Sack Sunday Oliseh to save his life, Ekwueme tells NFF

PHOTO: Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh

Nigeria’s former international, Ifeanyi Ekwueme has called for the immediate sack of Sunday Oliseh as Nigeria’s national team coach to save his fast ailing health.

Oliseh has been down with illness since taking over the national team and as Nigeria open training camp for the forthcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN), reports have revealed that assistant coaches, Salisu Yusuf and Jean Francois Loscuito will supervise the team’s training with Oliseh monitoring proceedings via skype from his sick bed in Belgium.

Though the nature of his illness has yet to be disclosed, but the one time Polonia Warsaw and Aris Salonika ace posited that the deteriorating health condition of the former Nigeria captain gives cause for concern and advised the Nigeria Football Federation to ask him to step aside to enable him make proper consultations with his personal doctor.

According to him, the current state of the ex-international could affect the team’s preparation for major competitions starting with the African Nations Championship (CHAN) holding in Rwanda January 16.

“It’s true that his present state of health can affect the performance of the national team, but his personal life is more important than his job.

“It’s risky to go through the rigours of coaching without taking a proper care of oneself. He needs to be excused to enable him thoroughly take care of his health. We have seen players and coaches slump and die in the pitch for no reason. God forbid! We don’t pray for that,’’ Ekwueme, who just breezed into the country from Poland for Christmas holidays, stated.

In the same vein, a very close friend of Oliseh reportedly warned: “Oliseh’s health condition has really worsened of late. I have never seen him in this very worrisome health situation since three decades that I have known him. I am praying fervently to Almighty God to save him and give him speedy recovery.’’

Oliseh, it would be recalled, missed the Super Eagles clash with the Stallions of Burkina Fasso in the second leg match of the 2016 CHAN qualifiers when he suddenly slumped during the team’s training camp in Port Harcourt.

He was immediately flown out to Belgium via Lufthansa to consult his personal physician.

Prior to the encounter with the Bukinabes, Oliseh was also reported ill shortly after Nigeria defeated Cameroon 3-0 in an international friendly in Brussels and was hurriedly airlifted to Europe for treatment.

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