Omotoyossi wants Nigeria revenge

By Oluwashina Okeleji
BBC Sport, Sekondi

It's not a personal war but rather an opportunity to show Nigeria what they are missing Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi

Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi says he has a point to prove on Tuesday against Nigeria, his country of birth.

Omotoyossi, joint top-scorer in the Uefa Cup with Swedish club Helsingborgs, left Nigeria in acrimonious circumstances in 2003.

He is one of five Nigerians who have been forced to seek international football with the Squirrels.

And with the Super Eagles needing victory against Benin to make it through to the quarter-finals, Omotoyossi says it is now payback time.

"It's not a personal war but rather an opportunity to show Nigeria what they are missing," Omotoyossi told BBC Sport.

"There are other Nigerian-born players here in the Benin squad who switched allegiance due to one reason or the other.

"But we now have a perfect platform to show to these heartless officials they cannot keep treating people badly and then get away with it."

606: DEBATE Nigerian football is in dire need of revival BBC Sport's Oluwashina Okeleji

Omotoyossi's dream of becoming a star nearly faded when the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) hit him with a five-year ban in 2003 for allegedly attacking a referee during a match between his club, Sunshine Stars, and Enyimba.

"Another player attacked the referee and even though there was video evidence to prove that, the NFA said I had to serve the ban," Omotoyossi recalled.

"My life stood still, I was a dead man walking but I prayed to God for another way and he listened to my prayers."

Several trips to the NFA yielded no results, so Omotoyossi quickly shifted base to Benin to get his career back on track.

With his adopted country hosting the African Youth Championship in 2005, he helped the team reach the semi-finals and played a part in them making the World Youth Championship the same year.

Blessed with pace, great technique and an intelligent scoring brain, it wasn't long before he was snapped up by Moldovan side Sherrif Tiraspol.

And after weighing in with his share of goals, Swedish club Helsingborgs signed him at the start of last season and, playing alongside Swedish legend Henrik Larsson, the 22-year-old found the net 14 times.

Omotoyossi is not the only high profile player to have opted for international football outside of Nigeria.

Mouri Ogounbiyi, Jonas Oketola and Wassiou Oladipikpo are also in the Benin squad at the Nations Cup.

Ogounbiyi, who won the 2007 African Champions League with Etoile du Sahel, is the first player to have won the tournament three times.

But the midfielder said he would never have got a chance to play for the Super Eagles.

The biggest loss of all for Nigeria is Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who has Nigerian parents.

He was dropped from the country's under-17 side, and he chose to seek his footballing fortunes with Benin instead.