Ernest Osogbue.
Ibrahim Musa Gusau became the president of the Nigeria Football Federation Nff, following the outcome of the 78th elective congress of the Nff, on September 30th, 2022, in Benin-City, Edo State. He succeeded Amaju Pinnick, whose previous two tenures had been marked by controversies.
Since becoming Nff president, however, Gusau has maintained a low profile, unlike his predecessor, Pinnick, who was larger than life in his flamboyance. Gusau has however, been more focused on speaking with his football administration skills, than with his designer clothes. Pinnick in his time was wont to stir controversies, either by his utterances or by his actions. Under Gusau, however, the football environment has been relatively calm with little or no controversies.
While some admire Gusau for his conservative administrative approach, others see it as a minus. To those who see it as being a minus; Nigeria is a big country and must make its presence felt wherever she finds herself. While Pinnick was excessive in his flamboyance, these people believe that his relationships with top football personalities around the world, like former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, Caf president Patrice Motsepe, Fifa president Gianni Infantino, and many others, were positive overall, and put Nigerian football on the world football map, albeit outside the field of play. According this school of thought, had the Super Eagles made it to the 2022 Fifa world, Pinnick would easily have secured a third term in office.
Conversely, Gusau has largely remained in his office, maintaining a low profile, and keeping his own counsel. He’s scarcely to be seen fraternizing with football bigwigs, and has not in any way used his personality to sell Nigerian football. In fact, most people see Gusau’s conservative attitude as being detrimental to Nigerian football overall. While Pinnick who has left office is holding sway at Fifa and Caf, Gusau the incumbent president is nowhere to be seen. Some people feel disappointed with Gusau on that score, they believe that while selling Nigerian football is important by what happens on the pitch, beyond that however, the Nff president should have a certain level of personal savy that gets people excited. They point at Samuel Eto’o in Cameroon, and Kalusha Bwalya, who previously led Zambian football, as examples.
On the other hand, however, Gusau’s supporters are of the view that being sociable and charismatic has nothing to do with managing Nigerian football if the results are good; unfortunately, by the standards of most Nigerians, the results haven’t been good. That notwithstanding, Gusau has somehow, endeared himself to his clique, and they are prepared to sink or swim with him. Most members of the Nff board have shown remarkable resistance by thwarting all efforts made so far to oust Gusau unceremoniously. They have remained resolute, and this is where the problem lies; if you cannot engineer an internal rebellion from within the Nff board, how then do you remove Gusau without incurring the wrath of Fifa?
This is currently the dilemma facing Nigerian football. Most stakeholders outside Gusau’s circle, and the majority of football lovers in Nigeria, see qualifying for the world cup as a measure of the development of Nigerian football. Any failure on that score therefore, is seen as the end of that regime. In Gusau’s case, it is not just the Super Eagles, but the Super Falcons as well, who failed to defend their title and equally failed to pick a women’s world cup ticket. As is to be expected, the media has been divided on the issues. There are those who support Gusau’s continued stay, while there are also those supporting his ouster. In the middle lies the average citizen who depends on the media for objectivity.
For now, Gusau’s supporters have ramped up the media frenzy, eulogizing his administrative acumen. They point at the relative calm which has descended on Nigerian football in recent times, as being due to Gusau’s administrative skills. They reference better financial management at the Nff, to the extent that the national teams no longer hold the nation to ransom at international competitions. The players no longer complain about ticket refunds, delayed bonuses and allowances, or of being camped in crummy hotels while on international duty.
To crown it all, they point at the Nff hotel/hostel, currently under construction, alongside new training pitches, at the Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, as evidence of Gusau’s good intentions for Nigerian football. The hotel/hostel will subsequently save Nigeria millions of Naira, if not dollars, in hotel charges when fully operational. According to Gusau’s men, a man who could be that visionary, to utilize the Fifa forward grants for such a legacy project, deserves another term in office, if for no other reason, but to complete such a monumental project, and see it commissioned and put to use.
