Date Published: 10/16/11

Leave Siasia alone, Oyo SWAN Chairman urges

The Chairman, Oyo State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Mr Salem Akindele-Rock, says the on-going trial of Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia, is a ‘comic relief’.

He said the situation was being used by those he described as ``spoilers of the nation’s football'' to amuse themselves at the expense of majority of Nigerians.

In a statement released in Ibadan on Sunday, Akindele-Rock urged Nigerian football stakeholders to promptly wade in and stop ``the ongoing charade by officials of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA).

``We all need to stop this group of people from using this charade to gradually erode the relevance of football.

``The failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup finals should not be used to hang coach Siasia.

``No one can be expected to perform any kind of magic in the kind of atmosphere the nation’s football had degenerated into of recent.

``The Super Eagles' debacle is a microcosm of the low ebb to which football has sunk into in Nigeria, due to the antics of the leeches feeding fat on the sector,’’ the Oyo SWAN chairman said.

He pointed out that Siasia had already shown a commitment towards re-building the national team, if given the time to do so.

``This is therefore not the time to rock the boat by sacking him,’’ Akindele-Rock said in the statement, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.

He also lamented that it was rather unfortunate that the country was yet to fully imbibe the principles of accountability.

``Those trying Siasia should have been the first to hand in their resignation letters for failing to justify the trust reposed in them.

``The time has come for all stakeholders, from footballers, coaches, administrators, corporate organisations, sponsors of football and the media, to the policy makers, to rise up to the challenge of saving the nation’s football from extinction.

``The failure of the Eagles to fly to the Nations Cup has offered another avenue for those who matter in football to come round and chart a course to make the game matter once again in national discourse.

``This is what we should all do, rather than the lip service we always pay to the sector,’’ the Oyo SWAN chairman said.

He said the team's failure should not be used as an occasion to witch-hunt Siasia or the players as was done in the past.

``Instead, Nigeria should make use of the golden opportunity to re-direct its focus and channel a collective agenda for growth of the country’s one unifying game,'' Akindele-Rock said.

NAN reports that the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup finals scheduled for next January in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon after placing second in their group.

A 2-2 draw against the Syli Nationale in Abuja on Matchday Six in their Final Qualifying Round Group B had handed the Guineans the group's automatic qualification ticket.

Since then, and after Siasia's immediate apology on behalf of himself and his team, there had been a backlash, with the NFA Technical Committee querying him.

The coach had also on Thursday faced the committee to explain his team's failure, with the body making recommendations on him to the NFA board meeting expected to hold soon.

NAN