FG treats sports people with disdain, Semitoje cries out

Former Super Eagles defender, Isaac Semitoje has accused the Federal Government of treating sports men and women who brought honour to the country with disdain, adding that he will never advise his friend, son or relation to play for Nigeria because the country was not worth dying for. Semitoje who played for the Super Eagles as a player of then Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club of Owerri in the 1990s, said in a chat with newsmen that football in particular will never get it right because politicians have taken over and advised that the country must return to the basics if it must grow.

“I cannot advise any of my friend, son  or relation to play for Nigeria because they are not worth dying for.   Can you believe that the Nigerian government is still indebted to us? Just look at how ex- Internationals in the country are being treated. If some of us had not travelled out of Nigeria to work out something for ourselves, only God knows what would have happened to us. Football in Nigeria has been taken over by politicians, we can never get it right until the right thing is done.” “It is very disgusting and surprising that after serving this country with the whole of your heart as an ex- International player, you get nothing in return. I’m not too happy with the way the government of this country do treat us. I thank God that some of us struggled to find our way out of the shores of this country may be we won’t have been able to survive it,” he lamented. Speaking about the Super Eagles World Cup campaign, Semitoje said, “I’m not against the national team, I want them to do very well at the World Cup but our players must bear in mind that to play at the World Cup, you must have something to offer. We must go back to the basics if we want our football to grow.”