REGULAR readers of this column will be surprised at the above headline, knowing how passionately I have defended Super Eagles boss Stephen Keshi in the past. I backed Keshi all the way to Nations Cup triumph of last year and even recommended he should be given a long term contract. That was when he was overachieving with his team.

But things took turn for the worse shortly after the ANC success in South Africa. First, Keshi started toying with our sensibilities (some would say: taking us for a ride), playing all sorts of pranks and clearly indicating that Nigeria needed him and not the other way round. Frankly speaking, bitter as it tasted, I could and actually lived with his ill-informed shenanigans.

However, I started losing hope on him when he began inviting unheralded journeymen into his team even as we stumbled through the World Cup qualifiers. It was obvious something was wrong as the Super Eagles became a haven for anybody who could spot football boots and knew somebody who knew somebody in the team.

His unprofessional preparation for Brazil 2014 Mundial left me with no real hope for the team and I wasn’t surprised they didn’t surpass my modest expectation of a second round exit. Many players went to the Mundial on Nigeria’s team who had no business in Brazil. Worse still, it was an unapologetic Keshi who returned home and started flying kites in the media about thousands of lucrative offers begging for his signature.

His unprofessional practice continued with impunity when he invited more journeymen to the team ahead of qualifiers for next year’s Nations Cup finals in Morocco, having agreed to take the team on interim basis since his contract had expired. The results have been very stark – one point from first three matches and sitting bottom of the pile in a group which Nigeria expected to stroll through says everything about a terribly underperforming reigning champs.

But I didn’t come to the above headline based on these, no. Rather, even watching from afar, it’s obvious Keshi has taken that team as far as he can. The players no longer play for him, never mind what they say in the press. Still watching from afar, I could sense many of the backbone of his team no longer respect him.

Or how do you explain Emmanuel Emenike’s senseless shot at goal from the kick off in Sudan? And that’s supposed to be our top hitman, a poacher who failed to hit camp on time and who is yet to score in seven consecutive internationals. Oh, God bless late Rashidi Yekini!

Put simply, the Big Boss has lost the dressing room; he has lost his team and he may never be able to bring out performance from them. And in this sorry state, the right thing to do is to breathe a fresh lease of life into the team by bringing new helmsman.

Look, the bulk of the team that won the Nations Cup in SA last year were in Keshi’s team for the three ill-fated qualifiers. Yet, they have struggled unconvincingly and thoroughly deserved to be bottom of the group which has South Africa as leaders, Congo in second place and Sudan (yes, lowly Sudan) in third place. When the draws were made, one would have conveniently reversed the current standing in Group A at this stage of the qualifiers.

In spite of our current humbling position in this group, Super Eagles are still the best team in our pool. However, they are the best team without the best ingredients – determination, discipline, dedication, character, national pride, and sporting humility.

When Keshi and his boys stunned the continent last year, they did so with all the above-mentioned ingredients; they certainly were not the best team in the finals. But they were determined to prove doubters wrong and they were very humble. This catapulted them to unexpected glory despite their obviously limited talent.

Now that they seem to have forgotten how they reached the apex of African football, other teams with even less talent are serving us painful reminders. Which is why we find ourselves in this current abyss.

WHY KESHI SHOULD CARRY THE CAN

HIS apologists will be quick to point to the crisis at the NFF as reason for Nigeria’s precarious placing in the ongoing qualifiers. But that will be a very hollow argument as Keshi himself had rightly dismissed this offhand at the beginning of the qualifying campaign.

There are two major reasons why I believe the Big Boss’ time with the team is up. And these reasons are purely professional, namely: I) Invitation of unqualified players in terms of current form, past achievements and, above all, talent. And II) Invitation of and regularly fielding players who lack match fitness because they are mere bench-warmers at their clubs, prominent among these are the duo of Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and first choice left back Elderson Echiejile of AS Monaco just to mention two.

Oh, is it any coincidence that the two goals threatening to end our Nations Cup title defence in Morocco came from Echiejile’s wing – the penalty offence committed by Ogenyi Onazi against Congo in Calabar and the pullout that led to the fatal goal in Sudan.

Some critics will happily add technical competence. Well, I’ve made my position known on Keshi’s technical ability and this issue will continue to be debatable whatever your position. But what cannot be debated are the two points I raised above. And any coach found guilty of such errors does not merit his badge. When the coach is found to have consistently fallen foul of these errors, then it will make perfect sense to part company with him.

Since his Nations Cup triumph early last year, Keshi has systematically turned Super Eagles into a transit point for journeymen footballers who seek peanut contracts from obscure leagues abroad. And the results have been damning.

When Keshi took over this team, we were down, no doubt about it. We were down, but we still had some respect. Having taken us to the pinnacle of African football once again, for which he was rightly richly rewarded, the Big Boss appears to be taking us to a pitch black abyss where no nation will show us respect anymore.

I mean if you were beaten at home by little Congo and disgraced by Sudanese minnows, what right have you to demand respect from other teams, big or small.

And the worst thing that can happen to a man is when he loses respect of others. In order to prevent this impending doom from becoming a reality, I painfully but humbly submit that the Big Boss be relieved of his Super Eagles duties forthwith. This shouldn’t be difficult especially as he is now in interim charge.

WILL NIGERIA BE IN MOROCCO?

THIS is the question agitating the minds of many Nigerians after the latest debacle that saw us lose 1-0 in Sudan. Sitting bottom of Group A with only one point from three matches, the Super Eagles need to win their remaining three games to make doubly sure of tripping to Morocco to defend their crown. Not a daunting task in an ideal world.

But these are not the ideal world as the reality of the defending champions parlous displays thus far suggest this may be a tall dream unless something changes quickly. Truth is I don’t see any miraculous improvements in Keshi’s team in the short time we have left to conclude these qualifiers.

So my point is if Nigeria must hoist her flag in Morocco next year, the time to act is now. To start with, we must beat Sudan here on Wednesday whoever is in charge – Keshi or an antelope or a goat – we are condemned to win this match.

Once achieved, that will be a good start and give us at least a couple of weeks to sort ourselves out and prepare big time for the remaining two qualifiers in November.

NOTE: This article was written on the 12th of October 2014