Good morning Everyone.
In the absence of any Enyimba inspired juice, I will do my best impression of “putting my mouth in other people’s business.” Coach Imama of Abia Warriors is currently daggers drawn with his bosses as he seeks to abandon his team for a more tempting role at Kano Pillars.
Besides the fact that this involves Abia Warriors, a club I have warm feelings toward, I also consider Imama a personal friend, and this may inspire a certain kind of implicit biased response. That notwithstanding, I feel I can offer my view. And this is a personal view, not a law, not the righteous route, nor a hard and fast rule for everyone.
For starters, a general rule for me in these matters is: how would you feel if this happened to your club? If I were an Abia Warriors fan, I would scream blue murder and call Imama unprintable names. On the flip side, if I were Pillars, or if I were Imama’s kid brother, I would stand by the fact that Warriors are being cruel.
Having established those contrasting views, here is my take. First of all, this game is unforgiving. If Warriors get knocked out of the CAF Confederation Cup and make a bad start to the league season, calls for Imama’s head will come from different quarters. His excellent run last season would be seen as a fluke.
On the flip side, there is nothing that says the Kano Pillars project will be smooth sailing either. In fact, he is beckoning at a pressure cooker. We have seen some nasty things happen at Pillars. That said, if he succeeds, I feel the Sai Masu Gida fan power is something Imama can milk to make his team invincible, especially at home.
Abia Warriors last season arrived at what I feel is their ceiling. Are they going to win the league? No. Maybe a decent cup run, but I do not envision them achieving any higher prospects than what they did last season. Imama knows this. And there is something about leaving the stage when the ovation is loudest.
The club is well within its rights to hope for more glory days, and despite they being a well run club, they should admit that such a pull from a big club in Nigeria like Pillars does not come every day. The riches and facilities do not match, and few people will turn down such a huge leap.
If they insist on having Imama see out his final contract year, they are harboring an unhappy manager whose head is currently elsewhere. Will that have counterproductive implications? I think so. If, on the other hand, Imama turns down this Pillars offer and falls short of the glories of his first year at Abia Warriors, will he be given a new contract? Unlikely.
Abia Warriors are desperate, understandably so. They are in the continent. A dream for the club, although there are no realistic expectations of a successful ride. But they want their star coach for this ride. The question, however, is this: if they successfully make him stay, what Imama version would they be getting? The first season Imama or the one who left Rangers in less than stellar circumstances? We shall see.
End of gossip. Back tomorrow.
‘EnyimbaEnyi
