And they finally "got their way".... The Siasia Era Ends!!

it's all over!!

I feel so sorry for Samson Siasia.  I have never seen a situation where so much was expected by Nigerians (except for the members of the NFF/NFA board) and they backed their expectation by providing the goodwill needed to succeed.  Except that the reality was not as rosy as we thought it would be.

The FA's statements these past weeks were an indication that all was not well with this relationship.Then came the players (some of them, at least).  And at that time, I felt that the inevitable was going to happen.  Poor Samson, Poor Nigeria.

The sacking of Samson Siasia brings to the fore certain key issues around how the system in Nigeria functions.  The issues surrounding the sacking is an interesting one.  Firstly, the NFF quoted that the coach did not qualify Nigeria for the AFCON tournament, hence he is in breach of contract.  Well, I have had an opportunity to study this contract and found (in my layman's interpretation) that its loopsided.  The NFF has been in breach of certain provisos on the contract since the coach was hired almost a year ago.  And although, I blame the handlers and the coach for accepting a gentleman's agreement at the resolution or lack thereof, when the NFF was in breach of his contract.

The next situation we would find ourselves is the proverbial blame game.  I am alright confronted with these issues. Has the NFF fulfilled the aspirations of Nigerians as a board??? what gives it the moral and current standing to terminate the contract of the coach at such a critical time...Has the chairman of the technical committee, the body saddled with the responsibility of handling the coaches and teams, offered to resign, since the teams they were responsible for, failed woefully??? For the first time in recent history, our men and women teams did not compete in the Africa Games, plus we are out of the Olympic games (women), plus we are and might not qualify for the men's event.  Has Chris Green offered to resign??

In my view, the decision to sack Samson Siasia is shrouded in petty jealousy and personality disagreements.  The FA hired him to do a job, and to many Nigerians, he was on the way to reforming the National Team and  was dealing with the issues of indiscipline that has festered since the Amodu/Eguavoen period.  Our team was playing a more creative brand of Nigerian football and would have reached the point where the team would be in position to win serious games.

As the old military adage goes, no General can go to battle if his army is not behind him.  I would have expected the FA to stand by the coach.  Far sighted organisations would have supported his sanctioning of players and stood firmly behind their coach at this time, and show solidarity for his work.  But one cannot ask a board with skeletons in its cupboards to be forthright...... Siasia is the sacrificial lamb that was put forward for the failings of the board.  No wahala.  If we are going to go by contracts, legal structures and frameworks, then the board must realize that it has opened a can of worms.

The solicitor general must be brought in to audit the federal government funding that has been spent by this organisation in the last 12 months (ooops, It is rumored that his kinsman, is on the board :) .
The Attorney General must act and act now.  This board has been spending funds generated and provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria, and it has not yet accounted for funds received.  So the government must act now, in the overriding public interest and audit the NFF.  If it doesnt, private citizens will go to court and demand that the audits be done and the board made to account for the funds provided to it, say for the last 3 years.

This same board must be aware that there are mechanisms and structures available to interested parties to commence their impeachment for non performance and continued failures.

Samson Siasia will take a big lesson from this.  He is too good to stay without a job for much longer, and it is my opinion that he should focus on picking up an AFCON bound team. His managers are advised to commence an active distribution of his credentials within the African continent.

Nigeria has just set itself another uphill task, are we going to go through a full blown selection exercise, or is someone going to be appointed ad-interim?

The board again has shown its frailties and incompetence, and a general lack of vision with this decision.  I want to wish Coach Samson Siasia success in his endeavors and hope he bounces back on his feet.

As for the NFF, I am going to be taking particular interest in their activities and can promise them that this is just the beginning........

What a shame.