According to Daily Post, former coach of Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh, disclosed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) instructed him not to include three specific players when he was appointed as the team’s coach. Oliseh, who managed the team from July 2015 to February 2016, revealed this information during an interview with Elegbete TV.
The three players named by Oliseh are Vincent Enyeama, John Obi Mikel, and Emmanuel Emenike. He stated, "The three players the NFF had the most problems with, they told me, were Enyeama, John Obi Mikel, and Emmanuel Emenike."
Oliseh explained that the NFF blamed these players for Nigeria's failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), stating that they caused issues for the previous coach, Stephen Keshi. The federation then instructed Oliseh not to invite these players to the team.
Understanding the challenges of working with the NFF from his own experience as a former captain of the national team, Oliseh requested permission to meet with the players himself. He felt it was fair to talk to them directly and attempt to bring them on board with his coaching philosophy.
In his words, “I said, in all fairness to the players, what I would do is this: I begged the NFF; I said, ‘Look, let me talk to them; let me try to get them on board. Let me share my philosophy with them. And let’s see how it goes.’”
Oliseh recounted how he personally reached out to the team captain, Vincent Enyeama. He described how he, along with his assistant coach, drove to Enyeama’s place to discuss the situation.