Nigeria, there is hope........

I drove into Kontagora yesterday evening and as I drove past the public field, a large dusty piece of landspace, with no speck of grass, what I saw sent a warm feeling down my spine, I wept, as I saw young boys, training and practising football, mostly unsupervised and enjoying themselves in pure innocent fun.  I told the driver to stop the car, as I alighted with my camera, some curious older folks drew closer to inspect my presence (albeit, I was dressed in my long buba and sokoto).

I watched three groups of kids, aged 7-18, enjoy their field hockey (yes, hockey, in Nigeria, that's another story), and the footballers play.

I stood in the evening light, and watched a group of 10 year old, exercise, go through a warm up process (photo attached) that would make Real Madrid and Maurinho proud.. They diligently went through their paces, exchanging "coaching assignments" and conducted themselves in a way that would put some of our professionals to shame.  I was amazed at the order, sense of purpose and focus of these 10 year olds (true ages).  I felt nostalgia, as I remembered my own time and how we conducted ourselves before any "practice, pick up games".

I patiently waited till 7.15 pm, when the games ended, and decided to chase after the kids, excitedly wanting to know, if they had a coach, where did they pick up the skills to conduct themselves, how many times do they train, to what end are all these activities, are there any formal clubs, competitions, etc....

To my amazement, the answers I got from these kids, shocked me to the roots of my being... Ahmed, 10 years old, believes he is better than Messi, plays for the fun of it, has never owned a football boot, and his biggest dream is to make the school team..he wants to be a doctor. Of all the 17 kids I spoke to, only 3 saw themselves as footballers, and dreamed of playing for Nigeria, like Okocha and Joel Obi (hmm, not a bad choice of mentor).

I watched as they departed, looked at this speck of dust and dry clay, and wished for our country and the gods of football to keep these boys, and those like them all over this country, to maintain their passion for the game, to make them have their wishes come true and help our nation.

This country is blessed, and truly, I saw a Messi, in Ahmed, the boy could dribble and he did with a smile on his face, taunting his friends and doing it with a delight that made my heart sing.

I was drawn to the field again this evening, sitting on a tree stump, I made myself very inconspicuous and watched again as the boys went through their "ritual" of training and exercising before playing.... These self taught, natural superstars have my respect, prayers and best wishes... I made a promise to myself, to do all I can to make sure that the dividend of Nigeria, gets to them, and their like all over the country.  They deserve a good field, a proper training area, and some support in coaching and physical development.

We cannot let these guys fade, and be drawn into things that re far from positive and helpful to the development of football in this country.  May the gods of the glasshouse and NSC hear me today.  We must do something to improve our grassroots focus and actively engage all our peoples to ensure that we grow with our God given passion for football.

God bless this country, and its people, and the Ahmeds of Nigeria..........Super Eagles, there is hope......

The Trip to Zurich, and the Political Suicide of Bolaji Abdullahi........

Yipee, it was my birthday yesterday, March 11th.  As I commiserate with the Japanese people, the folks of Odi, Zaki Ibiam and Indonesia on whatever disasters have been meted to them by nature, and the not so natural, I dedicate this birthday wish to ensuring that I ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE and CONTRIBUTE.

I was at the Benin airport lounge last Saturday, 10th March, and bought a copy of The Nation on Saturday and began to read two sections of the daily. I read two articles, one by Aminu Maigari and Ade Ojeikere (whose daughter, I wish a happy birthday).  I was in full support of Ade's position in his article of similar title.

Our government officials are at it again.  Someone needs to explain to me, why a sitting minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would need to visit FIFA Nyon HQ.  I really don't understand the rationale for this visit.  Has the minister fully reviewed the reports of his predecessors and other Nigerian government delegations that have gone to FIFA to seek clarification on the Nigerian football situation before embarking on this trip??  Does the Nigeria situation really and honestly demand another visit to FIFA?? A smart person would have undertaken a total review of the situation, existing reports, be acquainted with the facts on ground, request for FIFA advice (that is if it is really needed), an interpretation of its laws (as if we don't know them by now), and have a clear commitment to finding a lasting solution to the issue.

