Blessed are the hopeless because they won’t be disappointed by Gusau, Pinnick’s stooge

Charity, they say begins at home. If Ibrahim Gusau, the newly elected president of NFF, failed to develop football in a corner shop called Zamfara, the chances that he will revive the moribund football industry of a  gargantuan supermarket called Nigeria is doubtful, especially when he was anointed by a letdown, Amaju Pinnick. OLUKAYODE THOMAS reports that Gusau’s era may be the beginning of another round of the years of the locust in Our Football.  

Introduction

After witnessing the rape and destruction of Nigeria football, nay sports, from a very close range as a reporter, in over two decades, I have become a doubting Thomas about the ability and the intention of those aspiring to lead our sports and majority of the contestants in the September 30, NFF election did not inspire confidence anything would be done differently.

Let’s look at some of the contestants: Shehu Dikko, Ibrahim Gasau, Abba Yola, Amanze Uchegbulam, David Buhari, Adam Moukthar Mohammed, Peterside Idah, and Suleiman Kwande. These guys have over three- or four-decades experiences in football administration and management but their experiences have had more negative than positive impacts on our football. 

For example, there is no contest among these guys on who killed our league. Dikko is the clear winner. When it comes to an administrator who has zero football programme in his state but he is very relevant nationally, that prize goes to Kwande. 

Apart from a cap or half a cap in the Super Eagles, ranting on Super Sports and being part of Sanni Lulu’s failed administration, Idah cannot point to any positive impact he has had on our football.

 

 Akinwunmi and Emeruwa get the benefit of the doubt

But I am not a doubting Thomas that doesn’t give the benefits of the doubt. Seyi Akinwunmi and Christian Emeruwa were two guys I gave benefits of the doubt among the contestants, based on their pedigrees.

Whether you love Akinwunmi or hate him, you cannot deny that there are football activities in Lagos State at the developmental and elite level in the men and women categories. 

The state FA under the leadership of Akinwunmi has more functional and productive football academies than any state in Nigeria. 

The State association is also active off the field - organizing seminars, workshops and training for stakeholders in the football family.

Akinwunmi’s personal integrity also endeared him to me. While most members of the  Amaju Pinnick-led board are allegedly involved in one corruption practice or other and regularly visit ICPC and EFCC, he has not been directly linked with any fraudulent practice.

I believe a man that devotes his personal resources to the game and who was not indicted in the myriad of corruption allegations against his colleagues will most likely turn our football around if given the opportunity.

I gave Emeruwa the benefit of the doubt because of a personal experience I had with him in 2012, in Accra, Ghana.

I met and discussed with Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the then Minister of Sports at MM2 Airport about reforming our league.

Abdullahi agreed and told me to write a proposal. A few days later, he called and said the staff of the Ministry said they have others who also have the solution to the challenges of our league.

Nine of us, he informed me, will meet in Accra, Ghana and present papers and the best presentation will be adopted.

I was the fourth person to present and after my presentation, the panel adopted my proposal and cancelled other presentations.

A seven-man panel that included Emeruwa and Gusau was formed to study my presentation and come up with an implementation plan. 

Of all the members of the panel, only Emeruwa understood my roadmap and how it will be implemented. Other ‘big men’ didn’t have a clue.

 I remembered one of them saying, ‘ all these big ideas wey you write no concern Governors wey dey control and finance clubs, na wetin dem wan hear be say how their clubs go play continental’.

I was amazed and disgusted at his remark. Though I have little or no respect for the majority of men and women running our sports, I hold and still hold  Emeruwa in high esteem after that encounter.

Incompetent men winning, competent men losing

But at the election, on the first ballot,  Emeruwa got zero votes while Akinwunmi has 12 and Gusau 21.  

On the second ballot, Gusau easily defeated Peterside Idah: a no-hope contestant who refused to step down.

According to the delegates, most of whom are States FA Chairmen, the reason they voted for Gusau was because of the Arabic Hausa word, Amana which means a man whose word is his bond.

Words being his bond here does not mean he has promised a youth development programme, revival of the league, reorganization of our technical, media, marketing and other departments and to make them function like five fingers.

Rather, his words being his bond here mean the promise of estacode trips for members will be fulfilled, they will be serving on committees, they will be nominated into CAF and FIFA sub-committees, made leaders of delegation to FIFA and CAF matches and other assignments with the continental and global bodies, and others.

More worrisome is a leaked message allegedly sent by Pinnick to members of a WhatsApp Group, Pinnick wrote,  “ My dear esteemed colleagues, I decided not to run for a third consecutive term for several reasons. Successfully I will install one of my closest allies Ibrahim Gusau whom most of you know very well as the next president of NFF. He happens to be my staunchest and most loyal supporter. He is humble and a team player. Will send his number shortly and excuse me from this esteemed chat group’’.

Implications of the message for our football and Gusau’s election.

That Pinnick hasn’t denied the message means the message actually emanated from him. And the implications for the Friday, September 30 election were very clear.

 Pinnick informing his colleagues that Gusau will succeed him and it happened means he probably influenced the election in Gusau’s favour; which means the elections were neither free nor fair.

Secondly, with Pinnick’s stooge elected as the president of NFF,  we should expect another eight years of failures on and off the field. Another four or eight years of just following the FIFA and CAF programme without our FA thinking outside the box and coming up with a home-grown programme for the development of the game at home.

Years of the locust where our players will remain feeders to clubs in obscure leagues and our players will be exported as cheap articles like was the case under Pinnick.

With Gusau as president, we should expect more international disgrace as our players will continue to protest and down tools over non-payment of bonuses, allowances and other benefits in a foreign land. We are in for another season of non-qualifications for major games and championships and failures at those championships.

Gusau, like Pinnick his mentor, will give us more sorry moments than moments to celebrate. For those with high hopes of a turnaround, I wish you well. But blessed are the hopeless, for they won’t be disappointed.

PULL QUOTE:

These guys have over three- or four-decades experiences in football administration and management but their experiences have had more negative than positive impacts on our football. 

Secondly, with Pinnick’s stooge elected as the president of NFF,  we should expect another eight years of failures on and off the field.