Before the Presidency ordered his recall late last week, Stephen Keshi, popularly known as the Big Boss, spoke with Festus Abu and ‘Nonye Ben- Nwankwo on his job and controversies surrounding him as the coach of the Super Eagles

Would you know why you are called The Big Boss?

The name came way back when I was still the captain of the Nigerian team. I hate losing even at a training session or a small game. I have never liked to lose. It is just like some other football players; they want to win at all cost. During my training sessions, I tried to push my teammates to give more. I used my hand to direct the players and I moved up and down. That was where it came from. I was on my own jeje and people started calling me Big Boss. Since then, it has been Big Boss. People don’t even know me as Keshi anymore. I welcome it.

Some people claim you are the first Nigerian to play for a European team, would it be right to conclude that you must be very rich now?

No. I am not the first Nigerian to play for a European team. We had Chidozie, Tunji Banjo and some other players who were already in Europe playing. But if they mean that I am the first Nigerian to leave Nigeria to play in Europe, then I can tell you that might be right. Talking about being rich, it is by the grace of God. Whatever I have is from God and I thank Him.

In 1983 and 1984, you won the WAFU Cup. You were the captain when Nigeria won Silver in 1984 and 1988. Can we describe you as a born leader?

I don’t know the definition of that. I am just playing my part. It is part of my responsibilities and I always pray that God should lead me. I don’t know if I am a born leader or if I am a follower. I only try to do the best I can at the highest level.

How do you feel each time you win a trophy or you coach a team that wins a trophy?

I can only but thank God. It is not by my power. I only thank God who has given me the wisdom and the strength to do that. I, of course, have to thank the people I work with. It is not just me. In a team sport, you have a consortium of so many people – the players, the officials I work with. I thank God for everything.

There is this controversy surrounding your position as National team’s coach. We learnt you were sacked a few weeks ago and some other people claimed you resigned. What really happened?

Since this issue started, I have not spoken to anybody about it and I am not ready to start with your paper. If you want to ask me another question, go ahead and ask me. But this particular one, I am not interested in it. Thank you for understanding.

But we learnt you didn’t have fantastic relationship with the officials and that was why you were replaced…

Again, I am not interested in talking about this. If you have another question, that will be lovely.

How did you feel when it was announced that Shaibu Amodu has taken over your job?

In our society, you are hired today and tomorrow you are fired. Shaibu knows the terrain enough. He is welcome. He will succeed.

Some people go with this notion that you are very arrogant; is that perception true?

Everybody has his/her opinion. They don’t know Keshi. Most people say this because of what they hear from the media. Some journalists would want to paint you black in front of your fellow citizens and Nigerians just take it from there. They wouldn’t want to take their time to know who this person really is. I am not ready to explain myself to anybody. I don’t have a comment on this. This is who I am and that is it.

It is alleged that the Pinnick board sees you as an arrogant person and that was why they replaced you…

What has arrogance got to do with the job that you are doing?

Even if you are arrogant and pompous, as long as you are getting your results and the team is doing well, what has such personal thing got to do with the game? If it is arrogance that will make me win my game, then I should be arrogant. I want to be 100 times arrogant to be winning my game.

We also learnt that players bribe you before you could include them in the national team, is it not true?

Bribe me? There is no player in that team that has money to bribe me. I am not sure there is any official that has the money to bribe me. Some people have this belief (which I don’t agree to anyway) that Nigerian coaches take bribes. I have never seen it and I just heard about it and why would I have to believe it? Until it happens to my face, then I can believe it. Whoever comes in as a player must have credibility. You just don’t come in. The national team is where you assemble the best of the best because you want results. It is even a motivation for the players. I will not bring an average player into the national team that I can’t defend. I don’t even need to do so. I just thank God and I thank my fellow coaches that I worked together with in the national team.

Are you saying that you don’t invite players based on personal sentiments?

No way! When it comes to sports, you don’t put sentiments to it. If you do, then you are just spoiling the team you are trying to build. As a team, you have to be together. You have to bond together. There must be respect and everything has to be clear and transparent. Whatever you do to Player A, you do same to Player B and C. That is how I have been operating with any team that I work with.

But there were rumours that you didn’t invite certain players to the national team because they didn’t allow you to be their managers…

There is no player that can come in front of me and say that because I am not a manager. I don’t even have time to take care of my family not to talk of going up and down negotiating for a fee. The only thing I can do for a player is to help and encourage him. That is it. Nobody can come out and stand in front of me and say he didn’t join the team because he refused to make me his manager.

But the rumour we heard concerning you and Ikechukwu Uche was based on this…

Uche will not say that. I didn’t even know how he got to Spain. I don’t know anything about it. Some people were just in favour of Uche and they were the ones saying all those stuffs to spite me.

