The organisation’s penchant and notoriety for mismanagement of resources, financial impropriety and other sharp and corrupt practices are well known and documented.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to face Gabon in a must-win World Cup Playoff on Thursday in Morocco. Nigerians are anticipating the important encounter and expecting that preparations for the high-stakes match are in full swing as they expect the players to be in the right shape physically, mentally and emotionally for the showpiece. However, this is not the case. The build-up to the clash has been marred by controversy and scandal, engendered by the Nigerian Football Federation’s (NFF) arbitrariness, corruption, and impunity.
On Tuesday, reports emerged that the Super Eagles refused to train less than 48 hours before the match due to a backlog of unpaid bonuses and other entitlements going as far back as three years ago. The development did come as a surprise to many Nigerians who have come to see the NFF as an albatross to the growth and development of the nation’s football. The organisation’s penchant and notoriety for mismanagement of resources, financial impropriety and other sharp and corrupt practices are well known and documented. How these distasteful and abhorrent acts have contributed to the rot and dysfunction in the organisation — and ultimately contributed to the decline of the most popular and loved sport in the country — have also been widely chronicled.
It is simply hard, and will be unfair, to see the decision of the players to down tool as anything else other than what it is and what we should see it as: An opportunity to use one of the most crucial and important occasions in the nation’s sporting history to hold those in charge of football accountable, expose the corruption in the system and force them to do their right thing. The discontent and displeasure that the Super Eagles’ decision may have elicited in some quarters should be directed at the NFF and not the players. And to make the imbroglio about patriotism is to excuse the excesses and destructive action of the NFF, those who run its affairs, while questioning the commitment and dedication of players who have done nothing but show up when the need arises and give their all to the nation, despite the harsh and uninspiring situation they find themselves in.
The feelers we are getting now are that on two different occasions, the players have decided to forgo their accumulated bonuses, which were not paid or accounted for by the NFF. These bonuses are for matches across a period of more than five years in some cases. The players themselves previously agreed to forfeit what was owed since 1999, simply because the amount involved is too large and many players have since left. They also decided to let go of the unpaid accumulated match bonuses from 2019 to 2024. These uncommon and exemplary acts of patriotism and dedication to duty are a rarity. After forfeiting these unpaid bonuses and coming to an agreement with the NFF on a new bonus payment structure, all the organisation has done is to take the magnanimity, generosity and considerateness of the players for granted by withholding the bonus of $10,000 per man for the World Cup qualifiers, which is what they agreed on after previous unpaid bonuses were forfeited.
In January this year, the Bola Tinubu administration reportedly released N12 billion to the NFF to assist it in offsetting all outstanding payments owed to the Super Eagles and other sporting teams. No one can say for a fact what happened to the money. Even before the bonus payment impasse, the NFF has been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent months. This cycle of controversy and scandal is not only bad for the nation’s football but also portrays the nation in a disturbingly negative light.
It has become increasingly clear that the NFF has been left to its own vices for far too long and has repeatedly shown that it cannot introspect and do a much-needed soul-searching that can engender a radical change in general attitude and thinking. It now needs a thorough clean-up and comprehensive overhaul to position it as a body capable of driving the growth and development that our football desperately needs. The government will have to step in to review the leadership of NFF and other sports bodies in Nigeria. The independence and latitude given to these sports bodies, with little or no oversight on how they run their affairs, have been disastrously abused. More harm than good has been done with this arrangement, that is assuming any good has been done at all.
Until Nigeria is ready to give sports the attention, dedication, commitment and investment it they deserve, our youth will continue to channel their energy to unproductive activities while great and talented athletes and sportsmen of Nigerian extraction and those born outside the country but eligible to represent it will continue to opt for other nations where sports are a serious business and treated with the gravitas and importance they deserve.
Even though it is very likely that the latest impasse that has now overshadowed the crucial play-off will be resolved to avoid the frustration and anger that may erupt should the Super Eagles lose the match, we must not paper over cracks and let the NFF continue with the invidious ways. The status quo must be destroyed to give way for an honest, visionary, altruistic, nationalistic and corruption-free body that places national interest over selfish agenda and personal consideration.
Discussion about this post