Nigerians were exasperated with the result of the FIFA World Cup qualification match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic which ended 2-1 in favour of Benin Republic. 

Why were Nigerians angry? They were so optimistic that Nigeria will win the match convincingly. That was my thought too. Some of the fans built their confidence on past statistics of matches between Nigeria and Benin Republic. They looked at population of Nigeria as advantage. They failed to realize that it is a game of equal numbers. Whatever may be our various positions, the match has taken place with lowly rated Cheetahs of Benin Republic defeating the overrated Super Eagles of Nigeria. The wise person will get the defeat behind him and look forward to the future. That's the right thing to do but part of the wisdom will include taking a look at why the Super Eagles lost and deliberately work towards winning the remaining Five (5) matches in the group. It is an uphill task that is achievable.

On my part as Spectator, I have written in the past just like some others have done in the past about the attitude of "we are in charge" which has led Nigeria to unprofitable conclusions. When you dig into the history of Nigeria, you may arrive at the conclusion that wrong people, wrong decisions, wrong actions, wrong plans, wrong implementation have been the bane of our society. You can conclude with that statement of "square pegs in round holes". 

Let me use this scenario to approach football. There are so many gate-crashers in Football. No wonder, Barrister Iyke Igbokwe, the author of Sliding Tackles continues to tackle hard on State Football Association Chairmen. Really, a good number of them are better addressed as Political and Economic merchants rather than Football Administrators. They see the office as a grazing ground for their political and economic advancement rather than using it as opportunity to develop Football for the benefit of Nigeria and the youths in particular. They are so confident about their majority voting powers to the extent that they have huge influence on who emerges into the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Let me at this point say that some State FA Chairmen have good record of performance but on a general scale, they will score below average.

Have you asked yourself why the Major Actors in Football are not involved in the management of Football in Nigeria? Things started falling apart over the years when the Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA), the First Line Practitioners in the game, the Players Union, who are "materials" that the Coaches "manufacture" and "refine" into "finished products". These two first line practitioners were dropped from being participants in the management of the game which by their position should be automatic Board Members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The Nigeria (Football) Referees Association (NRA), who are the Arbiters of the game and I think the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) also were automatic Board Members of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) before it was re-christened NFF, though without legislation. 
Things have been falling apart and in our typical posture, we remain mere spectators. Those who dared to call for corrections were decisively destabilized. I hope you understand why the Players Union that is supposed to be a very vibrant pressure group has been penetrated and fractionalized into different factions. What a sad narrative!. These major stakeholders must leave their state of grumbling and lamentations and fight for their right or else they should shut up and remain in their Master-Servant relationship with the Nigeria Football Federation. 

When you go to Remo Sports Centre Ikenne, which I have seen on video and picture, I see an example of the kind of facility that should be available in each geo-political zone of Nigeria. It should be in every State in Nigeria. There are places in other countries where you will see an expanse of land accommodating tens of Football pitches. Come to Abuja and help me count how many standard training facilities are available. I think Remo facilities should be a prototype to replicate Nationwide.

Let me ask a simple question? Why are people struggling to manage Football in Nigeria while they don't have the capacity and the will to develop Football? Please, don't conclude that I am blaming Ibrahim Gusau. It is not about him. I perceive that there is more to it than the eyes can see. In my little corner, I can see a simple strategy for Football development in Nigeria. It is PROVIDE FACILITIES. MANAGE the GAME well at EVERY LEVEL. PARTICIPATE in COMPETITIONS and realize the SOCIAL and ECONOMIC BENEFITS in the GAME.

Now to the state of Football in Nigeria as reflected in the recent performance in the FIFA World Cup qualification of the Super Eagles.
What we have seen so far is as a result of the seeds we have planted in the past. We are in the time of harvest. At least the Women Footballers are doing well. Let us settle for that. The Super Eagles however can still make it by winning the remaining matches. 
Let our administrators play their POLITICS but MANAGE the Game well. Don't play POLITICS and MISMANAGE the Game.

 For now we are reaping poor harvest in Football in particular. To experience bountiful harvest, we must PLAY (Manage) Football and not PLAY Politics with Football. I will not go into discussing the recent performance of the Super Eagles and the Golden Eaglets rather I will say that the Super Eagles and other National Teams will do well if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is determined to do so.

I am Spectator.