Nigeria Content Online

Mumini Alao needs no introduction in the sports world. What
however needs to be added here is that he is a very diligent, hardworking,
balanced, productive and positive sport journalist and a great Nigerian who has
used his talent and skills to help in the re-engineering of this country on the
platform of sport.

Today I salute this great pal of mine especially for producing
the impetus for my column this week.

In a crises fatigued sports milieu or indeed football world in
Nigeria, Mumini still got his thoughts together to meticulously dissect and
provide dispassionate views on the many plagues afflicting our football when
others,even yours truly have become battle weary. So I sought his permission to
stretch in some cases, re-emphasize in some others and also encrypt my personal
views on most of the issues raised in his COMPLETE SPORTS Wednesday, November
24, 2010 column, Soccer Talk.

Waking up from the lull of EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and
UEFA Champion’s League (depending on which is your opium) Mumini Alao addressed
the following issues:

Amos Adamu vs. FIFA

This will stand as one of the most unfortunate incidents in
Nigeria’s sport history no matter how it ends up. It all started as some bad
joke or April fool stunt then it came on strongly via repeated broadcasts on
Sky News. As we all saw, the enigmatic Amos Adamu, CAF and FIFA Executive,
President WAFU and the most dominant personality in Nigeria’s sport in two
decades had ignited a worrisome matter on a global level that threatened and
may have in fact consumed his massive profile and caused this country quite a
huge dose of embarrassment.

Nigerians debated this issue greatly in low and high places.
Opinions are various and quite a very low percentage gave Amos Adamu any
sympathy. Most people opined that it served him right. Mumini alludes to the
huge investment of public funds in raising Adamu to the leadership of CAF that
may have been wasted by his disgraceful ouster. That I may agree with but the
other element of Mumini’s which is very correct I shall quote here…
‘‘However, it can also be argued that Adamu’s continued membership of FIFA or
his ultimate Presidency of CAF may not have been of any special benefit to
Nigeria beyond the individual himself.

Adamu was not in CAF and FIFA when Nigeria achieved its golden
era between 1990 and 1996. But we have had little to show in terms of
achievement within the last decade when Adamu and other Nigerians have become
prominent in CAF Committees”.

It could not have been better put. Mumini is spot on but I have
to add that we also have come forth with a record of sport event hosting during
Adamu’s tenure without ever declaring profit. Ghostly events like the World
U-20 football tournament (Nigeria ‘99), CAN 2000 – the African Cup of Nations
jointly hosted with Ghana, The All-African Games in Abuja curiously christened
Coja 2003, the World U-17 soccer tournament in 2009. All these years we were a
spending nation in sports particularly football and the final pay-off is a
colossal disgrace for Adamu and Nigeria. People I suspect were wary of Adamu’s
humongous wealth, the display of which may have scared Issa Hayatou and his
coterie of French delegates in CAF to halt the man. Unfortunately, Adamu walked
into the trap.

Someone needs to convince me that Adamu was not set-up. However,
he must blame himself for being somewhat naive. I am no fan of Adamu and I
think that is public knowledge but I feel a little sorry for him but he
certainly walked into it. He should lick his wounds, step aside for 3 years,
re-work his strategy and show to all he actually has something to offer sports
beyond confiscating government power and resources to his own advantage only.
The Japanese have an adage that the samurai lives on and it’s very true of Amos
Adamu because he planted his people everywhere in sports, so his influence
remains. Everyone, especially concerned with football is unable to act or do
anything direct because of the fear of Amos Adamu even in football exile.

The man once called Mr. Fix-it certainly was everything in
sports in Nigeria. You are either with him or with ‘‘them” and if you are with
‘‘them” he fixed you.

His spin doctors may say or preach otherwise but for Amos Adamu
this is a crash from his Olympian height in sports which humility, good
strategy can only help him live down. So long for the man, Amos Adamu, whose
controversial and tempestuous career in sport appears to have hit the rock
finally. Perhaps there is a moral here for all. We learn every day.

Lulu & Co. vs.
Maigari

This is playing out like a promo for a new movie showing
tomorrow, next week at the Galleria! Sani Lulu and company have gone to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to seek redress for wrongful impeachment.
Theirs is a tale of betrayal and subterfuge, massive intrigues that has left
Nigeria’s football prostrate.

The debilitating effects of their self-serving and murderous
management of our football are still being felt.

I imagine because the EFCC for whatever reason is treating Lulu
and his cohorts with kid gloves that is why they can muster the courage to
pursue their ‘right’ at CAS. For people who have been most inequitable in the
doctoring of NFF statutes in their favour, Lulu and his ilk must consider
themselves lucky to still be breathing the air of freedom. I am awaiting the
pronouncement from CAS. Justice will be done, natural and judicial.

Segun Odegbami vs.
NFF/FIFA

I have had the privilege of seeing the brief of arguments of
Segun Odegbami MON or simply ‘Big Seg’ as we fondly call him and I can assure
you that FIFA is in for another serious embarrassment. The extremely corrupt
and meddlesome involvement of FIFA in Nigeria’s football in recent years will
show greatly when CAS rules in favour of ‘Big Seg’. Yes, guilty of abandoning
battles in the past, but more than ever before the man is resolute to see this
to the end because the final result will help shape the future of Nigeria’s
football greatly. And this is about what is right, not just about Segun
Odegbami.

I sign-off saying thank you to Mumini Alao for permitting me to
use this very informed views as basis for my column this week.