His reaction is not a harmless frown of disgust, a simple shrug of frustration, an innocuous grimace of disapproval or an animated gesture of displeasure. It was an explicit display of feral aggression. He was spiteful and hysterical.
The performance of Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Morocco has been impressive and fascinating. They are not only winning matches, but they are also doing so convincingly, taking teams to the cleaners with fluid, beautiful and scintillating football that brings back memories of the all-conquering Super Eagles of yore in the 90s. While the eye-catching and brilliant displays of the players on the pitch, which have earned them a place in the last eight of the tournament, have brought smiles to the faces of forlorn, much-tried and long-suffering citizens at home, an avoidable and needless incident involving players is now detracting from what has been a superb and captivating outing so far.
On Monday, during the round of 16 match against Mozambique, an embarrassing on-field incident involving Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen overshadowed what was an excellent and fantastic performance by the team as they trashed Mozambique, who, until then, had been a strong and resolute team that surpassed everyone’s expectations of them. But the firepower of the indomitable Super Eagles is too much for them to withstand.
In the second half, while Nigeria was leading by two goals, Osimhen became visibly agitated and furious after Ademola Lookman, who had assisted his two goals, refused to square the ball to him when he was clean through on goal and had the opportunity to have his name on the scoresheet. Lookman is an attacker and the instinct of any footballer who is worth his onion is to go for the goal when the need arises, let alone in a scenario where he has already created two goals for his fellow attacker. The decision of Lookman infuriated Osimhen, and he made no effort to let Lookman, who was at the receiving end of his wrath, by committing the cardinal sin of doing what any footballer would do in his position, his fellow teammates and anyone who cares that he was not happy.
It was not so much about the reaction of Osimhen to Lookman’s decision but how he reacted. His reaction is not a harmless frown of disgust, a simple shrug of frustration, an innocuous grimace of disapproval or an animated gesture of displeasure. It was an explicit display of feral aggression. He was spiteful and hysterical. It took the intervention of other players to restrain and pacify him. After his altercation with Lookman and Bruno in that match, he basically stopped playing with the rest of the team. He stopped making runs into the box and started behaving like he is first among equals and that other players serve at his pleasure.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Osimhen is an exceptional, brilliant, and tremendous footballer that any club would be glad to have. But his splendid and enviable skill set as an attacker is constantly being eclipsed by his truculent, immature and unrefined disposition especially when playing with the national team. For a player of his calibre, one that you would ordinarily expect to be levelheaded, cultured, reasonable, considerate and decorous, he has acquired a reputation for being abrasive, cantankerous and tactless. His doting fans see this as passion and part of the trade he plies but dispassionate and objective observers see it as disrespectful and abhorrent behaviour.
His lashing out at Lookman and Bruno during the Mozambique match is not the first time he treated his Super Eagles teammates and coaching staff with scorn and utter disrespect. He has become emboldened because his past transgressions and appalling acts of insolence were overlooked by those who should call him to order. Whatever reproach and reprimand he faced were from displeased members of the public.
During the brief stint of former Nigerian International, Finidi George, as the coach of the Super Eagles, Osimhen took to social media to vilify and castigate Finidi over hearsay and unverified reports regarding his injury and his refusal to honour call-ups for Nigerian matches at the time. He also cast aspersions on the person of Victor Ikpeba, who was part of Finidi’s backroom staff at the time. In Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier playoff against Congo last year, he was reported to have picked on Lookman. It is only expected for him to continue to behave in a rude and contemptible manner because he has got away with previous irresponsible behaviour that not only portrays him as an indisciplined and reckless megalomania but also a threat to the unity and cohesion of the team.
Those who cited his abhorrent character and unbecoming behaviour as the reason he could not secure a move to one of the top clubs in Europe during his transfer saga with Napoli have been somewhat vindicated. The truth here is that talent is enough and it is not a free pass to act in a way that not only demeans and belittles those around you but also undermines the growth and stability of the team. His unruliness and recalcitrance have gone on for far too long and something has to give at this point. He needs to know that the team does not revolve around him and his colleagues do not serve at his pleasure.
He must treat his teammates with respect and reverence. He must equally express his grievances and communicate his reservations in a civil, decorous and respectable manner that would not turn him to an unlikeable villain.