By Francis Ajuonuma
Former Nigerian international and coach, Kadiri Ikhana has admitted that Nigerian coaches actually take bribe from players.
However, he was quick to point out that the Nigerian system allows it to happen.
The former Enyimba FC of Aba coach, who led the Aba-based club side to their first ever Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Champions League title in 2003, made the allegation recently in an interview in Lagos while reacting to a question on whether Nigerian coaches do take bribe from players.
According to the former Super falcons, Kano Pillars, Shooting Stars, and Olympic Team coach, the inability of club managements to pay their coaches when due may have forced some of the coaches to indulge in the act.
“You blame the coaches, no, blame the system. You don’t blame the coaches, you blame the system because the system allows it. let one player come out and say Kadiri Ikhana has collected a bribe from him when I was coaching because the system then was okay. At a point it was getting bad and I cried out but nobody listened to me and I was even summoned by the Nigeria Football Federation by late Brigadier Onoya and they asked me and I said yes and they said what of my club Kano Pillars, I said everybody, Ikhana added.
If not music, I would have been a presenter – Alfreddollar
He also took a swipe at the NFF for believing so much in foreign coaches, while treating the local coach with disdain and disrespect.
“You mean out of all these players that played that are coaches, you mean we cannot encourage them, we cannot back them up, they can’t tinker our team, is that what they mean? When I was playing in the Champions League, I played against so many foreign coaches and I beat them all. clubs from South Africa, from North Africa, everywhere. So, what is wrong with trying to assist our own so that we can grow? The truth remains that the football house doesn’t have respect for our local coaches,” he concluded.
