How I stopped Eagles from playing alamala football – Pinnick

Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick talks on a wide range of issues concerning Nigerian football in this interview with ’TANA AIYEJINA

What’s your opinion of the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying group, which has Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Liberia?

First thing we should know is this, there are no more minnows in football across the world. A few years ago, Cape Verde were the number one (African team) on the log in FIFA ranking for a very long time.

We know what they do, they get players of Portuguese origin. Therefore, we don’t want to be deceived. We will prepare as if we are playing Cameroon, England and Brazil. I will not allow us get carried away.

We will not settle for less than going to the World Cup. We would not get carried away. This is a World Cup qualifier. Like I said, any single mistake could be very costly. Even though the group looks cheap, it might end up being a very difficult one.

We are playing against Liberia who’s got a president (George Weah) who has played the game before and can decide to channel all his country’s resources into the qualifiers with the aim of qualifying them for the World Cup. One does not joke with such a nation and just feel relaxed about the games. Don’t forget that the same way we go abroad and pick our players is the same way they also go out there to pick theirs.

First thing, look at the sizes of these countries and you know, most African nations are well-populated, they will have players outside. These are the things we should consider.

Look at Benin Republic, we played them in the AFCON qualifiers, we cannot say they are minnows in football any more. So, we are going to step up our preparations, like we are playing in the group of death, because Nigerians will never forgive us if we don’t qualify for the World Cup. We should be prepared. The good news is that we have a bit of time.

We also need to look at our ranking. We need to maintain it or even go higher. In June, we have one fixture, though we are talking to some big countries that are weighing the thought of playing against Nigeria in preparation for their European Cup.

I spoke with some (federations) presidents who are very excited about playing against Nigeria. The second fixtures would be the AFCON qualifiers and the third fixtures will be in October, the World Cup qualifiers begin against Liberia. We don’t want to take chances.

There are doubts about the future of Eagles coach Gernot Rohr, whose contract expires in June. Will the NFF retain him?

I am the president of the NFF and it is not run by one man. While I have the loyalty of the NFF Executive Committees is that they take decisions that are strategic and they bring to me. This is a very sensitive question.

But beyond that, we must respect what’s in a contract. We have a contract with him till June and you will recall that we did not even wait until the 2018 World Cup before we signed an extension with him. I have a very cordial relationship with him, very cordial.

And I’m proud of that. The good news is that he is under contract till June. Contract is not done by one person; it must have two parties or more. We will sit down and say. ‘Look at our situation as it is, can you work with this framework?’ If he says ‘yes’, then it’s done. But if not, we cannot kill ourselves. This is the truth.

Then we can say, ‘you are not ready.’ One thing we don’t want to do is to put our team in jeopardy. So, in the next few weeks, the first vice president, who is in the legal team, will lead a committee, with chairmen of Technical, Establishment and Marketing, Secretary-General and Head of Legal (unit) to sit down with Rohr and tell him, ‘Look at our situation. Can you do this and that?’ If he agrees, why not?

Whether we like it or not, he has done quite a lot. But like I always say to him, he cannot take this credit alone. If we did not provide an enabling environment for him, he will not find it easy. Also, we have made sure that we do not miss any FIFA window and we don’t just play what my friend, Kojo Williams, calls alamala matches. We play quality matches and are not scared of playing the big names.

We‘ve played Brazil, Argentina, England, Poland, Serbia and in Africa we have played Senegal and Cameroon. We are not scared and that’s the Warri spirit in me. People come to me and say, ‘President how are we going to play these?’ I simply tell them, ‘Football is 11-11.’ That’s the same spirit in the Super Eagles.That is patriotism.

That’s why I don’t joke with Wilfred Ndidi. The same way he plays for Leicester City is same way he plays for the Eagles. We’ve seen players protecting their legs when they play for the Eagles but give all to their clubs. However, we are happy with the crop of players in the Eagles today, because they give their all. We have lots of players coming in to play for the national teams. Today, for every wing, there are about three players to fit into the role.

Nigeria is a massive country, we have the human resources. We are not there yet, but we are on the road to our destination. Nigerian football is almost self-sufficient now. Nigeria is a big country, we train all our coaches and help them. However, some Nigerians are hell bent on destroying what we are doing. If you destroy it, I am not the one that you have destroyed. No. I will still remain myself, with my family; it will not make my wife not to love me. They will only succeed in disenfranchising themselves. Everything we do here is for the nation. There was a petition submitted in 2015 to an agency, they went through it thoroughly and invited everybody. But they discarded it.

It has been recycled since then. The person who wrote the original one confessed to me that he found out that I was clean. He said he was forced to write the petition against me. So, it’s not about me, though I’m not a perfect guy. However, whatever is written about me not being perfect is basically geared towards ensuring that Nigerian football reaches its destination under my watch. Look at what has been going on for us, you will find out God is with us; like the group we find ourselves for the World Cup qualifiers. If you are fighting us, you are fighting God and if He visits you, you will not like His anger.

He said, ‘Do not touch my anointed and do my prophet no harm.’ This is true. People say a lot but all the places I have been to, Abuja, Warri, Sokoto, Port Harcourt, no one has been able to accost me and say, ‘You are a criminal.’ Instead, they tell me, ‘Don’t be discouraged, we know what’s going on.’ These are words of encouragement for us.

We are keen on this job. After the remaining years, we want to look back and say, ‘God, thank you.’ Also, with the encouragement of the new minister, we will get there. God loves Nigeria. Once we qualify for the World Cup, I can assure you, we will play in the semis or the final of the World Cup. We would make sure everything is prepared. All we need is support. I will be very happy. If I do eight years in the NFF, I am satisfied.