By ISAAC OLAMIKAN

FOR winning the Africa Nations Cup, the Super Eagles were awash with cash and land gifts by the federal government and some states government, a development that has not gone down well with some Nigerians.

One of such Nigerians is Barrister Sam Kargbo, an aide to the Kebbi State governor who said the money being lavished on the Eagles could have been put to better use to improve the game and make it less stressful for the fans.

Super Eagles celebrate after winning the 2013 Afcon final

He wondered how many of the governors jostling to reward the Eagles have spent half the sum they have  doled out to the players and their officials on the clubs in their states which are battling to survive in the league.

“Look at the FCT (Federal Capital Territory), where can you call a sports ground here in the entire  FCT? But the gentleman (FCT Minister) was spending money to congratulate the Super Eagles in the media immediately they won the AFCON. Who is he trying to impress?,” he queried.

On the recurring issue of hiring a foreign coach for the national team, Barrister Kargbo said beyond the belief that they are more exposed, he doesn’t see what foreign coaches have that indigenous coaches can’t offer too. “Football is not too far away from the ordinary man now unlike how it used to be in the past. In the past, people just watch football matches for the fun of it.

Now we watch matches and do informed analysis of what is happening on the field of play.

What Keshi’s achievement has taught us is that if we invest in our indigenous coaches giving them the right training, they’ll excel. Keshi has led two other African countries to previous Nations Cup so his wealth of experience in these previous outings played a huge role in his successful outing with the Nigerian team this time around.

He benefited from those previous exposures with Mali and Togo. If not he may not have been as competent as he was at this last tournament. He understood the politics of the game, he understood what he needed to do to get the boys in top shape for the task.

Definitely, the answer is no to the idea of engaging foreign coaches for our teams because it is wasteful and also denies our indigenous coaches the opportunity to learn and get the exposure they need to compete at the world stage,” he said.

On the inclusion of local players in the Super Eagles squad, Barrister Kargbo stressed that the mix of local and foreign-based players Keshi chose and blended very well had the winning mentality which was more important than skill. “What actually happened was that Keshi chose the right people who had the right frame of mind for the tournament and he won with them. Each of the players had something to prove.

Even the oldest member of the team (Joseph Yobo), who most times was coming in for less than five minutes, had a role to play. Most of the players are young and energetic,” Kargbo affirmed.