YourExcellency,
All other protocols observed.
Your Excellency Sir, thank you for rescinding your decision to withdraw our teams from all international competitions. It is undeniable that football is the religion of Nigeria. When football is the topic, Nigerians of all tribes, religions, creeds, sexes and whatever demarcation unite as one. Even the sceptics support the national team. When Enyimba won the CAF Champions League years ago, the whole country, from east to west celebrated like we had won the World Cup. The local league unfortunately is not widely followed by the locals. So, if we were ostracised from international football for any amount of time it meant that there would be no football activities in Nigeria for that period. That would be such a nightamre for many true Nigerians.
When General Sani Abacha stood his ground and needlessly withdrew us from South Africa 96 Nations Cup we were subsequently hammered by CAF and thus missed the next tournament too. Our football suffered for it the most. The same people mocking your u-turn will be the same ones criticising you when the Nations Cup starts and Nigeria is not represented because you had held your ground and drew FIFA's ire.
Anyway, now that you show your humane side by listening to the pleas of the people, it is not yet uhuru. The next step is to make sure only people who have something to offer Nigerian football are elected into the board. The EFCC should dig deep into the records to unearth enough to send the guilty parties in the last board away for a long time in order to set an example for whoever else want to come in so that they know that the NFF is nobody's milking cow.
It is no secret that irrespective of FIFA's no government intervention stance, the Federal Government through the sports ministry always play a big role in who gets into the board. He who pays the piper dictates the tune, we all know. And since the sports ministry is the main sponsor of the NFF, it is the sports ministry that hand pick the board, with or without decree 101.
The main criteria for the board should be a track record of actions in football to show that the candidate is not just going there to fill his pockets. Emphasis should be on expenditure in football development. Has the aspirant sponsored any national competitions, donated trophies, developed talent, or single handedly funded a club up to atleast national league level? This last criteria truly shows that such an aspirant has a genuine love for the game so much as to spend his own private funds in sponsoring a club.At a time in Nigeria when multi-billionaires, multi-national companies and even some state governments shirk from fully funding a football team, any individual who has, in the last ten years, single-handedly funded a football club has done this out of a genuine love for the game. If such a man desires to participate in the governance of Nigerian football he should be given a chance.
Before Galadima took over the reigns he had no track record of personal commitments and sacrifices to our football, and it was evident in the way his tenure panned out. Same can be said of Lulu. Enough is enough. We need someone who has guided a footballing venture when all he had to encourage him was the passion of the game and the desire to get good results. Any one who has sponsored a team to amateur division one and above, single handedly, has a passion for the game.
Sir, the initial caretaker committee which you later wisely did not go ahead to inaugurate consisted of a couple of ex-footballers. At this crucial time of our football, people with no track record in football should not be given a chance to guide our football. It is not time for people to learn on the job. The players mentioned in the caretaker committee are dedicated ex-internationals who gave their all for Nigeria, but I do not think they are ripe for leadership yet. Yes, they can be board members if they make the vote, but leadership of a nations' football requires a lot more than skill. Take a look at even the western world, not many players are in key positions in football administration, aside Franz Beckenbauer and Mitchel Platini who both paid their dues through the ranks before getting to where they are now. So, JJ Okocha and Samson siasia, both great individuals, while having a lot to contribute, can do so as board members. Any other lofty dreams will not be in our best interest.
Also, intelligence and composure should be a major criteria too. Any one aspiring to lead our nation's favourite past time must be a man of clout, who is also well composed and who carries an aura about him. He should be a charismatic, self confident and intelligent person. During the presidential debate before the last election at AIT studios in Abuja, Alhaji Sani Lulu was the least composed of all the contestants that day in what was a live broadcast. Honourable Lumumba Dah Adeh and Chief Segun Odegbami were outstanding that day, and viewers reactions after the broadcast confirmed this. However, Lulu and his crew were handpicked by the government for their role as stakeholders who played a big role in ousting Alhaji Galadimma from the hotseat.
This time around whoever gets into the hotseat has to be a man with the leadership ability to lead the nation's number one past time, a passion for football, a track record of sacrifice and commitment to the game and enough intelligence and charisma to carry our football forward. This is not a time for no names without the requisite know-how to lead us. We need to select an achiever.
Finally dear Sir, in making the choice of who to lead our football please do not consult the same advisers that advised you to withdraw our national teams from all competitions because they do not have an idea of what is best for Nigerian football.
Warmest regards,
JOHNNY OGBAH
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