STOP KILLING NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

•Taribo
Former Super Eagles' defender, Taribo West, has called on Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) to follow the path of peace and reconcile their differences instead of dragging Nigerian football in the mud.

In a recent chat with Daily Sunsports, West warned that the members of the two bodies should not allow their selfish interest and ego to destroy the game, which according to him had remained the only unifying force that has kept the country together.

'These are turbulent times for Nigerian football,' West began, 'and for peace to return in our football, all the warring parties need to embrace peace in this new year and work towards reconciling their differences rather than adding more fuel to the flaming fire that is ravaging our football.

'The warring parties are holding the country's football in the jugular, and I suggest that they should lay their pride aside for the sake of our youths and other stakeholders whose lives depend on the game. It would be very bad for Nigerian football to continue to lie in the doldrums because of the selfish interest of a few individuals.

'My prayer is that the board of the NFF and members of NANF should agree on positive terms; they should sheath their swords to end the ongoing crisis in our football for the game to move forward in the country. Our players' ratings are declining everyday and it might be worse if nothing is done urgently to rescue Nigerian football from the grip of hawks.

Commenting on the job before new Super Eagles' Coach, Samson Siasia, the ex-footballer turned pastor said: 'I'm not expecting much from him (Siasia) yet because I believe that he is only building his team. He is gathering the players he will use to execute the big assignments ahead; I mean the Africa Cup of Nations and 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

'My prayer for Siasia is that he should work hard to justify why he was chosen ahead of the lot to manage the Super Eagles of Nigeria.'