Of Keshi, Assistants, NFF, Equity and Clean Hands...

On the surface of it, you would be perfectly justified in wondering why in the world a football association is engaged in a serial debate with its national team coach about appointment of his assistants.

But this is the Nigeria Football Federation we are talking about and this is a world cup year!

Hear ex-international Mobi Oparaku from an old interview:

"It was crazy. But one thing people may not know about the World Cup is that it is full of cash for the team; there's so much money available to everyone that features. The World Cup is the peak of events where you can make most money while in the national team. The coaches and the administrators know this so they bring in players that they know they can make money from" (Link).

 

The pressures around the Nigerian national team coaching position is no different from that in the average national team; a little more than some; a little less than others...

 

But what is especially different and constant is the spate of rumors and innuendoes- fair and unfair, around the position; especially when the coach is a Nigerian national, like current coach Stephen Keshi.

 

After his triumph at the last Africa Nations cup, the man was rewarded by the federation with the sack of his assistant Sylvanus Okpalla and video analyst Andyson Ogugua! Why would a federation be concerned with the backroom staff of its coach?

 

Now the federation, through its technical committee is pressuring the coach to accept new assistants, rather simply recall the fired staff!

 

Without much ado, and as little fanfare as possible, the Nigeria Football Federation should recall the fired assistants and stop the practice of creating a permanent air of dysfunction and uncertainty around its tournament teams!

 

But let there be no misunderstanding! Keshi here, is not entirely blameless.

 

First of all, Sylvanus Okpala, Andyson Ogugua, and Valere Hoaundinou are Stephen Keshi's staff. He should never have allowed a situation where they were contracted directly by the federation. He Keshi should have structured his contract in a manner to embody the costs of his backroom staff, whom he should then have hired, independent of the federation. It is his failure to do this that has presented an opportunity for a less than professional federation to repeatedly undermine him.

 

But there is more. Nigerian born Super Eagles coaches must learn that the only true buffer against a meddling federation is the insistence and maintenance of professional standards. Be it in the invitation of players; in relationships to players; in relationships to player agents. Failing to do this, they will be devoured by the very same tiger they pulled by the tail!

 

He who comes into equity must come with clean hands.

In spite of the denials by the NFF Director of Technical Department, Emmanuel Ikpeme  the issue remains. And we can tell why! Here is Mobi Oparaku again:

"At the World Cup level, everyone is interested in what he can get. In Nigeria, World Cup is about the money".....