Peace, the orphan in Nigerian football

Maigari's NFF fixed Jalla's arrest against court order

His name is Harrison Jalla. Many people hate him and his dogged guts. No one, including those who hate his face, will take it from him that he has two things: guts and passion. If those who manage our game today have half of such values, we will be rated in top five spots on FIFA rating.

Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great passion. That is him defines in two sentences.

As a player of Flash Flamengoes FC of Benin, that is him. He is a loyal fellow. He is loyal to a defined cause. As team captain, he delivers.
Makurdi Congress: Ever since the afternoon we discussed, agreed and defined to fight the fundamental error committed by the hoaxers and goaders of the visceral damagers of Nigerian Football (from Sani Abdullahi Lulu to Aminu Maigari), till today, Jalla has remained in the fight.

They are the Byzantine tribe who destroyed the remaining legacies of our football. I prefer to call the Nigerian Football Fraudsters (NFF).

It is my prayers that the quality of justice and progress they brought to our football, God in His infinite mercy shall give them a geometric dividend and return in their personal lives.

For we in what is classified as "opposition", it is the same prayer.
For all those who conspire and are used as tools in the suppression of what is good for Nigerian kids in football, including the Police, may their own ranks too share in this 'prayer'.

Last line: Jalla had invested faith in Nigerian football of which we are its products. He was betrayed by people he brought to the fray. They want to survive. They forgot some people sacrificed to survive to enable them get where they are today. May that survival remain a life feature for them. They will never stop surviving. They broke the house and became errand boys. They will remain errand boys all their lives.

If Jalla had been a violent person, this fight would have been over a long time. He believes in the courts. That is why he consistently returns to the courts on virtually every issue of conflict.

 The twice court-declared illegal NFF paid policemen to arrest Jalla since Friday against the expressed orders of two courts of law, kept him in police detention. Great. We shall await that outcome.
For Nigerian football, this is the final knell. The dead in the grave are at war. Let all living souls scamper. It is an all out war hence. If the nation's peace is price, it shall be paid.

More arrests have to be made or these injustice continues.
Peace has departed from the house of our football. No more decorum.
The celebration of the arrest in the precincts of the NFF shall soon turn to  pains, pangs and call of persecution. Watch out.  

WOE BETIDE AND BESTRIDES PEACE IN NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Armaments for war secured for 2013 in Nigerian football

If methodical non violence has been used in the logical fight against the goons who have stolen the mantle of Nigerian football is being consistently revisited with violent mis-application of what the Nigerian police stands for, like our referees are being killed with senseless abandon, very soon, very soon I presage that some day someone will just realize a mad version of this campaign for things to be done right will emerge with guns, pestles, mortar and deadlier instruments to protest matters of football administration in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are up in arms again. Recently, I reported how they took the men of the Nigeria Police to practically abduct Harrison Jalla. They forced him to leave his two telephone lines in his work place where he was arrested.

Before they would get to the Police station, a staff of the NFF secretariat got in touch with the Policemen. The next thing they gave their errand girl (a former staff of the NPL) who is writing for an online medium concocted write-up.

In an unjournalistic manner, she wrote the version of lies of the NFF that Jalla duped a player for which he was arrested. Same was posted on twitter and facebook. He was arrested on a Friday. Their plan was to keep him till Monday.

At the Police station, the matter was not officially indented. Jalla went on to sue the Police and Ademola Olajire. The matter is still ongoing. The judge ruled that he must not be arrested, detained or invited for chat over the issue by the Police

In the latest developments, Jalla opted to go to court to contest some other issues in the management of the game. He has believed fervently in the Nigerian court system. Remember he was the plaintiff before Justice Abang of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Yesterday, he was in the Federal High Court Abuja. The NFF, as usual, fixed the Police to arrest him. The attention of the judge was called to the matter. He gave a clear order do not arrest, question or detain him over this matter. He was arrested, detained and kept incommunicado since then.

Is the NFF legal?: One salient issue here is this, two courts of the land ruled in uncontested judgements that the NFF is illegal. One ruled, don’t parade yourself. The other ruled, you are non juristic and should be wound up by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). They wished the two judgements away in private settlements without vacating the orders. Now, the judgements have become a part of the laws of the land because they are time-barred.

