AMAS OBASOGIE AND THE PLIGHT OF THE NPFL PLAYERS
The story of Amas Obasogie, the young goalkeeping sensation of Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City, draws a similar paradox to the Nigerian situation described above. He’d be twenty-four years old in a few weeks, captains his team, and remains the anchor of their very shrewd defense. With him in goal last season, they achieved an unbeaten run of 26 matches. This season, he’s achieved more than a handful of clean sheets. He’s extremely good, like many home-based players; national team recognition has been futile for reasons best known to the handlers!
THE VOID WAITING FOR
AMAS OBASOGIE TO COVER
The controversial retirement of Victor Enyeama, in 2015, left a big gap
in the goalkeeping department of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, allowing several pretenders. Most of them have done their
utmost to preserve their goalkeeping integrity, but the fan's verdict has been
rather contemptuous of them. Whilst they suffer in silence from criticism, it
remains evident that Nigerian football has suffered a continual drop for
the past decade and the same has been the entire defense. After Joseph Yobo’s
retirement, no central defender has matched his quality which cannot be rated
amongst the best we have had.
With the agony Nigerians have
suffered from their porous defensive formations, heightened by the calamitous
goalkeeping prowess of its custodians, the remarkable performances of Amas
Obasogie now appear a respite Nigerians can enjoy. He had been given very
little attention until last month when he received his first call-up to the
national team to replace Italy-based Maduka Okoye. That is the snub virtually
every Nigerian-based player suffers until they join any European club, no
matter how mediocre.
COMPETENCE OVER
CAMARADERIE
The
clamor for Amas has been consistent from the local press! His form has
improved, despite the rising attention on him. The euphoria of his singular
invitation to the national team was emphatic and, Godwin
Obaseki, Governor of Edo State, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, financier of Bendel
Insurance FC, released a statement to congratulate Amas Obasogie, restating his conviction about his
capabilities to excel. Like Nigeria’s crude oil and the suffering of
her people amidst the wealth it has created for other endowed nations such as
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, et al, another snub for Amas at the
national team, would not be a surprise to the writer. Things happen, especially
in Nigeria. Apart from possibly monetary reasons, nothing affirms a diaspora
player to be of better quality than his counterpart at home. The quality of French
captain, Kylian Mbappe, at PSG France, has not diminished his quality below his
other colleagues most of whom play in better-rated leagues in England, Spain, Germany, and Italy. The same can be said of several German players.
Nigeria has a new goalkeeping
sensation with the capacity to cover our gap, enhance our national pride, and
become a veritable inspiration to upcoming Nigerian footballers. He’s still
young but experienced and like Osimhen, Oshoala, Boniface, and other promising
Nigerian footballers, he must be supported to excel in his chosen trade!
