By Daily Sports on November 25, 2019

From available indices, it is more than obvious that Nigeria is ‘No Longer at Ease,’ in all facets. Again, Nigeria is also a country of irony, a country that enjoys same. It can further be posited that the same Nigeria is a country without a defined and accepted system that works.  It has appropriated to itself, this notoriety of a country that habitually promotes intrigues, no matter how trivial. This calls for utmost worry at a time when most civilised countries in the World have attained several feats.

When it looks as if Nigeria is coming out from one controversy, another one surfaces and on and on the beat goes. This columnist recently raised an alarm on the way and manner Sunday Dare is tilting towards the same wrong steps that Solomon Dalung, the immediate past Sport Minister followed. We all knew how Dalung,  in the name of playing a supposedly supervisory role to various sports under his Ministry, succeeded in messing up and tried to snuff life off football, even after demanding kickbacks, which he was oftentimes given, only for him to turn around to cry wolf where there was none.

It would be recalled that it was one of Dalung’s Oliver Twist instincts’ that led him to put up those frivolous financial mismanagement allegations against  the NFF foursome, which the Court threw out through the window and acquitted the defendants to the shame of the very fastidious Dalung and his sponsors.

However, let me stop here on that colossal failure called Solomon Dalung. Last week, another worrisome development  occurred when the Super Eagles supremo Gernot Rohr threatened to walk away from Nigeria’s flagship team if the NFF fails to hand over a renewed contract to him within the short possible time.  

The worrisome aspect to this reporter is not the Franco-German’s threat to look elsewhere, No! It is the effect his exit would have on the players. I saw it coming, that Nigerians may wake up one morning to hear that the white man has walked away from his job and the statement that may be pushed out by his employers would read like ‘good riddance to bad rubbish’, ‘let him go after all he is not the first to do the same joke carried too far on Nigerians.’

My observation is, therefore, is why it took NFF this long to put pen on paper for the renewal of Rohr’s contract when Amaju Pinnick confirmed to the world that the technical hand exceeded his target as our coach. That Rohr also has exploited beautifully the strategy of ensuring that Nigerians born in other countries but willing to lace their boots for their fatherland were given a level playing field in the national team is noteworthy.

That Rohr has also restored some very good measure of discipline and sanity to the national squad is instructive. The era of unnecessary alarms in the Super Eagles was, of course, non-existent under Rohr. These and many more were reasons the NFF advanced on why Rohr would be handed over another or a new contract.

Why such has not been done until now remains surprising.  One thought that the needful has since been done. Rohr’s alarm touches my heart of hearts because he has truly worked hard and has also started picking up and would make far-reaching impact in his second coming if given the green light to continue his job in the national team.

The other worry in this Rohr alarm is the impact it will have on the campaign for AFCON qualifiers as most of the players already have an emotional attachment of sorts to him. Truth is that both parties have started to understand each other’s pattern and the horizon looks friendly because of this seemingly perfect understanding in the air amongst them.

Methinks that the NFF must drop the politics it is playing on Rohr’s matter; after all, Amaju and few others insisted on him to be employed. Now, the NFF must swallow whatever and close or rest this matter foremost for the sake of concentration. Rohr must be made to focus on his job strictly as anything other than such would remain unacceptable to Nigerians.

The success of this technical hand’s alarm must not be dismissed with a wave of the hand. He has a point and must be listened to vividly. Whoever or any group of persons still sitting on Rohr’s contract renewal must be told in clearer language that Nigerians and all football fans across the land want action. It must be done with immediate effect even as Amaju Pinnick, the President of the body, long gave Rohr clean bill of health for job well-done.

Rohr must not be allowed to abandon the team like the past. Nigeria, at this stage, would not afford any international disgrace which Rohr’s case may snowball into in days and weeks to come. Looking at many steps backwards and international embarrassment this may bring along with, then the wise route to embrace would be to sign his second term contract. We don’t need this distraction in the first place as the looming crisis can be avoided swiftly. This is my view and candid one too.

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Source Daily Sports

Posted November 25, 2019

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