In this interview with Trust Sports, former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State and president of Karate Federation of Nigeria, Hon. Silas Ali Agara, has put the blame for Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup on the Super Eagles as he said the NFF did all that was needed to motivate the team. The former Nasarawa State Commissioner of Sports also spoke on the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) and other topical issues.
You are one among the few Nigerians who feel the NFF board shouldn’t be sacked over the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Why are you opposed to the sack of the board?
Thank you very much. We are all disappointed that Nigeria didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup. I also identify with the pains of Nigerians. However, for so many years now, I have been following the national team at international competitions and I have seen the capacity and commitment of individual members of the NFF board. Give it to them, individually they are very good. They have the capacity to deliver but again you must have a technical crew and players that will complement such effort. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the needed commitment in the present Super Eagles. So, I don’t believe I should join the bandwagon in calling for the crucifixion of the board because they are also human. They did their best. Rather, we should reason together on the way forward. We should find ways to revive Nigerian football. This is not the time to throw away the baby with the bathwater.
Are you, therefore, putting the blame squarely on the players?
The players are to blame. They were too lackadaisical. Some of them gave their best but the majority played as if nothing was at stake. You could see how casual they behaved each time the ball went out of play. Instead of rushing to get it back, they helped the Black Stars to waste time. Such an attitude made me question the commitment on the part of the players. The bench too didn’t do enough. The NFF board showed commitment which was not replicated by the players and the technical crew. So, we need to sit down and ask ourselves what really went wrong. Is it that some things weren’t properly sorted out before the game? Is it that they were not properly motivated before the game? Was it a faulty line up?
Do you agree with Nigerians who blamed the failure on Nigeria’s over-reliance on foreign based players …
I have heard such opinions being expressed but do we have a domestic league that can feed the senior national team? Has it developed to the level that we can rely solely on it for players? I am not against having home-based players in the Super Eagles but we have to be honest to ourselves. When you look at our league critically, you will discover that we still have a long way to go. How well have our clubs performed in the continental leagues? Have they been able to represent us very well? Look at North African countries. They all have robust football leagues. They have dominated the Africa Champions League so you can confidently look at these clubs and want to build your national team around the players. Can we take the risk here? How long do we keep the highest goalscorers in our league? If we have a highest goalscorer today, next season, he moves to Europe. So the consistency of having talented players in the local league is not there. But it is not the fault of the players because they have families to feed so they have to look for greener pastures. Individuals who should help develop the local league are not passionate about it. Therefore, the league is left at the mercy of the state governments. 99 percent of the clubs in the NPFL are run by state governments. The clubs are not properly managed. The state governments see it as another social service. There is no professionalism in the domestic league.
Super Eagles have been drawn with Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principle for the 2023 AFCON qualifiers. What are our chances?
I am worried because there are no more underdogs in modern football. If you look at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, you will realise that countries that were hitherto rated lowly came up strongly. There were so many upsets like Comoros kicking out Ghana and so on. Nations have got to a level you can’t underrate anyone. We didn’t do well in Cameroon and we have just failed to qualify for Qatar 2022 so morale is definitely at its lowest ebb. This is a serious cause for concern. To make matters worse, the NFF is facing pressure from Nigerians and things appear to be in disarray. But we need to put our house in order. The NFF should see how we can salvage what is left. Like I said earlier, I am not favourably disposed to sacking the board. If we decide to sack the board and have an interim committee, there are consequences for such action. I don’t want us to get into any problem with FIFA.
From the list of four foreign coaches listed by the NFF for the Super Eagles, which of the coaches would you support for the job?
One or two of the coaches but it won’t be right for me to begin to mention names. I don’t want to distract the NFF board and its technical committee that is saddled with the responsibility. I have seen one or two in that list that I believe can do the job.
Some Nigerians have kicked against the decision by the present board to appoint a foreign coach considering that they have less than five months to go. What is your take on this?
I think the NFF should be supported to get a good coach. Whatever happens, the NFF secretariat is going to stay. It is only individual members of the board that are going to leave. Therefore, there is no need to leave a vacuum that the present board is going so they should leave the appointment of a coach for the new board. Appointment of a substantive coach can’t wait because we have an urgent national assignment. Moreover, if a very competent coach is engaged, even the new board would accept to work with him. And if he is not good enough, the new board will look at his contract and know how to terminate such an appointment.
As a former Commissioner of sports in Nasarawa State, do you still keep in touch with Nasarawa United?
Nasarawa United and Nasarawa Amazons are my babies. I once managed the two clubs including Keffi United when they had no management committees. I led Nasarawa United to compete in both the CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup. It was also during my time that Amazons won the Women’s National FA Cup. So, to answer your question, I am still very passionate about these clubs. For Nasarawa United, we still work behind the scenes to give them the necessary support. I am quite happy with their progress but a lot still needs to be done.
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