Former Nigeria midfielder, Etim Esin, has urged Coach Sunday Oliseh to thread softly in his dealings with players if he intends to achieve results.
The peace and quiet of the national team camp was shattered on Tuesday, October 6 when Oliseh kicked the country’s most-capped player, goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, out of camp.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ordered the player to remain.
It was learnt that tussle over the captaincy of the Super Eagles led to the altercation which has overshadowed the team’s preparation for the friendly matches against Congo and Cameroon.
Enyeama reportedly arrived camp on October 6, a day later than all players were required to turn up, because of the funeral of his mother in Akwa Ibom on Saturday, October 3.
By the time Enyeama arrived in Verviers, Belgium Oliseh had already announced Ahmed Musa substantive captain.
This was a carry-over from September’s gathering in Abuja, when Enyeama asked to be withdrawn late without telling Oliseh about his family situation, only for a heartrending post to emerge on Instagram later that night about his mother’s death.
Esin advised Oliseh to manage players’ differences properly towards achieving desired results.
He said: “Oliseh was once the national team captain, he knows the pressure and with what he went through on the eve of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he should be able to balance the ego of his players which could be a big problem here.
“Aside from balancing the team by managing their ego, he should show Enyeama some respect if he wants respect in return.
“Captaining the national team is not an easy feat. He (Oliseh) has been in that position before and definitely will understand what I mean.
“My advice to him is to go the extra length in balancing his players’ ego because he has no time for wrangling. What Nigerians want is result and there will be no excuse.
“We have a technical committee in place and this matter shouldn’t have been in the press in the first instance.
“They should have handled the issue quietly and peacefully before it comes out in the media. They still have a lot to do because they must ensure this matter is resolved amicably.”
In reaction, Enyeama pulled the curtain on his international career, 13 years after making his debut for the Super Eagles.
The record-capped goalkeeper announced his retirement on Thursday, October 8 after the face-off with Oliseh but Esin insisted that “it is wrong for him to quit now because he has many years to serve the country.”
There is no official version of events from a neutral observer.
Oliseh said there is no leadership tussle in the team, and declared himself satisfied with Musa’s captaincy while Enyeama’s version that he was not allowed to speak in a situation where self-expression was imperative, is not without holes.
His lack of tact in the episode at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna earlier in the year was worrying, and betrayed a player for whom self-interest is greater than a united front.
His subsequent Instagram post muddied the water even further, implying insult to his recently-departed mother.
But this has the hollow feel of a man trying to curry sympathy; as multiple sources confirmed there was no disrespect to the person or memory of his mother.
