In Yoruba parlance, it is said that if Ogungbe (the hunter) aims his gun, the antelope too is wise enough to perch. That the Super Eagle’s coaching job is one of the most sought after in Africa is an understatement because of Nigeria’s status and the influence of football as a unifying factor in our body politic with its near stranglehold on other sports and preeminence which has made the position a tedious and difficult one.
Two ex-internationals of the Tunisia and US 94 hue, have in recent times faced up to the coach, in different ways, with one querying the compensation of the coach in case he’s dispensed of his services and the other mouthing his credentials as a frontrunner to succeed a coach under contract thus undermining the newfound stability and tranquility in the hot seat.
The irony is that they hit stardom, under a foreign coach and signed for top European clubs due to, or aided in part by Clemens Westerhoff, just like Rohr has used his influence to get his current squad into top European clubs because of his contacts as an elite player who played at the top level for Bayern Munich.
He may have stepped on powerful toes because of his preference for Nigerians in the Diaspora, at the expense of home based players thus cutting off some stakeholders, from the cherry and as such, making powerful enemies but based on the perceived corruption in player selection and nepotism which led to the downward spiral of our football and left us with little choice than to tow that narrow path.
Let’s concentrate on qualifying for the Nations Cup and the World Cup and rein in the gladiators in the interest of our football because if care isn’t taken, this ember may become a conflagration because if the present coach is axed unjustly, none of the US 94 veterans, who the cosmos have blessed (they were spectacular but can’t claim to be the best in our history) can retain the loyalty of the new kids on the block, who need time to gel.
Every dog should have its day, but not at the expense of our national interest because this project will bring out the best, in the home based players, through friendly competition,(in the long run),so we need to be careful of throwing the baby away, with the bathwater. A word is enough for the wise.
Gbenga Abidoye
abidoye4life@gmail.com.
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