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In December 2002, when violence broke out between Christians and Muslims in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, over 200 lives were lost including the parents of Nigerian forward, Victor Moses.

Not yet 12 years old at the time, the young Moses was expectedly shocked by the ghastly event and for many years alienated himself from his country of birth.

That was until a few weeks ago, when he made up his mind to return to the country after getting a call-up to the Super Eagles ahead of last Sunday’s 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia, as well as Tuesday’s friendly international against Kenya.

The 20 year old, who had remained in England since the 2002 riots, didn’t get to play any part in the two games owing to his eligibility status, – having previously played for England at youth level- but he remains ready to play for the country of his birth despite the ghosts of his past.

“It feels good to be home after all these years but it’s not so easy forgetting about what happened,” Moses informed NEXT in Abuja, a day after the Super Eagles whipped the Ethiopians 4-0.

He added: “I still think about Mom and Dad but I have forgiven those responsible for their death as I gain nothing by holding a grudge against them.”

Prodigious youngster

A devout Christian, Moses first came into prominence in the latter part of 2009, when a run of five goals in eight games for Crystal Palace saw him emerge as one of the most sought-after youngsters in England during the January 2010 transfer window.

This culminated in a £2.5 million transfer to Premier League side Wigan Athletic on the last day of January. And six days later, Moses, who is comfortable as a winger or point man, made his debut for the Latics as a substitute against Sunderland.

Before then however, in 2007, Moses was a member of the English U-17 side, which got to the final of the UEFA Under 17 Championship in Belgium where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Spain who went on to feature, that same year, in the final of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in South Korea, where they lost to Nigeria on penalties.

In Belgium, Moses finished as the tournament’s top scorer and continued with his fine goal scoring form in South Korea where he also finished as England’s top scorer with three goals, including a brace in the Young Lions’ 5-0 win over New Zealand.

His tournament however ended abruptly in the 2-1 group phase win over Brazil no thanks to injury, but England went on to win their round of 16 clash with Syria 3-1, before losing 4-1 to Germany in the quarter finals.

He thereafter went on to feature for England at U-18, U-19 and U-21 levels but playing for Nigeria always seemed to be at the back of his mind, especially after he was approached by Super Eagles handler, Samson Siasia.

Fervent desire

“I’ve always wanted to play for Nigeria,” he continued. “Yes, I have played for England at youth level and there was a chance I would someday play for the senior national team, but after carefully weighing the options available to me, I had to pick Nigeria.

“The manager (Siasia) made it quite clear that he wanted me and I was moved by that. It’s not every day you get a visit from the manager of the Super Eagles and he was able to convince me that my future was with Nigeria.”

Going by events at the national team’s training sessions prior to the game against Ethiopia, it was obvious to all that Moses was going to play a part in the game against the East Africans until news filtered in that he was not eligible for the game.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to play against Ethiopia, as I wasn’t eligible for the game, but that was no fault of mine. I do believe it will be rectified before the next game, which I believe is against Argentina.

“That will be a very interesting game and it would be special to make my debut against a team like Argentina. I wanted to play against Ethiopia but we can’t go against the rules.”

FIFA palaver

Having previously played for England at youth level, FIFA’s Players Status Committee requires correspondences from all parties involved before confirming Moses’ eligibility for Nigeria.

Moses, according to the FIFA Committee, has to notify FIFA of his intention to play for Nigeria. At the same time, the English FA has to concur to a release, while the Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF) has to express their willingness to accept the player as a full international.

The Nigerian FA however commenced the process of getting Moses eligible for the Super Eagles only on the Wednesday leading up to the game against Ethiopia but the time was too short for FIFA to do anything about the situation.

“We wrote to FIFA notifying them of our intention to use him but they informed us that there are certain conditions that should be met before he could play for us,” disclosed acting secretary general of the NFF, Musa Amadu in an interview with NEXT.

“These include a letter from Moses indicating his intent to switch nationality, as well as one from us, and another from the English FA confirming that Moses had not played for their senior team.

“We have to get all of these documents together and send them to FIFA. By the time we do all of these, he will be available to play for the Super Eagles, but I am sure all will be sorted out before our next match,” he added.

Amadu isn’t alone in that regard as Siasia is equally hopeful that the Wigan forward will be available for the friendly game against Argentina on June 1 in Abuja, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia four days later in Addis Ababa.

Bright future

“He is a very humble young man,” said Siasia. “But he’s also good and has age on his side.

He added: “He has a bright future ahead of him and if he remains focused on his career, he will definitely be in the Super Eagles for a very long time.” Playing for the Super Eagles for a very long time is definitely on Moses’ mind. But one other thing that’s also preying on his mind is getting the team back to the top of the footballing tree; a task he believes is possible considering the array of stars at the country’s disposal.

“With all the top players in this team it’s surprising that we are not so highly rated,” he continued. “There’s (John Obi) Mikel, (Joseph) Yobo, (Osaze) Odemwingie, (Taye) Taiwo, and so many other good players in this team.” “There are so many good players spread all over Europe and it’s obvious that this is going to be a great team. He added:

“With the plans the manager has in store for this team, I think it won’t be long before the rest of the world begins to pay attention to us. I am so glad to be here in the company of these wonderful players.”