‘Tayo Aderinola, Publisher/Editor of Lagos Panorama and Chairman/Executive Director of the Ikeja All-Stars Football Club, has dismissed claims by former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh that Victor Osimhen’s disagreement with Ademola Lookman cost Nigeria the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title.
Oliseh had alleged that Osimhen’s public outburst against Lookman during Nigeria’s Round of 16 match against Mozambique disrupted team chemistry and contributed to the Super Eagles’ failure to win the tournament.
However, Aderinola described the claim as misleading and unsupported by facts.
According to him, the incident occurred during the Mozambique match, yet in the quarter-final clash against Algeria, both Osimhen and Lookman combined effectively on the field, demonstrating strong understanding and cohesion.
He said this clearly showed that any disagreement between the players had been resolved internally and did not affect the team’s overall performance.
Aderinola also questioned Oliseh’s moral authority to criticise the current Super Eagles, citing his controversial tenure as national team coach, which ended abruptly after a series of poor results and internal crises.
He recalled Oliseh’s well-documented fallout with former team captain Vincent Enyeama, which led to the goalkeeper’s early retirement from international football.
He recounted that the 2015 dispute between Oliseh and Enyeama stemmed from issues including the stripping of Enyeama’s captaincy, disagreements over disciplinary matters during a team camp in Belgium, and alleged public disrespect. Although the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) intervened at the time, Enyeama eventually retired after 13 years of service, citing loss of appreciation and respect.
The Lagos Panorama publisher further argued that Oliseh should have offered private, constructive advice to Osimhen rather than making public statements capable of undermining team unity. He stressed that Osimhen, as a younger player and assistant captain of the Super Eagles, has remained committed, reliable, and consistent in his contributions to the national team.
Addressing Nigeria’s exit from the 2025 AFCON, Aderinola attributed the outcome largely to controversial circumstances surrounding the semifinal match against host nation Morocco, rather than internal player disagreements.
He referenced comments by former Green Eagles captain Segun Odegbami, who suggested that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and tournament organisers benefitted from the eventual outcome of the competition.
Odegbami had argued that the controversial final in Rabat, which involved disallowed goals, a disputed VAR-awarded penalty, and protests by the Senegalese team, cast a shadow over the tournament. He noted that Senegal’s eventual victory helped preserve the credibility of the competition.
Aderinola concluded that it was unfair to single out Victor Osimhen as the reason Nigeria failed to win the 2025 AFCON, insisting that the Super Eagles’ campaign was affected more by officiating controversies and external factors than by any internal dispute among players.
