[OPINION] Open letter To Sunday Oliseh By Nomso Obiajuru

sunday oliseh

Dear Coach Sunday Oliseh

As a sport enthusiast and a lover of Nigeria Super Eagles, I am constrained to write you this open letter. This follows a number of issues that I believe it is important for you to clarify and to come clean on. I say this because some of your assertions on Sunday, February 7 in a video posted on your YouTube are at worst patently dishonest unless you come out to affirm these avowals with solid proofs.

As a Nigerian, I am sure you should be familiar with the terrain in our country. You are aware this is a country where mediocrity is never an option. You are aware that this is a country where expectations are high. You are aware that this is a country where football unites us as a nation and you are also well aware of the circumstances that led to Keshi’s sack. Why then do you speak like a novice? Why then did you bring shame upon our nation, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and to Nigerians that were excited at your coming? Why then did you spew words you will later go ahead to regret? Surprisingly! All these coming just seven months to your 5year deal.

Permit me to point out a few examples of your contradictory assertions in this short message.

If CHAN was not important, will FIFA decide to put into consideration the results from the tourney?

Oliseh please tell me, didn’t you carefully look at your contract before signing the dotted lines? Didn’t you also consider your work atmosphere and condition before accepting to sign.

Whatever the case may be, I believe that it is at this point I make it clear to you that your YouTube video was greeted with extreme repugnance from my end and a whole lot of football lovers across and beyond this nation. Although I have forgiven you following your apology but the thoughts of your ten minute video still constituting a nuisance on your Youtube page irritates me. My disgust isn’t unconnected to the fact that your video is bringing more shame unto this nation as the views continue to soar on your page. Please take it down if you indeed have the Super Eagles and the over 170 million Nigerians at heart.

You called your critics “insane”, classifying CHAN as the least important tournament that is held by CAF. Bravo! That was a jaw dropping statement that should probably get you an award (for the silliest remark ever). How will you categorize a competition as the least important when the Rwandan government spent as much as 16 billion Rwandan francs ($21.4 million) on infrastructure and organisational costs for that tournament. If they didn’t see the importance of the competition, will such a sacrifice be made? Take to this little word of advice from George Washington Carver “90% of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses”.

Assessing Oliseh’s 14 Games – 7 Wins, 5 Draws, 2 Defeats

Dear coach, you may have not done that bad as losing just one competitive game in 14 is not a record to disregard. However, one wonders what you meant by “10 games non-losing streak” in your video.

Coach Oliseh may I remind you that you’ve won just four competitive games out of nine and for me that isn’t anything to brag about going by the calibre of teams you played. You won just one competitive game in your first three as head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria against lowly-ranked teams like Tanzania and Swaziland. You went ahead to win again just one in your last three competitive games against team like Tunisia and Guinea. One thing is evident here; your team didn’t come to the party against the bigger teams.

These are your 14 games as coach of Super Eagles  – Tanzania (AFCON 2017 Qualifier), Niger Republic (AFCON 2017 Qualifier), DR Congo (Friendly), Cameroon (Friendly), Swaziland (World Cup qualifier (H/A), Burkina Faso (CHAN 2016 Qualifier (H/A), South African side AmaTuks (Friendly ahead of CHAN 2016), Angola (Friendly ahead of CHAN 2016), Ivory Coast (Friendly ahead of CHAN 2016), Niger Republic (CHAN 2016 group match), Tunisia (CHAN 2016 group match), and Guinea (CHAN 2016 group match).

Oliseh, Nigerians will appreciate the names of those journalists that demanded money from you

Coach you claimed that certain sections of the media wanted you to pay them in exchange for positive reporting. This claim has now landed you in hot water with the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), who has issued you a seven-day ultimatum to name the reporters involved. We hope to get the names of these journalists before the expiration of the deadline. This at least will go a long way in fishing out the bad eggs in the media.

Please also do not forget to let Nigerians know those you claim approached you to invite their players to the Super Eagles and who that top government official is that begged you to take the Eagles job.

You claim some of your ex-colleagues were not the real actors who made the Super Eagles what it is today and they are only good at talking. But apparently, someone forgot he has been doing a lot of talking and less action on the pitch of play since taking up the Eagles job on July 14, 2015. My dear coach, being the head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria is a difficult assignment which you can ask your predecessors.

However, am sure you can succeed if you put aside your youthful energy and concentrate on the job at hand. Don’t worry about the critics and the media; they will love you once the results start improving.

Dear Oliseh, you have not failed as you rightly said but you treading on the wrong path if you choose to continue your verbal attack on your critics, other than shutting them up with positive results on the pitch of play. Talk less and work more, that’s the winning formula.

Please just give us good results and restore the Super Eagles long lost sobriquet. That is your job, get it done!

Warm Regards from a fan

Nomso Obiajuru