Keshi’s Sack: Shuaibu’s Choice Like Frying Pan To Fire

•Amodu Shuaibu

•Amodu Shuaibu

Taiwo Adelu, Sam Paul & Daniels Ekugo

The appointment of former Super Eagles Coach, Shuaibu Amodu to replace Stephen Keshi, has been described as moving from frying pan to fire.

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, early Thursday morning sacked ‘Big Boss’, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, as the Head Coach of the senior national team, the Super Eagles.

But Amodu’s appointment has attracted criticisms, with Prince Isidore Oduah, a veteran sports administrator and former member of the board of Nigeria Football Association, NFA, kicking against it.

Oduah told P.M.NEWS Thursday that why NFF would pick Amodu who has been rotting away in Benin, Edo State without doing anything, baffles him.

“Why Amodu for God’s sake,” Prince Oduah asked the NFF led by Amaju Pinnick.

“I think it was a mistake for them to pick Amodu to lead the team now. The man Amodu has been rotting away in Benin in the last few years without doing anything that one can say qualifies him to coach our national team in this difficult time. The choice of Amodu won’t do us any good. Rather it would lead us nowhere. Amodu was a complete failure when he handled our team. I still don’t believe why we must be recycling our old coaches when we have younger generation of Nigerians who have updated themselves in world football. People like Sunday Oliseh comes to my mind.

•Amodu Shuaibu
•Amodu Shuaibu

“Instead of the NFF bringing Amodu, they should have let Keshi’s assistant, Daniel Amokachi complete the qualifying series because he knows the system better than Amodu.

“The players themselves are not helping matters. You can see in those matches that they were not playing for Nigeria. Rather, they were playing for Keshi. There must be a total submission and patriotism on the part of the players for them to get the desired results. A good psychologist is also needed to work on the players so that they would know why they are playing for the country,” he said.

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The President of the NFF, Pinnick, said Keshi walked himself into the problems that led to his sack.

Speaking on Channels Television, Pinnick said: “Keshi had sidelined our notable players who are doing well for their clubs abroad. What we want now is a coach that will turn around our game as did Clemens Westerhof, who managed our players and exposed them to the world. How many has Keshi exposed as a coach?”

Ex-Nigeria coach Christian Chukwu, who was in charge of the Super Eagles at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, said Keshi’s sack was long in coming.

“The federation just gave Keshi a soft landing as he has been lined up to be relieved of his duty for some time now,” said Chukwu. “And we also know that in the coaching business it is all about hiring and firing. This is not the first time that Keshi or Amodu will be fired or hired. Keshi has done relatively well and this shall be good resume for him in his future endeavours.”

Amodu managed Nigeria from April 2001 to February 2002. He was appointed Head Coach of the Eagles in April 2008,and was sacked on 6 February 2010.  Despite reaching third place with the national side in the 2010 African Cup of Nations, he was demoted to serve as the coach of the Nigerian B-team (Home-Based Eagles) and Lars Lagerbäck was installed in his place before the 2010 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Football Federation NFF, in a communiqué early today stated that Keshi, Amokachi and Ike Shorunmu have been relieved of their duties as the Head coach, assistant and goal keeper trainer of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Garba Lawal was named the team Coordinator, while Toyin Ibitoye of Channels Television has been named the new Media officer.

According to the communiqué, the committee praised the contribution of the technical crew led by Keshi in the past three years calling them true national heroes.

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