By Steve Alabi

Could the allegations of bribery against Stephen Keshi be true? Not one, not two, but three players have come out to sensationally claim that they were denied spots in the Super Eagles final squads to the 2013 African Cup of Nations or the 2014 World Cup or both when Keshi was the coach because they did not grease the palms of the handlers. If these allegations are true, they could rubbish the rich legacy of the Big Boss who is arguably the biggest act of the Nigerian game ever. To find that all his great exertions were built on inordinate love for lucre would be devastating indeed.
The first player to make the frightening allegations was Chinedu Obasi. He said, “I was supposed to be at the World Cup in 2014…Two days before the list came out, I was asked to pay some money if I wanted to be in the team. I felt like I’ve paid my dues for the country, if you’re a new player, I can get that but for me, it was a bit personal and very heartbreaking because I got injured…I went through surgery and did everything I could.”
The second was Taye Taiwo. He asserted that, “I am someone who doesn’t want dirty glory and in my life, I have never been involved in what is not clean and that was why I packed my bags and left the Super Eagles…When they appointed Stephen Keshi as coach, he was acting somehow in which I told myself that it was time for me to leave the Super Eagles. I packed my bags and I told my wife and family that I cannot be involved in dirty deals.”
The third was Brown Ideye who said, “Before I retire, I will write a book and pour everything out…So many things didn’t add up at the time. I was asking myself if I did something wrong or there was something I didn’t do. Not going to that World Cup, God used Keshi to sideline me for the West Bromich Albion job. I haven’t told anyone what really transpired, only my spouse knows about the story. It was painful, I felt like saying something but I decided to get hold of myself.”
Unfortunately, Keshi is not alive to respond but those who worked with him have risen up to defend his integrity. His assistant, Dan Amokachi queried, “Why come forward with such now when the man in charge is no longer alive to answer it? Even look at it, this happened in 2014 and 6 years later, you are coming forward with such claims. Why wait until now? It does not make sense to bring such an issue when the head is no longer alive to respond to you.”
Keshi’s goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu added, “A player was dropped for Obasi in 2010 World Cup, he did not have any problem with that, now that he was dropped in 2014, he started talking. Some players only think for themselves and not for others, in 2014 Obasi was injured and was just coming back from the serious injury. If he has evidence that they demanded money from him, he should come forward and present it.” Another assistant, Valerie Houdonou, pointedly said Obasi was not good enough to make the final squad in the face of competition from the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Ahmed Musa. “The question is, who could he have replaced among the strikers then?,” Houdonou asked.
Other players have weighed in on the allegations, significantly in Keshi’s defence. Our own Godfrey Oboabona, who won the 2013 AFCON title as a home-based player, said, “I was a Sunshine Stars player then and would not have had that kind of money to pay, so how will he say we paid money to be a part of the World Cup. I, Azubuike Egwueke, Ejike Uzoenyi, Kunle Odunlami, and Chigozie Agbim were all playing in the NPFL, and the coach told us that we merited the team because we worked hard and deserved to play at the World Cup.”
Emmanuel Emenike, the highest scorer at the 2013 AFCON added, “I have never paid anyone in the national team and even when I did endorsement with Guinness, I tried to give Stephen Keshi out of the money which he rejected saying he don’t need anything from me.” Elderson Echiejile, who like Obasi was dropped from the 2014 World Cup due to injury, said, “It’s very ridiculous with these allegations going around, and I wonder why the names of these people are not mentioned. They should call out those who asked for bribes. As for me, I played under the late Amodu Shuaibu and Stephen Keshi and there was no time they asked for money from me to be included in the team.”
Let us interrogate the accusers’ careers to see whether or not they merited being included in the team at the times they complained about. Before the 2013 AFCON, Obasi was on Schalke 04’s bench battling injuries for most of the season, making only seven appearances. In the 2013/14 season, he continued recovery from injury which he himself acknowledged in his complaints. How then could Keshi take him? Taye Taiwo traversed three clubs, Queens Park Rangers, Dynamo Kyiv and Bursaspor on loan between 2012 and 2014 after being offloaded by AC Milan. After a woeful performance versus Rwanda under Keshi, he himself “packed” his bags and left. How then could Keshi take him? Ideye played in the AFCON and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013. Did he pay to be in the team for these lesser competitions? Why then did he not pay for the biggest show?
Their allegations do not add up. How come they did not return to the Super Eagles after Keshi was dropped? Was it because those who took over also demanded bribe from them? If Keshi took money from his players, how was it possible for him to win the AFCON, qualify for the World Cup and reach the second round with them, the best performance by any coach, white or black? I am convinced that these are players who have an overbloated opinion about their relevance. We know them. We saw them in action. When they were dropped, they merited the drop. They should shut up.