'TRAUMATISED' OKOCHA WANTS IN ...how do we vote him in and, can we trust him?

'TRAUMATISED' OKOCHA WANTS IN @ KICKOFF.COM

Posted: 2010-02-04 11:09

Former Nigeria captain Austin Okocha says he was so 'traumatised' by the Super Eagles failure at the African Nations Cup that he has decided to run for a position on the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation.

"The last two weeks have been the most traumatic of my entire life in football. While I have always appreciated the immense passion Nigerians have for football and for our national teams when they are playing, the first lesson I learnt at the beginning of this last Nations Cup finals in Angola was that, as players, we are often the ones at the heart of the games.

“We clearly will never have enough understanding of how badly our performances on the field affect millions of our countrymen and women, especially when we don't play well," Okocha said on Wednesday.

"This last championship, being the very first time in 18 years of my career that I will not be part of the team as a player, afforded me the opportunity of knowing how critically important this game is to our collective growth and unity as a nation. For this reason, I have, along with a few former Eagles stars, decided that it is time we got more involved in seeking solutions to the problems facing our football development.

"Our recent experience has shown that those of us who have played the game at the highest levels for clubs and country must desist from just sitting on the sidelines and leaving the running of the sport to career civil servants and politicians," he added.

In declaring his candidacy, the former Enugu Rangers star said his vision was one of change.

"I have, on behalf of other concerned former national team players, decided to come out today and join my voice with those of millions of Nigerians in and out of the country, to affirm and spread the message that "Enough is Enough" of the maladministration and rot in Nigerian football; and that without any gainsaying: 'The time for change is now'.

"Ex-international players must be encouraged to take up the reins of leadership in our football and inject their knowledge of how the game is administered in Europe and the advanced world into our game as well as other vital sectors of our national life like oil, security, politics, banking, medicine, law, among others.

"From now onward, we must put our best legs forward both on and off the pitch and return Nigeria to her front position in African football. Time for that change is now," he said.