Nigeria World Cup star Efe Sodje has
slammed the country’s football federation for paying new Super Eagles
coach Gernot Rohr $47,000 as monthly salary.
The German signed a two-year contract
with the Nigeria Football Federation, which will be financed by an oil
and gas company. Rohr would be assisted by three others – an adviser, a
fitness trainer and a video specialist, with reports saying he would be
responsible for their salaries.
“When Shuaibu Amodu, Stephen Keshi and
Sunbday Oliseh were in charge of the team, they weren’t paid such
amount. They honour people here (England), but they don’t in
Nigeria.Here the FA is concerned about their own people but we keep
letting our own people down,” Sodje, who represented Nigeria at the 2000
World Cup said, said in a telephone interview.
“We should respect our own people.
Nobody knows him (Rohr) but they gave him the crucial job of taking us
to the World Cup. Why didn’t they take the same risk on Nigerian
coaches? If you put this man down amongst five white men, no Nigerian
will know him. But put Salisu (Yusuf) or Samson Siasia among five blacks
and Nigerians will know him. So why don’t we go for who we know?”
Sodje, a member of the Eagles squad that
reached the final of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, also
challenged the federation to make the contract with the German public.
The UEFA B Licence coach added, “They
said he will pay the other people he’s bringing from the $47,000. They
should tell us how much he (Rohr) will personally earn from the money.
Didn’t Keshi and Oliseh bring their own assistants too? Were they paid
the same amount? Let them show us the full details of the contract.
“If a private firm is paying the
coach, then what is the NFF doing? Who will pay the local people who are
part of the backroom staff? It’s a funny development and a shame that
we still haven’t changed after so many years. There is Siasia and
Emmanuel Amuneke, these are big names. Why can’t we bring them to manage
the national team?”
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