THE Nigerian will always be a Nigerian. When in other climes, people accept responsibility for their failure, the Nigerian will always find reasons and will be the last to accept his fault. It traverses every part of our being as a nation. Several applicants died as a result of the glaring incompetence of our Immigration authorities, no one opted to take responsibility.

The NNPC accounts have been battling to be reconciled in the past several months, no one has volunteered to take responsibility, though the account is supposed to be up to date, at all times and be ready for public scrutiny. Because we are not tidy at doing things, there are always tardiness, as witnessed by the on- going South Africa and Nigeria impasse over $15 million.

Nothing happens in Nigeria without a reason. A person travels home to his village, comes back, maybe as a result of the stress of the journey, he collapses and dies. The death is attributed to “juju” from the village, maybe caused by an old grandmother who never knew he existed. You are sacked for incompetence and you attribute it to tribal factors. That is the nature of Nigerians and that is why our leaders and politicians are taking us for granted, because they attribute reasons for any obvious madness. Fresh school graduates are now made to pay N4000 to register for the compulsory NYSC programme that is supposed to be a service to the nation. Why should these young school leavers be made to bear the cost? Why can’t the NYSC authorities work out the cost and put it in their budget for approval? Why must people suffer because a negligible few want to get rich? The NYSC must reconsider this obnoxious policy, it is not heard of.

The excuse syndrome recently got to its peak when the coach of our Super Eagles told journalists, on his return from the Sudan fiasco, that his team was sabotaged and that is why they lost to Sudan. So, who is the saboteur? Coaches and players who refuse to play until match allowances are paid or the NFA that decides to ‘siddon look’? What a reason! Simple “I am sorry we have failed the nation” would have been enough, but, not so for a typical Nigerian.

Our representatives have failed to realise that the glory for any victory go to them, as individuals first, before the nation. It gives them the required international exposure that catapults one to the peak of the profession. There are monetary rewards which are sometimes accompanied by other material benefits. The now former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, is a proud recipient of the MON award. Victory, therefore, is for their individual glory. So, why are they careless with it?

The last time the Eagles played good football was in the AFCON competition in South Africa last year. Since then, it has been on the downward slide. A major reason for this is that our players and coaches have chosen the pecuniary options over others. You will notice that each time Nigerian players begin to put on airs, their form begin to decline. It did not start today, past players like Okocha, Oliseh, etc, exhibited this trait and their careers declined accordingly. There was a time Okocha got lost in London trying to locate the Super Eagles camp base.

The Sudan game was a complete eye sore. I do not know how to describe it. Our players were passing the ball to the opponents and running away from tackles, while shooting high balls to no one in particular, it was nauseating.

Keshi needs to asses his own performance: eleven games, five losses, five draws and, only one win. So, the slide did not start now, Sudan was only an accumulation of the build-up.

Keshi has been building since he came in and in the process, he managed to drop useful players who helped him to win the Nations Cup like Sunday Mbah, Brown Ideye – his combination with Emenike, Ike Uche and others was superb. In their stead, he brought in very average players who could not rise to the occasion.

The absence of a creative mid fielder has been there since Keshi took over. Three years after, he has not been able to fill that vacuum; that does not show competence.

All over the world, players that excel from the youth teams are drafted into the senior teams. We did that with Kanu, Oruma, Okocha and others. Why did Keshi chose to ignore Iheanacho who sparkled in the Under-18 World Cup tournament? To make best player in any World Cup competition is not a small feat. Keshi should have included him in his team. Mexico did it for Dos Santos and Argentina did it for Messi. Dropping Iheanacho was not a good strategy on Keshi’s part and that is the sentiment issue that critics are accusing him of. As far as I am concerned, at least three of those Under-17 boys should have been drafted straight to the Eagles. The right back, where we still have problems till date, the goal keeper and the creative midfield, where we have Iheanacho. The future of the Eagles is in the hands of the youths.

Keshi also displayed very unpatriotic tendencies by openly flirting with other nations like South Africa for employment while still in charge of our Eagles. That was a big distraction which, I believe, affected his focus.

His relationship with his employers, the NFF, was not the best. That is not a winning strategy for a super coach. How can you be fighting with your bosses and expect to succeed? It is also alleged that he dumped all those who assisted him with technical inputs during his successful Nations Cup runs.

Keshi does not stay in Nigeria to monitor his players. So, for the period he was in charge of the Eagles, he operated like an expatriate coach.

Keshi became most successful through his adventure with the national team of Nigeria and has gotten to the peak of his career. He did not require or asked for the support of anybody to help him horne his technical skills. When you are at the peak of your career and you do not change location, the only route left will be downwards.

I agree with the new NFF chairman, Amaju Pinnick, that Keshi has reached the peak of his technical abilities. The Eagles we saw in recent times did not exhibit any tactical display or discipline; they were just like a bunch of youths haphazardly brought together and given jerseys to play football. It was that bad.

It did not help matters when he started having altercations with his players, to the hearing of the press, that is not a good player management.

Now they claim that the pitch is the cause of their failure, as if the other team of eleven players are not using the same pitch, a bad workman always complain of his tools.

Keshi and his group of players have failed the nation, the NFA must take immediate action to remedy the situation, football is very important to this country’s peace of mind.

Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.