Following Wednesday's 2-2 draw with visiting South Africa in Uyo, the African champions finished third in Group A which led to their exit from the 2015 Nations Cup. But the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has said it accepts the blame for the Super Eagles' failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
NFF president Amaju Pinnick said it was a time for sober reflection rather than looking for scapegoats.
"The NFF takes full responsibility for what has happened.
"It is a tragedy for us to come so near and yet fail to reach the finals.
"We made so much effort and sacrifice in Congo to achieve the victory we needed there on Saturday and really had no business bungling it here," Pinnick continued.
"However, our commitment is to build a sustainable football culture in the country and nothing has changed.
"This is a disappointment but for us, we gave it our best shot and supported the team fully," he added.
Pinnick, who had sanctioned the appointment of a foreign coach before a presidential order led to Keshi's return, said Wednesday's failure could turn out to be blessing in disguise.
"This has happened but we believe it will work together for us to toil hard and achieve a renaissance that will take Nigeria football to much higher heights than it has ever been," Pinnick said.
On his part, Coach Stephen Keshi admits his players underestimated the South Africans, who have never beaten Nigeria in a competitive fixture since 1993.
"Maybe we took South Africa for granted and we paid dearly for this." said Keshi.
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