A COMPETITION WITH MANY LESSONS
Sluggish, woeful, not good enough, lazy, poor, uncoordinated etc
were a few of the adjectives used to describe the supposedly nature of
play of the super chickens as they were nationally branded. Their
frustrating style of play and the fragility of the defence whose best
quality is conceding goals at the dying minutes of matches as witnessed
in the first two matches won the Nigerian team to the 2013 CAF nations
cup more enemies than friends. For an average analyst, it was glaring
the team lacked character, sharpness and right mental attitude. The team
struggled through the group stage and it was not surprising that two
penalties were needed to overcome the doggedness of the Ethiopians who
stood between the super eagles and qualification to the next round. A
team that was forged in the fire of criticism some five weeks before the
competition weren’t given much of a chance to succeed, the coach
tactics was queried at some point and the overall performance of the
team questioned. The team was an object of ridicule even by colleagues
as it was well documented how the mighty Ivorians taunted the eagles
prior to the quarterfinal clash. Three weeks on, the once relegated
super chickens as fondly called by critics is now the daring team
compared to the great 94 squad referred to as the best generation
witnessed in the history of Nigeria football.
After
careful observation and deep thought, I looked beyond the thrills of
the just concluded tournament to highlight important nugget needed for a
successful living. Aside from the realisation that success has many
friends as clearly exhibited by the wild embrace of the super eagles as a
dear team by many many who initially crucified it, some of the truths
embedded in the lessons below transcends beyond the borders of the host
nation, it sail beyond the many dramas experienced at the tournament and
surpass the brilliance exhibited on the field of play. Let’s evaluate
these pointers together.
A) PRIDE COMES BEFORE DESTRUCTION
When
a man has a ray of enviable talent, skill or results, the world is
bound to exalt such individual, however when such person develop a
haughty attitude birthed unjustifiable on the platform of I am better
than others, then pride has set in. Humility is an attractant of grace;
it draws to itself beauty, elegance, decency, love, favour and goodwill.
(Dan 4: 28-33) Nebuchadnezzar was a king that gloried much in his
wealth and royalty; he eventually paid for it ending up living in the
bush like an animal. What a humbling scenario.
The
applause, accolade and encomium showered on tournament favourite Ivory
Coast brought complacency, self satisfaction and a superiority complex.
It was rudely exhibited when some of the players boasted in the media of
their preparedness to roast their Nigerian counterpart. Of course they
left the competition disappointed as they were rudely eliminated by the
people they castigated/relegated.
Pride is a
killer. That you have an advantage over someone/people doesn’t make you
superior to them, that you just got promoted and others did not doesn’t
make you a star, that you are the best in class isn’t a proof of
mastery, it’s just time and chance.
I
returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor
the battle to the strong, neither bread to the wise, not yet riches to
men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill…but time and
chances happeneth to them all……ECC 9:11.
I
carefully listened to the speech of the super eagles coach and some
players during the press conferences, it was glaring the current crop of
players and the technical crew were a set of humble folks (at least
they managed to show that). They had respect for other teams and treaded
with caution. That’s a sign of strength and not weakness. It’s not
surprising the best Nigerian player; Osaze wasn’t selected as a member
of the squad for the reason of being arrogant and proud, he was
constantly in the habit of querying the last three technical adviser
directives and approach hence was dropped so as not be a negative
influence to the young lads. I therefore stand to be corrected; no proud
man can ever be a good role model.
Prov 27:1, Prov 9:12, 1 Sam 16:7, Prov 16:18, Phillipians 2:3, James 4:6, Psalm 101:5
B) DISCIPLINE IS AN IMPORTANT KEY FOR SUCESS
Discipline
is described as a training given to ensure proper behaviour; it’s the
practise or method of teaching and enforcing acceptable pattern of
behaviour. It is a “punishment” designed to teach someone obedience.
