The newly proposed code of conduct for the Super Eagles may have generated intense controversies, but the House of Representatives Committee on sports and social development stance on the issue has brought to the fore government position that it would no longer tolerate the kind of disgrace the Nation received when the Super Eagles held the management of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF to ransom over match bonuses and allowances in far away Namibia.
Only Thursday, the Chairman of the house committee on sports, Godfrey Gaiya said the National Assembly and indeed the Federal Government will no longer stomach the kind of disdain the Super Eagles brought to the nation, hence the setting of a committee to investigate the immediate cause of the crisis and thereafter recommend a code of conduct that would checkmate the activities of players invited to the national teams.
Las week, the minister of sports, Boliji Abdullahi inaugurated a five man committee to fashion out a code of conduct for the players and athletes that would be invited to the national teams camp.
The committee headed by Olusegun Adeniyi, former special assistant on media to late President Musa Yar’ Adua is to among other things determine the remote causes of what happened in Namibia and make recommendations and to develop a code of conduct for players on national assignment.
However, the proposed code of conduct has not gone down well with the Super Eagles head Coach Stephen Keshi who may be speaking the minds of the players that there has always been a code of conduct for the team and therefore do not need one.
“The senior national team have always have a code of conduct which has over many years regulate the activities of the players in camp and in the field of play.’’
Keshi said at the team’s camp in Bolton White hotel Abuja that, “you talked about code of conduct for the Eagles, it is already there and to me any policy that govern players in camp, we already have it. To us it is not a new thing.’’
The former Super Eagles captain said unless the probe panel has any new thing to introduce, the code of conduct for the national teams has always been there.
“Unless they want to introduce what has not being there, the players are well behaved and they know what to do in camp at any given time because they are matured people.’’
While reacting to Coach Keshi’s rejection of a code of conduct for the Super Eagles, Godfrey Gaiya said, ‘’Every society or institutions have a code of conduct that regulate it’s activities and in that direction, the proposed one for the national teams is not an exemption. A society without a code of conduct would be heading for anarchy and I think in that direction the code of conduct for Eagles is imperative so that both players and the administrators knows that bounds. The players should know their right and privileges. It would not be proper to see that at every match, we see the players and NFF officials fighting over bonuses and I think something has to be done about it once and for all times. Whatever should be done to avoid the kind of embarrassment the country received in Namibia during the FIFA world cup qualifiers should be done and I think the code of conduct set up by the minister of sports is in order and it receive the backing of the National Assembly.
With the new code of conduct expected to be out in the next two weeks will address the issue of mafiarism that have characterised Nigeria football for a long time, but whether the Super Eagles will accept the proposed development is another thing.
