Stories from Nairobi didn’t come as a surprise because leopards don’t change their spots. It won’t be fair to tag Kenyans as hooligans. But their soccer chiefs and fans are incorrigible. They tarnish the country’s image with their poor conduct. Otherwise, Nairobi is a serene town that holiday makers would cherish.
The Kenyan government needs to ensure that honourable men are picked to run their football. Soccer is just a game. It is also a platform for friendship. Football, like other sports, serves as the rallying point for countries to change the perception of the world about their citizenry. Soccer entertains the audience. It is not a theatre of violence.
I’m sure that the Kenyan government didn’t ask the FA chairman to direct security operatives at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to barricade the gate, in a bid to stop the Nigerian delegation from leaving the place.
Knowing that no East African country has ever made it to the World Cup, the Kenyans must have been in a dreamland to think that their resort to brigandage would secure them victory.
It is scandalous that in an era of civility, the Kenyans could descend to barbarism and thuggery for losing to Nigeria.
The spectacle in Kenya, if anything, only offered a peep into the level of football development and administration in Africa. One wonders if the ugly trend would ever play itself out in Europe.
This calls to question the role of the CAF leadership. This is not the first time this has happened to Nigeria, yet there has never been any reprimand from CAF against those who bring the beautiful game to disrepute. Maybe, a change in the leadership would breathe a new lease of life into the federation.
In Africa, we do untoward things to win matches, including tampering with the visitors’ food, water and, of course, looting of their teams’ locker rooms in the stadium. We harass visitors to secure victory.
For Nigeria, we have been through this path to Nairobi before. The lesson learnt from previous visits informed the way in which we stormed the Kenyan capital in the wee hours of Tuesday.
We arrived when the country was asleep. It was deliberate – to ensure our safety. So, for the FA chairman, who statutorily should know when we arrive to have masterminded the assault on the Nigerian delegation is not only appalling, but one incident that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should report to the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) in Zurich.
We could have avoided informing the Kenya FA chairman of our arrival. We didn’t disregard him because it would have been anti-FIFA rule. He was told of our arrival schedules.
With a Nigerian High Commissioner in Kenya, our arrival had to be handled by the officials in Nairobi, irrespective of what FIFA’s rule states on the matter. What the embassy officials did by providing better accommodation for the Nigerian delegation was in sync with our culture. After all we are not called giants of Africa for nothing.
The other lesson learnt from the unscrupulous manner in which the FA chairman handled our passage through Immigration is that our embassy staff will seek for independent security arrangement for our sports ambassadors. I hope it does not get to that extent.
Not much can be said of the Super Eagles’s victory over Kenya on Wednesday in Nairobi, since it wasn’t shown live. It wasn’t going to be an easy game. Our victory underlines the vintage Nigerian spirit. I hope that our players can imbibe the culture of ensuring that Nigeria’s participation in top class football competition is topmost on their minds.
It is important to remind the players that they could in the future be playing Stephen Keshi’s role as coaches, managers or even football federation bosses. They can only do so on the big stage, if they play their hearts out for us during matches.
The winning mentality in the Eagles is back, courtesy of Keshi’s renowned courage. He has instilled the can-do spirit in the players. They trust him and he believes in them. That is what we need to change the face of the game here.
However, Keshi should learn to be a team player. He must not play to the gallery. He must reflect before opening his mouth to speak at any public forum. He didn’t need to voice his unhappiness with the team’s travelling plans to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Didn’t he shun his employers when such details were being discussed last in December?
Glad to know that NFF chieftain Chris Green treated the Keshi backlash with maturity. Green categorised what Keshi said to mind games meant to deceive our opponents. Well said Green. This country belongs to us. We owe it to the future generation to make our sporting industry a viable one like we have in other climes.radually, the Eagles’ defence is growing in confidence, with their seamless transition from defensive play to attacking without conceding cheap goals. No one is surprised because Keshi was a dependable defender in his playing days in the Eagles.
Goalkeepers Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide are the regulars. They now understand their defence line. We hope that Keshi has dependable players in these key positions.
The midfield quartet of John Mikel Obi, Onazi, Sunday Mba and Oduamadi looks formidable. It is instructive to note that Eagles played without injured Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike.
My worry though is that the Eagles’ attackers have been very wasteful with the goal-scoring chances that they create. Goals win matches, not ball possession or dribbling skills. There is no second chance to convert a missed goal opportunity. Most times, such misses are costly at the end of the game.
Indeed, June 12 is a watershed in Nigeria’s political history. It was on that day in 1993 that Nigeria had its freest and fairest election ever, won by frontline businessman and Pillar of Sports in Africa Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola. The election was annulled by the military for no just cause. Pardon my digression.
On June 12, Eagles have a date with destiny against the Namibians in Windhoek. Victory for the Eagles would earn the team a berth at the last round where the 10 winners will fight for the five available slots allocated to Africa.
Namibia should be a piece of cake for the Eagles. They are not a reputable soccer nation. But that is where the Eagles’ problems begin. The Eagles are unable to string together two back-to-back games. Simply put, they are not consistent. When you think that the Eagles will demolish a weak opponent, they totter.
Having drawn their last game against Namibia at home, the Malawians will do everything under the sun next Wednesday to earn the three points. If that happens, the Malawians will have nine points, depending on the outcome of the Eagles’ cracker in Windhoek against Namibia.
What this setting portends is that the Eagles must beat Naimbia to move to 11 points. If we beat Namibia, the August 15 last game against second-placed Malawi will offer us two options- a draw, we qualify for the next round of matches; a win also does.
History has an uncanny way of repeating itself. I must warn the Eagles that they are very poor in fulfilling football permutations, especially for the World Cup, when it comes to the last game of the group. Need I remind Nigerians of the Eagles’ inability to beat Angola when the game was taken to Kano?
Opinions were divided over where the game should be played. It was eventually played in Kano and the Eagles faltered and Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.
Nigerians watched in awe as the Guineans celebrated inside the Abuja National Stadium. The Guineans secured the ticket to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with the 2-2 draw against the Eagles.
All manner of excuses were traded between the coaching crew and the NFF. I ask: do the coaches know what it entails to qualify for the next round of matches? Any need for such a question? Ask Samson Siasia why he lost the Super Eagles job? The rules of the competition are sacrosanct to all the parties- players, coaches and NFF.
The coaches must instruct the players to win both matches, leaving the permutations for those who want to indulge in such an exercise. Good luck Super Eagles; well done Keshi.
