Super Eagles-Symptomatic of the Nigerian Psyche

by

Soboyejo Awosika-Coker

Yes, the minnows from Sierra Leone "unexpectedly" humbled the "professionals" from Europe this past weekend. Unexpectedly? Well, unlike most Nigerians, I believe in seeing things for what they really are. You see, the problem with Nigeria does not start and end with our so-called leadership. In fact, we are all accomplices to the continued decimation and emasculation of that great nation… the black land that God, in his infinite mercy, and most judicious might had ordained to liberate the black race from the shackles of imperialism and neo-colonialism. But alas, here we still are, ignorant of our obligations, proud of our sense of misadventure, and pompously reveling in our penchant for sophisticated buffoonery and calculated miscalculations.

Are you kidding me! Hear the statement credited to some members of the so-called Super Eagles, those overpaid, over-pampered and over-indulgent group of bench-warming misfits and stick-in-the-mud mercenaries, "the NFA is to blame for not offering financial inducements to the Sierra Leone team http://allafrica.com/stories/200104230333.html

This type of statement from the Nigerian players is exactly symptomatic of the Nigerian psyche… Get something for nothing! Don’t the Eagles’ players understand that to wear the national colors of one’s nation is the biggest single honor that could be bestowed on an individual? Sierra Leone, at the moment, is a nation in unimaginable turmoil; the players of that country’s national team do not see themselves as just footballers, but more importantly, they see themselves as representing the hopes and aspirations of a nation ravaged and decimated by war. That is why, unlike the Nigerian "big men", they were prepared to lay down their lives literarily on the football pitch, although they have absolutely no chance whatsoever, of going to the World Cup.

My fellow country men and women, please believe me when I say, when you see the Super Eagles, you not only see the average Nigerian citizen, but you also see the policeman, the doctor, the lawyer, the politician, the administrator, the architect, the janitor and every and all things… Nigerian! It is impossible for corruption and indiscipline to have seeped so deeply into our national consciousness without us as a people having been accessories to it. We are quick to lay blame at the doorsteps of the next person without first acknowledging our part/role in the scheme of things. It is a vicious and undulating cycle that seems to know no end. However, time and again, God in his infinite mercy is quick to interject and make things just a little bit uncomfortable for us, in the hopes that we may finally see what is right underneath our noses, with a view to finally putting forth a concrete blue print for how to best move our country forward.

It would have been unjust for Nigeria to emerge victorious in the match considering the shoddy preparations and flippantly disregarding attitudes of both the Nigerian players and football administrators towards the match in question and others thus far.

You cannot continue to get something or everything for nothing. This country has become so accustomed to taking a "fire brigade" approach to just about everything that the whole system stinks to the high heavens. As things are, in as much as Nigeria has no place among the progressive comity of nations, she equally has no place in the World Cup among the 32 best soccer nations in the world. Well, it remains to be seen as to whether we’ll see the underlying message this time around. On my part, I am afraid we won’t. Why? Because we have become so well-adjusted to mediocrity, dishonesty and deceit that the rebirth of God’s own land, Nigeria (the land of the most glorious group of ingrates known to man), may ultimately require a more comprehensively divine intervention… I leave it to you to decipher what that entails…

Soboyejo Alaba Akinboyede Awosika-Coker

Seattle, Washington