president Jonathan has meddled in
Nigerian football matters before. Then,
as at now, it ended in a fiasco. That
first time, June 2010, after Nigeria
crashed and burned at the World Cup due in
large part to the incompetence of one Lars
Lagerback and a small helping hand from Sani
Kaita, Jonathan imposed a two-year international
ban on the Super Eagles.
Thankfully, FIFA came down hard on Jonathan
and threatened Nigeria with expulsion before that
ridiculous ban was rescinded. If Jonathan had
been allowed to have his way, Nigeria would
have missed out on the qualifications for the
AFCON championships which we eventually won
in February 2013. We also would have missed
out on the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
But, Jonathan did it again! After the Nigerian
Football Federation (NFF) did what was long
overdue and showed brother Keshi the door,
Jonathan stepped in and forced Keshi’s
reinstatement. The net result? We failed to
qualify for the next championship. We don’t
even have the honour of defending our title.
Often, in governance, it is not the major
speeches or policy initiatives. To the average
citizen, it is those things that they see that are
often important to them. Societies are set up by
and large already, and life will continue,
regardless. The mark of the astute leader is not
just how you shape the general direction of your
society but by the perception you create among
your citizens. And you do this by the little
things that you do; the things you allow to
happen or not to happen over time.
A President is not meant to run the whole
enterprise himself. The policy direction must be
amenable to allow Ministers, Permanent
Secretaries, Administrators and others get on
with implementation. The leader then does the
little things that let his citizens know that their
welfare comes first and that they are in safe
hands.
Ministries such as Agriculture and Aviation
excelled not because Jonathan imposed himself
on them or interjected himself into their daily
minutiae but because they have competent
Ministers who have free hands to be creative
and to do their thing.
Over-ruling the NFF was as short-sighted as it
was damaging. Keshi and subsequent Managers
will know that they only need drop the name of
the President to have their way. Worse, NFF
administrators have been castrated, their
authority yanked from them in a humiliating
manner. Going forward, they would triple guess
themselves to ascertain that whatever decision
they want to take would be palatable to an
interloping President or his anointed(s). What an
untenable position to find oneself.
With Keshi gone, our players would have been
motivated anew for those two last games. They
would have been playing to impress the new
man, to keep their place in the team now and in
the future. They certainly wouldn’t have played
any worse than they did for Keshi. Rather, you
have the same ineffectual players been played in
every game whether they perform or not and the
players know it!
Under Keshi, the Super Eagles played with no
discernible pattern or tactics. Our team was
easily and painfully outfoxed tactically by
opposing managers. No new players were
groomed or given a look-in. Established players
that were doing relatively well around the globe
were menacingly ignored. Instead, apart from
possibly Vincent Enyema and Mikel Obi, we had
a national team comprising of middle of the road
journey men from obscure teams and unheralded
leagues.
When you start losing to teams like Iran and
Sudan, you ought to know that you’re not just
having bad days; something is fundamentally
wrong.
I have always felt that Keshi is a decent enough
football coach but that is as far as it goes. I
think that he is good for a Mali or a Togo;
teams that are looking to come to the level
where Nigeria currently is. However, I don’t
think Keshi can take a Nigeria or a South Africa
to the level where Argentina or France is.
In 2006, Nigeria was ranked by FIFA as the 9th
best team in the world. In 2008, we were 19th.
Under Keshi, we have plummeted to number 42.
In Africa we are currently number 9 - two places
below one country called Cape Verde! This is
the manager for whom Jonathan went to bat
and forced on the NFF and on Nigeria for more
agony. Well, we are all beneficiaries of that
splendid intervention today.
A leader’s involvement must be dynamic, and it
must be for the greater good. It is not
acceptable to cut a forlorn figure afterwards as
all manner of malfeasance happens around one
the way Keshi cuts a pitiful figure on the
touchline as Amenike runs aimlessly, his head
downwards, hacking down defenders.
It is the little things. Jonathan, our
Commander-in-Chief has not visited Chibok or
the Northeast to reassure the folks up there.
Lagos State, First Consultant Hospital and Dr
Adadevoh helped us immensely in curtailing the
dreadful Ebola disease, I don’t know if Jonathan
has paid specific visits to these places or written
to relevant families to show appreciation and
solidarity.
Citizens don’t tend to remember big policy
statements, but they will remember an
Alamieyeseigha being given Presidential pardon.
They will remember Mrs Jonathan as a paid
Perm Sec in Bayelsa.
People remember double standards, impunity.
People will remember the assault on treacherous
Tambuwal and the National Assembly. People
will remember the circus, the wastefulness, the
tastelessness and the Abacharism of an
incumbent democratic President being ‘begged’
all across the nation to seek re-election.
Now Jonathan has gone and dropped another
clanger. He only went and added the Super
Eagles’ debacle to his list of accomplishments.
How about that for a campaign run.

While the AFCON qualifiers were ongoing, we saw the Matchday shows sponsored by TAN, their ambassadors in the stadium with their flags flying higher than our National flag. For every win we recorded (even starting from the WC), the SE successes were credited to our President transformation agenda. A slap on the faces of the hardworking SE players who strove to put smiles on ALL Nigerians irrespective of party affiliations.
FIFA is against government interferences and the actions of the C-in-C and the TAN group is an interference.
Now, we've failed to qualify, GEJ & TAN arent responsible for our failures, its the players. But when we were winning, it was because of His transformational agenda *spits*