Former Super Eagles head coach Sunday Oliseh has made startling revelations about his troubled relationship with former Nigeria captain John Mikel Obi, admitting that he regrets ignoring warnings from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) about certain senior players during his tenure as national team coach, Sports247.ng reports.
Oliseh, who managed the Super Eagles between 2015 and 2016, claimed that the federation had advised him against inviting Mikel Obi, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike because of concerns over their influence within the national team.
“In hindsight, I regret not having listened to the NFF,” Oliseh revealed.
“Because when I took over the job, the first thing NFF told me was to stop inviting them because they were chaotic to the NFF. They were chaotic to the system.”
However, the former Nigerian international explained that he decided to give the experienced players an opportunity to prove themselves rather than immediately exclude them from his plans.
Oliseh particularly recalled travelling to England at his personal expense to arrange discussions with Mikel Obi and Victor Moses over issues affecting the national team.
According to him, both players were invited to a meeting in London, but only Moses honoured the invitation.
“Obi Mikel did not come to the meeting. Victor Moses came. Mikel did not even respond to the WhatsApp message,” he alleged.
Oliseh described the incident as one of the biggest insults he experienced during his coaching career, particularly because he had made considerable personal sacrifices to engage the players.
Nevertheless, he revealed that Moses’ willingness to attend the meeting created an opportunity for an honest discussion about problems within the Super Eagles.
“Victor Moses had one of the best discussions with me,” Oliseh stated.
He added that several concerns raised by Moses were issues he later experienced personally, strengthening his respect for the former Chelsea winger.
“The man was really speaking the truth, and that’s why I respect Moses till today,” he concluded.
Oliseh’s revelations offer fresh insight into the dressing-room tensions and administrative challenges that surrounded his controversial Super Eagles tenure.
