THE AFTERMATH: Who moved Keshi’s cheese?

Like Anthony in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, I’m not here to praise Keshi, but to bury him.

Its sounds rather harsh to subject Stephen Okechukwu Keshi to such exercise because here was a man who, after replacing Samson Siasia as Super Eagles coach in November 2011 ,won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.

Siasia, the erstwhile Flying Eagles boss, was sacked because he failed to qualify for the 2011 edition of the same competition which Keshi won at first attempt.

Keshi qualified the country for the 2014 World Cup where he went on to equal Nigeria’s best ever showing at football biggest tournament – the second round.

But for failing to heed the saying “quit when you are ahead”, Keshi, who had “resigned” several times on the job, showed lack of knowledge of adapting to change.

He was eventually sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday.

That brings up the matter of the book Who Moved My Cheese? By Dr. Spencer Johnson.

The simple book has a dramatically important message about how to cope with change.

People fear change because they believe they cannot control how or when it happens to them but Dr Spenser shows us that what matters most is the attitude we have about change.

We can deal with change in times of success, like winning the AFCON, and in times of failure, like struggling to qualify for another AFCON.

The book is a parable that takes place in a maze – for our purpose a job in the dugout.

Four beings live in that maze: Sniff (Jose Mourinho) and Scurry (Pep Guardiola) are mice.

They are non-analytical and nonjudgmental; they just want cheese (trophies) and are willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

Hem (Stephen Keshi) and Haw (your choice to decide) are “little people,” mouse-size humans who have an entirely different relationship with cheese.

It’s not just sustenance to them; it’s their self-image.

Their lives and belief systems are built around the cheese they’ve found no matter how small.

The point of the story is that we have to be alert to changes in the cheese (quest for trophies), and be prepared to go running off in search of new sources of cheese (two, three countries chasing you) when the cheese (holding on as Super Eagles coach) we have runs out.

So, Who Moved Keshi’s Cheese?

The simple answer is Stephen Keshi himself who failed to know that:

• Change happens
• They keep moving the cheese
• Anticipate change
• Get ready for the cheese to move
• Monitor change
• Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old
• Adapt to change quickly
• The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese
• Change
• Move with the cheese
• Enjoy change!
• Savour the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!
• Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again
• They keep moving the cheese.
• So, are you Hem?
• Are you another Keshi?
• Are you waiting to be sacked?