Respected football administrator Mazi Amanze Uchegbulam believes the unfortunate petulant posturing of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in a video rant against coach Finidi George should be treated with utmost caution and candour.
Over the weekend, Osimhen openly disrespected the former national team coach, claiming Finidi, at a meeting between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Minister of Sports Development Senator John Owan Enoh, insinuated he feigned injury to miss the Super Eagles’ last two ill-fated 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
While many feel strongly that Osimhen’s recalcitrant behaviour must be met with stiffer sanctions, Uchegbulam, a former Vice-President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said Nigeria cannot afford to ‘throw away the baby with the dirty water’, adding that those in charge of the matter must apply wisdom.
“To start with, Osimhen should not have come out to insult his coach the way he did and even calling out his name is very insulting,” Mazi Uchegbulam, the erstwhile Vice-Chairman of CAF Appeals board, told NationSports. “Finidi is older than him and has even achieved more in football than him .
“He is just starting and I think what happened was nothing but youthful exuberance.”
Describing the video rant as childish and unnecessary, Mazi Uchegbulam advised the NFF to tread softly on the matter, adding that Osimhen needs pity and counselling.
“The NFF has to be cautious on this matter and if I were the NFF President, I would have to speak with him and his mangers in order to manage him better,” Uchegbulam, who is often regarded as one of the remaining statesmen in Nigerian football, continued. “He is still a young man and we can’t ruin his career (because of this unfortunate video rant).
“Some people have been calling for his (Osimhen) ban, but, honestly, that is not the solution.”
He added: “The solution is to counsel him; call him to order and let him know he has done something wrong .
“He has a lot of future with Nigeria and we should therefore manage him with wisdom and be counselled on how to manage his successes intelligently.
“Of course, the NFF President (Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau) should call him and ask him to apologise publicly to Finidi and Nigerians generally,” he noted. “Finidi is a legend of Nigerian football and should not have been insulted in the first instance.“
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