It was the largest congregation of sports editors I have seen. There were 34 of them, all top sports editors of some of the major media based in Lagos. The event was supposed to be a brain-storming chit chat sponsored by Tom Tom and put together by one of the most hardworking and most brilliant sports journalists in Nigeria, Taye Ige. The setting was cosy, a new event centre in a stunningly beautiful location of the GRA in Ikeja, Lagos. It was the first such event that I know of to be held in the country, an assembly of reporters, analysts, commentators, columnists, critics and presenters of sports in both print and electronic media. It was designed as a sports parliament with a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker with humble me as moderator. My role was to steer the conversation through the present minefield that is Nigerian football post-Angola. The theme of the discourse is the lessons of Angola as a guide to a successful outing at South Africa 2010.

It was more like projecting into the future through the prism of the immediate past, avoiding identified pitfalls and introducing fresh ideas. The issues to be discussed included everything concerning the players, the performance of the coaches, the roles of the NFF and PTF, the impact of the media as watchdogs, and so on!

No one except the organisers had a clear idea what to expect or how the event would turn out. An assembly of such seasoned sports writers with strong but divergent views on all issues is not the easiest to navigate and arrive at some kind of consensus expected to provide some illumination for the country as we prepare for the World Cup. Of course one issue that must not escape attention and requires that an equivocal position is taken is that of a coach, new or old, foreign or local!

Personally, I recognised and seized upon the uniqueness of the opportunity to interact from very close quarters with some of the sharpest and most powerful sports writers, and to look at them in the eye as they dissect Nigerian football. Such an opportunity is rare and I was determined to make the most of it, listening more, speaking little and just closely drinking from the mind of the journalists.

The discussions were robust and frank. The framers of public opinion on tackled each other as the assembly sailed through the issues. Except on one particular issue consensus seemed easy to reach. When the matter of foreign coach and what to do with Amodu Shuaibu came up the temperature of the room and of the discussions rose by several degrees. Arguments were marshalled with facts, statistics, logic, sentiments and passion! As diverse as the views were no one could be faulted or discarded. After all football is not an exact science with set rules which if religiously followed would produce the same results time and again. F that were so the game would be the beautiful unpredictable game that it is that continues to fascinate, excite and titillate the mind and stimulate discussion like no other sport in history. Emotions ran deep. One thing was clear from most of the discussions – the journalists loved their national football team with an undying passion! The issue of Amodu was settled as a result of that love. The options were narrowed down to two and participants were asked to vote to determine what would now represent the consensus of the assembly!

The event was as entertaining as the discussions were brilliant. The Speaker and his deputy, Kunle Solaja and Mumini Alao, two of the most articulate minds in sports reportage in the country, contributed lightly but significantly, and brilliantly captured the resolutions of the parliament in a communiqué.

It was indeed a privilege to participate as a guide only in this gathering of shapers of public opinion on football issues. If only those in charge of the country’s football were there to listen and be confronted with facts. Nevertheless, after three hours and fifteen minutes of conversation at that level it would have been preposterous not to emerge with a communiqué that would reflect some very fresh and serious perspective on what to do about the game as the country prepares to start the journey to South Africa 2010.

Here is a summary of some of the major decisions.

The NFF lacked ambition. Limiting their ambition to a semi-final place in an African championship is totally unacceptable.

Amodu Shuaibu may have done his best through the period of his relationship with Nigerian football but a foreign coach is now needed to take the Eagles to the World Cup. The condition attached to this is that such a foreign manager must have good records and sound credentials.

Nigerian coaches must be graded. Qualification of coaches must be standardised. The European Coaching licence should be adopted as a measuring tool for all Nigerian coaches aspiring to handle the national teams. The NIS training, qualifications and standard are too low for such consideration.

The minimum target to be set for the proposed new foreign coach is for him to take the Eagles to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, a level never previously achieved.

By the end of the conversation that lasted all of three hours and fifteen minutes everyone at the assembly acknowledged the value of having such an interaction. They praised the initiators, sponsors and organisers for a great event. A useful seed has been planted and already an expanded version is been to accommodate a wider spectrum of discourse on all other issues pertaining to the future of Nigerian football!