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Why Citizen Izelein is angry
ben alaiya
group sports editor
In the coaching profession in Nigeria,
Godwin Izelein has paid his dues since breaking into national limelight with
the defunct New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin City.
He has since taken his coaching
skills to Insurance of Benin, Dolphin of Port Harcourt and lately the Super
Falcons of Nigeria, where he helped win the last African Women Championship in
South Africa for the fourth time for the country.
Characteristically Nigerian, that
victory has become the coach’s albatross and is even threatening to blur
his future in football coaching if not properly handled.
Remember, the man is now the coach
of the Golden Eaglets after his splendid outing with lasses and he has again
proved himself with the hard-earned 1-1 draw against Sierra Leone in the first
leg of the African qualifiers for the U-17 World Cup. Today, he plays the
return leg and all eyes are again on him to deliver the Junior Championship
ticket. But the nation is yet to appreciate Izelein’s sterling qualities,
at least till this moment leading him to
reason that he may die an unsung hero.
His travails started when the
Falcons, after winning the AWC refused to return to the country from South
Africa unless their entitlements were cleared by the Sports Ministry. Sports Minister, Musa Mohammed, was
said to have held back the funds meant for the tourney with the sole intention
of dealing with those he perceived as enemies at the NFA.
So when the South African scandal broke,
the smart minister was looking for scapegoats and he could hardly find any in
the NFA. Or how do you punish a man, who made a request for funds for a
tournament and was told that he had exhausted his allocation for the year, only
for his allocation to suddenly shoot up when the highest authority in the land
queried the rationale for not paying allowances to young girls that have done
the nation proud?.
In the desperate bid to locate a
scapegoat, the coaching crew of the team was picked upon. They must have
instigated the girls against the establishment, otherwise why did they not
abandon the girls in South Africa and return home when it was clear they were
bent on disgracing the country ?. Another school of thought said with the level
of cordiality between the girls and Izilein, he was lying when he declared to
the world that he knows nothing about the South African sit-out.
The matter got so serious that
President Olusegun Obasanjo personally investigated the issue when the team
came to present the trophy to him in Aso Rock and the coach was not found
culpable.
Surprisingly, why the girls were
paid their entitlements with additional N1million presidential largesse,
Izelein and his crew were told to wait. Unbelievable but true, not even his
entitlements in South Africa have been paid even till this day and the man has
been given another task of piloting Nigerian school boys stars to the world
cup.
Like every human being, the coach is
pained about the injustice but has been hampered by fear and the pressure of
his new assignment from making a demand for his dough.
Initially, he was positive that he
would get his dues, but days have turned to weeks and hope is receding for the
hardworker, with some even suggesting that like the old teacher he should wait
for his dues in heaven.
He may not have made representation
to the NFA or the Sports Ministry, but it’s obvious from interaction with
him recently that he is getting increasingly frustrated by a system that
punishes excellence and extols
mediocrity. If not why would you not pay the match bonuses and allowances of a
coach who won for you a continental trophy, which he was least expected to
achieve.
As Izilein steps out today in Abeokuta for his new
assignment, the NFA, Sports Ministry and even the Presidency would do well to
take note of his pains and anguish and make effort to assuage his feelings.
Nothing pains like not appreciated by one’s immediate environment after
the larger world has generally applauded one’s feat. Citizen Izelein is
angry and the NFA can change that especially as they still find it comfortable
to saddle the coach with crucial national duties.
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