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Post World Cup 2010
in South Africa,and consequent to the less than average performance of
the Super Eagles at the Mundial, Nigerians sort of asked for the heads
of Sani Lulu and his NFF Board.

Official reaction to
this was not very clear but by some abracadabra, Sani Lulu was
impeached from the position of President, his Vice-President Mr. Amanze
Uchegbulam and Chairman Technical Committee, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi went
with him while the rest of the equally culpable Board remained and Aminu
Maigari emerged as Acting President then. Honestly I wondered why the
rest of the Board that is guilty of inaction while the three top
officials impeached took all decisions and quite frankly ran a
triumvirate while the others, mere mortals just looked on helplessly and
mum only to back an impeachment exercise! The Lulu/Maigari Board joint
tenure having expired, an election was conducted with some bizarre and
unexplainable alignment of interests. New and old godfathers pushed
their influences against one another. Zoning options weighed against
competence and reason. The good and growth of the game were very distant
considerations. There was horse-trading, subterfuge and high level
intrigues.

Aminu Maigari who
led the impeachment of Sani Lulu emerged President with the strong
support of Sani Lulu! Delegates loyal to Sani Lulu voted for Maigari
because the latter had ‘apologized’ to Lulu. Incredible but it happened.

On ascension,
Maigari has been yoked with the balancing of all interests. And he
appears to be doing just well. With shrewdness and calmness even if with
a not so colourful mien,

Maigari is pushing on. Invitation to Ex-Eagles Victor Ikpeba, Christian Chukwu,

Austin Jay-Jay Okocha and a significantly populist move, the appointment of Samson Siasia as Super Eagles’ coach.

Young Shehu Dikko
was said to have rejected election support in return for concessions and
so lost out. Tijani Yusuf candidate of Capo De Tuti Capo,

Amos Adamu, got the
rude shock when his alter ego abandoned him or so it was claimed in the
media. Neutrals like Fan Ndubuoke, Lumumba Adeh and former
Secretary-General Alhaji Sani Toro were just as astounded by what went
on in the name of election into the NFF Board.

Well, howsoever,
Aminu Maigari emerged NFF President but not before the National
Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) had gone to Court to
challenge the holding of the elections, the legality or otherwise and
with sundry prayers asking for its rights denied in the substantive
suit. An order of Court putting the election on hold was violated and
contempt charges pressed against principal actors at the election. FIFA
ignited by the goings-on in our football purportedly issued a ban threat
and then followed with a “ban” vide a letter that was distinctly
Nigerian in wordings. The authenticity of that ban order is still not
convincing,

wearing very much
the gab of self-serving device of certain interest group. The truth
about that FIFA “ban” will emerge some day as many things about that
corrupt body have begun to do.

Activities in our
football appear to wake up as more actors emerge in an effort to resolve
the logjam. The Presidency’s concern manifests in Sports Minister Isa
Ibrahim Bio’s laboured efforts to put things right. Parties to the
dispute, stakeholders, respected past F.A leaders were consulted and a
roadmap to sanity appeared to have been described. NANF agreed and did
withdraw its suit from the Court with the understanding that certain
issues had to be resolved in its favour by the Maigari Board. Details of
what transpired therefrom appeared not to have been or re-lived the
spirit of the ‘settlement’ brokered by Sports minister, Isa Bio.

Ogunye weighing in

I thought at the
time and still believed Isa Bio merely played Pontius Pilate and leaving
room for more unrest. That restiveness is emerging again with a new
suit instituted by Jiti Ogunye dragging the National Association of
Nigerian Footballers and others to Court.

In a new suit filed
by Ogunye, a Legal Practitioner, the Court is being asked to determine
if the settlement between NFF and NANF amounted to the vacation or
setting aside of a specific order of Court annulling the election of
Aminu Maigari’s Board. Joined as Co-defendants are the Minister of
Sport, Mr. Isa Bio, Dr. (Sir) Patrick Ekeji, Director-General NSC, Aminu
Maigari and his Board, the NFF electoral committee, the
Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police.
No date has been fixed for hearing. An interesting scenario is on the
cards when legal hostilities open in this matter.

Meanwhile, a
sub-plot is being stoked by people inside and outside the NFF. Coming
from one of Maigari’s concessions for support at the election is that
the seat of NPL Chairman would go to somebody in Sani Lulu’s camp, Taiwo
Ogunjobi to be precise, so he can as statutes prescribe come into the
NFF Board as second Vice-President. A rather preposterous back route for
Ogunjobi NFF Board and to be Lulu’s eyes in Maigari’s Board. It is
suffering a set-back though as their joint efforts to remove the
incumbent NPL Chairman Davidson Owumi by all means possible even in
clear violation of FIFA doctrine of non-interference is not going easy.

Baribote, another
aggrieved party is heading to Court to claim his rights, Sani Lulu and
his men are at the Court of Arbitration, Chief Segun Odegbami MON has a
strong case against FIFA pending at the Court of Arbitration (CAS),
Aminu Maigari is standing on the Ibidapo Obe Arbitration Panel
resolutions to send Owumi packing. And we are waiting to see if NANF
withdrawal of its substantive suit against Maigari’s NFF discharges the
annulment order and all the interjections as Jiti Ogunye appears to have
gone to court to interpret and or enforce.

These are my reasons
for saying our football is in quicksand and sinks deeper with competing
interests awaiting resolution today, tomorrow and perhaps for sometime
to come. The court will decide rightly I think?