Bosso’s Faux pas

“…I thank God for making this possible. I have been with the club (FC Ifeanyi Ubah) for the past three years in an unofficial capacity…..Today I join them officially as coach. …”

—- coach Isa Ladan Bosso, shortly after he was unveiled as new coach of FC Ifeanyi Ubah

On Monday 6^th November 2017, Isa Ladan Bosso, former Flying Eagles coach, was unveiled as FC Ifeanyi Ubah coach for the 2017/18 Nigeria Professional Football League season.

Ladan Bosso was signed on from El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri where he was coach for the past three years.

After the unveiling ceremony at Nnewi, Bosso told journalists that his relationship with FC Ifeanyi Ubah dated back, unofficially, to the past three years, even while still with El-Kanemi Warriors.

What this means is that Bosso was in fact keeping two coaching jobs in the Nigerian Professional Football League – one official and the other unofficial. This, sure, must raise some moral, ethical, and professional questions insofar as it must constitute a breach of contract somewhere.

Top of the questions of course is, how right is it for Bosso to be head coach of one club and, unofficially, be coaching consultant to another club, both of which are competing in the same league? What Bosso has practically admitted is that he was not only disloyal to El-Kanemi Warriors but also not committed to his job as coach of the club.

I think El-Kanemi Warriors should do two things. The first is to sue Isa Ladan Bosso for breach of contract, and the second is to check all the matches they lost against FC Ifeanyi Ubah in the past seasons and then explore the possibility of taking up Bosso for match-fixing.

On the part of FC Ifeanyi Ubah, I think they should consider withdrawing from the contract with Isa Ladan Bosso. The coach has proven that he has neither the mental and moral capacity nor the professional gravitas to manage a high-profile club.

Ladam Bosso’s faux pas has thrown up a great deal of trust and integrity issue between club and coach. Can the Management of FC Ifeanyi Ubah trust him? For all we know Bosso may do to FC Ifeanyi Ubah what he did to El-Kanemi Warriors. But what do I know?

A question mark also hang on FC Ifeanyi Ubah business tactics. A so-called professional club that would enter an under-hand relationship with the coach of a competitor in the same league should itself be looked at with “gbejero” eye.