When Kadiri Ikhana blew the lid in 2008 that the Nigeria Premier
League will continue to suffer decline because of corruption, it caused such a
stir that the then board chairman, Oyuki Obaseki, could only accuse him of
running down the system.
“Corruption in football in Nigeria is so visible that you can
even feel it. It is a sort of cartel that needs to be checked for our football
to grow,” Ikhana, who did not exonerate himself from the rot, had declared
shortly after guiding Kano Pillars to their first Premier League title.
But Obaseki, who believed he has done so much to develop the
domestic league, cursed the people who are “trying to destroy his
achievements”. Two years on, the decline is so bad that we could not even raise
a team that could face Niger in the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
qualifiers, out of over 500 players playing in the NPL.
It was coach Okey Emordi, who led Enyimba to the 2004 CAF
Champions League success, that failed with our first CHAN Eagles team, when
they crashed to Ghana in 2008. But if Ghana could boast of having a great
football pedigree that can match our record, the same cannot be said of Niger,
who are now rejoicing after qualifying for the 2011 CHAN, their first ever
international competition since their Football Association was founded in the
mid 1960s. The Mena achieved the feat after a 2-0 aggregate win over two legs
against our Home Eagles.
The extent of failure
To explain the extent of the failure in our system, The Niger
Premier League, which produced the players that eliminated our team in the CHAN
qualifiers, has suffered a lot a since its inception in 1966, owing to
financial problems in the poor country. As recently as in 2005, several major
clubs dropped out of the championship for financial reasons, and because of the
2005 famine afflicting the south centre of the nation. Indeed some of the
Nigerien players have had to come to Nigeria for greener pastures. For
instance, goalkeeper Rabou Saminou played for Enyimba for three seasons, after
joining from Sahel SC, Niger’s most successful clubside, while defender Ismael
Alassane, is still currently on the pay roll of the Aba outfit.
Even the Niger Football Federation had turned to our country’s
football supporters to raise funds for the Mena, during the 2010 Nations Cup
qualifiers.
Fire brigade approach
Since Okey Emordi’s failure, nothing has been done by the NFF to
prepare another team for the next CHAN. Not until after our poor performance in
Angola in February did it emerge that Shuaibu Amodu would be demoted to manage
the Home Eagles for CHAN.
Niger, on the other hand, recognized its limitations and
appointed Ikhana to work as the technical consultant of the country’s football
body. It is paying some dividends. The Nigeria federation believes we can
always have our way against ‘small’ opposition and this belief backfired, like
it did in the last edition.
Amokachi’s credentials
Mention Adoulmalik Mou and you might be asked who he is. He is
the history-making coach of the Niger team. But for those who follow football
in Africa and beyond, the name Daniel Amokachi would definitely sound familiar.
It is often said that being a good footballer does not necessarily translate to
becoming a good coach.
That is probably the case with Amokachi, who bungled the chance
of showing what he is capable of doing as a coach. Da Bull has an impressive
track record of having represented Nigeria at the highest level of the game,
playing a key role in the 1994 edition where the Super Eagles endeared
themselves to the world with their beautiful brand of African football,
crashing out in the 16th round. He even scored twice; one of his goals, against
Greece, will stand out as one of the most memorable strikes at the competition.
Amokachi also featured in the 1998 in France. He would also be
remembered for helping the U-23 Eagles to win the 1996 Olympic Football gold in
Atlanta, where our Dream Team defeated Brazil and Argentina en route their
success. At club career level, he holds the record of having scored the first
goal of the UEFA Champions League while playing for Club Brugges in Belgium,
where he also won the Ebony Award given to the best foreign player featuring in
the Jupiler League. What more, he also enjoyed success in England and Turkey,
helping Everton to win the FA Cup in 1995.
Coaching flop
But with all these accolades, the former Besiktas of Turkey has
failed to justify that he has the ability to be a good coach. He has had
coaching stints at Nassarawa United and Enyimba, both as assistant coach. But
because of his accomplishments as a former international footballer, he often
took the shine off the coaches in charge. He worked under Zakari Baraje at Nassarawa
and of course Maurice Cooreman at Enyimba. Amokachi also assisted Austin
Eguavoen to the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt and took the same role under Shuaibu
Amodu to the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola. He looked like the active man on the
sidelines during the Eagles matches, but he fumbled when he handled his own
team.
The NFF insisted it was Amodu’s team but Amokachi, who was known for his
bravado during his playing days, has had his ego bruised and his technical
frailties exposed.
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