When a family, establishment or organisation doesn’t embrace discipline,
things goes bad for both the one that needs the correction and the
person meant to give it. I wonder if Osaze would truly have been a good
addition to the squad peradventure his flaws were tolerated and the
right disciplinary measure wasn’t used by the coach. To drop not just
one of your best players but several of them isn’t an easy decision to
make, they might not have played to instructions, might have fuelled
quarrels and fights in camp which certainly result in division and in
turn affected the team spirit. They certainly might have done lot harm
than good. Almost everyone(myself inclusive) crucified Keshi for
dropping particularly Osaze but the coach knew what was best for his
team, he wanted a no-ego situation in camp and he got it, the result is
evident as he succeeded in becoming a champion with his team. When a
child’s fault is tolerated and improperly managed in the face of
pampering under the umbrella of love, such child always end up being a
disaster and a headache for the family (this applies to other facet of
life). Have you ever imagined why there are so many unimaginable
atrocities in the developed countries? It’s because the training pattern
of kids brought up in such environment is faulty to an extent. Those
brought up under godly atmosphere and supervision is usually morally and
socially upright
Pro 29:17-Where there is discipline there is
delight, happiness, satisfaction, joy and pleasure. It literarily means
where there isn’t discipline, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, grief,
sorrow, regrettable/pitiable situations is to be experienced.
Prov 22:6, Prov 13:24
C) SELF CONFIDENCE, COURAGE, FOCUS AND DETERMINATION ARE SUCCESS INGREDIENT
“It
doesn’t really matter what people think about what Stephen Keshi is
doing. The most important thing is what I am doing here and passing on
to my team. If back home in my country, they don’t appreciate what I am
doing with the team, so be it. You can’t force somebody to love you; you
can’t force somebody to accept you. It has to come from within”.......Keshi’s quote after the game against Ethopia
Most
folks accept the names the world call them, some easily crumble in the
face of challenges and adversity. When insurmountable task befalls you,
your attitude and reactions determines if you are going to overcome such
situations. That the whole world doubted the ability of the super
eagles didn’t make the technical crew or the players doubt themselves.
The coach was always reiterating his belief and confidence in the team
composition. He emphasised times without number on the need of people to
believe in his boys. He certainly saw something we all couldn’t see at
the beginning. Do you have a goal, vision, task or role to play, once
doubt and fear sets in, you are as good as a loser. Even when the odd is
against you, you need to embrace courage (Deut 31:6).
Confidence
is self assurance and belief in one’s ability, it’s the faith put in
oneself as no one would believe you if you don’t believe yourself. When
confidence is lacking, trust disappears. Its confidence that keeps you
encouraged in the face of troubles, unbelief and doubts. Confidence not
thrown away has great gain, it is richly rewarded (Heb10:35). Heb 4:16-
So when a man doesn’t approach with confidence, he receives neither
mercy nor grace in time of need.
When a man
isn’t focused and standing for something, he would fall for anything.
Stephen Keshi is a man that exhibited high level of confidence and it
counted for him in the day of judgment and celebration. Even when he was
being criticised for dropping players, even when he was been labeled
inferior to his foreign counterparts, even when his decision making was
questioned by many including his employers, even when his squad was
termed not good enough, he showed character, composure and calmness.
Today he is not just appreciated but he is also celebrated. Doggedness
and high level of confidence is a must acquire asset.
Philip 4:13, Psalm 27:1,13-14, 2Tim1:7, 1Sam17:34-37
D) THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR FAILURE
The
man at the pool of Bethesda for years didn’t get a miracle because of
continuous unacceptable/unnecessary excuses (John 5: 1-7). Was he the
only deformed person at the pool? Did others not get healed via rightful
positioning/adequate strategy? An excuse is a means to justify; it is
an overlooking bait, a reason to be absolved from blame, criticism or
wrong doing. An excuse is a false reason that enables someone to
do/avoid something he or she does/doesn’t want to do. It is a reason or
explanation (not necessarily true) given in order to make a case appear
acceptable. Whatever has been committed to our hands or whatever
responsibility we have been given, there is no excuse acceptable to back
any inadequacies or faltering steps.
