( dpa ) - The news that Berti Vogts had on Wednesday quit with immediate effect as Nigeria coach has been welcomed by many involved in football in the country.
Vogts resigned from his post less than three weeks after the team crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
A statement issued by his lawyers said that the German coach took
the action because "the measures and the behaviour of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) during and after the African Cup have led to a loss of confidence concerning further cooperation.
"Further cooperation is impossible."
Tukur Babangida, chairman of Premier League club side, Kano Pillars FC, welcomed the news of the 61-year-old's departure.
"It is a welcome development that he left honourably," he said. "Vogts had shown that he had nothing to offer Nigeria. It is good that he left without waiting to be dragged to FIFA or to CAF (Confederation of African Football)."
Garba Ubaliyo, a former NFA board member, said he had long expected Vogt's resignation, as did Alhassan Yakmut, the acting Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Football League, who added that Vogts surprised him by waiting this long before throwing in the towel.
Ubaliyo blamed the NFA for the situation that led to Nigeria recording its worst outing at the Nations Cup finals in 26 years with the 2-1 quarter-final loss to hosts Ghana on February 3.
"If after our outing at the France '98 World Cup finals, we had kept to continuity, things won't have been like this. We have never put things in order," he said.
The former Yobe State Director of Sports in Nigeria's north suggested that it was time the NFA started to look closer to home for a new coach.
"We should start grooming our own coaches to be able to take over permanently. Look at Egypt, they had a local coach who looked inward and used mostly players from the local league to achieve success," he said.
"The same goes for the Angolans. Look at their team, it is one to watch out for in the next few years. That's because of the local content," he added.
Ray Nnaji, a member of the Nigeria Football League board, called for the employment of one out of Stephen Keshi, Samson Siasia or former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh, as replacement for Vogts.
"Anyone of these ex-internationals can do the job. But if they still insist on a foreign coach, I think Clemens Westerhof will be a better option," Nnaji said.
Vogts was in charge of Nigeria since January 2007 on a deal valid until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He has also coached Germany, Kuwait and Scotland in the past, winning the Euro 1996 title with Germany.