Adamu in the cooler as NANF, NFF head back to court

Last week Wednesday, CAF and FIFA Executive member, Dr. Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii , also a member of the FIFA Executive were  ‘provisionally suspended’ by FIFA, the world football governing body’s Ethics committee following allegations of bribe for vote leveled against them by the London Times. Adamu will henceforth not be part of anything […]

Last week Wednesday, CAF and FIFA Executive member, Dr. Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii , also a member of the FIFA Executive were  ‘provisionally suspended’ by FIFA, the world football governing body’s Ethics committee following allegations of bribe for vote leveled against them by the London Times.

Adamu will henceforth not be part of anything that has to do with football pending the outcome of further investigations being carried out by the ethics committee of FIFA. The committee will meet again in the second week of November to take a final decision on Adamu and his colleague Temarii.

The suspension of Admu which did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise elicited wild celebrations in some quarters. Even before now, most Nigerians who believe the sports administrator is responsible for the myriad of problems in the sector had always suspected him and prayed for his “sordid” acts to be exposed.

Consequently, even before FIFA’s provisional suspension came, many had condemned him and called on the government to set up an independent investigation into the matter.

As things stand, Adamu is out in the cold because the expression on the face of Blatter and a perusal of the speech presented by the FIFA president on the day of his suspension leave no one in doubt that his return to football administration in active capacity is in serious doubt.

A vox-pox conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja clearly showed that Adamu was indeed unpopular among football enthusiasts who believe he had outlived his welcome.

For now, Adamu is in the cooler and the future of Nigerian football is hanging in the balance. Like him or hate him, before now, he was working round the clock to ensure a peaceful resolution of the case between the NANF and the NFF. This court case has literally brought Nigerian football on its knees. Adamu had no choice but to encourage peaceful resolution of the dispute because he knew that his continued stay and relevance in FIFA depended on Nigeria’s eligibility to participate in FIFA organized activities.

Adamu obviously softened the hard stance of the leadership of NANF which agreed to formally withdraw its case against the NFF. What he did to convince Harrison Jalla and his group remains unknown but he was steadily cruising to victory over Nigerians who believe NANF should not allow unnecessary sentiments to influence their stand on the court case.

Tomorrow, the two parties will be in court but they would be like orphans because the man who had been intercepting the blows while trying to calm down flared nerves is nowhere to be found. Series of questions are now begging for answers. In the absence of Adamu, who will ensure that NANF does not renege on their agreement to withdraw the case? Will any other person be competent enough to broker a far reaching deal with the NANF? Does the fall of Adamu also mean the total collapse of all agreements reached with the aggrieved parties?

Now, the issue remains that even if tomorrow NANF remains gentlemanly and ask the court to end the case it brought before it, will the Lagos High Court reverse its earlier nullification of the August 26 2010 NFF elections?. The court had declared the election null and void because it was conducted in contempt of its order. The products of that election were immediately barred from parading themselves as executive committee members of the NFF. The action of the appellate court was one of the reasons that instigated the initial suspension of Nigeria by FIFA.

FIFA has insisted that the suspension of Nigeria which it provisionally lifted will end Tuesday, October 26 and this makes final determination of the court case imperative. FIFA is saying unless the Alhaji Aminu Maigari led executive committee is recognized and allowed to operate without any form of hindrance, Nigeria will be suspended indefinitely. If this happens, the Super Falcons participation in the forth coming Africa Women Championship in South Africa and Flying Eagles chances of taking part in the 2011 Africa U-20 championship will be in complete jeopardy.

Be that as it may, the Lagos High court will be torn between interpreting the law to the letter and tempering justice with mercy to save Nigerian football from total collapse. Maigari and his camp would certainly appreciate the latter option. To do this, as controversial as the NFF election was, it must be stamped by the law court. A lawyer who spoke to our reporter on the matter said it is possible for the court to reverse its earlier stand on the election because one of the cardinal duties of the law courts is to encourage peaceful resolution of disputes.

He said: “If NANF decides to withdraw the case it brought before the court against NFF, the court may see no need to continue with the matter. The court is there to ensure peaceful settlement of disputes brought before it. If any of the aggrieved parties in the matter settles for out of court settlement, the court will certainly support it.

“It is not too difficult for the court to reverse itself. The court can do so provided it is convinced that the matter will not degenerate afterward”

For now, Nigerians football enthusiasts are waiting with bated breath to see how the court case of inestimable value to them will be resolved amicably for the good of the game or drag on to the detriment of football in the country.