Let Keshi sleep Says Samuel Ogunnaike
Sir: The footballing world is a couple of days away to marking another memorable, historic, epic and tearful remembrance of an African great, both as a footballer and as a national head coach.
I, indeed, feel speechless and awestruck to learn about the bribery allegation that bothers on his moral stand.
The Big Boss, as the late Stephen Keshi was fondly called, may have to rely, among many others, on his encounter with Emmanuel Emenike, a former Super Eagles’ striker for his defence.
We know, for certain, that some officials of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, and national coaches operate a pay-to-play scheme in selecting players for national assignments.
Keshi might not, at least, in the estimation of the Bible, have been a perfect man, considering the fact that Jesus rebuked one of his disciples for calling him a good man – no man is good, except God alone.
As a young child, back then in the ’90s, I grew up believing that death marks the end of everything. Similarly, that, the sleep of the dead is not truncated.
However, it appears, that Keshi’s soul has just been served a summons. In my view, the whole scenario reveals to the footballing world and the fans of the Super Eagles, that there is the bad side or the ugly side of the sport they love.
In some instances, tickets are scalped, matches are fixed, and sometimes, parochial behaviour highlights our football.
It is sad to tell the story of an unlucky Salisu Yusuf, a former Super Eagles coach, who was fined $5000, having being found guilty of receiving a $1000 bribe from an investigative journalist, who had posed as a representative of the Tiger Eye Agency to influence the selection of two players. This, to say the least, points to the conclusion that our football industry is not free of corruption.
Admittedly, behind the scenes of our football lie many dastard practices. Nonetheless, football corruption is a disease of the world.
FIFA, on many occasions, has shown itself as being mired in murky waters; so, what should we expect from other football associations, leagues and professionals that look up to it? To cite some cases of foreign roots, in 2006, a probe into corruption in Vietnamese football discovered that more than 150 games played over a period of 20 years, might have been fixed.
Tommy Wright, Barnsley Football Club’s ex- assistant head coach was sentenced to 12 months and suspended for a year, having been found guilty of bribery.
Stephen Keshi, though, not an absolute saint or a completely impeccable coach, has made us proud. This, we shall not detract or wash away from our delicate history.
The Big boss did accomplish a towering feat in less than two years, what had taken the great Clemens Westerhoff about five years to achieve.
In recognition of his footballing heroism, the Asaba Township Stadium was renamed after him. To let the Big Boss sleep, and sleep in peace is what we owe him as we set to mark his quatrain demise!
Samuel Ogunnaike, wrote from Lagos.
