Looking back at the last three years

At that time, there were more crises than cries of joy, and there were more travails that trophies. There were court cases here and there, and various issues to deal with.Yet, we have been able to come out of this, thanks to the intervention of several prominent citizens that we have always given praise for […]

At that time, there were more crises than cries of joy, and there were more travails that trophies. There were court cases here and there, and various issues to deal with.
Yet, we have been able to come out of this, thanks to the intervention of several prominent citizens that we have always given praise for their roles (Secretary to Government of the Federation, Distinguished Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON and Hon. Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi), plus other well-wishers. Today, Nigeria football is back in the sunshine and we’re looking for FIFA World Cup qualification ticket with a realistic lens.
Truth be told, it was never going to be easy. We knew that so much was expected of this administration when we came into office in August 2010. Nigeria had just fared badly at the FIFA World Cup finals and that was a sore point with everyone. The new administration had its job cut out trying to put morale back up and get everyone motivated to take the game to the next level.
The litany of pointless court cases streamed in and much of the first few months was spent going to the courtroom instead of courting sponsors to come in and help the Nigeria game. We went from one court to the other and at a time, received a FIFA ban.
The FIFA ban was lifted only 48 hours to a crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Conakry, and with so much distractions here and there, even the players were ill-motivated. We knew we would play the match only two days to the game. The Super Eagles lost 0-1 and that loss was what eventually cost us the ticket to the 2012 CAN in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
When our heads cooled a little and there was some breathing space, there was a candy of efforts that saw the Super Falcons lifting the African Women Championship trophy in South Africa.
A few weeks after that, we decided it was time to employ a new Head Coach for the Super Eagles, and we signed on Samson Siasia after a thorough interview process. The Year 2011 opened with some promise after that, but the distractions would not go away and what we had was a situation of so many people trying to pull down the building, if they would not be the ones to occupy it. It got pretty bad and it took strength of character to push ahead with lofty programmes, which eventually saw the Flying Eagles win the African Youth Championship in South Africa.
Even as our partners Guinness Nigeria PLC brought two-time world champions Argentina for a memorable Guinness The Match show at the National Stadium, Abuja, with the Super Eagles presented the glittering trophy by Vice President Namadi Sambo, drums of the disgruntled still sounded underneath and all they wanted was to sink tbe boat. We thank God the boat did not sink.
But the distractions led to our Flying Eagles not going beyond the quarter finals at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, the Super Eagles failing to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and the Super Falcons and U-23 boys failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.
It was a terrible low in our football and we were not happy. We doubled efforts and then, God blessed Nigeria sports through the appointment of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi as Minister of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission by President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR.
We continue to give Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi credit for most of our achievements because he came in with an open mind, was ready to listen to everyone, refused to allign himself to any camp and over the past 20 months has shown himself to be a visionary and an excellent administrator.
Let me also, at this stage, commend the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, CON, for being ever-ready to host the Super Eagles (as he is also set to do next week) and the Golden Eaglets; Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola for his support all the time and especially hosting of the grand finale of the Federation Cup (which he is set to do on an even bigger scale in a fortnight); Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State for his support to the U20 and U-17 girls; Governor Adams Oshiomonle of Edo State for his support to the U-23 boys during their qualifying campaigns; Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State for his support to the U-20 boys; Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State for his support for the U-20 boys; Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State and his predecessor late Governor Patrick Yakowa for their various support to the Super Eagles for friendly matches and the Annual General Assembly of NFF; Governor Godswill Akpabio, CON of Akwa Ibom State for his support for the NFF Annual General Assembly; Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, CON for the NFF Annual General Assembly and as Chairman of the Presidential Task Force that raised the money for building of a brand-new, world-class NFF Headquarters.
NEXT WEEK: Looking Ahead To Next 12 Months