Is this anybody’s cake? If the judiciary is such an institution whose orders remain to be made for the ledges, why should people go to courts again? Very soon, a new version of this struggle will no see reasons to go to court but will resort to extreme self-help violence to settle matters.

Can somebody pray we do not degenerate to such levels before commonsense will prevail.

However, it is sad that the Nigerian Police will remain always an instrument of injustice every time oppression needs to be delivered to another citizen, ironically, the one who seems to be on the side of the law.

Closing gambit: With these latest development, I can predict, with emphatic insistence, WOE BETIDE AND BESTRIDES PEACE IN NIGERIAN FOOTBALL. Sleep has been murdered, let us see who will hence sleep again. It is like the battle line has been redrawn.

He who has just a son should call, keep and run. He who has no one to bugle him should take the paths to the stream and run. He who has relations who will ask questions should go by the path of the women and leave.

Like the Yoruba war General will sound the knell, alo ti ya onibode apomu. 

Was the President not overurled here? The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, wrote the Inspector General of Police to enforce the order of a valid court on the NFF. The NSC begged for an in-house settlement. The NFF members went to court in their private capacities. Can they tell Nigerians what is the outcome of that venture? 
Bourbons of France: Its like the NFF people are like the Bourbons of France who learnt nothing from history and forgot nothing to history. Ahead of the World Cup 2010, it was South Africa. Ahead of 2013 Nations Cup it is South Africa. A link? Return of 2010 led to a prosecution for financial improprieties. Return from 2013 will surely be the same result with a wider spectrum of participants, insha allahu!

Did the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) not wrote on the 2^nd June 2011 that on no account should Appropriated funds be given to the NFF for its is not known to Nigerian laws?

They applied through the NSC for $9m to prosecute the Nations Cup. Let’s wait and see how the NSC shall overrule the AGF, give the NFF same and we shall not have a repeat on our hands for financials. More court issues will arise surely.

Welcome to the roforofo unlimited of 2013!

The Police will have many more arrests, suits and damages to contend with certainly. 

'Lawyer' Rumson Baribote drags NPL, NFF to court

'Lawyer' Rumson Baribote

Erstwhile Nigeria Premier League (NPL) chairman, Rumson Victor Baribote,  has concluded plans to storm the law court in search of his getting back the seat which the Congress, the highest ruling body, unanimously sacked him from.

Called on his cell phone, Baribote wont confirm nor deny whether it is true he is heading to the court. An affidavit sworn to and deposed in Abuja Federal High Court is showing he is in court but needs to tidy up some ends before the matter will be attended to.

Baribote who is not a stranger to taking football matters to court got an order with which he and his co-conspirators in the illegal Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) manipulated the rules to sweep out Davidson Owumi. Owumi, however, is still in court challenging the entire process.

Baribote who had expected his old bed mates in the NFF to support him in this last ousting game was terribly disappointed that he was left in the cold. He appealed the sack by the 7^th annual congress of the NPL held on December 11 in Abuja which the former turned down by adopting the Congress decision.

The congress had accused his Board of misappropriation of fund, lack of transparency and accountability which the clubs owners claimed was responsible for the inability of the Nigeria's top flight to attract sponsorship for the past two seasons.

Baribote, who lied on oath to have attended a secondary school not listed in both WAEC and NECO, the two examining bodies in the country, disclosed to www.supersport.com that it would be disastrous for his status to allow injustice to prevail in the NPL.

“(The) NFF has been served a letter and we are meeting this Friday at the Federal High Court 7 in Abuja as I will not allow them to cheat me.

“Nigeria Premier League was last season rated as one of the best league in Africa, and yet they claimed that it was the worst season ever in the history of the Nigerian football.

He was quoted to have said, “I am a lawyer and things must be done the way it should be and I would never fold my hands and allow injustice in the Premier League. We will meet in court on Friday, and we shall see what will happen,” Baribote said in anger.

The irony is which University did he studied law, who are his classmates, when did he graduated and with what certificate (if any) did he studied the law programme that makes him a lawyer. (Did he mean he is a liar which has similar pronunciation with lawyer?)

Considering that the judgement of Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court which declared the NFF and the NPL illegal, which also ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to wind-up the two bodies were not vacated till date, but the outcome settled in a private meeting with the litigant, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja, would a new spanner not enter the works? Let's wait and see.

