Former Super Eagles winger Dimeji Lawal has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s persistent struggles in the attacking department, blaming the national teams’ lack of prolific strikers on the failure to develop talent locally.
In a frank assessment of Nigeria’s football structure, Lawal stressed that the country is paying the price for prematurely exporting young talent and overlooking grassroots striker development.
Read Also: AFN’s Olalekan Soetan: A United, Technocratic Board Will Deliver Progress
“Today, we’re facing a serious drought of homegrown strikers,” Lawal stated. “Most of our best players leave for Europe too early and are never fully developed before they go. We then rely on finding Nigerian-eligible players abroad instead of building our own.”
Lawal, who currently serves in youth football development, believes that the over-dependence on foreign-based strikers has stifled local talent and reduced competition within domestic leagues. According to him, this trend has weakened the pipeline of natural goalscorers for both youth and senior national teams.
He urged coaches and administrators to shift focus back to Nigeria’s grassroots system—where he believes the next generation of top strikers can be groomed. “We need to invest in youth academies, organize more competitive school and local tournaments, and most importantly, teach young players the fundamentals of scoring goals,” he said.
Lawal added that building elite strikers requires patience and technical coaching. “You can’t rush the process. A good striker must understand positioning, movement off the ball, finishing techniques, and decision-making in tight spaces. These skills can be taught here, at home, if we commit to it.”
He concluded with a call for national synergy in player development, emphasizing collaboration between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), local clubs, and private academies. “If we don’t fix this gap now, our teams will keep struggling in front of goal. It’s time we produced our own Rashidi Yekini again—from Nigeria, for Nigeria.”
