Coach Amodu was right that Nigeria is wrong

FIFA World Cup 2010: Amodu was Right that Nigeria is Wrong

By: Ehimwenma E. Aimiuwu
June 17, 2010

After Amodu was removed as the Nigerian coach, he said 3 things I kept in mind, but waited to see if he knew what he was talking about. First, he said that Lagerback was not going to perform better than him. Second, he said Lagerback is going to use about 80% of the players he used for the African Nations Cup. Third, he said a coach can alone do as much as the players he has. A careful analysis of these 3 points is that Nigeria no longer has good players. Aside from Mikel Obi of Chelsea, who is not even a regular first 11 of the team, which other Nigerian player can we boast of that is as good as Drogba of Ivory Coast, Essien of Ghana, or Eto of Cameroon? The truth of the matter is that either the Nigerian players are actually too old or they have lost the joy of the game.

Today, I watched with great humiliation to see one of the weakest team in Europe, Greece, who have never scored or won a World Cup game dismantle the giant and hope of Africa, Nigeria, on African soil. It was not shameful enough to see the most populous Black nation on earth led on the World stage by a White man in the 21st century, but the joy and light of African football was vanquished by a Greek team that was totally written off by most football analysts in the supposed African World Cup. The glory of Nigeria in the world, especially among the Black peoples, is not our politics, military, currency, or education, but rather, our football. Yet again, Nigeria officially told the world on the most watched and most celebrated event on earth that the Black race must look for another torchbearer to bring glory to Africa. The painful truth of the matter is not that Nigeria is not good enough, but rather, Nigeria truly does not exist as a nation.

Nigeria is made up of most people that present high expectations, but truly does not have what it takes to deliver anything noble. Nigeria only looks forward to celebrating being present and not winning, trying but not reaching the mark, and looking for external justification to celebrate shortcomings. I know many Nigerians are already saying that even Spain lost to Switzerland so what if they lost to Greece. Many will say that even the mighty Argentina and France crashed out of the World Cup before in the first round so why not Nigeria. Yet, others will say it is just football; get over it. Nigeria fails to realize what just happened after their defeat to Greece spiritually, politically, economically, and socially on African soil with the entire world watching. The powers of the world have long given up on Nigeria as the glory of the Black race, but the Black race held on to it because of its population, resources, and human potential. They tried giving the leadership to Ghana because of its history and culture, they tried South Africa because of its White driven economy, Ghaddafi tried Libya because of its Islam and Arab influence, but the Black race proudly resisted. The European sports media is now pushing Ivory Coast because of its relative stability and its football as a place of Black leadership and investment, and Nigeria publicly opened its hands, placed them on its head, and gave up its crown in the eyes of the entire world.

Many Black women, some of whom do not care for football, around the world were at home today or were watching the Nigerian game at their jobs. Many were praying for Nigeria to do Africa proud at this World Cup because it is all they have for honor and respect as a people on the world scene. Only the blind and the visionless think the World Cup is just football. It has become the battle field were nations, peoples, cultures, ideals, traditions, values, prejudices, and stereotypes are celebrated or relegated. It is the biggest places where every nation and its people are judged and evaluated at the same place, moment, and time. The big nations of the world, including the United States where football is its 5th sport, know that a successful outing at the FIFA World Cup means more global respect, human admiration, economic development, corporate investments, easier inter-continental outreach, and instant global acceptance as a trademark of success. This is what Brazil, a poor country, has thrived on for 40 years and is considered a second world country. Brazil has so much support from all nations that no one wants to hear anything bad about Brazil for any reason. Brazil is perceived as a nation of joy and celebration even outside of football.

As a descendant of Nigeria and a proud African, I accept the global insult from Nigeria on behalf of my children for the last time. At a time when young African girls in kindergarten around the world are crying to their parents for a White name, at a time where young African boys in lower grade prefer White characters on TV to Blacks, at a time when African parents globally are praying for something spectacular to give their children the joy of embracing Africa at least half-heartedly, Nigeria leaves Anichebe and Ikechukwu Uche at home for Kanu. Who was going to run at the opponent’s defense at the World Cup? They drop Amodu, a Nigeria coach who qualified Nigeria twice eight years apart for the World Cup and know the players, for a White Lagerback, who neither knows the Nigerian players nor qualified his native country of Sweden to the World Cup 2010.

This is the last time I will support Nigeria in anything until I see a change in attitude. This is the last embarrassment I will accept from this country. They cannot elect good leaders with vision, they cannot develop their cities, they cannot build good schools nor parks for their children, there are no constant power supply or stable infrastructures, they cannot train Nigerian coaches for the world stage, they do not have a descent football league, and now they cannot beat ordinary Greece. Yes, it is just football; I wish you all the best.