The Federal Government on Monday fulfilled a 25 –year pledge to former Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, Mr. Clemens Westerhof.
At an impressive ceremony inside the conference room of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Abuja, the Honourable Minister, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) said the occasion was a further proof that the Buhari administration was “committed to putting right the wrongs of yesterday and redressing all forms of yesterday’s injustice”.
Westerhof, a Dutchman, was head coach of the Super Eagles’ Class of 1994 – appropriately –styled Golden Generation – that won Nigeria’s first –ever FIFA World Cup ticket, won Nigeria’s first Africa Cup of Nations title on away ground and reached the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup in USA.
Fashola, himself a first-grade football enthusiast, eulogized the virtues of football as a “great unifier, which does not bow to ethnic, religious or quota system considerations,” and hailed Westerhof for serving his time with Nigeria’s senior team with distinction, while apologizing on behalf of Nigeria that the pledge took 25 years to redeem.
“Six months later, at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, a prominent journalist, Mr. Onochie Anibeze, brought it to my notice that the head coach, Mr. Westerhof was yet to receive his own house. We immediately initiated the process which has culminated in today’s event.”
An elated Westerhof, who flew into Nigeria from The Netherlands on Sunday night, said: “I am overjoyed. I want to thank the Nigerian Government for this, and I want to assure you that you will now see more of me in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is my second fatherland, and I am proud of what we were able to achieve with the players in those years. They were disciplined, dedicated and determined to lift Nigeria high, and we took Nigeria from 79th position to 5th in the world. I am thankful. However, I feel sad that some of my players have left us. May their souls rest in peace.”
Fashola afterwards presented the letter of allocation of the house to Westerhof.
