WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH SEGUN ODEGBAMI?

Aminu Maigari...Nigeria

A reporter himself a Yoruba like Olusegun Odegbami hurled at me, “Yoruba people are the problems of this country. What else do you and Odegbami and your ilks want again? Why can’t you accept that God has designed Maigari to be the President of the NFF?”

That was on the 19^th November 2010. I looked at the colleague (name withheld) with serious sympathy. I was tempted not to make comment. I was prodded by the people present to “say something if only for the records”.

I then replied, I sent an e-mail to egbon (Odegbami) when I heard he was running for the NFA President’s seat. I charged at him, “You are not known to finish a task you start” and gave him four separate instances. He replied me. He explained and promised this time won’t be the same.

The Court of Appeal heard, listened and reasoned with Adams Oshiomhole, Dr Fayemi and Engineer Rauf Aregbesola. One strand common to them is, they did not surrender because they had a belief they pursued.

Now, see anything that looked semblant between those politicians and Odegbami? Is Odegbami’s case in the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS) FIFA-compliant? Does he have a case to seek interpretation? Is he resolute and determined to do what is right? These leadership values and questions are they for his personal gains? No.

When I finished asking these questions we all had same answers but the thing our friend wanted was, let’s leave issues as they are and go on with Maigari. We disagreed. I raised some issues on the matter Harrison Jalla and NANF took to the Federal High Court, Lagos but rested the case.

WHO IS JITI OGUNYE?

A top sports editor caught a posting of the new court case on my facebook and sent me a terse text message, WHO IS JITI OGUNYE? I laughed myself hoarse. An editor who never heard this name. was he in Nigeria during the anti-democratic struggles that brought about this democracy? That is an aside.

A senior colleague sent me the 68-page document Jiti, a lawyer, took to court to ask for some interpretations on issues we had raised, on issues some big guns in the industry had ‘begged’ some of us now tagged as SPORTS TALIBANS to please leave the matters.

It is sad that someone outside of the football or sports family had to seek the defence of the sanctity of the courts and the judiciary. What Jiti has done which he probably does not realize is that he is helping us to fix some problems we had conspired to keep low because we want to go on with things as they are now.

BETWEEN ODEGBAMI AND JALLA:

Both men played football. Their goals in the NFA election are similar. They pursued same through the courts. One went to a civil court and the other went to a court known to FIFA. Jalla’s was like the ‘African insurance’ local, quicker and fiery. He was called and begged. An out of court settlement was reached after the court had given so much orders which the other parties ordinarily can contest but slept on their rights to contest until it became statute barred.

Pronto! Some sports journalists went to town that he was given a two digit million Naira tip to cooperate. Uhm! I sighed when I heard. I pitied Jalla.

Now, ask, what happened to the terms that led to the out of court settlement? Have parties been responsible and respectful of the terms? Jalla, come out and talk.

Back to Odegbami. His is like the Christian prayer, slow, time consuming, assuring but not fiery. When the out of court settlement with Jalla was designed, it did not have Odegbami in the picture probably because he has no court binding orders like Jalla.

Post war, Odegbami was named in a committee of the NFA without prior consultation. Nobody named in any of the committees were consulted. Though, many of the committee nominees lobbied for the appointment. Questions arose, were those named in the committees the best human resources available to our football? No. It was rather job for the hungry. (More on this in days. Watch out).

BETWEEN MAIGARI AND JORDAN:

Danny Jordan...South Afric

The same FIFA rules and regulations for elections are expected to have produced these two men. Maigari in Nigeria. Jordan in South Africa. They are the faces of football in both nations. It is assumed they are the best of both nation’s football human resource.

Compare and contrast. What results do you get? One does not know how many teams play in his country’s league neither does he know the difference between a defendant and a plaintiff in a law suit involving him.

The other is a global brand and a compendium of football. A fine breed whose totality is the game. Brilliant like a lawyer, suave like a politician. 150million Nigerians as against 50million South Africans. Purport? In a free and fair election, I think Maigari will not vote for himself. Secondly, if Barrister Abdulhamid Mustapha will conduct the election in SAFA (which produced Jordan), supervised by a VOTE-FOR-CASH FIFA, Jordan will not get a single vote. Instead, he will be offered membership of a committee!

IBRAHIM GALADIMA:

I heard that when the well deserved nomination of former NFA Chairman, amiable Ibrahim Galadima got to Cairo, the CAF headquarters, our own Dr Amos Adamu, Slim Aloulou and the Malian Diakite were together. They went on a laughing tour and promised, Galadima and Nigeria will get only one vote, which is the one she will give herself.

Instantly, they started to work for Benin Republic and Ghana. For Ghana, they rejected Abedi Pele because “he is stubborn”. Another candidate is raised. For Benin Republic, their ilk, Dr Bolaji Ojo-Oba, (who has a dual citizenship of Nigeria and Benin Republic) is making up for the other candidate.

Ask, Nigerians working in concert with foreigners to defeat Nigeria in the international scene. I asked a Policeman what offence that is, he did not think twice and said, “threat to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Felony, and coup plotting”.

Must we wait until we lose this fight? Sports Minister Issa Ibrahim Bio must be woken to understand this is the National Interest of Nigeria that is under threat from his window. He must raise soldiers to go to war, fight and secure the victory of this nation. I rest this case until after the battle.