Another bombshell from the Nigeria Football Federation dropped last week.
President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, leaked the plan of his board on how they intend to go about the recruitment of a new coach for the Super Eagles. With a dysfunctional technical committee and a subservient head of the technical department, Gusau, said that the next coach of the Super Eagles will be determined by Nigerians. In an interview aired on Radio Now 95.3 FM, the NFF boss was confident Nigerians will lead them to getting the best coach available for the Super Eagles. Gusau said he will let football fans decide if the Portuguese coach, Jose Peseiro should stay on or go.
Sounding unsure and inadequate of his office and its responsibilities, the NFF boss said,“We have that plan to put it in front of Nigerians, to hear their views. We are surely going to push it to the public to hear their views on whether we should continue with Peseiro(current Super Eagles coach) or he should go.”
He added, “We are still going to push the question of hiring foreign or indigenous coach to Nigerians. We will get their views then look at them and do what we are supposed to do as a board and come out with a decision.”
Vanguard Group Sports Editor, Tony Ubani said, ït’s bizarre, strange that the board of the Nigeria Football Federation has relinquished its statutory obligation of hiring and firing a coach to Nigerian soccer fans. It shows irresponsibility and incompetence.”
“Will the NFF board allow the ‘knowledgeable’ fans to fix salaries for the coach as well?”
Former Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Dudu Orumen, said the whole drama smacks of unseriousness on the part of the NFF. “Gusau is a joke,” he offered.
Group Sports Editor, The Sun Newspapers, Emma Jemegha termed Gusau’s idea as ‘ludicrous’. He continued, “I really don’t understand what the NFF plans to achieve with such a ludicrous process. It’s part of a plan to shift the blame on Nigerians.”
Patrick Omorodion of Sports Vanguard criticised the process that threw Gusau up as NFF President.
“When I saw that statement from Gusau, the first thing that came to my mind was that Amaju Pinnick foisted on Nigeria a football president that lacks what it takes to turn our football around,” said Omorodion. “What blueprint did Gusau bring on board? Nothing.”
Harrison Jalla who is the Chairman of the Special Task Force of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria said the onus of hiring a good coach for the national team rests on the Nigeria Football Federation. Said he, “the responsibility of the NFF is to hire and fire coaches not Nigerian Football fans.”
Jalla has advice for the NFF boss. “The NFF should invest Peseiro’s huge monthly salary in the training of our indigenous coaches and engage them as our national team coaches. Let us believe in and appreciate what we have.”