I read with mixed emotions an article by one of Nigeria’s greatest football icons, Segun Odegbami, whose brilliance on the pitch earned him the enduring nickname “Mathematical.” The article brought back memories of the legendary football commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, of blessed memory, whose captivating commentary defined an era of Nigerian football.
The Eagles of Odegbami, Christian Chukwu, Lawal, Okala and Co era was memorable without the sobriquet Super. The Earnest Okonkwo’s commentary was with only the national organ, Radio Nigeria without today’s multimedia.
I share the anguish expressed by Odegbami, as well as the concerns raised by eminent journalists such as Reuben Abati and Martins Oloja. Oloja aptly described Nigeria’s absence from the World Cup as “shameful,” while Abati lamented that the Super Eagles had “lost their wings.” Their disappointment reflects the feelings of many patriotic Nigerians both at home and abroad.
Yet, uncomfortable as it may sound, I contend that Nigerians did not miss the Super Eagles as badly as we ought to have. The reason lies beyond football. Over the years, we have gradually become accustomed to accepting avoidable failures, institutional decay, and recurring injustices as though they were normal features of national life. By omission or commission, we have cultivated a dangerous culture of collective amnesia. Hope it will not be with us for too long?
Perhaps this explains why the absence of our national team did not provoke the level of national outrage one would ordinarily expect. Instead, Nigerians found consolation in watching our Afrobeat maestros, Burna Boy, Davido and Rhema and footballers of Nigerian heritage shine for other countries.
The list is remarkably long: Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke for England; Jamal Musiala and Felix Nmecha for Germany; Folarin Balogun for the United States; Michael Olise for France; Manuel Akanji and Noah Okafor for Switzerland; Tani Oluwaseyi, Promise David and Owen Goodman for Canada; David Alaba and Carney Chukwuemeka for Austria; Antonio Nusa for Norway; Ime Okon for South Africa; and Julián Quiñones, whose Nigerian ancestry extends to his grandparents.
Even the French national team—often described by some commentators as a “Negro First Eleven” because of its many players of African heritage—offered many Nigerians familiar faces to cheer. Such emotional substitutes softened the pain of Nigeria’s absence and reinforced our collective amnesia.
This should not, however, be mistaken for an endorsement of that mindset of lying in bed with bad opinions. On the contrary, the normalization of failure is one of the gravest dangers confronting our nation. It is a mentality that has gradually seeped into every sphere of our national life—from governance and public accountability to politics, sports and civic engagement.
The FIFA World Cup has, since its inception in 1930, evolved into the greatest sporting festival on earth, exactly as its visionary architect, Jules Rimet, anticipated. Every participating nation treasures the privilege of being there. Every absent nation feels the pain of exclusion.
That is why Nigeria’s absence from the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States ought to have triggered deeper national introspection, particularly because Africa’s allocation increased from six to eight qualification slots. Missing out under such favourable circumstances was entirely avoidable. Avoidable in the sense that if key players like Victor Osimhen had understood that they stand to benefit more and will miss the tournament more than us ordinary Nigerians.
One expected a national commission of inquiry to look into the material conditions that made a country with abundant football talents to be missing in action of this global magnitude? Or even why Nigeria has no one referee or linesman, for one remembers the days of Linus Mbah and Co, as international referees. It is not too late to overhaul our local league which is enmeshed in less than transparent practices?
In the absence no remedy in sight, many Nigerians simply moved on, drawing comfort from memories of our appearances in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018. We also quietly accepted our failures in 2022 and again in 2026 without demanding the accountability required to restore our football.
The same attitude manifests itself in our democratic culture and makes it impossible to actualise the fine tenets of the social contract between our leaders and our people, as enshrined in Chapter Two of the 1999 Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria as amended. The Chapter underscores the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which states that the primary purpose of government is the provision of security and welfare to the people.
Consider the 2023 general elections. More than 90 million Nigerians registered to vote, yet less than 30% eventually cast their ballots. Can a society that routinely abandons its civic responsibility genuinely be expected to lose sleep over the absence of its national football team? Not mostly likely as is the case.
Low voter participation is not merely an electoral statistic; it is one of the principal factors weakening Nigerian democracy. When about 70 per cent of eligible voters stay away from the polls, they effectively surrender their democratic power to a determined minority. As Plato stated in The Republic – “Those who refuse to participate in politics are destined to be ruled by their inferiors.” Thereafter, complaints about poor governance ring hollow, because democracy cannot flourish where citizens consistently disengage from the process.
The lesson extends beyond politics to football. Excellence requires preparation, discipline, accountability and national purpose. Where these are absent, failure becomes predictable. A disciplined team plays every contest as the final, from the preliminary stage to quarter, semifinal to finals.
History itself offers a useful reminder. When the inaugural FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay, only 13 nations eventually participated despite invitations to more countries. Yet the absence of several invited teams did nothing diminish the prestige of the tournament. Instead, the competition grew steadily into the world’s most celebrated sporting spectacle.
Likewise today, Nigeria’s absence has not diminished the glamour of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament has continued to command the attention of billions across the globe and will definitely multiply as China is investing heavily in football.
The lesson is clear. The world will not pause because Nigeria fails to qualify. FIFA will continue to organise successful tournaments. Football will continue to flourish. Other nations will seize the opportunities we neglect.
Our players, administrators, policymakers and indeed all Nigerians must therefore reject the culture of complacency and collective amnesia. We must stop normalising failure, whether in football, governance or civic participation.
Only a nation that refuses to become comfortable with mediocrity can consistently compete—and win—on the world stage. For the doctrine of Hubris warns us that complacency and assumption is the mother of errors.
The Super Eagles will surely fly again. But for Super Eagles to soar to the heights Nigerians expect, we must first recover our national intolerance for failure and kill banditry mindset of collective amnesia. Until then, we may continue watching the World Cup with admiration, yet without our own flag proudly flying among the world’s best.
