By Victor Enyinnaya on April 1, 2016

Former second Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), High Chief Oyuki Obaseki, has rued the dearth of seasoned and competent sages among the present administrators of the round leather game in the country and called for drastic measures to be taken to stem the slide the sport.

Nigerians, he said, should not see his call as an offshoot of the recent ouster of Nigeria by Egypt from next year’s AFCON as this has been his long-standing declaration that with the way and manner the game is handled the by the present NFF regime, the nation would run into a ditch sooner than later.

Obaseki told Daily Sports: “The home truth remains that there must be a way forward if we are thinking of not struggling in the 2018 Russia World Cup qualifiers. The Eagles we saw play the Pharaohs in Alexandria were so fantastic, giving their all to the game. The commitment was total; we all saw it. The game was tight, also highly technical and tactical for the teams; the injury that led to the replacement of Simon Moses gave the desperate host the opening that resulted to the winner. I want to categorically state that we should not continue to rue the upheaval of the 2017 AFCON; rather, we should be truthful to ourselves as we quickly prepare to go back to the drawing board to find ways to re-fix our fast declining football.”

The Ex-NFF Vee Pee noted that the players and the present interim technical crew worked extra hard to give their best shot but things were already out of hand, he observed.

Obaseki remarked that he would not bring the situation the game found itself on the doorsteps of the players but would continue to say that the administrators were not foresighted enough to know that the way the game is currently being administered in the land won’t stand the test of time. He declared that the total absence of planners in the topmost cadre of the football administration presently holding sway in the country would remain the big gap unless the leadership looks inwards as one of the pointers to turn things around, otherwise more shocking outings await Nigerians.

The first Chairman of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) advised: “We should put our heads together to get over this present state our football has been sadly dragged into. It is what we can get over swiftly if the administrators can for once open themselves to constructive and genuine advice from credible administrators. They should play down on their ego and see the position they currently occupy as temporary. The leadership should focus on how best to re-invent football in the country on all fronts instead of self-inflicted intrigues that serve as an ill wind that destroys every fabric of the game at the end of the day.” 

•Photo shows High Chief Obaseki.

Source Daily Sports

Posted April 1, 2016

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