As we come to terms with the shocking news of their deaths, the inevitable revelations of how they were treated while still alive has started coming to light. It is shameful that stories about how these men are still being owed salaries and entitlements by their former employers, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) even after being disengaged like in the case of Stephen Keshi almost a year after, is all over the news.
The fact that the NFF is owing these former employees of theirs is nothing new in a country where many Civil Servants are also being owed months in unpaid wages. However, when you look at the NFF's antecedents, the unending crises in the Glass House and Nigerian football as a whole, you would have to come to the conclusion that this was totally avoidable.
Keshi who died 3 days before Amodu was Amodu's understudy and assistant in the African Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002. The tournament will be remembered mainly for the off the field squabbles in the Nigerian camp between the team and the NFF inspite of the fact that Nigeria won a bronze medal. What Nigeria would give now for an Afcon qualification let alone a third place finish.
The chaos in the Super Eagles camp during the tournament got enough coverage in the media such that when the team failed to win the Afcon tournament, it was no surprise when Amodu and Keshi got sacked and the team disbanded. It marked the end of the national team careers for some great Super Eagles legends such as Sunday Oliseh, George Finidi, and Victor Ikpeba.
This would be the first time Amodu would lose the chance to take Nigeria to the World Cup after leading Nigeria successfully through the qualifiers. Amodu would be denied again by the NFF in 2010 from leading the Super Eagles to the World Cup in South Africa after again claiming bronze at the Afcon. The NFF famously said they would "sink or swim" with Amodu this time but went back on their word and decided to hire the Swede, Lars Lagerback, instead.
It is pertinent to note that on both occasions when Amodu was denied the chance to lead the Super Eagles to the World Cup, Nigeria was eliminated from the World Cup in the first round. Would it have been better for the team and cheaper to have allowed Amodu to lead the team rather than Festus Onigbinde or Lars Lagerback?
Stephen Keshi was luckier in this respect than Amodu was. He benefited from the change in the Afcon calendar in that tournaments were no longer held in a World Cup year. Who knows? Keshi might have lost his job too? He actually stepped down from his post after leading the Super Eagles to Afcon victory in 2013 in protest at how he was treated by the NFF in South Africa. It was the intervention of the Presidency that persuaded Keshi to rescind his decision. But the seeds of discord between he and the powers that be in the NFF had been sown and as soon as power shifted towards the NFF, he was dismissed in July 2015 for reasons of disloyalty and indiscipline.
Keshi and Amodu may not have been perfect. None of us are. They both have their share of the blame in the way things turned out for Nigeria in major tournaments. For instance, Amodu famously said he was not going to include Wilson Oruma in his squad for the Afcon in Mali in 2002 even if he was scoring on the moon. A misguided comment which he had to back track on. It was a comment which would not have fostered unity in the national team camp because it suggests he had his favourites who would always get the nod irrespective of form.
Keshi also had his own battles. He famously fell out with Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo during Afcon 2013 in South Africa but got away with it as his preferred centre back partnership of Kenneth Omeruo and Godfrey Obaobona ultimately delivered. He was also fingered as one of the leaders of the 'cabal' in the Super Eagles during his playing days.
As we can see, Amodu and Keshi were far from perfect but what is undeniable,however, was their contribution to the success of Nigerian football over the years and the fact that they were serial achievers of success in their careers. Amodu on several occasions was called upon to embark on several rescue missions when it seemed the Nigerian teams were on the verge of losing out on qualifying berths for major tournaments like in the case of the Atlanta Olympic qualifiers and the Korea-Japan World Cup qualifiers. He also led Nigeria to World Cup qualification in 2010 and 2 Afcon bronze medals.
Keshi of course had an illustrious career as a player for Nigeria and also led Togo to World Cup qualification in 2006 as a coach. He also had a spell as coach of Mali. He has 5 Afcon appearances for Nigeria and won the Afcon as a player and coach with Nigeria in 1994 and 2013 respectively. He is also credited with starting Nigerian players exodus to the European leagues.
Nigerians may not have fully appreciated their service to the country while they were alive but in the coming years as we struggle to regain our rightful place in world football, we might be forced to accept that Stephen Keshi who departed us at age 54 and Amodu Shuaibu who a few days later followed suit at age 58 were truly heroes and perhaps sadly, have lost 2 great men who had time on their side to contribute more to the growth and development of Nigerian football.
No comments:
Post a Comment