Some players go on social media to complain especially when you don’t invite them to play…

I don’t want to believe that a player would go to Twitter to say stuff about me. Every player wants to play for his country, which is normal. But you cannot have every player at the same time. It is not possible, otherwise it becomes a jamboree field and you can never succeed at such field. I try to give everybody an opportunity. If you do it right, I keep you in the team. If you are not good, I give other people the opportunity to play. That is how I have been working.

You have won trophies for Nigeria yet you are being criticised over and over. Would you say Nigerians have been fair to you?

It is not for me to determine that or to say anything about it. My job is that I have come to help my country and to bring us back a bit to where we are supposed to be. By the grace of God, I won the Nations Cup and qualified them for World Cup. I thank God. If people criticise me, it doesn’t matter to me. I have come and I have done what I can do and that is it.

How would you feel if we don’t qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco?

Just like you, I would feel bad. This is our country. I want to see them play in Morocco and it is doable. We keep calling the boys but the boys are not the problem. We need the administrators to be there for them. They need you and I to support them and not to criticise them and abuse them, no. That is how it goes. If the game is going bad, we abandon the players and when the game is good, we support them. That is not the way to support the team; that is not what the team need. They need us to be there for them at all times.

You fought for bonus as a player and a coach. Your players had to also fight to get their bonus. How do you think Nigeria can get out of this shame?

It is very simple. If you agree on giving them one kobo at the beginning, then pay them the money before they ask for it. If they do the job and you start telling them stories, they will not be happy. It is not easy to play for 90 minutes. People don’t understand. They think running on the field is easy. If it is easy, then everybody should be a football player. If the money is on the ground, there would be no problem. All the time I was in Super Eagles, we never had a problem apart from when money crisis came up in Namibia and the World Cup. When the issue of money came up, I tried to kill it. Football players are like women. They love good things. If you don’t take care of them, they would say you are not right for them and they would push you out. It is the same thing with the boys. If you don’t give them what they want, they would make noise a little bit.

Taking you back a bit, we learnt you resigned after winning the Nations Cup in order to get some kind of attention from the Presidency, how true is that?

People come up with a lot of things. I resigned because I was fed up in the Nations Cup. After two days, my office drafted a letter with the then Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, that Keshi should be sacked during the tournament. I said okay, anywhere we stopped in the tournament, whether it is the semi-finals or the finals, after the game, I would resign. I said I was going to stop coaching Nigeria. Nigeria is not the end when it comes to football. We have football all over the world. Sometimes, they think they are doing us (black coaches) a favour by giving us a job. We don’t really need that. If you give us the job, then you have to support us. As much as you support the European counterparts, you have to support your own too. But we don’t have that. What we have are people who want to run you down and make you look dirty in front of Nigerians and your fans.

But why didn’t you stick with the resignation, why did you come back?

You have a lot of people from the presidency calling and the players and the assistant coaches all asked me to continue at least for the World Cup. They advised that I could move if I wanted after the World Cup. I had good rapport with the players and my staff.

If you got calls from the Presidency not to resign, that means you normally get ‘special’ favours from the president…

I cannot even remember the last time I spoke with the president. I don’t have his number. He doesn’t call me. He doesn’t have my number. People are just saying all sorts of things. I don’t know what people gain by mentioning Keshi’s name all the time.

The Giwa faction of the NFF has asked you to resume your duties as the coach, are you still interested in the job?

They did ask me to resume but I am not interested in Nigeria’s job again. I have done my part and that is it. I am trying to respect my leaders that are speaking with me but Nigeria’s job is not a do-or-die affair. I am not one of the coaches that feel they won’t survive if they don’t get Nigeria’s job. I thank God that He is moving me somewhere. It is well.

What kind of relationship do you have with Amodu?

We are good. We are brothers and we are friends. Do you want to spoil the relationship? People love such.

But did you learn anything from him when he was your boss?

He is a good person.

http://www.punchng.com/feature/hotseat/no-player-can-afford-to-bribe-me-for-a-place-in-super-eagles-keshi/

I knew this already!
Stephen keshi can't take any bribe from any player.

I love you man
pls continue to move nigeria forward,.in you we belive in.
Don't mind the bad belle pple.

/keshi till 2018/ we shall and must win the world cup.

Story for the gods and goddesses.

How come did u then take Shola Ameobi who wasn't a regular at Newcastle United and could only boast of one goal last season ahead of Ike Uche who scored 14 La Liga goals for Villarreal?


Bribery and Corruption in every Sector of this administration. Sports sector isn't left out!