The Super Eagles who are camped in Lagos, left for the
Southwestern part of Nigeria a day before Saturday’s clash at the Charles de
Gaulle Stadium.
There is the assurance of adequate security for Gernot
Rohr’s men and they will be expected to return to Lagos by Sunday for their
final Afcon qualifying fixture against Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Nigeria lead the Group L table after picking up eight points
from four matches and Benin trail the three-time African champions by just a
point in second spot.
Back in November 2019, Nigeria defeated Benin 2-1 in their
first qualifying match as goals from Victor Osimhen and Samuel Kalu cancelled
out Stephane Sessegnon's opener to give the hosts maximum points at the
Godswill Akpabio Stadium.
Earlier this month, the President of the Nigeria Football
Federation Amaju Pinnick said the FA was contemplating either going to Benin by
road or by boat with support from the Lagos State Government.
"Going to Cotonou by boat, I do that all the time when
we were going to inspect, we did it, there's nothing wrong in exploring other
forms of adventure in Nigeria,” Pinnick said .
"There's nobody in Lagos that has not been to Ilashe or
been to Tarkwa Bay, so it's the same thing, so what's the big deal?
"Look at the Lagos boat terminal, it's one of the best
in the world that I've seen, so why don't we use all those things if we have
them?
"So it's just a projection, we have not agreed on it.
We are looking at going by road to Cotonou which is our next-door neighbour
because even if you want to leave Eko Hotel to the Murtala Muhammed Airport it
is half the journey of going to Cotonou, so why do you need to fly and go to
Cotonou?
"We might either go by road, we are working with the
Lagos State Government, from here I have a meeting with the Lagos State
Governor.
"All those are things we want to explore and see what
is best suited for that and once we say we are going by the creeks to Cotonou,
of course, we'll provide every requisite, will provide the enabling environment
for them to go in terms of security, in terms of everything.
"But people should look at Nigeria beyond that, there's
no country in this world that doesn't have black spots but we live and try to
live."
Some players had raised concerns over the mode of
transportation, but head coach Gernot Rohr, who has already made the trip, said
it will be the best way to get across to the neigbouring country.
“Last Saturday, I made the trip and we were flying on the
water.
“It was so quick and calm,” Rohr said.
The trip by boat to Benin is about an hour long.
Speaking on going to Benin by water, Rangers duo, Leon
Balogun and Joe Aribo said the mode of transportation was not an issue, adding
that a win was uppermost on their minds.
“Traveling by sea, it is what it is, we can’t use that as an
excuse. We know what we have to do mentally and that is to win the match. I
have never traveled by sea before,” Aribo said in an interview.
“It will be my first time traveling by sea but I don’t
really mind. All that matters to me and my teammates is to wear the jersey, represent
our country, and win the game,” Henry Onyekuru said.
“The team opted to travel by boats, because of the bad roads
between the two countries and the many protocols for a short flight across the
border,” Pinnick stated.
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