I believe our officials are spoilt, estacode seeking, foreign travel junkies....

Borrowing a piece from Ayo Ojeikere's column (not quite paraphrasing directly), "what happens when the team arrives at Nyon, and an admin staff is asked to "deal" with the Nigerian delegation?? or we submit our requests and are told to go away to await a response from FIFA", would the trip have been worth the time of the Honorable Minister and his entourage???

Bolaji Abdullahi, is being sent on a wild goose chase, but this time, with his eyes open and his heart in the wrong place...He should understand by now that he is surrounded in the National Sports Commission that do not seemingly have the "overiding public interest of Nigeria" at heart.  Folks like Bolaji Ojo-oba, Patrick Ekeji, Yakmut, and they are all sons of "uncle Amos (their benefactor)" etc..... who at one time or another in the recent past have been unceremoniously involved with the running of football in this country, with unimpressive results.... These same people are at the helm of affairs in the development of policy for sports in Nigeria.  I honestly predict that the Honorable Minister will not see the end of this year in this position if he continues on this crazy path he has set for himself (whether knowingly or otherwise).

Nigerians know where the problem of our football lies, and if anything that was written by AminuMaigari, in his column "Inside the glass house", of the Saturday March 10 edition of the The Nation is anything to go by, then we have all been led by the nose to the slaughter.  Maigari claims that the NFF is not broke, it has kept the $8 Million dollars, and that the LOC of Nigeria 2009, has to answer to FIFA to help unfreeze another $5 Million USD payback of marketing and other revenue streams meant for Nigeria, and that the NFF has credit with FIFA, going back as far as 6 years, for Nigeria's participation in age grade tournaments but are yet to collect funds from FIFA.   Really, this is BIG NEWS!!!

If this is true, then why aint we working on developing a sustainable roadmap for the actualization of a the rebirth of our football structures and organs???

It is a very incredible situation that a Minister for Sports in the country is clueless as to how to engage the sporting community and its "relevant" stakeholders to actuate the types of reform that is being expected of him...  Our travel junkies have succeeded in sending this man on silly trips that will eventually be used as tools to hang the Minister when the time comes.  We wish the Nyon bound delegation well, and hope they are accorded some "meaningful" time and audience by FIFA execs.   If not........Mr. Abdullahi would certainly hear from "us" (stakeholders of Nigerian football), and his ogas (the presidency) regarding the "waste" of public funds, and the lack of an understanding of his portfolio.

It has also just been made known that Aminu Maigari, and Sani Toro have stated their intentions to contest for the vacant CAF Executive Committee seat.  Haba Malam(s)!!
When would we stop this kind of behavior?? Why would these gentlemen feel that to currently best serve Nigerian football interest, is to hold down a seat in CAF??? Following on our experiences with Amos Adamu,  who became a federation unto himself, we would need to be wary of self serving interests of individuals, and reappraise our collective position on this matter..

My summation, we need to clearly articulate our position and long term strategy for football development in this country, then as part of our global outreach, we need to then strategically position our "selected" candidates for regional and international organisations committee memberships.

In my honest opinion, Sani Toro (oga God Bless) and Aminu Maigari are two very savvy administrators, one is currently struggling to manage the NFF (and that is a hand full) and the other HAS been a scribe of the federation, and was in the national assembly.  What is the plan that Sani Toro has for the country?? what does he expect to deliver??? Is this another "uncle Amos" in the making or does the NSC have a plan, that the rest of us dont know about.  What are the criteria for submission of candidature???? and what is Honorable Minister Abdullahi's position on this vacant seat and the Nigerian government's official position on the vacancy.....

I expect to see some fireworks from both camps soon.  This situation and its timing is not just right for us right now and my summation is that we let the seat remain vacant for another year and a half, until we can restructure, and apply strict reforms in Nigerian football.

