AFCON 2023: Amokachi, Yobo, Musa, Say Eagles Can Do it Again

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Former internationals, Daniel Amokachi, Joseph Yobo and Ahmed Musa are unfazed by the sluggish start of Super Eagles to the 2026 World Cup qualifying series, insisting that ‘Nigeria Can Do It Again.’

Speaking at the “Let’s Do It Again” campaign launch for the Super Eagles at the Mike Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi on Friday night, Amokachi who belongs to the ‘1994 Golden Generation’ of the senior national team pleaded with Nigerians to give this team the opportunity to win the AFCON again, a decade after Late Stephen Keshi won it in South Africa.

“It is a decade now that Nigeria last won the AFCON trophy. I was Keshi’s assistant coach and I know what we went through to achieve that feat. When we were going  to play Côte d’Ivoire, the NFF had bought our return tickets already and were waiting for us to crash out. But all that changed when we played a game that was not expected and put the Ivorians to sleep while we matched into the final,”recalled Amokachi who was also in the Super Eagles that debuted at the  Mundial in USA in 1994.

He said the bulk of players in the present squad do not have that mentality of old but are enthusiastic to play for Nigeria.

“Let’s support the team, let’s put that patriotism to ensure the boys are motivated. Fifty per cent of our players are foreigners. Let’s motivate them to know how we feel when they are defeated so that they can improve,” stressed the power forward fondly hailed “Da Bull”.

Yobo who captained Nigeria to win the 2013 AFCON describes the draw with Lesotho as a wake up call for the players. 

“Super Eagles Can Do It Again”,  began the former Everton defender.

“Draw against Lesotho is a wake up call. We are due to win AFCON again after a decade. No reason we cannot win it.  Team work and intelligence play great roles to win a championship. Now, the players know that they cannot afford to make any more mistake in the qualifiers.”

Yobo also urged the sporting media in the country to watch the type of stories that they put out .

“Some stories scare some of these our foreign-born players . The trolling of their families on social media do not help. One bad game does not make a player a bad one,” he noted.

Ahmed Musa who flew into Lagos from his base in Turkey for the launch of the campaign for Eagles, promised that Nigeria cannot afford to miss another World Cup after missing the last edition in Qatar.

“If 2013 Eagles can do it, this team can go to Abidjan to make it. It wasn’t rosy when we won it.”

Some of the ex internationals in attendance include, Samson Siasia, Mutiu Adepoju, Amokachi, Yobo, Ahmed Musa, Shehu Abdullahi, etc.

Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, FIFA Council Member, Amaju Pinnick, President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau and the federation scribe, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, Board Members Aisha Falode , Otunba Sunday Dele Ajayi amongst several others were all in attendance and spoke glowingly at the ceremony.