Obafemi Martins urges NFF to find Osimhen competition
Former Nigeria international Obafemi Martins has called for stronger competition in the Super Eagles’ attack, saying the team must stop depending heavily on Victor Osimhen.
Martins believes Nigeria need another reliable striker capable of challenging Osimhen for a starting place and maintaining the team’s attacking threat when the Galatasaray forward is unavailable.
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Martins recalls competition from Yakubu
The retired striker pointed to his own time with the national team, when he competed for places with established forwards including Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Osaze Odemwingie and Julius Aghahowa.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Martins said: “You need someone that is going to compete with all the players, not just Osimhen.
“My own time, we had Yakubu there. If Yakubu starts the game, I’ll be on the bench waiting next game. We’re always like that. We don’t hate each other because of that.”
Martins believes healthy competition would improve the quality of the Super Eagles and ensure the team has dependable alternatives when key players are unavailable.
Nigeria struggled during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers when Osimhen missed five matches through injury. The Super Eagles failed to win any of those games, drawing against Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa twice before losing to Benin Republic.
Nigeria eventually reached the African playoffs but missed out on the World Cup after losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties.
Martins defends Osimhen’s passion
Martins also urged Nigerians to understand Osimhen’s personality and passion rather than interpreting his emotional approach to football as a negative attitude.
“You cannot keep him quiet. I think that’s what is keeping him going as well because the way he behaves does not mean he has a stinking attitude. That’s how he can play, so the majority of people don’t understand that,” he said.
“Seeing him is a blessing in the national team as a Nigerian. We should try to make him happy and let him score more goals.”
Osimhen has scored 35 goals for Nigeria and is now just two goals short of matching Rashidi Yekini’s record as the country’s all-time leading scorer.
Martins’ comments come as Nigeria look to rebuild the national team after failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and suffering a series of disappointing results across the qualifying campaign.