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Avoid embarrassment, Mabo tells Keshi

Stephen Keshi

A former coach of the Super Falcons, Ismaila Mabo, has asked out-of-contract Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi to protect his integrity and achievements and resign as the coach of the Super Eagles.

Keshi has come under heavy fire since the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Equatorial Guinea. The former Togo coach was relieved of his position by the Nigeria Football Federation as the struggled for the competition ticket but was forced back on the federation and the team by President Goodluck Jonathan. Since then there has been continuous call for the embattled coach to go by the popular demand of Nigerians and quit the team.

Mabo who spoke with our correspondent on Tuesday, advised Keshi not to lose his integrity by clinging desperately to the Eagles’ job.

He said, “I have been an advocate of indigenous coaches for our national teams, and so when Keshi was appointed as the Eagles coach, I was fully in support of him. All Nigerians know that Keshi achieved a lot with the team in a very short time. He did much for the country in a period of time that people never thought it was possible. Nigerians will never forget him for that.

“But now, everybody sees that things have turned against him, so I will advise him to leave the team at this time when it is still honourable for him to do so. Even if he has the backing of the country’s president, my candid advice to him is to protect his name, achievements and legacy with the Eagles.

“Nobody can rubbish his achievements but the longer he stays there, the more he loses people’s respect. If the majority of people do not want him, he should resign.

“Let him leave honourably and another indigenous coach should take over the team to start a process of rebuilding the team. Leaving now will save his neck and also save him from too much embarrassment.”

Technical Director of the NFF, Shaibu Amodu, a former staunch supporter of Keshi was one of the first to lead the call for Keshi to quit. Also, former Eagles internationals such as Joe Erico, and former Eagles coaches, Christian Chukwu, and Adegboye Onigbinde and the Director of Pepsi Football Academy, Kashimawo Laloko, had also asked him to move on.

Mabo, who is the first coach to lead the Falcons to a FIFA World Cup quarter-final added that the NFF now needs to focus on building a team for the future Eagles from the scratch 2015.

“The NFF should deal with this coaching issue as soon as possible and build a team that can withstand competition and the test of time in the new year,” he said.

“Nigerians love football and will like to see their teams do well in competitions they attend.”