NFF-NFA CRISIS: IGP HAFIZ RINGIM TOO?

Ringim...settled too?

We were becoming so used to all manners of propaganda in the fight of the decade for the soul of Nigerian football. When the propaganda started, we heard on radio and read on the pages how the NFF razed Chief Patrick Ekeji as being the sponsor of the NFA. Hours later, they went to town to accuse the Chief of Staff to the President, Mike Oghiadomhe, as the brain box of the NFA.

As soon as the individuals who make up the NFF went to file a matter using the originating summons to stop the IGP from performing a task given to him by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I was left with a long bout of laughter. Not too long, the mills had it that Chief Patrick Ekeji has taken so much money to “settle” the IGP to send them packing from the Glass House. So, who is next to be smeared in this campaign?

Were it not for the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Chief Patrick Ekeji, who begged passionately for the one week grace, which after he lapsed went back to the IGP to beg for an additional extension to the 14^th June, 2011 the

order of the President would have been carried out. Yes, with some possible heavy backlash on the nation.

That done, the NFF goons got a breather, stabbed Ekeji in the back and aimed for the jugular of the IGP with a featherweight law suit which is definitely dead before arrival. Mr IGP, what is wrong in carrying out the order of the court by writing the individuals mentioned to:

1.        Not to parade themselves as members of the NFF board;

2.        Stop going into the Glass House until they bring a superior court order to that effect.

Does he need to seal the Glass House? No. With this, he has carried out the President’s instruction and has defeated the said futile suit being slammed on him. thereafter, any person(s) injured can proceed to court.

CHANNELSTV, NFF AND NFA:



Are standards falling?



Since this crisis started, it is so sad and ungodly with the quality of misinformation that are deliberately bandied from ChannelsTV sports programme at 9:00pm daily. One had thought that that station has gone beyond some of these pedestrian, unethical and hungry-feed-me-I-report-you type of journalism. The gargantuan image of that station is being rubbished in the mud due to personal interests of the reporters.

How come the station is paid to make a mockery of its high standard of practice we know of it before now? One of the most unforgiveable lies sold on the station was that of the night of 4^th June, 2011 when she reported that the NFF had secured an



injunction against the IGP. Where was the injunction gotten? Which court granted it? Did the reporters see the injunction papers? Were they not duty bound to ask the NFA guys their own reaction to the injunction, if any?



We were being daily fed with one sided stories of the illegal NFF. I make bold to say the eleven people who went to court only filed papers in court. They went to court as friends and not as the NFF or its custodians. They divorced themselves from the NFF in the court matter. So all these ‘bolekaja’ (agbero) journalism has sneaked into ChannelsTV. Where do we go from here? Can we start to sing the Nunc Dimitis for our darling station?