An individual or collective protest is a legitimate enterprise in every free society; but protest has its own place and style. It could be exercised discreetly or irresponsibly. An example of protest for a banal, irresponsible end was afforded last Thursday when the players and some officials of the Super Eagles, refused to leave their hotel in Windhoek, Namibia for a scheduled flight to Johannesburg.
The protest was all about the socalled “callous reduction” of their draw match bonus from $5000 to $2500 after the game with Namibia a day earlier. By that act, the team missed their connection flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil where the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup was scheduled to begin.
In forcing the administrators to “give unto Eagles what belongs to Eagles” the players announced they would boycott participation in the Confederation Cup, which devolves on them as African champions.
Truly, the very day the competition started, they were still ensconced in their Namibian hotel! The impasse dissolved only after the Nigerian Football Federation conceded the pecuniary victory to them.
I have had arguments with a number of friends on this issue and I have remained unrepentant that what the players did amounted to blackmailing their own nation. Those who justified the players’ strike were prolix in the clichés that Nigeria is a “use and dump” nation, and that you had better get all the entitlements you deserve while still being relevant.
They would point to some retired athletes now living in penury without any assistance from the state to underscore the hypothesis that making sacrifices for Nigeria would be unwise.
But all those arguments do not persuade me in the least for the following reasons. Firstly, I think the players did not really understand the enormity of the responsibilities that devolved on them.
In the Confederation Cup, which is a festival of champions drawn from all the continents, Nigeria is carrying the flag of the Africa, so the players are representing the continent.
Now, would it stand to reason for players to render their nation unable to discharge its duties as African representatives solely on the grounds that their bonus had been reduced by 50 percent?
Secondly, if the players were soldiers in the Nigerian Army, would they have refused to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria against imminent foreign attacks on the grounds that there has been a cut in their allowances?
If no payments were offered and the players had scuttled the Confederation Cup by non-participation, the FIFA’s hammer would not fall on the players, but on the country, which might come in form of ban.
Such a ban would not only affect these Fiscal Eagles (sorry, Super Eagles), but all the teams including the U-21 and U-17 teams, as well at the women’s teams. Imagine the immense drag that would unleash on the nation’s soccer!
Thirdly, almost all the players are multimillionaires who would not be rendered “insolvent” by a temporary cut in bonus. If the 23 players are not motivated by being worthy representatives of a nation with a population of 170 million people, then they have no business being our soccer ambassadors.
They seemed to have even forgotten that as the most senior team, there is a burden of leadership on them which means they set examples for others. It is on record that the former World Footballer of the Year, Mr. George Weah, spent his personal money to finance Liberian players for a World Cup campaign at a time his country was just coming out of civil war and was cash-crunched. Did Weah understand what honour means?
It is ironic that only in February, these players were amply rewarded with handsome gifts and honours by the nation, corporate bodies and individuals upon their return from South Africa basking in the Africa Cup of Nations glory. Each of the players was given N5m gift while the Coach got N10m. The president also announced a plot of land each for all the players and officials.
More importantly, each of the players was given the national honour of Member of the Order of Niger (MON) while the Coach, Stephen Keshi, was conferred with the honour of Commander of the Order of Niger (CON).
If they had really boycotted the championship and inexorably brought the adverse consequences on Nigeria, should the national honours not have been withdrawn? In the light of all these, there is no doubt that the players took the joke too far. It is high time our soccer administrators put in place a strict code of conduct for all members of the national teams.
The breach of such code must be attended with appropriate punitive measure to ensure no individual or group of players/athletes embarrass the country with shameful blackmail on the eve of important international competitions.
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