Give Eagles local coach, ex-stars charge NFF

The Super Eagles' new head coach, who will succeed the late Jose Peseiro, will soon be announced by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Former international players Emmanuel Amuneke and Finidi George are in the lead for the coveted position. George led the team in recent international friendlies in Morocco against rival West African nations, Ghana and Mali.

Others include Michael Nsien, a US-based player, Sylvanus Okpala, a former Nigerian midfielder, and Henry Makinwa.

The opinions of the former internationals, many of whom argued in favour of an indigenous coach, are collected below.

"The NFF should bring a coach that knows a lot about African football, especially Nigerian football," stated Moses Kpakor, a former midfield enforcer for the Eagles. That means that we have coaches like Finidi George, Emmanuel Amuneke, and others who are Nigerian-born, have played at the top level on the continent, thrived in Europe, and know our football. Why is it wrong to assign them the job? They are more familiar with African and international football than the coaches who have led the Super Eagles in the previous 20 years or so, so nothing is incorrect. I think Finidi and Amuneke working together is beneficial for Nigeria.

"We have our indigenous coaches who can pilot our national team successfully, and remember that ours have done it in the past, and the present home coaches are more exposed than those who have done it before," said Kadiri Ikhana, a member of the Eagles' 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winning squad. Let's face it, there are a tonne of benefits to having our native coaches oversee the team.

Tajudeen Disu, a former centre defender for the Nigerian national team and Abiola Babes, predicted that local coaches would outperform foreign candidates hired by the NFF.
The former Flying Eagles player stated, "I think it's time to give our indigenous coaches a chance to prove themselves again."

"I think the native coaches will perform better than the international ones. I will vote for our indigenous coaches if we are to take into account their prior performance in comparison to that of the foreign coaches. My belief is that the NFF is solely engaging in business dealings with international coaches since hiring these coaches increases their revenue. That is the actual situation.

"The Super Eagles need a local coach that will deliver based on the tasks or targets expected of him," stated former Eagles midfielder Fatai Amoo, echoing the demand for an indigenous coach.

It's about time, in the opinion of another former celebrity Basil Nkwocha, that we turn inward. The majority of us former players, particularly those living abroad, do possess the necessary qualifications to manage our clubs, if given the chance. I have nothing against foreign managers.
But I believe it is only fair that we are allowed to handle our own affairs. Clearly, some African nations are already engaged in that practice. The most excellent case study comes from the most recent AFCON, where the host team, Ivory Coast, used this strategy. Currently, I, along with a few others, including Andrew Uwe and Amuneke, come highly recommended for the position.

Wasiu Ipaye, the former midfield player who established the standard with the now-defunct First Bank FC, has a different viewpoint, though.

"Yes, in my opinion, we should hire a reputable foreign coach with experience, and our native coaches should support him, as using native coaches will prevent the international professional players from treating the coach with the necessary deference and cooperation."