It is now public knowledge that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) issued my brother Mr. Stephen Keshi a query, because ‘’somebody’ in the federation leaked the query and the letter approving his leave to the media. The purpose is to demonize him and possibly, convince the general public that “he is uncontrollable’’, disrespectful and that their action is patriotic. Some say that the agenda to stop him from going to the World Cup is still on, albeit he has inadvertently fallen into a well-orchestrated trap laid for him by some persons out to undo him. However, there is need to note the followings:-
1.Keshi has stated severally that his trust is in God alone. And that if it is the will of God that he will lead the Super Eagles to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he will. Hence those that are hell bent on destroying him should come to terms with this fact. Maybe this will reduce the unnecessary crisis that has engulfed the polity of late. Unfortunately for this ‘’tinny minority’’, the best interest of Nigeria, hardly counts in their actions. We are living witnesses to 2010, when a coach that qualified the team was dropped and a ‘’World Cup’’ coach was contracted. Like they say the rest is history.
2. As a thorough bred who upholds the interest of the nation, Keshireplied the query, but would not make his reply public, like what the ‘’tinny minority’’ had done, because he has no problem with the Federation.
3. Our late parents brought us up to respect any person that we come in contact with, but “never to fear”. Which is why every member of the family is pained whenever these false allegations that he is rude, undisciplined, arrogant, etc. are made. My brother as captain of the Super Eagles for 14 years and at various times coach of the team is passionate about the team. Hence he has spent the last 3 years rebuilding the team from the scratch. He has discovered new players in the process and has refused to ‘’behave’’ like the foreign coaches, who come in barely a week to a match and take off immediately the match is over. He has refused to embark on so called monitoring of our players scattered in Europe. I know some people are not happy about this. He has not only saved the Federation money, but has through winning the African Cup of Nations, participating in the Con-federation Cup and CHAN, won for Federation more than $4 million (N650million).
4. I assure those hell bent on destroying him, that they can’t and won’t succeed. My brother has a good heart. They say he is stubborn, but what they refuse to tell Nigerians is that he is stubborn in what he believes is right for the team. But for his ‘’stubbornness’’ Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyema would not have been part of the team to the 2012 African Cup of Nations. The reason is that the ‘’tinny minority’’ described them as old and unlucky.
5. On the issue of his leave, I took pains to ask a friend in the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, on what obtains if someone during his leave is recalled back to work. I was informed that the person is entitled to those days. In the case of my brother while on leave he was in Brazil for a FIFA workshop. During the leave he also went for the match against Mexico. I think it is only fair that he takes those extra days that are legitimately his, since the federation never monetized it as demanded by the extant public service laws. I stand to be corrected.
6. About being absent from the reception by Mr. President. Those that know my brother know that he is a family man. Having spent more than four months in Nigeria, he was eager to go see his family and come back to prepare for the World Cup. He talked this over with AlhajiAminuMaigari, president of the federation, who encouraged him to ‘’go see my daughter’’. Let me state this for the record, my brother respects the person and office of Mr. President. He would have loved to ‘’wine and ‘’dine’’ with Mr. President like NwankwoKanu and the Nollywood Stars, but has kept a safe distance so that ‘’some little minds’’ desperate to cut him down would let him be.
7. The Tom-Tom event. It is part of the sponsored package for the Super Eagles. He honoured that event as part of his contract terms. Coaches before him had attended the event. I know as a fact that he asked the organizers about the absence of NFF officials and he was informed that it was an event for the coach. How would my brother ever have known that Tom-Tom a world class company reportedly did not clear the event with the Federation? We talked about the implication of him not attending and decided that he should, as the event was to drum up support for the team.
8. Finally, I must end this statement by thankingMaigari for his trust in my brother’s capability. What my brother owes him is to justify his faith in him. I must advise Mr. President to always watch his back. It is not Keshi that they are after. You never can tell who will be a victim of the crisis some people are pushing you into.
9. My appeal. We don’t need these distractions. Let us focus on giving a good account at the World Cup. My brother has just four months to go and those who want to hire ‘’world class’’ coach can bring him.I will support whatever decision he takes after the World Cup,but I will most certainly vote for him to move on.
Ado wrote from Abuja