However, sources in the Federal High Court Abuja Registry informed www.gongnews.net that there is another matter already in the mill again in respect of the NPL and NFF. We shall keep you informed.

Nduka Irabor carrying a dead horse to revival

Can the IMC get an applause like this after its life?

 Like the Christian farmer who has only one horse. When the horse was alive, he didn’t value her. She was sick and could not deliver what she is used to delivering. Her place became heavily felt. Then, the farmer started running to save the sick horse. His neighbours and sibling who are jealous of his wealth courtesy of the horse were bringing poison rather than medicine.

The farmer heard a preacher was next door who heals. He carried the very sick horse that had for years been carrying him. mid way, the horse is dead. Should he bury it or still get to the preacher who can do a miracle?

The pharmacist: With the desperacy, he consulted and got a pharmacist. The pharmacist having been tipped by the neighbours and sibblings of the farmer had a drug that can keep the horse alive but told the farmer, “this is a hopeless situation.” 

I have been inundated with too much expectation to analyse the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) which the illegal Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took upon itself to announce.

First of all, leaving out their illegal status. It is not the job of the NFF to announce the IMC. There was in 2005 when the Sports Minister then, the colourless and odourless Colonel Musa Mohammed went on to set up a six-man committee of the NFL IMC. The NFA under Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima in order to allow for peace and good mutual relationship was going to permit it. There were protestations and FIFA in its letter to the NFA was unequivocally clear where the power to do such lies. It is with the Congress of the NPL, the club owners.

Let’s leave law. What is practical and the reality? Our almost denominator is to have a better league. I can swear on oath that with the heavy deadwoods recycled in the committee, one way only exists. This is my summation. That committee is like a four-man committee.

Nduka “The Duke” Irabor: He has accomplished so much in the newsroom for which some of us still remain his admirers and followers. He did so well in the House of Representatives. As an Editor, he knows that ‘HE IS THE ONLY DICTATOR IN THE NEWSROOM.

My analysis of this task is from that myopic job he has left for a long time. If this committee fails, like an Editor, he is to be hanged. If the task works well, everyone shares the credit.

Therefore, it is either he operates with the rules of an Editor in this task or he plays the democrat and fail and carries the burden on his name and hard earned reputation. QED.

Kanu “The King” Nwankwo: His experience as one who played here in the League and who has also plied his silky skills abroad can be useful. Taking him into the intellectual will ostracise him. He can also be used to fix a lot of foreign contacts that may be required to help the committee.

Mike Enahoro

Mike Enahoro: He played in the League with Hawks of Makurdi. He is one of the most certificated football coaches in this country. He has been a solutions provider in sports and job creation. He is an asset to that committee.

Salihu Abubakar: Yes, he was former Executive Secretary of the NPL. His administrative values having been on the saddle before can be of minimal use. Beyond that, I think he is just being recycled. Simple.

Shehu Dikko: Apart from his moral burden he is one person who is passionate about the game. The moral issue remains his greatest minus. This will be an albatross on the entirety of that committee.   

Modele Sarafa-Yusuf: As a reporter with NTA, her passion for the game is outstanding. Brilliant, humble and modest. Her experience in the board room while working for Globacom in the years of the controversies that trailed the philanthropic sponsorship of the League can be a great guiding asset.

The NPL troika: Here you have Sabo Babangida, the former House of Assembly Kaduna state member. Mike Idoko and the secretary, Tunji Babalola. It is the choice of the real owners of the property in question. This remains a fait accompli.

Dark horse: Ifeanyi Dike. He is a lawyer. He had been representing the NFF in some of their legal survival battles. This is therefore one opportunity to compensate him for keeping them alive in office till now. On his quality of sports background, he remains a blank tile in a scrabble game. Unknown mathematic.

Kunle Elegbede

Kunle Elebute: is a partner and Head of Financial Advisory Services of KPMG Professional Nigeria, with responsibility for Corporate Finance, Transaction and Privatization Services. He holds a BA (Econ) from the University of Manchester, UK (1982) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ("ICAN"). He must have been drafted into this scheme due to his level of business relationship, which can transform the League into a real big time business venture. His background for sports may not be material from this angle if the thought of this reporter is anything right in the eyes of those who brought him.

