16th October, 2014
Taiwo Adelu
FIFA and CAF Instructor, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde has declared that the removal of erstwhile coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, won’t solve the myriad of problems confronting the senior national team.
Reacting to the sack of Keshi by the Executive Board of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Onigbinde, a respected voice in Nigerian football, who took the Eagles to the Korea/Japan FIFA World Cup in 2002, said that the woes of the senior team are beyond the coaching crew headed by Keshi and even the players who are doing the bulk of the work on the field of play. He noted that there is a larger problem which the NFF must address.
“The sack of Keshi is news to me,” said Onigbinde when contacted by 8:30a.m today. “I think the NFF has the right to decide on who handle the Super Eagles, but I want to say that the problem at hand is beyond Keshi and his players. I think it is high time football education is Nigeria is restructured to meet up with the world’s standard. What have we done as a country to equip our coaches for us to demand the best from them. I remember CAF’s order regarding African coaches sometime ago, but Nigeria has not taken a good step to enhance the quality of our coaches and referees. There should be education and re-education of our officials.
“Another thing is that there is no proper football development in Nigeria that will pave way for good results that the fans are calling for,” Onigbinde said.
The Modakeke, Osun State High Chief, however, congratulated the new coaches of the Eagles, saying that: “I wish them the best of luck, but we must do the right thing to get the result we want.”