Last week, Nigerian midfielder, Mikel Obi reportedly called some officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to plead with them to allow him return to the Super Eagles following his refusal to honour the invitation extended to him by the new coach, Sunday Oliseh. Oliseh had called Mikel on his personal line to invite him to play in the 2017 AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania at the weekend, but Mikel refused to pick the call on several attempts to reach him.
The call Mikel reportedly made last week was to plead with some NFF officials to help savage his declining career by giving him another chance in the Super Eagles. According to report, Mikel feels since he’s not getting playing time at Chelsea, getting playing time with the Super Eagle will be a good way to rekindle his career. After we have gathered the reactions of Nigerians to Mikel’s plea using our platform and we’ve put some of them together below:
Olubenson Ademola pleaded on behalf of Mikel for judgment to be tempered with mercy, he said “Mikel Obi is a fine and skillful player. He is a force to reckon with in the Nigeria team going by his experience and past laudable contributions. It’s true that he disappointed his fans and Nigeria by extension for not responding to the calls of Sunday Oliseh, but we all should be mindful of the fact that he is human and prone to mistakes just like everyone of us. So in my own opinion he should be pardoned and given another chance to serve his fatherland. To err is human and to forgive is divine”.
Adams Nuhu feels Mikel’s plea is too selfish and not a plea to serve. He said “so the love of his country is not in his mind, all he wants is how to rebuild his career. This guy called Mikel is deceptive, please NFF let him go, he only wants to play for Nigeria because his career is in danger but he fail to understand that he was nobody before he suddenly became somebody after playing with the Super Eagles in 2006. How can you damn a bridge that helped you cross over the stream?” Mohammed Kabir thinks this sort of behavious is innate to Mikel giving the fact that he has acted this way to previous managers.Kabir said “I don’t know how many coaches Mikel will misbehave to in his career. Let’s forget about him and move on”.
Taking a look at how Mikel rose through the rank to stardom, Stanley Iheagwam said “In 2005, Mikel was the second best player because we lost to Argentina though some of the referee’s calls left a lot to be desired. Nigerians were given false hope by Mikel that we had found a worthy successor to the best prolific and skillful midfielder (Jay jay) we have ever had. However, Mikel has refused to personally develop himself even though Jose destroyed the talent we all saw. Personally, his best performance was against Ivory Coast at the AFCON. Mikel is a player that ought to have helped himself develop. CR 7 is a very good example. With determination and doggedness he is at par with the most gifted player the game has ever seen. Where is John Obi? He only plays for Nigeria when it’s convenient for him and when he does it’s with a lackadaisical attitude and absolute lack of creativity. What do we need him for? It’s time to move on. No sentiments attached. I am tired of a player that holds us to ransom when he is not even good enough to play for present Chelsea whom are not half good as they used to be. Abeg how many clubs of substance bid for am for the last transfer window?”