Abubakar Nuhu Dan Buran:

Terms of reference: A careful review of the ToR of the IMC will reveal that unlike what Nigerians are made to believe that it is a short-term and short-lived palliative structure meant to correct the ills of the system, its life is actually more than a calendar year. Let’s do a review of the ToR one by one:

i) Organise the 2012/2013 League: This means they will exist for the whole of the season.

ii) Review all contractual obligations of the NPL, including TV and Sponsorship rights: To achieve (i) above, it is practicable to say the committee needs this term of reference. The issue is that, won’t the same committee be distracted from the tall order that (i) is given the quality of rot in the system and also, the lack of a commensurate administrative structure to achieve (i). The League requires a Chief Executive Officer who understands the economics, politics and sociology of football administration and marketing to complement their activities. Yet, their terms of reference in view of the life of the committee did not empower them to recruit a CEO nor even reconstruct the structure of the League’s administration; 

iii) Develop strategy and facilitate the reform of the League towards achieving profitability: This would have addressed the fears as laid out in (ii) above. This is where Kunle Elegbede probably comes in handy. Despite the moral burden on Shehu Dikko, he can be of good value. Modele Sarafa-Yusuf is an asset here. Mike Enahoro is another good value here.

iv) Review existing rules and guidelines for the election into NPL Board: This is where I sneezed and caught flu. The League’s mobile encyclopaedia, Pa. Arthur Kwame, who was a staff of the NPL was eased off with the politics of the contending forces. He was the secretary of the Nathaniel Idowu committee. If this goal must be achieved, that is one resource that must be sought for and tied down no matter the cost.

v) Develop new standards for players’ contracts and welfare: This is one responsibility that will unsettle the club system. Clubs with almost practical illiterates (in matters of football administration, not in the knowledge of writing and reading) use this venture to milk and make money. To reform this goal is calling for mild trouble. What about the complete weaning of the clubs from the ownership and funding of governments?

Conclusion: With the weaknesses in the terms of reference, the horse to be salvaged may not be too healthy to be returned to life if and when it can be salvaged from its many combo of illnesses.

One would have thought that a lifeline like “any other matter the committee would deem necessary” would have been a saving grace. With what they have, there are bottlenecks and stumps on the tarred roads they are supposed to drive on.

Culled from http://gongnews.net/nduka-irabor-carrying-a-dead-horse-to-revival/ 

We sait it, Irabor leads League IMC

*Hands NPL to Globacom?

When it comes to squealing the underground, we got this right again as usual. Former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Nduka “The Duke” Irabor is the chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional League (NPL) which is to be any moment from now will be formally announced by the appointing agency.

This newspaper had squealed of the plan to bring in Hon Irabor which unfolding events have gone ahead to prove us right again. The IMC is to be peopled by 12 wise men if the plans does not change at the last minutes with any dropping of name.

However, the IMC has on board the following people, Mike Enahoro a former Hawks of Makurdi player and AIT’s Saturday flagship, Sports File regular guest. Former Executive Secretary of the NPL, Salihu Abubakar is back.  Former NFF aspirant Shehu Dikko.

Also on the cruise is former NTA Sports Reporter and a former Manager with Globacom Communication Limited, Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, Lagos FA chairman Seyi Akinwumi and Mr. Ifeanyi Dike.

Representing the club owners are Mike Idoko and a former member of the Kaduna House of Assembly Alhaji Sabo Babayaro while Acting Executive Secretary of the NPL, Tunji Babalola will serve as the Secretary.

…Here is Hon. Irabor

Hon. and Mrs. Nduka Irabor 

Hon. Nduka Irabor, a journalist of International repute, was born on the 9^th December, 1958. He hails from Ika in Delta State of Nigeria. 
He attended St. Peter's Primary School Benin City and Nigerian Baptist Convention School, Boji-Boji-Owa in Delta State .

He did his Advanced Level Education at the Institute of Continue Education , Benin–City, Edo State in 1976. He acquired the following Profession Journalism Training: Certificate In Journalism from Times Institute of Journalism, Lagos 1979, Commonwealth Fellowship in Advanced Journalism from Commonwealth Fellowship work-study, British Media Organisation, 1986; Three months Sandwich Programme for Newspaper Managers in the United States of America, 1989.

He worked in various capacities with Bendel Radio, Benin City. 
The Observer Newspaper, Benin-City and Punch newspaper, Lagos.