Enjoy the week, and see you next Wednesday.

On NPL, do not say I told you so...............

Mes Amis,

Its another year and the controversy continues.  Our beloved game is thrown into another crises.  A poser for the wise, and in truth, the not so wise...... Which league in the world, asks the clubs to pay for the indemnity of referees???? For two years, we heard Baribote scream from the top of his lungs, and that of his attorney, Messers Igbokwe, on how he was robbed of his "rightful victory, in the NPL Chairmanship election", today, he is the boss, and the controversy continues.  We have even seen the arrest of a staffer of the league for misappropriation, and alleged theft of the league"s funds.

We hear of the misappropriation of the MTN funds, and a lot of furniture being changed, bought and illegal withdrawals of funds from the league's purse.  How true this is, we expect the EFCC and other organs of government to sort out shortly.

Why cant we do simple things right????From the moment Baribote got in, coincidentally, the league suffered delays, and the current trend of clubs taking on the responsibility of paying for indemnities and referees payment, where would these all lead to??? We hear club owners shouting and threatening to boycott matches.  Is this the progress we were all promised??

I shudder to think of what will come next?? Just last week, a referee's call caused a "near riot" in an NPL game and that has dragged the league into another myriad of controversy, with accusations and allegations flying up and down.  The national assembly is again thrown into the mix with its hearings and indictments of the administration of our football.

Last year, I warned that this situation was going to happen and outlined my proposal to have the following things put in place.

1. Stop the league to ensure we align our league to the international calendar of September to April
2. Reform the league to ensure that we can get some of our structures put in place
3. Have the governors take better control of clubs and their administration
4. State governments need to sell down on their shares and ownerships of professional clubs, so as to allow private investors come in to participate in the league administration
5. Get the "mediocre" administrators (not my words) out of the process and ensure that elections are handled by credible individuals and not "hungry adventurers or court jesters"
6. Secure players training in behavioural management and secure their contracts effectively
7. institute player and club insurance and credible sustained support for the league and its administration
8. Push for external funding to be secured so as to create a platform for independence and transparency in the process of managing the league

That was 5 months ago, and it was my view that the time was necessary and NEEDED to ensure that we deal with this matter once and for all.  But did anyone listen????

Based on my experience, this season is going to be the worse the country has ever seen.  The management of the league lacks the experience, expertise required to deal with the logistics of operating a complex and large organisation like the NPL.

Baribote should do the right thing, and leave.  No matter how bad things were, Obaseki's tenure is looking like the best we have had in years.  And Baribote, is clearly showing that this responsibility is over his capacity and capability.  He is not at one with his board and management team.  Who would he blame now???Akinbobola, Owumi or the Benin high chief, Obaseki??? Incompetence has no hiding place, especially if you are at the top......Simple put, the man doesn't have what it takes to manage the NPL (be careful of what you wish for, because you might get it......)

The government has to step in, and take control.  we need an interim organisation put in place to right this organisation or we step into another abyss of degradation and complete erosion of this potentially successful brand, called the NPL.

My summation is that the league needs to be taken over by the government (at least FIFA cannot intervene here) and given to someone with the wherewithal and depth of managing businesses or successful organisations, to come in and sort out this mess before it affects the fortunes of Nigerians who are clinging on, to the hopes that we can have professional football being played without rancour in Nigeria.

Dont say I told you so, but if this current board stays on, then we would have a league that may not finish or be massively disrupted or worse still, we'd have people killed at league games because the organisation cannot manage the complexities of the NPL. God Forbid........

Before that, I hear the quit notice on the NPL HQ is in effect, I hope they can find the money to pay their rent, or else the end would be nearer than previously thought.

The time to act is now, Bolaji Abdullahi must step in, not as a politician, but as an administrator, if not, this crisis will definitely claim him, as its first casualty.  Mark my words.....