World Cup: Juju Scare in Super Eagles Camp

Whoever says there is no Juju in Nigeria football should read this ....NFF must create a spiritual department and employ prayer warriors ... Every aspect of our football need spiritual cleansing. By Adewale Ajayi I am not one person who believes in juju, but I know it exists even though I don't reckon with it. I have a story to tell and this is another in the series, that will drag you to the edge of your seat. Nigerians woke up to the sad news, that Super Eagles and Gent of Belgium winger Moses Simon has been ruled out of the 2018 World cup in Russia. The news came as a rude shock to many who have carefully followed the success story of the Kaduna born petit winger, who scored a brilliant goal just before the of the Jupilar league in Belgium. Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr confirmed the unfortunate news after his team's final training session ahead of Monday friendly match with Congo DR and wished the player quick recovery from the injury, which will keep him out for one month, meaning he wont be fit on time for Russia. Another big miss, another key absentee. This latest news has further fueled suspicions in some quarters that a few players use Ose dudu ( black soap or juju ) to curry favours and get things go their way in the National team. A former Super Eagles player once told me in a private conversation that lots of things happen in camp. He said within that short period when players converge for key qualifying games, every man comes fully fortified and equipped. We have heard of a player who before the last Olympic games in Brazil, travelled to the north, got five of his prayer warriors to bury five live cows and used the blood to fortify himself towards putting up a good performance at the mundial It is even worst these days, as two or three players are sometimes paired in same room, further heightening the suspicion among players and creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust among colleagues. A former Nigerian international who got married only recently said he once saw his missing under wear in the bag of a roommate in camp while another narrated how his expensive sleepass got missing till date. Lille of France and former Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was the pastor of the team during his active days as Super Eagles captain but after him, the prayers have reduced drastically as there are really no credible pastors within the rank and file of the team. Some players employ spiritualists not with an intention to hurt a colleague but with a stern instruction or message that are sometimes misinterpreted or misapplied. A player once sent an harmless message to his BABA ISALE ahead of a major competition but the overzealous baba in an effort to please his client destroyed the career of the supposed rival player. Under former NFF presidents Sani Lulu and Aminu Maigari, prayer warriors or pastors come around to offer spiritual assistance especially at a time like this when the World biggest soccer showpiece beckons. Infact, Kogi state born former NFF president Sani Lulu doesn't play with prayers and burnt offerings. Lots of pastors made good money working with the NFF then but what you have today is a situation where the only pastor left, a friend of Akpede, the notorious deaf and dumb Super Eagles supporter, had to to travel for two days, from Uyo to Cameroon with personal funds just to support and pray for the Eagles. On arriving Yaounde, he still had to fend for him self. When I saw him few hours to the match, he told me how he misplaced his prayer points while trying to navigate his way through the rough roads to Cameroon. To fully explain this claim, let's quickly take you down memory lane as we look back at key players who got injured on the eve of our National team coach announcing his final world cup list. Take note, that these injuries don't always come before the provisional list but it comes just before the final world cup list is released. 2010 W/CUP SA- MIKEL OBI GOT INJURED 2014 W/CUP BRAZIL- ELDERSON ECHIEJILE GOT INJURED 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES- SEGUN ODUDUWA AND JUNIOR AJAYI GOT INJURED (Ajayi went To the Olympics with the injury) RUSSIA 2018 W/CUP- MOSES SIMON ALREADY RULED OUT INJURED The question now is who next? We live in a society where the number of those praying for the Super Eagles failure in Russia is just 10% less than the number praying for their success. Politicians who are desperate to see to the downfall of Amaju Pinnick and his board have gathered in secret places to pray for evil to befall the team because they know that only a bad performance in Russia can pave way for total battle back home in Nigeria. This is the more reason why I insist that ...... 'THE WEAPON OF OUR WARFARE IS NOT ALWAYS CARNAL'. The eagles and indeed the NFF are daily wrestling against principalities and powers in high places, their kingdom daily suffereth violence and violence seem to want to take it by force. The time to possess your possession is now. This Eagles must fight the enemies within first before heading to Russia for the real battle against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina. I pray they find strength to fight when it really matters. Wishing Nigeria all the best in Russia. .