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How Westerhof, Obiku, Siasia Buried The Hatchet After 35 Years
Nigerian football legends Mike Obiku and Samson Siasia have put aside their differences with former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof, ending a decades-long feud.
BIGPEN NIGERIA (https://bigpenngr.com) reports that the reconciliation was facilitated by Sunny Ofehe, a Nigerian-born Dutch environmental rights activist and Executive Assistant to the Delta State Governor on External Relations and Diaspora Affairs.
Obiku, a key player in Nigeria’s 1988 Seoul Olympics and Morocco 1988 teams, had harbored resentment towards Westerhof since being dropped from the Super Eagles squad in 1989.
Despite his success in Cyprus and subsequent transfer to Feyenoord, Westerhof refused to recall him to the national team.
Moment Nigerian football legend, Mike Obiku and former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof made up during Obiku’s wife birthday party in The Netherlands (Photo Credit: Comrade Sunny Ofehe)
Siasia, on the other hand, was upset with Westerhof for not playing him against Italy in the 1994 USA World Cup.
Ofehe who revealed this in a Facebook post, disclosed that Westerhof explained that Siasia was dropped due to a missed goal-scoring opportunity against Greece.
The reunion, which took place at the birthday celebration of Obiku’s wife, marked the first time Obiku and Westerhof had met in 35 years.
The three football legends, according to Ofehe, shared laughter, stories, and memories, bringing closure to their feud.
Nigerian-born Dutch environmental right activist, Comrade Sunny Ofehe (on Suit) in a joyous moment with Nigerian football legends Mike Obiku and Samson Siasia flanked former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof after the trios reconciled their difference as facilitated by Ofehe (Photo Credit: Comrade Sunny Ofehe)
Westerhof, now 84, coached Nigeria’s Super Eagles from 1989 to 1994, leading the team to the 1990 Nations Cup final and Nigeria’s inaugural World Cup appearance in 1994.
Those privy to the relationship between the trios, while commending Ofehe’s initiative, said that the development only shown the power of reconciliation and the enduring spirit of Nigerian football.
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