Former Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh has said the Nigerian Football Federation advised him not to call up John Obi Mikel, Vincent Enyeama or Emmanuel Emenike when he assumed control of the Super Eagles.
Oliseh said the federation regarded the three established players as disruptive to both its administration and the national-team setup. He said he now regrets disregarding that advice.
Quick facts
- Oliseh said the NFF warned him about Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike at the start of his tenure.
- He paid personally to travel from Belgium to London for a meeting with Mikel and Victor Moses.
- Victor Moses attended the meeting, while Mikel neither came nor replied to the WhatsApp invitation, Oliseh said.
- Oliseh described Mikel’s absence as a major insult but said he did not hold it against him.
In a podcast clip that has circulated widely on X, the former Juventus midfielder recalled arranging a London meeting with Mikel and Moses while Mikel was at Chelsea.
Oliseh said he used his own funds rather than NFF money for the trip. He contacted the players’ clubs and sent messages to both players, setting the meeting at an easily accessible bar in central London with his assistant coach present.
“When I got the job, the first thing the NFF told me was not to invite those three — Mikel, Enyeama and Emenike — because they brought chaos to the federation and the system,” Oliseh said. “I regret that I did not listen.”
Of the two invitees, Moses arrived for the discussion, Oliseh said. Mikel did not attend and did not respond to the WhatsApp message, he added.
Oliseh suggested Mikel may have believed his role at a leading club made him bigger than the national-team coach. He said his direct approach was shaped by his own playing record, asking what Mikel had achieved or where he had played that Oliseh had not.
He stressed that players must respect the office of a national-team manager, even if they believe the coach was not a footballer or did not reach their own level as a player.
Oliseh said he had travelled from Belgium specifically to see Mikel in London, only for the Chelsea midfielder at the time to fail to appear. “It was one of the biggest insults,” he said, adding that he nevertheless did not take it personally.
He said the meeting with Moses went ahead and produced one of the best conversations he had with a player. Moses explained what he believed was wrong within the national-team environment, Oliseh said.
Oliseh added that many of Moses’ concerns matched problems he had experienced himself, reinforcing his view that the player had spoken honestly. He said that was why he held Moses in such high regard.
