By Ben Efe

Former Super Eagles and BCC Lions of Gboko midfielder, Moses Kpakor is baffled by the Nigeria Football Federation’s move to hire a foreign technical assistant for coach Stephen Keshi ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Keshi in the estimation of Nigeria football fans, has fared well since taking over from Samson Siasia in November 2011, after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. But somehow the top guns at the NFF have persistently wanted a foreign coach for the Eagles. A case in point was during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations when the NFF wanted former Zambia coach Herve Rennard to replace Keshi in the heat of the tournament in South Africa. Keshi beat all the odds to win the trophy and brought Nigeria back to reckoning on the continent.

That same old foreign coach song resurfaced on Thursday, when the NFF told Keshi to accept a foreign hand for the World Cup campaign. Keshi turned it down and would rather have Sylvanus Opkala back on his bench; Okpala a former midfield maestro for the Eagles was sacked by the NFF.

“I think the NFF is simply underrating our coach Stephen Keshi. I do not know why they want to force a foreign coach on him. For me, it’s so disrespectful,” Kpakor submitted.

He said that Keshi should be given all the support he needed to succeed in Brazil 2014. Stressing that distractions such as these could spell doom for the national team. He argued that Keshi who was Kpakor’s captain in the squad that won silver at the Nations Cup at  Algiers 1990,  has built a team Nigerians have long clamoured for and as such he should get the confidence vote of the NFF hierarchy.

“It’s not about having faith in Keshi to take us to the last eight. But it is about letting the guy to take us to the World Cup and only then we will see what the team can do.

“But I know this much. Keshi has built us a good team capable of doing well in Brazil. No doubt about that.”