Ernest Osogbue.
Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has been in the news recently, especially since after the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, following his criticisms of the Super Eagles and the NFF. Rather than be a rallying voice for the rejuvenation of Nigerian football, Oliseh has felt more comfortable being a critical voice in the midst of the current euphoria.
For instance, Oliseh has pointedly singled out Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen, as being responsible for Nigeria finishing the championship with a bronze, rather than a gold medal. To discerning football lovers, this is a dangerous ground to tread; a situation where individual players are singled out publicly for blame when a team fails. It equally demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence on the part of Oliseh, who still desires to manage the Super Eagles again.
All Nigerians know by now that Osimhen has an aggressive streak, a product of his background. This natural aggression makes him the player we admire on the field of play, and so we must accept the total person, since we all have our basic flaws. It’s simply a question of understanding and proper guidance. Osimhen is passionate about Nigeria and the Super Eagles. I am yet to see where being passionate about doing well is interpreted negatively, except by mischief makers. Secondly, football is a team sport, and despite occasions of individual brilliance, no one player could singlehandedly determine the fortunes of a team. Were it so, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would have collected all the football trophies in the world in the last 20 years. As it stands, Messi has only one World Cup trophy, with Ronaldo still searching for one. This proves that despite being the greatest footballers of the modern era, they equally need teammates in order to excel.
Oliseh has equally gone out of his way to criticize the celebrations that followed the Super Eagles bronze medal. This is another Unfortunate misunderstanding on his part. While the ultimate prize is the golden trophy, an understanding of how the Super Eagles performed before the championship, would give one a better understanding of why football fans and many Nigerians were excited about the bronze medal.
For a long time now, Nigerian football has been on a downward trajectory due to corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of ambition. Nigeria has never lacked the talents, management has been the issue, and Sunday Oliseh has been involved. Since after Stephen Keshi, Nigeria has yet to find a Super Eagles manager who understands what Nigerians want. For the second time running, the team will miss out of the FIFA World Cup, the meeting place of all elite football nations, following a non-qualification for the 2022 world cup in Qatar, and subsequent failure to qualify for the 2026 edition, to be hosted by the triumvirate of Canada, Mexico, and the USA. This is a painful experience that the Super Eagles supporters are still struggling to deal with.
On the heels of the failure to qualify for the 2026 world cup, the Super Eagles for the first time in decades, demonstrated a brand of football reminiscent of the Super Eagles of yore, during the recent AFCON. They reminding Nigerians of the golden era of Nigerian football, and proved that something good could still come out the team. Against all expectations, the Eagles emerged the most attacking side in the entire championship. Eric Chelle, the manager, was named the best manager in the group stages, and narrowly missed the overall best manager to the Moroccan, Walid Regragui, for obvious reasons. Three Super Eagles; Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Calvin Bassey, made it to the CAF team of the tournament. What Nigerians are celebrating, therefore, is not the bronze medal per se, as Oliseh mistakenly thinks. What Nigerians are celebrating is the brighter future of the team, that they can see. It is obvious that from the ashes of the failure to qualify for the 2026 world cup, something positive is emerging. All that remains is proper management. This is what Nigerians are celebrating. Very few people believed in the Super Eagles before the AFCON. Now, however, there’s a buzz of excitement about the team. For the Eagles to have gone to Morocco and performed like they did, the players deserve commendation and encouragement, while Nigerians deserve to celebrate.
Oliseh has equally been critical of the NFF, for wanting Nigeria to qualify for the world cup through the office, rather than on the field of play. According to him, the NFF petition to FIFA against the DRC for fielding ineligible players, is a distraction. The question however, is; does the NFF petition to FIFA have merit? Is it anchored on the extant rules of international football? Did it follow due process? These are the relevant questions. We must not get carried away by emotions. Football is a game of rules, and an infringement of the rules is a foul. There are no sentiments when fouls are committed. Nigeria’s failure to qualify, should not detract the NFF from flagging an infringement of the rules by an opponent if the facts are correct.
Not many Nigerians are happy with the NFF over the handling of Nigerian football in recent years, that doesn’t mean we should always castigate the football body. The words, actions, and reactions of Nigerians equally contribute to the success or failure of the NFF and of the Super Eagles. All Nigerians have a role to play in the success or failure of Nigerian football, moreso, Sunday Oliseh, a Super Eagles legend and a former manager of the team. His words and actions are very important. It is therefore, unfair of him to rubbish an institution that brought him to national and international prominence for personal gain. Of all people, Oliseh should know the proper channels to air his grievances if he means well for Nigerian football, without turning it into a media circus. After all, he was once charged with the task of managing the Super Eagles, and he didn’t cover himself in glory. His time as Super Eagles manager, remains one of the most turbulent in the history of the team. After being unveiled with great fanfare and expectations as the Nigerian version of Pep Guardiola, Nigerians were disappointed that rather than get to work, Oliseh was more interested in massaging his ego and exercising authority like a dictator. His time was marked by tensions, disagreements, a lack of team cohesion, player rebellion, and all forms of negativity, which led to the premature retirement Vincent Enyeama. Oliseh demonstrated his lack of man management skills in the squabbles he orchestrated and amplified within a team he was charged to manage on behalf of Nigerians. Many of the players were uncomfortable with his approach to the job. He ultimately ran away with his tail between his legs only a few months after his appointment, when the fires he lit threatened to consume him. Such a man should speak gently when criticizing those who are making efforts to manage his failure.
Oliseh must learn to temper his criticisms with humility and understanding, knowing fully well that it is easier to be a critic from the outside, until you step inside. He could equally take a cue from some of his former teammates, like Finidi George, who is currently coaching and doing well in the NPFL. Victor Ikpeba is currently a member of the NFF technical committee, alongside Austin Eguavoen, and are doing their best to improve Nigerian football. Daniel Amokachi has silently been supporting the Nigerian National League NNL, the second tier of Nigerian football from behind the scenes. Emmanuel Amuneke and Nwankwo Kanu are also putting in their shift at different levels. These former teammates and others are making positive contributions to Nigerian football, and that is what Nigerians expect Sunday Oliseh to do as well, rather than to make a lot of noise in the media and draw undue attention to himself. The best way for him to support Nigerian football, is to shut up, roll up his sleeves and get down and do the dirty work.
