Before we crucify Keshi

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi

It is no longer news that Nigeria is ousted from the ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. The avalanche of criticism from different angles on the coach, Stephen Keshi and the players for the team’s inability to move beyond the preliminary stage of the tournament is not unexpected. Of course, when the sky is blue, the crowd rejoices but when it is dark, the same crowd mumbles. The Super Eagles defeated Tahiti, the Oceania champion with 6-1, but lost to Uruguay and Spain mainly as a result of the attacking flaws.

Amongst the aspersions and pieces of advice, however, Kojo Williams, a former Chairman of NFA, has really shut far above the goal post with his pre-tournament and post-tournament interviews in the newspapers. In one of such interviews, Williams said that he had predicted that the Super Eagles were going to be exposed at the tournament and that Nigerians should expect more doom in subsequent international matches. Unfortunately, he did not explain the reason behind his predictions aside that he insisted that the national team needs a foreign coach. To him, without the services of a foreign coach, the weakness in the team cannot be strengthened.

Incidentally, barely a year ago, Williams, in an interview granted Vanguard  on June 8, 2012), supported the same Stephen Keshi programme and disparaged the idea of hiring a foreign coach. As he put it, “I supported Stephen Keshi’s programme, building of a new national team with special attention on the local players was one good way out for Nigeria’s football.

Kojo continued, “I reminded him (Keshi) that many of the foreign-based stars severally disappointed Nigeria at the crucial moment and that going by the ill-fated Nations Cup qualifier against Guinea in Abuja last year and the match in Rwanda in February this year, it was clear that the time of many of them was up. I maintain that Keshi was on the right track and should be allowed to continue the good work.”

Then, came the last question: “If Keshi loses this match, will you still support him? Hear Williams: I say absolutely yes and… there was no other way out other than Keshi’s ongoing programme. Building of a team takes time and when the players are local players it could take longer time because two major things will suffice – developing their technical and tactical abilities and exposing them to modern life, facilities and even the atmospherics of big occasions so  that they will not easily be overwhelmed.”

It will be absurd to ask why this sudden change of mind? Why is Williams crucifying Keshi too soon? To say the least, it is painful that Nigeria did not qualify for the second round in the Confederations Cup, but it also delighted many football-loving Nigerians that we were not humiliated because the players did perform far above average against Uruguay and Spain, the current world football champions. Most importantly, the tournament has overtly shown the team’s major defect areas, and which also could be attributed to injuries of some of the strikers.

Succinctly, the Super Eagles do not need a foreign coach now; rather, the Nigerian Football Federation should allow Keshi and his crew to continue the rebuilding programme of the team. The football governing body must see beyond the Confederations Cup exit and give the necessary support for the players and the coaching crew in order to build a more formidable Super Eagles. Any attempt to sack the coach or impose sanction on him will spell more doom than envisaged for the nat