He eventually joined The Guardian Newspaper in 1978 where he rose to the apex editorial position as the Editor of the African Guardian Magazine. In January 1991, he was appointed to serve his dear country as the Chief Press Secretary to the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In June 1999 he was elected into the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Ika Federal Constituency. He was the Chairman of the Committee on Communications.

He is most respected in the League of journalists worldwide for the singular decision to stick to the Ethics of journalism and refused to disclose their source of a story and get freedom. He and Tunde Thompson opted to stick to the Ethics and were jailed in 1984 under Decree No. 4 of 1984, which suppressed journalistic freedom.

Hon. Nduka Irabor is happily married with children.
He is an avid sports fan and a voracious reader. 

Shehu Dikko...the weak link

…Dikko, The weak link

Shehu Dikko was a Strategy and Marketing Consultant of the NPL. He was initaily working for the MTN on the issue of title sponsorship of the League until all of a sudden the tables tilted and unethically relocated to Globacom Nigeria Limited.

Globacom, though admittedly has been in sports philanthropy than sponsorship of the NPL, has been enmeshed in very dirty management of the title she got for a peanut.

One key issue remains the current sponsorship albatross on the neck of the League today is the brainchild of Shehu Dikko.

Shehu Diko was the agent that initiated the move to wrestle the rights of the Premier League from Globacom in 2006. He made a strong case for MTN to take over the sponsorship right of the Premier League from Globacom when the existing contract ended at the time.
For Globacom’s N90m, Dikko said MTN had offered N500 and fought strongly for them to take over the league sponsorship. But Globacom had the ‘first right of refusal’ in their contract and, with it, they fought back too to retain their rights after offering N693 million.
However, the league board surprisingly paid Dikko N60m as commission for the same Globacom sponsorship he had fought against. This moral crisis DOES NOT ordinarily qualify him to sit on the committee that is supposed to re-engineer the same League lest it is seen as handing over the League straight away to Globacom! With Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, a former senior staff of Globacom, can’t that conclusion be reasonable?

 

PDP is the biggest enemy of Nigerian youths

Sani Ndanusa, Bolaji Abdullahi.
Who is likely to be the worst sports
minister Nigeria can ever have?

 It is evident that Nigeria is blessed with abundant latent talents in various sports. The critical challenge has always been how to identify, groom and expose the talented to attain their full potential in the global setting where the real big cash is.

These requires good technocrats in coaching, sports science, management, funding, as well as, a deep commitment to effectively transform the country’s huge potentials into sports development.

Recently, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi stated that majority of staffers in his ministry are not fit to be there. So, by eduction, the future remains bleak if sports development will be in the hands of that Ministry and its current staffers.

Again, he massively goofed when he threw the National Sports festival open. Then, went on to create an U-17 national championship. It is either the minister is running his own shows or his advisers are suffering from cerebral malaria. We shall come back to that. Let’s review the PDP and sports since 1999.

Sports ministers as problems: Since 1999 when Nigeria’s political firmament took the democratic toga, getting a very good, clued-up sports minister has been a major problem. From the tenure of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, through Umar Musa Yar’Adua and now Goodluck Jonathan who all came to power on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sports has been on the back seat in the polity, in spite of the good image sports has continued to give the country, especially outside Nigeria. Two clear-cut exceptions include late Engineer Ishaya Mark-Aku and probably, controversial and combative Abdulrahman Gimba.

Government and those who fashion our sports remains unscientific, local and not producing results. They run sports, a science, like voodoo economics.

President Jonathan...where is the Fresh Air
you promised our sports?

Unfulfilled promises: According to the former senior special assistant to the President on Research and Documentation, Oronto Douglas, (now Minister of Power) in a chat with sporting media before the presidential election, “President Goodluck Jonathan has plans to revolutionise sports in Nigeria if elected”. Can we ask again, where is the promised revolution? Rather, his administration  has critically injured the fragile health of sports. With Abdullahi’s latest goof, it is buried. The Jonathan campaign was hooked on “fresh air” but the air we have, especially in sports, is putrid.

Said Oronto then, “If you look at his track records as deputy governor, governor and vice president, it has been a track record of support for the sporting industry. Remember that Bayelsa had two teams in the Nigeria Premier League when he was the governor of the state. This did not just happen. It was a deliberate policy pursued by his administration to develop sports and provide legitimate government when the president was there at the helm of policy making.

