By Jude Atupulazi
Nigeria’s Pillar of Sports, Chief Donatus Agu-Ejidike, has called on the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to come clean, and explain to the People of Nigeria, what is happening to the nation’s senior male national team, the Super Eagles, and other national teams.
Ejidike’s call is coming in the wake of the controversial rejection of German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, of his appointment as coach of the Super Eagles by the NFF, barely a day after the appointment. Labbadia had alleged that he rejected the appointment because some senators and other big wigs had threatened to make life miserable for him if he failed to give them cuts from his salary.
But Ejidike, in a parley with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, last weekend, queried the rationale behind announcing Labbadia’s appointment when they knew he had not actually put pen to paper, wondering who they were trying to impress.
The Anambra-born Sports philanthropist, described it as a national embarrassment, saying that Nigeria, and her senior national team – the Super Eagles, were too big a global brand to be subjected to that kind of public ridicule.
The former President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN) said the last time Nigerians heard from the Ibrahim Gusau-led Federation, officially, was when Finidi George was appointed as coach of the team sometime in April this year. Yet, till today, there has been no official statement from the football-governing body regarding the contractual status of George, Ejidike wondered.
‘This is despite having a Corporate Communications Department. Nigerians only read on the pages of newspapers that the former Ajax Amsterdam winger had turned in his resignation. But whether the resignation was accepted by the NFF or not, remains a matter of speculation.
He expressed amazement that what came next was the announcement by the NFF Secretary-General, Mohammed Sanusi, about the appointment of the German tactician as the new Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, with the appointment taking immediate effect.
‘Even when the man was yet to sign any contract paper, a provisional list of 40 players was released, pruned down to 23 on his behalf. Who does that? Nobody,’ Ejidike retorted.
The NFF Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, meanwhile, is to take a temporary charge for the next two matches against the Benin Republic, and Rwanda, the NFF had announced, following the rejection by Labbadia.
Ejidike told the NFF to consult widely, and run an open door policy that would allow different and critical stakeholders to contribute their quotas towards the uplift of football in Nigeria.
Ejidike called for a total overhaul in the leadership structure of the various sports governing-bodies (including the NFF), in case none of them was honest enough, in the face of poor performances, to resign honourably and allow for a breath of fresh air.
‘The NFF should not be toying with the emotions of over 200 million soccer-crazy Nigerians by bringing mediocre coaches from Europe who are barely known, even, in their home countries, when we have coaches in Nigeria who are as qualified as their European preferences, if not more qualified.
The Pillar of Sports believed that Nigeria could not continue like that, noting that whoever needed help among the administrators, should seek it if they were bereft of ideas to move the sport forward or resign outright.
He regretted the absence of a substantive coach for the Super Eagles who were billed to play two crucial matches in the AFCON 2025 qualifying series.
‘Nothing can be more reckless and shameful, than that for a country of Nigeria’s pedigree in sports, generally, and football in particular, Ejidike noted.
He therefore, called on the Gusau-led NFF, to explaining to Nigerians how they intended to get football back on the right track in the country.
