By Onochie Anibeze
During the 2010 World Cup qualifying series, and just before the Angola Nations Cup, coach Amodu Shaibu pointed out some obstacles he wanted Nigerians to appreciate:

“I’m caught in-between those holding office in the football federation and those who want to replace them,”Amodu started in an emotion-laden tone.

“It is bad for me because those who want to change those in the federation want us to fail so that they can score points that will clamour for their installation. They don’t care. They are working for our failure so that they can come in.

This is the sad truth about the Eagles. I have had to spend personal money to engage people to pray in churches and mosques to survive these people. They are powerful and well connected.”

At the Hearing of the National Assembly on our World Cup failure, Dr. Amos Adamu said that a divided house couldn’t have succeeded during the World Cup. He was referring to Nigeria that had the Presidential Task Force working at cross purposes with the Nigeria Football Federation.

And two days ago, Amanze Uchegbulam, the deposed First Vice President of the Federation who, together with,  Sani Lulu and Taiwo Ogunjobi (all deposed) is facing charges of corruption in court, said he needed to open up on many matters. Hear him:

“The problems we had at the World Cup and the problems we have now in our football have been orchestrated and perpetrated by the Presidential Task Force. I am not saying that we were perfect. No. We must have, as human beings, made some mistakes. But how can people forget, in a hurry, how they insisted on a foreign coach few months to the World Cup?

They misrepresented us at the Presidency and insisted on a foreigner to handle our team at the time. We were going to add one or two people to help Amodu and we would have done better but they insisted on a foreign coach and see the result we got. Unfortunately, when we started failing Nigerians, except a few,  forgot the role PTF played. When they were appointed, I made a comment saying that they would create confusion.

From that moment they did everything to get back at me. Some Members of the PTF had a legitimate ambition to change us in the federation. Nothing wrong with that.

But there was everything wrong in the way they went about it. It didn’t matter if Nigeria failed. It didn’t matter if FIFA banned us after all they advised that we should withdraw from FIFA events.

If the President didn’t rescind his decision based on wrong PTF advice, would there be any functional federation for which they would be aspiring to run? But it is funny that those who wanted us banned for two years or more are now fighting to run the same offices they wanted banned. I know that we couldn’t have pleased everybody but Nigerians should study what is happening critically and understand the situation

Some people feel that there shouldn’t be football if they are not the ones running the game. Unfortunately, the ministry has not helped matters.

The crisis is getting deeper and deeper and if they loved Nigeria why would they be compounding issues? The PTF insisted on a coach and how to execute our World Cup and now they are insisting on who runs the FA. That is the summary of causes of our crisis in football now, simple.”There are however some members of the PTF who are not involved in the politics of Nigerian football.