“To have a small state like Bayelsa having two teams in the Premiership is no mean feat. Also, it is on record that any Bayelsan that is interested in sports was always supported during his term in the state; whether it is Daniel Igali, Taribo West or Samson Siasia, his government supported. I can go on and on to give you a catalogue of things that he achieved in sports when he was governor of the state,” he said.

Sports budget: The Federal Government’s annual budget for the sports sector is grossly inadequate for any meaningful development to take place. The 2011 budget of sports is N11.8billion with the recurrent expenditure having the lion share of about N10.6billion of the total budget, leaving a paltry N1.1billion for capital projects. 

Out of the N11.8billion budget, the illegal Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had N2.9billion to prosecute all its 2011 programmes which they did and for the first time in our national history never qualified for a single international event the following year.

Of that amount, N.6billion went to the National Institute for Sports (NIS) for implementation of its policies and programmes, while the remaining N7.2billion is for recurrent and capital expenditures of the National Sports Commission. This is about the trend in the 2012 budget. Nothing will change in the 2013 budget.

From 1999 till date, people who know nothing about sports miraculously find their away to the highest level of sports administration, as minister and chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC) and even headships of the various sports federations.

Instead of hitting the ground running and initiating programmes that will have direct bearing on sports, they usually spend time learning the process to get themselves familiarised with various sports in the country, and by the time they begin to understand the policy and terrain of Nigeria’s sports, they are redeployed to other ministries or removed completely from the cabinet.

For the past 13 years of the PDP-led government, no minister of Sports and chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC) has spent two years in office! Between 1999 and 2012, Nigeria has produced 12 ministers of sports. Bolaji Abdullahi is the third helmsman at the ministry in the space of one year!

Late Ishaya Aku...best from the
PDP Sports ministers

From the beginning... Mr. Damishi Sango, who was named Sports Minister in June 1999 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo came into office, famously confessed to lacking the expertise to run the ministry. Gracefully, however, Sango was dropped about six months later and the late Ishaya Mark Aku, a Water Engineer, assumed the mantle.

Although, Aku spent a little over a year during his tenure as minister, he was regarded by many as a radical who sought to sanitise sports in Nigeria and had genuine interest to correct the ills that bedeviled her growth and development.

His revolutionary moves were evident as he made it clear he was determined to restructure the ministry. However, he died in a plane crash on 4^th May, 2002 while he was on his way to be guest of honour at a pre-World Cup friendly match between Nigeria and Kenya in Kano.

The mantle fell on the late Chief Stephen Akiga who was former minister in the Industry and Police Affairs ministries. He reigned from May 2002 to May 2003.

Then, came the odourless and colourless Colonel Musa Mohammed (rtd) who held the reins from July 2003 to July 2005, making him one of the longest serving sports ministers since 1999. He oversaw Nigeria's leadership of the continent at the 2003 All Africa Games hosted by Abuja.

Alhaji Samaila Sambawa became the next minister and took charge till July 2006 when another colourless Engineer Bala Kaoje took over. Exactly one year later, Mr. Abdulrahman Gimba, a lawyer, took over and lasted till October 2008 when a cabinet reshuffle eased him out of office.

Sports watchers heaved a sigh of relief when Sani Ndanusa, another Water Engineer was appointed in December 2008. Not a few had believed that Ndanusa's familiarity with the sports terrain where he was President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) since 2001 would serve him well.

Ironically, however, his tenure not only witnessed a steady downturn in Nigerian tennis, but it was also tainted by quality controversy, with regard to the cost-inflated hosting of the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and reports of over-age saga that hovered over the squad.

Not even Nigeria's silver-winning feat at the competition could rescue the country from the age controversy. Ndanusa left office in March 2010 when then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet and was succeeded by Isa Ibrahim Bio, a pharmacist, who was before then minister of transport.

Although, Bio demonstrated passion on the job, the murky waters of sports politics proved his albatross until he left the office voluntarily in December 2010 to contest governorship election in Kwara State.

Going by his credentials, his successor, Taoheed Adedoja, a professor of physical education with specialisation in Sports Administration would have been looked upon as a suitable candidate to lead sports to the promised land. But he failed woefully to make a mark.

