Senate
President David Mark has said his experience in South Africa during the
Nations Cup final has shown that Nigeria has only few friends on the
African Continent.
Mark led the Federal Government’s delegation to South Africa to spur Super Eagles to victory in their encounter with Burkina Faso in the final match of the soccer competition.
Speaking at plenary yesterday during a
debate on a motion by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and 107
others, on Nigeria’s Outing at the AFCON 2013, Mark noted that very few
people from other African countries wanted Nigeria to win the trophy.
“From my interaction with people from
other African countries who went to watch the match, I observed that we
don’t have many friends in Africa. Only very few people, including those
I interacted with in the State bus, supported us. They believed that
Nigeria is great already, and they wanted Burkina Faso to win. I think
this implies that as a nation, we should learn to be self-reliant”, Mark
said.
Mark, who called on football
administrators to give Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi a free hand to
manage the team, advocated early training of sportsmen, provision of
sporting facilities at the local level and adequate funding for sports.
Following Mark’s disclosure that Keshi
had confirmed to him his decision to resign as coach of the national
team, the Senate urged him (Keshi) to rescind such decision and went on
to pass a vote of confidence in him, his technical team and other
Nigerian coaches.
The Senate commended the Eagles for
winning the trophy, observed a standing ovation in their honour and
commended President Goodluck Jonathan for motivating the team.
The Senate also urged the Federal Government to reward the Eagles handsomely and confer on them befitting national honours.
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