WE LOST IT before we even started, I have tried not to join the debate but, they would not let me be.
Drinking ordinary cold water has become a problem, as some persons spotting me will simply walk up and say are you, not Effiong Nyong? Yes, I would answer and the next salvo would follow. How did you guys appoint that Malian, Eric Chelle? Is he as good as Eguavoen?
Not many of these fans understand that, I am only a journalist who has no say in all that is happening.
The best I can ever do is write or talk either on the radio or television or better still post my opinion online but all of no effect whatsoever.
In as much as one tries to avoid these discussions and talk about our sport, football in particular, sometimes it can be difficult to keep quiet. But I will not say anything new, except to point out that, we appointed Eric Chelle, the day football stakeholders decided to go for the money, rejecting Taiwo Ogunjobi, and chose Melvin Amaju Pinnick as president of the Nigeria Football Federation.
That day football was buried and I’m certain that all the so-called stakeholders who were present and voted, will today look back and bury their faces and heads in shame, for what calamity they brought unto the greatest unifier of our nation.
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Everyone knows how it happened. The stakeholders were all present, delegates and all, some of us were not eligible, so we chose to campaign, Aminu Maigari’s tenure had come to an end, and in the final analysis, it was Taiwo Ogunjobi an ex-international player, seasoned administrator and professional, both at the club and the national level on one hand and Melvin Amaju Pinnick on the other hand.
Pinnick had the reputation of being the chairman of Delta State Sports Commission and Warri Wolves football club. His greatest achievement at the time was leading Warri Wolves to relegation. But trust us in the middle of the night, stake politics took centre stage, and with an open vault from Delta state, things changed, even those we thought we had convinced to let us elect to grow football in the country, stopped picking our calls and Amaju Pinnick emerged president of the Nigeria Football Federation, the rest they say is history.
As of when the Pinnick-led board took over the reins of the game in Nigeria, we had the following world-class teams. 1- Afcon champions 2013, led by Stephen Keshi. 2- 2013 World un 17 champions, led by Manu Garba.3 – 2015 World un17 champions led by Emmanuel Amuneke .4- 2016 Olympic bronze medal winners in Rio.
That board inherited one Nigerian football supporters club. Today, we have about 8. The board also inherited one football players union. Today, we have about 3 or more.
The Amaju Pinnick board hired Gernot Rhor, and Jose Peseiro had immense influence in the hiring of Eric Chelle.
The sole achievement of the board, or its president is the elevation of a football fan into the corridors of world football, throwing so much weight around only for his personal benefits whilst the game and the rest of us continue to suffer.
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The current board led by Gusau is simply an offshoot of the predecessors, and no one in his right mind should expect magic. A comparison of Austin Eguavoen and Eric Chelle is an insult. Eguavoen, as the Super Eagles head coach, already won an Afcon bronze medal in 2006 in Egypt. What we are seeing is just the joke that we have become as football people, especially when they know that there is nothing we can do, write, talk, post, complain etc, for a good number of our fiery journalists of the past are compromised, either deliberately or blackmailed by their quest for survival.
We enjoy high drama in our part of the world, I recall how we sacked our coach and went for a world-class coach in 1998, appointing Bora Milutinovic. In 2010, we sacked Amodu Shaibu and appointed Lars Lagerback.
The drama surrounding the appointment of Manfred Honner in 1988, who led us to the Olympic games in Seoul South Korea, is yet another.
There are no surprises, the joke or puzzle will be unravelled when the real reason becomes public.
Let Eric Chelle be. He didn’t appoint himself. If we are to blame anyone, let’s go back and name all the delegates that voted for money. Blame them for our situation today.
For my friend, an erudite scholar of human kinetics and sports administration, experienced ex-international footballer, (Skippo) Taiwo Ogunjobi, who was denied the chance of setting things right and shaping our football, I pray that the almighty God blesses his selfless soul.
For the rest of us, let’s enjoy what we bought for ourselves. Almost 10 years ago, we are only reaping the fruits of our labour. After all, we got paid.
