Nigeria Afcon Debacle A Miracle?

The 2015 Afcon dilemma has come but its scar is yet to go, as the fiasco still linger in the hearts of Nigerians. The super eagles of Nigeria will miss their second tournament in three years after failing to qualify for the showpiece billed for Equitorial Guinea.

Still without a substantive manager, the three time African champions expectedly are on a downward slide less than two years after shocking the footballing universe.

"January is known to be a long and hard month. Afcon was meant to help us(Nigerians) bear it OUCH." a renowned sports journalist said. 

So many dark sides from Nigeria's Afcon failure but there's a light not at the end of the tunnel this time but in front of it as Nigeria Afcon miss surprisingly might be a blessing in disguise for the nation.

Calls were made from different angles for the 2015 edition to be postponed by CAF due to the deadly Ebola Virus but it fell on deaf ears as the football body moved on with it's plans. This led to Initial host, Morocco shirking the responsibility citing same concern. 

The most recent was 2012 African women's footballer of the year Genoveva Anonma who said CAF should cancel the tournament to avoid spreading the Ebola virus to her home country.

Anonma said: "I am afraid for everyone. They should cancel it for the good of humanity and the good of our country."

"There is an 80% risk that the virus could contaminate our country but what can we do? We have to accept it," the 27-year-old forward said.

The 2008 and 2012 African champion concluded by saying:

"We are a small country and we don't want things like this in our country,
"I have family there. My grandparents, my cousin, my aunt and uncle. My mother and my father are there too - everyone is there."

Nigeria, a nation plagued by insurgency, corruption, under development, social/religious vises and a deleterious election looming, the Afcon ordeal might have saved over 140 million people from the foreseeable danger. Adding the Ebola virus to the aforementioned predicaments in 2015 will only compound and surge the challenges of the country.

The World Health Organization on monday december 20, 2014 declared Nigeria as an Ebola free nation, a rare victory in the months-long battle against the fatal disease with 20 cases of Ebola reported in Nigeria including eight deaths.

We all wait and see as the script unfolds, with around 7,000 deaths recorded so far in Africa, Nigeria might have gotten the greatest miracle ever as our darling super eagles missed out from the 2015 nations cup.