NFF Confirms Negotiations With Sunday Oliseh

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed that it is in talks with former Super Eagles’ captain Sunday Oliseh with regards to the vacant position of the team’s head coach.

It would be recalled that the NFF at the weekend terminated the appointment of another former captain, Stephen Keshi, over breaches of core terms of his contract.
Following the encouragement of a team of the NFF Technical and Development Committee that is working on filling the vacant position, Oliseh met with NFF President Amaju Pinnick in London on Tuesday.
“An offer has been made, and there is understanding, but we have to work out the final details of the agreement in a few days. Of course, the Executive Board has to give approval for his appointment based on the final terms to be agreed,” said Felix Anyansi-Agwu, chairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee.

According to Thenff.com, Oliseh will come with a foreign technical assistant, whose job description will centre around development programmes, and who will work with Clubs’ Youth Teams and certified Academies towards developing the game from the grassroots.

Current stand-in coach Salisu Yusuf will also be in the new team, but with greater devotion to the home-based team, otherwise known as Super Eagles B.
Yusus is expected to be the interface between the technical crew and the home boys.
Also, Oliseh is expected to come up with a five –year developmental plan to fashion a unique playing and coaching philosophy for all the National Teams, and will for this purpose, interface regularly with coaches of those teams.
“We are also looking at how he will periodically organize clinics and seminars for coaches of Clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League, probably once in a month, so as to strengthen the playing philosophy across board. A robust youth development programme, elite player development strategy and performance programmes to drive higher standards, among other core sustainable development programmes, are also part of the proposal,” Anyansi-Agwu added.
Speaking on the matter, NFF President Amaju Pinnick said: “Sunday Oliseh has vast experience and immense knowledge of the game, and will certainly add value to what we are doing. He has bought into our vision and objectives towards the development of Nigeria football. He will command the respect of the players and we trust he has the temperament to work harmoniously with the Technical and Development Committee, the Technical Directorate and the Technical Study Group.
“On our part at the NFF, we will give him all the support to succeed as we have been giving to all our coaches. Subject to the approval of the NFF Executive Committee, we will conclude negotiations by weekend and he will be unveiled next week.”
Oliseh, 40, is presently a FIFA instructor, and runs a consultancy that trains and assesses coaches worldwide. He is also member of FIFA Technical Study Group.
He was in the Nigeria squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994, and played in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup final competitions, with the Super Eagles reaching the Round of 16 in both. He was also in the Nigeria U-23 side that won Africa’s first Olympic football gold in Atlanta 19 years ago.

Oliseh played for Reggiana, FC Cologne, Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, VFL Bochum and RC Genk in a magnificent professional career, during which he played under some of the best coaches in the universe.
He won 63 caps for Nigeria between 1993 and 2002, picking up Africa Cup of Nations gold, silver and bronze medals.
Oliseh holds a UEFA Pro License, and coached Belgian lower division club, Vervietois between 2008 and 2009.
Meanwhile, a source within the NFF had earlier rubbished the story that the football house was in talk Oliseh to replace Keshi as Eagles’ coach.

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BBOG Campaigners List Demands To Buhari

The BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaigners have listed 13 demands to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The activists have advised Nigeria’s leader to visit town of Chibok in Borno state, where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, and to apologise to Nigerians for failure to rescue them up till now.
The BBOG delegation headed by ex-minister of education, Obi Ezekwesili, expressed shock that the army and security agencies were unable to defend or free the girls.
Responding to their demands, the president who kept mum on the apology aspect, said it was disastrous and incomprehensible that Nigerian troops, who had fought chivalrously and respectably outside the shores of the country were now unable to beefy oppose Boko Haram insurgents at home.

He said: “Strategy and tactics have been drawn, multinational task force has been put in place more or else with headquarters in N’Djamena with a Nigerian General as Commander.
“And then the troops delegated by each of the countries are to be put in place by the end of the month. And Nigeria, I assure you will do its best because we as I said are the battle ground and we are being helped by our neigbours.
“It is paradoxical what the Nigerian military has achieved from Burma to Zaire to Liberia to Sierra Leone to Sudan; but Nigeria now has to be helped by Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. How are the mighty fallen!
“We will do our best to restore the respectability of our country and its institutions, although not all efforts being made by government would be disclosed to the public for security reasons.”
Buhari vowed to do his best in saving the girls and asked for patience, adding that for now, “I rest my case.”
He added: “In representing the government of Nigeria, we cannot rationalise the government incompetence in dealing with this issue. We only ask for your patience.

“It’s unfortunate that the security and Federal Government conflicting reports initially presented the government and its agencies in a very bad light both nationally and internationally because the law enforcement agencies and the government were conflicting each other sometimes within hours or within weeks, that is not very impressive.
“The delayed and late reaction by the former government and its agencies was very unfortunate. And I thank the leader of Chibok Community for the articulated priorities he has drawn about welfare of the families, of the communities and rehabilitation of infrastructure. I think government should provide these infrastructure as a matter of right.”
The president criticised the suicide attacks of the insurgents, saying: “we are pleased that in the excesses of the terrorists, they have blown up themselves.
“I think they have to change their names from Boko Haram to something else because no religion will kill the innocents. You can’t go and kill innocent people and say ‘Allah Akbar!’ It is either you don’t believe it or you don’t know what you are saying.
“So, it has nothing to do with religion. They are just terrorists and Nigeria will mobilise against all of them.”
Responding, the BBOG campaigners insisted that the immediate rescue of the 219 kidnapped Chibok girls will amount to the strongest statement that government, has respect for the sanctity and dignity of every Nigerian life.

Other demands comprise strategies for curbing the emergence and growth of curious sects; immediate setting up of a structured feedback and communication system; setting up Commission of Inquiry for Accountability on Abduction and Rescue of Chibok Girls; and release the report of government’s fact-finding mission on the Chibok saga.
They also asked “that all Nigerians will join our #BringBackOurGirls movement to continue to advocate for our 219 #ChibokGirls until they are rescued and be prepared to embrace and welcome our Girls back home.
“Immediate set up of a Missing Persons Bureau. Formally re-affirm the legitimacy and relevance of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign as a purely citizen contribution.”
The BBOG presented Buhari with two documents – Verification, Authentication and Reunification System (VARS) as well as #BringBackOurGirls Accountability Matrix.

After Nigerian forces rescued 200 girls and 93 women from the Boko-Haram occupied Sambisa forest, many hoped that the missing Chibok schoolgirls whose abduction inspired the global campaign to ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ would be among them. But, the Nigerian army has said they are not the ones rescued.

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