Back in 1996, as the Super Eagles prepared to defend their Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa, a famous saying went around the continent that 'the only country that can stop Nigeria, is Nigeria'.
At the time, the reference was to how unstoppable the Super Eagles team were on the field, stacked as they were with the talents that had just won the Africa Cup of Nations and wowed at the World Cup.
These days, however, that statement has warped into something different. It has come to refer, fittingly, to the self-sabotage that the country regularly engages in at the most inopportune of times.
Just two days before their important 2026 FIFA World Cup African playoff semi-final game against Gabon, the full Nigeria squad, including officials, decided to boycott training in Morocco because of unresolved issues with outstanding bonuses and payments.
Sources told ESPN that the team have outstanding bonus payments going back to 2019, including last year's AFCON bonuses and the qualifiers for the next tournament and the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
Team captain William Troost-Ekong said on Twitter that the team would only return to training after a resolution is reached: "Once resolution is found we will be the first to confirm. All we want and continue to do is focus on the big games ahead."
NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau is currently in Morocco and is reported to be negotiating with the players, but as of Tuesday night there was no resolution.
Officials declined comment on the record but an NFF source told ESPN that the issue had been escalated: "We have taken it to the highest levels of government and we hope to be able to find a long term solution as soon as possible."
With a potentially decisive game one day away, the timing could not be worse. Players began reporting to the team's lodgings on Sunday night, and by the Monday when the team held their first training session, there were only 16 of the 24 invited players.
Tuesday would have been Coach Eric Sekou Chelle's first opportunity to practice with a full squad. The boycott means the best he will have would be just one full session before lining out his team on Thursday. At worst, none.
This should be music to the ears of Gabon, whose coach, Thierry Mouyouma, has promised to take the game to the Super Eagles.
"We have to force them to chase the ball and play behind their own lines," Mouyouma told the Gabonese Press Agency (AGP).
"Our objective is to make them work harder, create spaces, and exploit those openings when they appear."
As damaging as this may look for the Super Eagles however, they have a history of delivering under circumstances such as this.
They won Olympic gold in 1996 while having bonus issues, and at the 2014 World Cup negotiated a similar situation ahead of their win against Bosnia & Herzegovina. Even during qualifying campaigns the Super Eagles have risen above bonus rows and training boycotts to squeak out results on the pitch.
Pressure, it seems, makes diamonds out of Nigeria's Super Eagles. The question however, is whether these Super Eagles share the same battling DNA as their predecessors. On the basis of their results during this series, that is debatable. Still, Gabon would be wise to not underestimate the desire of these Eagles to win.
Chelle, unbeaten in four competitive matches with Nigeria in the qualifying campaign (three wins and a draw), will be hoping that despite everything, that record holds up on Thursday.
He will be counting on the rampant Victor Osimhen, whose 29 goals in 44 matches for the Nigeria senior team have put him firmly on the way to legend territory.
Nigeria lead the head to head between both teams, with five wins from their previous nine encounters, with three draws. Gabon's lone win, a 2-1 victory in 1989, ultimately cost Nigeria a ticket to Italia '90 as the Eagles failed to secure the draw needed against Cameroon's Indomitable Lions in Yaounde on the final day of the series.
It is just the sort of history this present squad will be hoping to repeat.