robbery of the past do not come back to haunt us.
In some of the previous awards, we saw how Francophone sentiment was deployed to deny deserving Anglophone players the award.
We also want to remind CAF and would-be voters, in case they have forgotten the parameters for the conferment of the award. These include a player’s feats at both club and country.
This is where Mikel, Musa and Emenike feature prominently. Mikel had more than a stellar performance at the African Cup of Nations in South Africa, culminating in the Super Eagles of Nigeria wining the coveted diadem. This is not to forget his astounding showing at the Confederation Cup in Brazil. His heroics with his Chelsea of England club and the resultant Europa Cup victory are a loud testimony.
It is on this strength that denying Mikel the CAF award would be tantamount to daylight robbery. The award is for the players’ exploits during the 2012/2013 season and the current season. This is where CAF needs to be reminded that it does not matter what any player, including Yaya Toure, may be playing and their goals harvest now; these exploits count for nothing as the award is not for the ongoing season. CAF and Francophone countries cannot continue to make a mockery of the award by baselessly swinging it for one of their own, including Yaya Toure.
Even the blind and the deaf know that the January 9, 2014 award is Mikel’s for the taking. We will accept no magomago or jagajaga or thievery this time around. No.
