By Okechukwu Emmanuel
Former Chairman Gombe Football Association, Gara Gombe has talked about his assessment of Amaju Pinnick’s led NFF Administration for the last six years (2014-2020).
Amaju Pinnick who celebrated his birthday this week as he turns 50years has been the NFF President since 2014, and Gara Gombe on Pinnick’s birthday took some time out to review and assess the Pinnick’s led administration for the past six years, saying that it has been an administration of mixed feelings, allegations, mismanagement, divisions and so on.
He said this in a chat with Sports247, “The last six(6) years of Nigerian football have been of mixed feelings, it has been a period where we have seen a lot of confusion, a lot of allegations flying around, a lot of mismanagement, a lot of institutional insubordination, a lot of divisions, a lot of polarization and the rest of it”.
” So on a score of 1/10 or rather 100%, I can tell you that it has never been this bad, to be sincere, to be frank, and to be honest. And the reasons are not far fetched, a lot needs to be done. We are still in a situation which I will call or term as ‘Motion without Moment’ when it appears we are moving forward, we would now be taking backwards”.
Gara Gombe while still speaking with Sports 247 was asked about his assessment of the current Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, he admitted that he never supported the appointment of the Super Eagles Boss, because to him, Gernot Rohr was never a good coach and also, his appointment came in a controversial manner because the Super Eagles head Coach lacks technical abilities.
“On the assessment of Coach Rohr, Rohr has never been a good coach. We brought him under very controversial circumstances. Many of us are not happy the way our own (May his soul rest in Peace) Late Stephen Keshi was treated, but the powers that be in charge of our football decides that we go and bring this Rohr to us, and many of his matches, he did not win it technically. Those who brought him are doing so many things under the table, playing the politics of the game in the continent to win matches for him, so he has never been a good coach that wins matches technically”.
“I don’t care what anybody would think or say, I mean what I said and I know what I am talking about. Now, in as much as the NFA cannot or do not stop appointing coaches for competitions, then they will never get it right, we would never get it right because they have always been appointing coaches for competition. How do I mean? you appoint a coach and say you are giving him a target, target to qualify you for this, qualify us for that, reach so, so, so and so stage competition and the rest of it.
“You don’t appoint a coach like that, so you have to appoint coaches for development and that development is what we need. The same people after Amaju came here and told us that Sunday Oliseh is the “Guardiola of Africa”, that he has a five (5) year development programme. They took him to the stock exchange in Lagos, Nigeria so as to provide Scientific football, that is, how Nigeria can play football scientifically, he has a five-year developmental programme. Where is it?, where does it lead us to?, how did Oliseh leave?. The honeymoon did not last long.
“Similarly, late Shuibu Amodu of Blessed Memories had a five-year programme, was he allowed implementing? No. Then you look at that technical department, what are the qualities of the people that are there?, Nothing, So technically, we are not there yet”. He concluded.
