The decision to send three players from the Super Eagles squad home for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia for breaching the team’s disciplinary code.
Chelsea defender Celestine Babayaro, Portsmouth striker Yakubu Aiyegeni and Schalke’s Victor Agali were the three players sent home from the team’s camp in an announcement made by the then secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi.
Nigeria were preparing at their base in Monastir for their second match of the tournament against South Africa.
“They did not respect the rules of the camp, they were supposed to be in the same place as the rest of the team,” Taiwo Ogunjobi, secretary general of the Nigerian Football Association, told L’Equipe.
“They just returned to the hotel This Friday morning
“We have informed the team through the captain, Jay-Jay Okocha, and we have received approval from the sports minister and it was decided that discipline should be maintained and the players involved should leave the camp immediately.”
Twenty years after the incident, Victor Agali has now decided to speak out about what led to his departure, saying some NFF members told lies to get them expelled from the camp.
“We didn’t take any women to our hotels, we just had a few drinks at the bar. I remember that years later Taiwo Ogunjobi, of blessed memory, called me to apologise for what happened,” he told Brila FM.
“NFF officials lied about what happened in Tunisia, I was expelled from the Super Eagles on false charges. The officials had the press at their disposal and often used it to spread all kinds of stories. They did not care how it affected the players as long as it suited their interests.”
Mohamed Mowiz Suleiman
