Cracks in the house of football

At the moment, there seems to be no love lost between the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation and the congress of the federation which comprises of chairmen of the state football associations and other relevant stakeholders. There were even threats to impeach the incumbent president of the NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari.For many, this is […]

At the moment, there seems to be no love lost between the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation and the congress of the federation which comprises of chairmen of the state football associations and other relevant stakeholders. There were even threats to impeach the incumbent president of the NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari.
For many, this is indeed a strange development because even as the federation is not new to crisis, this very one is involving the NFF and members of the congress that worked assiduously to get into office. It is also an open secret that the congressmen did not stop at getting the Executive Committee in place but also stood by it in times of trouble.
It is on record that since the present Executive Committee of the NFF came on board, it has faced not less than 45 court cases, the most prominent being the eligibility case brought against it by the Harrison Jalla and Jarret Tenebe led Nigeria Football Federation. The NFF was able to weather all the storms and steadied the sinking ship.
Even as it had to deal with so many court cases that posed serious threat to its survival, the NFF Executive Committee led by Maigari concentrated on the task of bringing Nigerian football back on track. After failing to qualify for some of the international competitions like the Olympic Games and the Africa Cup of Nations, the NFF was able to qualify the country for all major championships this year. The Super Eagles have since cleared the path to more achievements with the resounding victory in the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.
It is pertinent to say that the success of the Super Eagles did not come on a platter of gold as the NFF had to contend with so many forces that almost rocked the boat. It is now an open secret that the ongoing internal crisis in the NFF began in South Africa where the FA chairmen who are today fighting to assert their authority as important members of the NFF congress did not hide their intention to impeach the president, if their demands were not met.
Although it is said a meeting between the Executive Committee members and the state FA chairmen was held in South Africa and far reaching decisions taken, the chairmen returned to the trenches soon after the Nations Cup.
Last week in Abuja, another meeting was held between the two parties but from the unfolding events, it seems the meeting did not soothe flared nerves. Instead, it has further deepened the cracks in the house.
It is on record that state chairmen from the North East where the president of the NFF comes from refused to attend the meeting in Abuja. Our investigation has revealed that the decision of the chairmen of northern extraction to boycott the meeting did not go down well with their colleagues from the South South and South East. They are feeling betrayed.
Weekly Trust investigated to find out the genesis of the crisis and it was discovered that the ‘sins of Maigari’ according to the state FA chairmen are few but disturbing enough to attract the attempted impeachment. Our findings show that most of the FA chairmen are not happy with the NFF president because for two years now, he has not paid their subvention which is money from FIFA for development of football at the state level.
Another FA chairman said some of their members have been neglected in the area of foreign trips. He alleged nepotism and favouritism in the selection of chairmen for international competitions. The FA chairman also said members are not happy with Maigari’s failure to check the excesses of some of his Executive committee members. He maintained that some members of the executive committee were not qualified to be on the board of the NFF.
At least two FA chairmen who confided in Weekly Trust said they do not have personal problems with the NFF president but they are holding him responsible for some of their problems.
Speaking on the ongoing face-off, the Chairman of Cross River State F.A and Chairmen of Chairmen, Chief Effiong Johnson said his members are unhappy with the lack of sincerity on the part of the leadership of the NFF.
He said after the meeting in South Africa, the Maigari led board has reneged on some of the agreements that were reached. Johnson said as people who entrusted with the responsibility of running the country’s football, sincerity must be the watch word.
His words “sincerity must come into everything we do as human beings. Most members of the present NFF board are self serving. They do not mean well for Nigerian football.
“Although we complained about our subvention in the meeting we had with the Executive Committee, we have not been given anything. Maigari said the federation does not have the money to give to us. He explained to us that the national teams have eaten deep into the purse of the federation. He, however, promised to redeem the pledges made as soon as money comes into the purse of the NFF.
“I however, want to thank God that with all these internal problems, we have been able to win the AFCON trophy in South Africa. This means even as we have issues that did not distract us from carrying out our responsibilities”.
When asked to comment on some of the allegations levelled against the NFF president and members of the Executive Committee, the spokesman of the board and chairman of the Nigerian National League, Chief Emeka Inyama declined to speak at length on the issues raised. He simply said those making the allegations have chosen to remain anonymous as such they deserve no answer.
“I cannot react to allegations made by anonymous people. A meeting was held and there was no communiqué at the end so what am I reacting to? Anybody who has issues should come out and speak clearly for everybody to hear.
For now, everybody is playing safe as nobody is ready to go public with the real issues that have strained the relationship between the NFF leadership and the state F.A chairmen. However, our investigations point to the fact that at the core of the crisis is money.
The state F.A chairmen are said to be after their own share of the money accruing to the NFF. Unfortunately, their timing is a bit faulty as it has come at a time that most Nigerians are beginning to develop more confidence in the Maigari led leadership of the NFF.
Super Eagles’ recent victory in South Africa is clearly a fall out of the hard work on the part of the NFF as such, even among their unrepentant critics, there is a sudden change of heart. This is the time the FA chairmen want to take their battle to the NFF.
Although for now Maigari does not have impeachment worries, it is evident that the cracks in the house of football would deepen, if the necessary fence mending is not done in time. At the moment, the body of state FA chairmen is factionalized. While some are firmly behind the NFF president, majority from the South-East and South -South are still trying to cut the NFF to size and get their own share of money from the federation. For now, the house of football in Nigeria is not in disarray but it is definitely grappling with self inflicted crisis. It is said those who live in glass house shouldn’t throw stones but the owners of the glasshouse in Abuja are busy throwing stones at one another.