As he eased off with his high quality of failure came former Transport minister, Yusuf Suleiman. One historical mark he did was setting up the Dominic Oneya committee to resolve the issues in Nigerian football. He received the report on the eve of leaving to contest the gubernatorial election in Sokoto state. He was replaced by Bolaji Abdullahi. Abdullahi dumped the Oneya report and we are back in the trenches. He led Nigeria to the London 2012 Olympics and returned empty handed with no medal.

His administration organised a controversial Presidential sports retreat. He wants N7b to produce magical athletes that will win five gold medals in Rio! The sustenance of the urchin-type of controversies in the football community remains a major achievement of his administration with a most corrupt League Board with a minister-initiated audit report that nailed the Board. The Board is in place and may remain for only how long.

He has also led the nation to continue to swaddle in the murky waters of football wars and battles. Rather than be thinking of what to do with the issues of development of the sector, we had another Sports Summit in Delta state where talks as cheap as they come was the cynosure. As it is so far, it is obvious that the minister shall run the mill like his predecessors. All hail the cyclic track of poverty of ideas in Nigeria’s sports administratoon courtesy the PDP.

EFCC swoops on NFF over tips to Auditors

Troubled NFF President...Aminu Maigari 

The men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has swooped on the offices of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) since Friday last week.

Sources told www.gongnews.net that the investigators immediately took over the Accounts department of the Federation and are still working there asking questions about certain operations including the alleged N1million tip given to each of the four Federal Auditors.

The four Federal Auditors who were working  on the accounts of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were alledged to have each gotten a tip of N1million which dampened the morale of the workers.

This is the first time in 13 years that the accounts of the body either when it was Nigeria Football Association or its current illegal status that auditors are having a peep into their account books.

The initial jubilation that greeted the arrival of the auditors turned sour with staffers of the Glass House alleging that members of the Board of the NFF delivered one million Naira tips to each of the auditors.

However, there is a mallam who owns a bureau de change who is being owed N160m by the NFF and has been begging for part of the monies owed him to be settled. He is the one who changes their world cup $8m booty to Naira. The World cup money is part of the issues the EFCC men are after.

It will be recalled that the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has been docked in the controversy of an audit report that detailed the high quality of fraud therein leading to the Congress of the NPL having to sack the entire Board.

Nigerian football enters into coma, who saves it from self destruct?

Maigari...can he save Nigerian football again?

I have always said it that whatever is the fight or the struggle that is running the game down in Nigeria, the game must and should be effectively insulated. Keen followers of this blog will also agree that eight months ago I had argued, the insulation is temporary. The conduit insulating the game is now heavily leaking. The game is already in a mess. We have a man-made force majeaure on our hands.

The indefinite postponement of the NFF AGM has sounded the death knell of football in the nation. Mark my words again. It will come to pass. As the NFF Board meets tomorrow, can they come off the issues dividing the board?

Clubs and players will suffer:

Can the NFF AGM still hold in this December? Whether yes or no, one thing is sure, the pre-season logistics of the NPL secretariat and the clubs will surely suffer. Had members of the NFF Board understand the technicalities involved in football management, they would have insulated the game from their own dirty politics.

While the ‘opposition’ has been graciously benevolent to have insulated the game from the long battle for the issues of legality of the administration of the game leading to two valid court judgements, why is it that the strange bed fellows who are presently administering the game cannot insulate the game? So sad.

Option? Play abridged league in all the sectors (Premier, Women, National and Amateur leagues). Anyhow it goes, the clubs and the players will be the biggest victims.

Don’t forget that continental championships will start early next season, the Nigerian clubs will not get adequate preparatory matches. Clubs will be playing salaries and allowances in vacuum. Their pre-season which is what clubs used to do a long term preparation to enable players cope with the rigours of the league especially in the closing phases will and in the current situation, cannot be met by any of the clubs. This will open the players to many avoidable fitness related injuries.

Clubs in the continent face early exit: I am afraid that the clubs in the Continent will either have to organize their own friendlies to keep their players in good shape for the continental matches. This is just going to be extra expensive. Had the league been in place, they are sure of at least one match every week with coaches can use to experiment on formation and player blending. To this, I submit my fears, early exit for the Nigerian representatives in the continent.

The Rotimi Amaechi factor: Given that the NFF and Governor Rotimi Amaechi had consistently and in the public for a always disagreed on matters of the Presidential Task force for the 2010 World Cup qualification is on ground. The NFF has not, as it is usual with it, called him all manners of unprintable names. They have a tradition when they disagree with you calling you stupid, dirty language names.

