Why we shouldn’t force Lookman to play for Eagles –Onigbinde

Former Nigeria coach Adegboye Onigbinde has said Everton youngster Ademola Lookman should not be forced to play for the country.

The 19-year-old, who was signed by Everton on  a reported for £11m  deal recently, got his first goal on his debut for the Toffees  in their  4-0 victory over Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

NFF’s technical director, Bitrus Bewarang, was reported to have said the country would work on getting  Lookman  for  the Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, if the German wants him  in his team.

But Onigbinde said the player should be allowed to decide if he wants to play for Nigeria.

“There is no gainsaying that the player is talented,  which is why Nigeria can decide to go after him and try to woo him for the Eagles. There are other players of Nigerian descent out there who aren’t being brought back home,” he said.

“But I will call for caution in the approach to the issue as the boy should not be forced to play for the country. He should be allowed to make his choice just like the others before him did. The choice he makes will influence his  commitment to whichever country he chooses to play for.”

He added, “But the best way to get players for the national team is to develop the game on the home front first. That will solve the problem of Nigeria’s overreliance on the overseas-based players. When we develop the game  at home, the players out there will only be  additions to the best players we have at home, who would have formed the nucleus of the national team.

“Every good footballing country  today has  its national teams built from the domestic league. We should not be an exception,  because the Eagles have benefitted from the home-based players in the past and they ruled the continent with these quality players. The administrators should develop the game here before going for competitions – which is only to serve as a test for the developed players,” he added.