Fifa have withdrawn threats to ban Nigeria from international football, but captain Austin Ejide still took a swipe at his own federation and the African continent for lacking leadership.

The Super Eagles face Bafana tonight in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Cape Town Stadium [8.15pm] with off-the-field politics having dominated their campaign so far.

Nigeria were beaten 3-2 by Congo at home in their opening Group A match under the dark cloud of a possible suspension.

Things returned to normal on Monday when the deposed hierarchy of the federation went back to work, a move Ejide reckons will only boost their journey to the Nations Cup in Morocco next year.

"This is how we live, and you have to be strong mentally because in Africa we are not stable in a lot of things, especially in leadership. You get used to it and you learn how to adapt in this situation. The most important thing is that we are playing 11 against 11 on the pitch, and it's for us to perform and leave the rest to the officials to handle," said Ejide.

He said the Super Eagles, the Nations Cup title holders, would not point fingers at the federation's incompetence to find an excuse for going down against Congo in Calabar on Saturday.

"I think we are good now. This won't be a stumbling block for us, to say we should blame the federation. We are not going to take that opportunity," said the towering skipper.

Ejide said Nigeria were ready to pick up the pieces following an "unfortunate" defeat in front of their home crowd.

"We want to put that behind us and now this is an opportunity for us to make this right," he said.