The same NFF people (having no shame or decorum) could apply to the same Amaechi to help them host their AGM in his state. Haba! Though, there are unconfirmed allegations that the top echelon of the NSC had reached the governor to object to hosting the AGM as part of the tools of war.   This does not sound strong but it is tenable.

Two, Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum can reach out to all his members not to host the AGM. In this event what is the likely outcome?

Three, Amaechi has two teams in the NPL in Sharks of Port Harcourt and Dolphins of Port Harcourt. He can reach his governor friends to say, please change the FA chairmen in your states. After which they can be briefed. They can also brief their representatives in all the leagues. The briefing can be, go and impeach the Board of the NFF. Is this not feasible?

NFF crisis: The untold stories behind the scene

*Board meeting to hold tomorrow in Abuja

By Olajide Fashikun

The crisis within Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) which was a subject of speculations has taken a new dimension with secret meetings and plots allegedly being hatched among the topmost members of the football administration against themselves.
Already, the 15-man board are in two clear camps. The crisis is helping the tattered Nigerian Premier League (NPL) to be unable to meet statutory conditions to commence the 2012-2013 season months after it should have started. 

Baribote...sidelined on London deal

Informed sources say money, distrust, northernisation of the secretariat and the issue of the NPL may have caused the deep rift in the structure of the NFF. As it is, the internal struggle for supremacy and control continues unabated.
Usurpation of NPL in a foreign deal:  On the 20th October, Aminu Maigari and the Chairman of the Technical Committee, Chris Green, travelled to London to broker a deal with IMG Limited in the UK on behalf of the Nigeria Premier League, (NPL). One of them has denied this though but our source insist they are not telling the truth.

As close as their lackey, Victor Baribote is to them, the duo went on the trip without the knowledge of the League Board.
However, the two top shots lied officially that they were going to get a new jersey for Super Eagles against the African Nations cup in South Africa. Neither does any other board member of the illegal NFF know of the true intent of the London trip.

Former scribe of the NPL, Salihu Abubakar, was working out modalities for Victor Baribote to go and reactivate the deal the NPL had signed with the English Premier League when Chief Oyuiki Obaseki was the chairman. The paucity of fund was said to have held the move back.

By FIFA prescriptions, all league boards are supposed to be semi-autonomus of the NFF. There was no way the NFF could have entered into any deal on behalf of any of the leagues.

Genesis of the crisis: The recent crises started when the Football Federation released a statement accusing the NPL of misappropriation of funds following an audit report. The federation queried the Nigeria Premier League management and ordered the suspension of the League's Congress which was slated to hold in Kano.

The Congress was meant to, among other decisions, finalise on a date for the commencement of the new Premier League season.

Jinxed?

Plan to sack the NPL board: There were two theories here. One the Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi was touted planned to sack the Board and bring his political mentor, Dr. Bukola Saraki in as Chairman. This could not be verified.

The second is, some members in the leadership of the federation want to stop the league from moving forward, they do not want the calendar to be in accordance with the rest of the world so that Nigerians can call for the dissolution of the NPL board."

Another board member pointed an accusing finger at Mr. Green as being behind the crisis in the football body.

Christopher Green factor:  A board member who is so angry at the way things are organized in the secretariat told a close friend of his, “Christopher Green is the problem of Nigerian football. He has taken over everything and he gives orders like he want in the secretariat. Most decisions he has made are not in accordance with the NFF statutes and other board members are not aware of so many things before it was done," he alleged.

Owumi...insulated the game in his fight

The Vice President, Mike Umeh, is not in the know of what goes on there. Most members are in the dark. No one knows what is going on there. He and Maigari took the decision to suspend the NPL Congress without the knowledge and approval of other board members.

"The board has not met on the issue of NPL Congress till date and as I'm talking to you the Board is divided," the official said.
A board member and Chairman of the Akwa-Ibom State Football Association, Effiong Johnson, also alluded to this in a statement he released against Barrister Iyke Igbokwe during the week.

The board will decide a new date for the AGM of the Nigeria Football Federation, (NFF) in their meeting of 28^th November.
A top official of the Federation informed www.gongnews.net of the meeting of tomorrow at 11a.m. They have informed us of the meeting” he said.