THE NEW HEADMASTER AT THE GLASS HOUSE

Aminu Maigari...NFA Boss

I have had the privilege to have been reporting football for 22 of my 25+ years as a sports journalist. I have also been reporting the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) since their days in Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere in Lagos when Simon Kolawole, my then editor in TempoSports due to his conviction that every reporter must have a taste and knowledge of the beats in the sports desk threw me to cover the NFA.                  

Years later, I can recall when one modest, quiet but friendly youngman called Musa Amadu, a lawyer joined the employ of the federation. He rose through the ranks. I must also admit that I met him at close range for the first time during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. How?

We wrote the NFA proposing to raise in three months N2.5b for the second round campaign of the qualifiers. We were invited for a meeting. Our team of three including FIFA agent, Emmanuel Omijeh and Professor Seun Omotayo met with Amadu. He brought in one Adama, head of (ambush) marketing. At the end of the friendly event, we were asked to give them the Business & Strategic Plan. We did having confidence in them. We waited for the reply          which never came till date.

Weeks later, Afribank Plc having signed an agreement with the NFA and paid them N250m needed a sports consultant to help them interpret and drive the project they had with the NFA. When I was invited, I demanded for the letter from the NFA to understand my tasks properly. When I read same, it sounded stricta as if I was writing because I was too familiar with the language.

It did not take me long to know that the submission we gave the NFA had been plagiarised and used to steal Afribank’s hard earned money. I instantly withdrew my interest to help the bank and proceeded to raise the intellectual property stealing allegations against the NFA.

MAKING OF THE HEADMASTER:

When the crises and re-organisation in the NFA started taking shape, Dr Bolaji Ojo-Oba, the then secretary general, was sacked. Strong elements argued for the minister, Isa Ibrahim Bio, a very listening administrator, who listened to the voice of reason and wisdom to appoint within the institution an acting secretary general. The rationale was that it should motivate staffers to aspire to rise to the pinnacle of the organisation where they work. This brought Amadu in as the acting secretary general.

Reports reaching yours faithfully which I personally experienced showed that the office has probably ran into the man. He is certainly changed. He now picks which human beings he answers their greetings. Even journalists who cover the NFA complain so badly against him. He wants everybody to cower before him.

Uhm! How time changes man? If he becomes the substantive secretary general, which he is seriously lobbying for, he most likely will be the most dictatorial accounting officer. He will decide who plays the ball on the pitch or and who can even speak on football.

But with the stigma of being a “Dr Amos Adamu boy” what happens?

All hail the new headmaster!