The super
eagles were widely condemned and were never given a chance by majority
but they still didn’t make that situation the foundation for failure
instead it was the driving force for collective achievement. It would
have been accepted by the bookmakers if they had lost the match to the
tournament favorite but that still wasn’t the basics for non performance
and hence produced a superlative performance. The human nature is
structured to embrace sympathy, we want people to see things the way we
see it but it won’t get a man to his promise land. What distinguished
Joshua and Caleb from the other spices was their non tolerance for
negativity. There is no excuse tenable for unfruitfulness, non
productivity, immaturity and failure. Many folks have succeeded in the
same conditions that seem to be overwhelming to you. Imagine a long-term
businessman that has no evidence of growth, a leader that cant motivate
his/her followers for effective performance, a graduate who fails to
tap into the great wealth of personal resource for efficient
skill/talent optimisation necessary for self profiting, an orphan that
blames his underachievement, illiteracy and life predicament on the
demise of his/her parent etc... it shows characters who has molded a
bedrock for lack of success. Common on, rise up from that comfort zone
and shake off all the weight of sympathy seeking excuses. Everyman is an
architect of his own success or failure hence there is no reason
justifiable and of course no one deserving more of the blame of your
incapacitation. (Luke 19: 11-26) The servant that never traded with his
master’s coin only has himself to blame for the loss of it. No matter
how little your resource is, it can still be worked on; it is viable and
good enough to multiply.
E) NEVER LOOK DOWN ON ANY MAN
Show
me a man that looks down on others as a result of his position, fame,
possessions, accomplishment or success and I would show you a man whose
downward journey from the top of the ladder is inevitable. The Ivorian
most especially a certain Eboue prided in the arrays of stars that make
up his team and fail to recognise the strength of the opposition. I took
time to read all his tweets prior to the Nigeria-Ivory Coast match and
it portrayed a man immersed in coated arrogance. That a team is above
another on the ranking doesn’t make it superior over others. The super
eagles coach would always reaffirm his respect for other team even if
they look inferior on paper. Whenever you look down on people, you don’t
see, recognise or enjoy the good they offer. It is important to learn
how to bridle the tongue when life appears rosy so as not to relegate
those whose condition looked unpleasant (Prov 12:18). Like a popular
lyrics of a songwriter, “No one know tomorrow”, the man you looked down
on today might be the harbinger for tomorrow’s success or failure hence
whatever position we find ourselves, we must channel our achievements
towards others improvement. Who knows if the Nigerian team would have
been knocked out in the quarter finals had it been some of the Ivorians
never underrated them? The rejected became the chief cornerstone; the
underrated became the African champion. Never underestimate that new
employee, never look down on that poor looking colleague, never take for
granted that challenged friend, never categorise yourself as the
high-class and some low-class. Remember Goliath looked down on the tiny
looking David and he paid dearly for it with his life (1Sam17:41-51).
F) NEVER ALLOW SENTIMENTS TO CLOUD YOUR DECISION MAKING
Sentiment
is a mental feeling, a thought or idea based on emotion. I can bet the
super eagle coach choose his squad based on deserving qualification
devoid of emotion or feelings. Someone sold a tribal sentiment of having
more of the south eastern folks in the super eagle’s squad, and just
like Adam fell to the deceit to eating the forbidden fruit, many people
also bought it (myself inclusive). My premise is no one would have been
dropped if he was considered better than any of those picked. I see
tribal/ethnic sentiment dominate employment process; I see emotional
attachment influence decisions at offices, worship centres and homes.
When we push aside the qualified for the self loved, attaining results
would be difficult. Christ eternal influence wasn’t borne out of
sentiment; it was born out of purposeful hard work and sacrifice (Philip
2:5-11).
G) UNITY IS A BINDING FORCE
Joseph
Yobo when he granted an interview prior to the finals of the Nations
cup made mention of unity amongst the squad as a reason for going far in
the competition. Where there is harmony, there is certainly love.
United they say we stand and divided we fall. The power of unity in a
family, group or team cannot be overemphasized. It is a condition of
being one, a whole/complete state arising from the fusion of ideologies
and differences. It is the singleness or constancy among individuals or
groups, a situation when interest, feelings and opinions is in perfect
accord. When there is unity, there is a sense of belonging,
coordination, understanding, readiness to sacrifice and most importantly
growth. Goals and targets are achieved easily in a team with one voice.
(Psalm 133:1-3, Col 3:14, Eph 4:1-6) Where there is unity there is
love, humility, gentleness and patience. It took God himself to disrupt
the plans of a people so fiercely knitted in vision and act as their
planned tower building to the heavens would have been achievable if
there wasn’t any divine interruption (Gen115-7). Hence anywhere there is
no common language, there would be confusion, strife and can never be
progress.
Written By Olukokun Adedeji Oladipo
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