Who Is Afraid of Emmanuel Amuneke?

As the stalemate and hiatus extend almost endlessly on the saga of a search for the next coach of the Super Eagles by thingumabobs in Nigeria

The search for the next Super Eagles coach by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been a never-ending saga, leaving many to wonder, "Who is afraid of Emmanuel Amuneke?"

As I pose this ominous question, I must also berate myself for not asking it much earlier, considering the depth of the quagmire and labyrinth that the NFF moguls have ambled into due to their timidity.

Yes, timidity and docility of the highest order, squeamish as well. Words that make you cringe, but I freely use today to depict why the egg heads of Nigerian football continue looking for gold in the ocean.

Once again, for a repeated insidious and noxious time, they are playing Russian Roulette in search of our national team's messiah in the white man's land, when he indeed is right there in the courtyard of our camp house.

We keep seeing a case of looking for the proverbial coin in Sokoto, when it's there in the pocket of your shokoto.

Yes, this write-up is meant to wake us up to the reality that the NFF's best choice as Super Eagles' coach (unarguably) after the exit of Jose Peseiro should have been, and still is, Emmanuel Amuneke!

Sadly, those who are currently holding the gauntlet and reins of running our country's football (sitting in the patched saddle so comfortably, while the weary horse gallops aimlessly) appear beclouded, befuddled, jaded or fixated about reality.

While the wordsmith warns us to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish, our football lords prefer to be holier than thou; as they ignore the one whose name evokes the presence of God in all that concerns him and our men's national team.

What's in a name you may ponder; but we Africans surely know the spiritual, emotional, psychological, traditional and sociological values attached to names. Which is why you won't find anyone in these parts naming their child Judas or Lucifer.

On the other hand, a child born to a Christian family in December is bound to be named Emmanuel ... God with us ... to reflect his affinity with the longstanding symbolic celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th.

So, in one way, we could have strategically invoked the presence of God and His spiritual guidance into the Super Eagles by naming Emmanuel Amuneke as coach of the team. Not just superstitious, but mostly symbolic...

I remember two symbolic names that turned out to be huge successes in the English Premier League ... Arsene at Arsenal and Klopp for the Kop of Liverpool; thereby reflecting (to an extent) that even Europeans know the import of names and the aura they can exude in the dramatic clime of the round leather game.

That stated, let me quickly point out that this is not a celebration of Emmanuel Amuneke on the threshold of sycophantic tendencies or inter-personal conviviality.

It's not about friendship, but a suss based on existential premises and cogent realities - top of which are his recent strides and the attitudinal factors that go a long way in determining successful team management at the highest level.

The first point is buttressed by the obvious fact that Amuneke's profile includes a stint as national team coach of Tanzania in the very recent past.

He qualified them for the Africa Cup of Nations after several years of absence and even handled them there in all three group matches. No other Nigerian tactician of the current dispensation has that powerpoint on his CV.

We often say 'what is good for the goose is good for the gander,' but why is Amuneke good for Tanzania and anathema for Nigeria? Is it because Jesus said a prophet is not recognised in his own country? So sad.

Before I get to the second point in Amuneke's favour, I digress again. This time, for anyone still reducing this article to the ethos of friendship or one propelled by an ulterior motive, I need to state clearly that the last time Amuneke and I spoke was 12 years ago, and it was a heated monologue he gave me on phone.

He actually called me out of the blue to admonish me for throwing aspersion on a football academy that was named after him in Ikorodu, Lagos.

I was still active in journalism back then and I used a vibrant medium to scold the academy for failing to broker a deal for one of my boys, who spent several months in their camp and got many white elephant promises.

Before then, I met him physically only once in my days of marshaling National Grassroots Dream Team at White Sand Field, Orile-Iganmu, Lagos; where his pet