Tuesday night’s altercation between Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh, and former Captain Vincent Enyeama leaves football fans gasping for fresh air.
Though Oliseh denied it, the angry exchange of hard words made him strip the Lille, France-based player of the captain’s armband which induced Enyeama’s resignation from the national team.
Now, the errors of both men are being blamed for the polarising fracas in the otherwise conducive and harmonious camp in Belgium.
The factionalisation is equally blamed for the humiliating 0-2 loss by Super Eagles to the Leopards of DR Congo on Thursday.
Pundits are betting their last naira if Oliseh does not restore harmony to the camp before another humiliating defeat in today’s match against the more powerful Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, the spectre of failing to improve in FIFA ranking points will haunt fans.
Then there will be a predictable public outcry to boot out Oliseh from the prestigious chief coach’s seat as punishment.
Neither Oliseh nor Enyeama comes out clean from the noisy public exchange of harsh words.
But the spectre of Nigeria losing the two national team leaders raises hackles that should push the disciplinary committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to clean up the gathering mess.
Knowing the time and effort it took to find a replacement when Stephen Keshi was fired, resolving the conflict between Oliseh and Enyeama is the least costly alternative.
The jury is still out on who is wrong and who is right amid the competing claims and counter-claims.
But much as we agree that it is the prerogative of the coach to choose the team captain based on criteria which make for team victory, we disagree with Oliseh over the shabby way he treated the highest capped (101 caps), player who has put in 13 years service for the nation.
Then, ordering security to rough him up and throw him out of the camp in shredded clothes is the high point of arrogant power show of shame, which mature coaches do not exhibit.
Not even Oliseh’s irrationality during his playing days did any coach treat him that shabbily. We do not buy his post-facto rationalisations of a normal family argument between them.
Nor have we found any evidence to back up Enyeama’s claim that Oliseh insulted his dead mother whose burial had kept him one day late to camp.
In fact, Oliseh denied the allegation, citing his futile efforts to get permission for Eagles players to wear the black armbands as sympathy mourning for Enyeama’s mother during the match against Tanzania.
The NFF should move fast to unite the combatants or risk wasting all the resources poured into the foreign training programme if the team loses, again, to Cameroon in today’s friendly in Belgium.
Ahead are preparations for the 2017 AFCON and 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
It is laudable and cheaper for the NFF to give the opportunity to former national team players who distinguished themselves as players and acquired relevant training to be employed as national team coaches at any level.
Coaching experience is very valuable. Our compatriots are cheaper than hiring foreign coaches. But the world is a global village, especially for movement of high skilled labour.
Nigeria’s first World Cup Coach, Clemens Westerhof, had warned that because Oliseh was not the experienced, qualified coach to succeed Keshi, he may not be able to command the respect of the players.
Time seems to proving Westerhof right.