Gaiya said this while addressing the players, after watching the team's friendly match against FC Abuja, in which the Eagles won 1-0.
The match was played at the FIFA Goal Project pitch of the Abuja National Stadium.
The Super Eagles had on July 16 resumed camping for the return leg of the CHAN qualifier against the Elephants of Cote d`Ivoire.
The Eagles won the first leg 4-1 at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, on July 6 and the return leg will hold on July 27 in Abidjan, Cote d`Ivoire.
He said the players have the opportunity to be the first Super Eagles team to qualify for CHAN which has had two previous editions.
``You should forget what happened in Kaduna as if nothing happened; go there and play on a zero level.
``We will be there to cheer you up and encourage you to make another history because your victory in Abidjan will be Nigeria’s first time of qualifying for CHAN.
``This invariably means you have the opportunity to make history; so, go there and do your best.
``We are not unmindful of the challenges that might be before you, but we promise to do everything possible to address them and we will do that tirelessly.
``So, as we do our own part, you should also do yours and we, as a committee, promise to be solidly behind you,’’ Gaiya said.
He said that the friendly match was a good test for the team as it afforded them an opportunity to play together as a team.
``The desire for any practise match is not really for the score line, but to see how the team can really perform given a certain arrangement and other phases.
``The team that played this morning was not entirely the first 11, but the coach needed to give other players an opportunity to try out.
``And I think with that in mind, it was a good one and I am impressed,’’ the honourable member said.
Gaiya, however, said he envisages that the team’s match against the Ivorians would not be easy but believes the Super Eagles will triumph.
``There is no away-match that is easy, and from history, the Ivorians are always difficult at home.
``Having said that, I know Nigeria has the players, the capacity and in the end, we will scale through,’’ he said.
The honourable member said Nigerians expect nothing less from the team than to go through because it will showcase the domestic league more at the international level.
``This is because it is a tournament which is in its third edition and Nigeria has never qualified, so, the yearning of every Nigerian is for us to participate with our home-based players.
``If they do well, it will be a testimony to the development style we have seen in the domestic league; it will showcase our domestic league at the highest level.
``Nigerians expect that we should go there and qualify and also go to South Africa.
``With that, we will be able to show the world that our home-based players are capable of holding their own against the very best teams in Africa,’’ Gaiya said.
CHAN is played between the best African national teams, exclusively featuring home-based players. (NAN)
