The widespread jubilation that greeted Samson Siasia’s appointment as Super Eagles coach is a testimony to how he has been accepted by the football faithful. That was one wise decision by the current NFF board. They have given the people what they asked for, but it also behoves them to support Siasia to achieve the set goals. There is no doubting the fact that Siasia’s task is onerous but it would be made easier if the FA lives up to their promise of non-interference. I am aware that the last time Siasia had a national assignment, he had issues with the top echelon of the FA who wanted to impose players on him. When he refused, one had told him; "I hope you will look for another job after this tournament because as long as I remain here (the NFF), you will never handle any of the national teams again". This explains why he had been severally overlooked for the Super Eagles job before now.

The current board has promised to allow him free hand to execute his progammes.

Siasia is brimming with ideas and given the enabling environment, he will surely deliver. But I have my doubts over the FA’s sincerity. Do they really mean to allow Siasia do it his own way? If yes, why impose assistants on him? I am particular about those who should assist Siasia because they are potential banana pills. You may not understand where I’m coming from. I will explain from a first-hand experience.

A particular Super Eagles chief coach had been undermined by his assistant. For the purpose of this piece, I will call the chief coach Ojo and his assistant Musa. Ojo, an easy going man, had given Musa a lot of room to operate. Unknown to him, Musa was eyeing his (Ojo’s) job. During a major tournament, Musa would gather selected journalists (yours sincerely inclusive) in a section of the hotel where the team lodged, telling them how he influenced his boss’ substitutions that changed the course of the game. On the days the team lost, Musa would blame Ojo for not heeding his advice. On one very occasion, while Eagles were struggling during a match, Musa walked up to veteran journalist, Paul Bassey (who was a CAF Media Officer for the tournament) complaining how his boss had turned down his advice to introduce a player, who should add more bite to the attack.

Trust Sports Bassey, he lampooned Musa urging him not to bring such interactions with his boss to public glare. Back to the media gallery where we sat, Bassey narrated this experience. Does this sound like a scene from Wale Adenuga’s ‘Super Story’? No…no…no…This happened for real. The rivalry in Eagles technical bench was obvious during the tournament. Unfortunately, Ojo was not aware of his assistant’s shenanigans. Some of us wondered why an assistant would want to take credit on the days the team won and shift the blame to his boss on the bad days.

We saw the reasons when, after a dismal outing, Ojo was sacked and Musa appointed chief coach. Ojo and Musa should have been given the boot or a substantive coach appointed to boss Musa but, in this case, Musa had done so well to discredit Ojo while playing up his own potentials. It was more like ‘give me the job and I will do better’.

Have you seen why Siasia should guard against having a Musa as an assistant?

Musa was as ambitious as Ojo. He felt he should be the chief coach instead of Ojo. You don’t need such people assisting you. Siasia knows those who would be

loyal to him and should be allowed to hire them as assistants. We don’t want a repeat of the Ojo/Musa scenario.

KAILIKA’S WORLD CUP TARGET

While Siasia and Stephen Keshi were being interviewed for the Super Eagles job at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja last week, I was at the hotel lobby with Siasia’s wife. We got engaged in a discussion on the state of Nigerian football. Mrs.

Siasia had utmost confidence in her husband’s ability to reposition the national team. Her words;"When my husband came out this morning, I told him not to go with any paper because I know this game called football is at his finger tips.

The way he analyses and reads a match, he is simply gifted". Then she said a prayer; "God, if my husband is not the one to change the fortunes of Nigerian football, please don’t allow him to get this job. But if he has been anointed from above to bring smiles back to Nigerians’ faces, may they (the NFF) not have

peace till they give him his dues". She lends credence to the saying that ‘behind every successful man there is a woman’.

Though it has been long in coming, the will of God has ultimately been done in Nigerian football.The best madam can do for all of us, now, is to help her husband get focused on the task at hand. The ovation has died down. The celebration is over. This is time for him to roll up his sleeves and get down to

work. He has just bagged Nigeria’s most difficult job. I learnt Siasia’s first assistant, Simon Kalika has set a World Cup semi-final target. Did he really speak on Siasia’s behalf? I think Siasia has to monitor the utterances coming from his camp. It is too early to make such promises. While not doubting

Kalika’s technical competence, he goes overboard in his utterances which are sometimes credited to Siasia. We need to draw a line between when Kalika talks and when Siasia does.

The key word now should be ACTION. Setting such targets will only make him lose focus on the main task of rebuilding the national team. The national team has passed through series of managers who had battered the traditional Nigerian pattern of play. Siasia’s major task is to package a team that plays the way his boys did in Holland and Beijing. He should dwell more on the quality of the team and not some ‘World Cup semi-final target’. Once he instills the requisite freshness and mobility, the results will come naturally. Who even says he can’t play in the World Cup final or win it? But, first things, first.


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I can sense the failure on his shining head

Ojo = Amodu

Musa = Eguavoen?

But Musa didn't end up having Ojo's job, rather he was made to be the usual housekeeper.