As Nigerian football stakeholders prepare to welcome Fifa and Caf officials for crucial discussions on the way forward for Nigerian football, it has become necessary to remind delegates, that the all important Fifa statutes, does not take away the sovereignty of any nation, including Nigeria, and do not take away the inalienable right of any nation to self determination.
Not long ago, a delegation of Nigerian officials visited Fifa headquarters, to update, and thank the football body for its support in the unfolding events in Nigerian football. Soon after that visit, Fifa fired off a letter to Godwin Ikpeme, the Acting General Secretary of the Nff, suspending all processes leading to the emergence of a new leadership for Nigerian football. Many issues in that letter, call to question Fifa’s motives.
In the first instance, the letter addressed Ikpeme as Deputy General Secretary, as opposed to his current designation of Acting General Secretary. This was a subtle disrespect, and disregard of a decision already taken by Nigerian football authorities. Reading further into the letter, one would be struck by its tone of condescension, as if Nigeria as a sovereign nation, was subordinate to Fifa.
The football governing body, went ahead to unilaterally order Nigeria, to suspend further actions on all processes towards the emergence of a new Nff president, and a board for Nigerian football. While we’re not privy to the discussions between Nigerian officials and Fifa in Zurich, it is our belief that the discussions did not include selling Nigeria off to Fifa. We also understand that Fifa statutes are sacrosanct, and that countries are expected to abide by them in making decisions on football matters.
Having said that, it is equally important to maintain, that every nation must find and abide by its peculiar needs per time. Football administration is not one size fits all, what is applicable in Singapore, may not be applicable in Nigeria, and what is applicable in Mexico, may not necessarily be applicable in Tunisia. This is due to cultural, social, and national peculiarities. As a result, in abiding by Fifa statutes, every nation has a right to make decisions guiding the regulation of football in accordance with its national preferences, as long as those preferences do not run counter to Fifa regulations.
This is why we find the Fifa letter and its tone very strange. The matter in Nigeria is very clear; the Nff president and his board voluntarily resigned after failing to satisfy the desires of the Nigerian people. Even Fifa would acknowledge that the last four years of Nigerian football yielded very little dividends, in terms of results, and so, Gusau’s voluntary resignation is not in dispute. What should follow naturally therefore, is a free and fair process to elect a new leadership, which is strictly within the purview of Nigerian football authorities.
The intervention of Fifa, and the insistence that no action should be taken in this regard, until Fifa and Caf ‘understand the circumstances surrounding the recent developments within the Nff, the views of the various stakeholders, and any issues that may require further considerations…’ is nothing short of Fifa being meddlesome in a local affair. The resignation of Gusau and his board, was welcomed by the majority of football loving Nigerians. Finding a suitable replacement through properly laid down procedures, is a Nigerian affair, where Fifa should only be an observer. For Fifa to promote itself to the position of an adjudicator, is therefore worrisome, and unacceptable.
For many years now, Fifa working in cahoots with some unscrupulous persons, has weaponized the so-called ‘Fifa ban,’ by constantly employing it as a device to coerce Nigeria. In England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and many other countries, football officials resign regularly, and it is the local authorities who conduct elections to fill the vacancies. It is only when there is a leadership crisis, as in the emergence of factions, or disruptions in football administration, that Fifa may intervene. As of now, there is harmony in Nigerian football, everyone is in agreement that Gusau’s resignation was honorable, Fifa’s letter therefore, smells of mischief, and is couched with hidden innuendos that must be unraveled post haste.
In all of these though, one thing is clear; the absence of an extant legislative framework for the administration of Nigerian football. And this is what Fifa mostly exploits to constantly meddle in Nigerian football matters. In that regard, we urge the NSC as a matter of urgency, to send a draft Nigerian football legislative bill, to the National Assembly, for due consideration and passage into law. A proper legislation would remove that opening, and prevent foreign bodies and neocolonial institutions from taking advantage of our familial disagreements and return the people’s game to the Nigerian people.
For now, we ask stakeholders to maintain a common front, and make Fifa to understand that we are all on the same page, and that there’s no crisis. Fifa must recognize Emmanuel Ikpeme, as Acting General Secretary, and not Deputy General Secretary. Delegates must equally insist that filling the existing vacancies in the Nff, is strictly a local affair, and must be dealt with locally, with Fifa being only an observer, as opposed to being an adjudicator.
All Nigerians must understand that our sovereignty and independence as a nation, and the right to self determination, must be defended at all costs. We must therefore, recognize the importance of unity in our relationships with foreign countries and neocolonial institutions. While we may have minor disagreements, experience shows that exposing ourselves to foreigners, would ultimately be to our detriment. Let us therefore, resolve to maintain unity before Fifa, and learn to resolve any differences internally as one family.