But Gusau’s detractors however, while not conceding that Gusau has been excellent in financial management, believe that Gusau is not the CBN governor, appointed to manage Nigeria’s monetary policies, they say that Gusau was elected to manage Nigerian football, and as far as they are concerned, failure to qualify both the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons for the Fifa world cup in one tenure, is enough to put Gusau out of office. These people brook no arguments, according to them, allowing Gusau another term in office is tantamount to rewarding failure, and once you start on that path, no one knows where it would lead.
To further buttress their point, they point at the underage national teams, where Nigeria has earned its worldwide claim to fame in times past, as further evidence of Gusau’s failure. None of the underage teams have posted any credible performance under Gusau’s tenure, from the U-15s through to the U-23 Olympic teams.
While they conceded that the Super Falcons, 10th Wafcon title not too long ago, was a good omen, the Falcons’ recent failure, to at least, make the semi finals of the Wafcon in Morocco, completely negates whatever gains their 10th title may have wrought. According to those in this position, after the Super Eagles failed to make the 2022 world cup under Pinnick, Gusau should have done more to make it to the 2026 edition. Unfortunately, he failed woefully.
While Nigerians were still reeling from that unfortunate experience, the Super Falcons, the most dominant female football team in the entire African continent, was equally booted out of their Wafcon title defense in the quarter finals, and subsequently failed to pick a world cup ticket. To Gusau’s detractors, this was the straw that broke the camels back, as it was one failure too many. As far as those in this position are concerned, there is absolutely no way back for Gusau, as head of Nigerian football.
While the argument looks straightforward to its proponents, in Nigeria however, geopolitical interests, religious underpinnings, and ethnic balancing, usually come to bear on national issues, as a result therefore, Gusau’s exit from office, is not a forgone conclusion. As I write, all kinds of rumors are in circulation, with no one being the wiser. Gusau’s supporters are confident in the fact that any improper interference by the authorities, would meet with Fifa resistance. On the other hand, those who want Gusau out of office, are equally confident that no man who successfully manages to ensure the failure of both the Super Eagles, and the Super Falcons, to snag a world cup ticket, could get a second term in office.
The two sides are currently poised in a stalemate, as they look each other eyeball to eyeball, like two chess players waiting for who blinks first. In all of these, though, there is something those who want Gusau out have on their side, which could prove decisive. During the elective congress of 30th September 2022, one of the contestants against Gusau for the Nff presidency, was Mallam Shehu Dikko, who received 6 votes in the first round of that election, before bowing out of the contest. Today, however, following a poor showing by team Nigeria at the Paris Olympics in 2024, President Tinubu dissolved the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, and in its stead, reinstated the National Sports Commission NSC, and on October 23rd, 2024, named Mallam Shehu Dikko its chairman.
As it stands, Dikko as chairman of the NSC, currently overseas all sports development activities in Nigeria, including that of football and the Nff. In some quarters, there’s a belief that Dikko still harbors the ambition of being Nff president someday, somehow. Whether his current office has assuaged that desire remains a matter of conjecture. Some believe he could undercut Gusau, but that remains to be seen.
This is the Pandora’s box into which Nigerian football currently finds itself. While the Nff elective congress billed for September 26th 2026, in Lafia, Nasarawa State, still subsists, intrigues, subterfuge, betrayals, and falsehoods, are currently holding sway and are expected to continue to feed the media space, until Gusau is either forced to resign, or successfully plots his way back into office somehow. Between now and that historic date of the Nff congress, different positions are already being canvassed by those on either side. The cancelation of the election has been floated, the investigation of the Nff by the DSS and the Efcc, has equally been mentioned, with rumors and unsigned statements rumbling in the media space. For the very first time however, Gusau’s conservative demeanor holds him in good stead. He has remained enigmatic, neither confirming nor denying the reports swirling around his person. He has therefore, kept his detractors guessing as to what moves he’s making as he quietly plots his own strategies to remain in office beyond 2026.
In all of these however, the wishes and desires of Mallam Shehu Dikko, equally remain in the balance. What has he told President Tinubu on Gusau’s performance? Is he still interested in Gusau’s seat? Can Gusau ultimately escape the sword of Damocles currently dangling over his head, after failing to qualify Nigeria for both the men and women’s Fifa world cups? Your guesses are as good as ours. In the meantime, we keep our ears to the ground, and our eyes peeled for any developments, and promise to keep you posted as the drama unfold.
