SPORTS

NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION Vs FOOTBALL IN NIGERIA

STEPHEN KESHI, COACH OF THE SUPER EAGLES

The macabre dance now going on in the chambers of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has gone on now for too long to the extent that the national image of the country is virtually being compromised. Now, the question being asked is: how worst can things get before enough is enough? It has gotten so bad that for some time now no one can say for certainty as to who the President of the Federation is as well as the membership of his cabinet, due to schism in its leadership formation. And the victim of the disorderliness that now holds sway in the organization is the game of football itself as things have now ground to a standstill, just as the factional leaders continue to tear at each other’s throat in a fratricidal war of attrition over the soul of the Federation.

Every now and then FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) will pull out its mighty disciplinary stick to whip the recalcitrant warriors to shape, with the threat of suspension to boot. Then momentarily there will be a cease fire, only for another conflagration to take when the unsuspecting public will be expecting that sanity will reign. And yet once again the contending factions will be trading accusation of being responsible for the breakdown of the truce. What is the bone of contention? They will trade excuses. But in actual fact it is a game of "the more you look the less you see". Meaning that there is absolutely more to it than the eye can catch. And what could be the reason for these perennial quarrels.

In the mean time, a close examination of the Constitution or the "Statute" of the organization of the organization, as it is stylishly called by some, proves that the provisions are as standard and flawless as can be. So whatever failings that apparently exist are purely human error of judgment that in itself is to be split into two types. For example there is "error of judgment deriving from ignorance or unawareness". The solution to this type of "error of judgment" is often times amenable to reason and compromise. And there is "error of judgment" deriving from greed, avarice and selfishness" on the other hand is most often un-amenable to reason. The difficulty is likened only to trying to wake up someone who feigns sleeping. The more you try to wake him the more he would slide deeper into snoring stage. This type is most cantankerous, and the reason is simple there must be an entrenched selfish interest.

From the look of things it seems that the later type is responsible for the intractable "no retreat no surrender" battle going on at the NFF to date . The Nigeria Football Association (NFA), the precursor of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in 1945, that is 15 years before Nigeria gain independence from British colonial rule, and was formally affiliated to the FIFA[in full] in 1960. From then till date there is really no tangible accomplishment or organic structures you can associate with the status of the NFF. It has always depended on Government annual subvention and occasional sponsors by corporate organizations. The Constitution of the organization envisions contributions from football clubs that is complied with more by widespread default. So what the Executive Board of the NFF depend on for the governance of the Federation is the Government subvention, plus occasional royalties from matches played by the clubs. From the look of things, especially against the backdrop of the economic challenges facing the Government lately, this sort of funds profile will obviously be incapable of addressing all the needs of the NFF.

At the 1996 Summer Atlanta Olympics, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria did the country proud by winning the Golden Cup in Football. Then the big talk in town was about how the NFF was going to proceed immediately to launch a "catch them young scheme" to focus on the development of football game from the grassroots within the bigger context of turning into reality the vision of making Nigeria an outstanding football nation in the world. It was a beautiful and noble concept. And the blue print was developed into a developmental programme that was promptly forwarded to a Government that was weighed down already with other contending national challenges, hence nothing could be done. Now, the chances of such a grandiose scheme scaling into the priority list of Government in the near future remain slim. The grandiloquent blue print remains on the shelf in the office of Government, with the probability that the NFF file copy might have been lost in the inferno that recently swept through the offices of the General Secretary and the Chief Accountant. In the mean time, the NFF whose programme it is supposed to be continues wobbling and fumbling.

It must be noted however, that Management is all about skillful organization and result oriented utilization of scarce resources. A management team that cannot manage lean purse does qualify for bigger purse. If what these guys at the NFF are doing is just sit in their government provided offices and negotiate amongst themselves how to share the so-called national cake, without correspondingly think of how to bake some cakes of their own. It seems that they have all got it wrong. It is revealed! This is cause of the whole palaver. None of them will ever tell the press what is happening. Now, there is nothing to show for the annual financial subventions. The NFF has a dormant website that you cannot get anything from.

NIGERIANS LOVE THIS GAME OF FOOTBALL

In the heat of the most recent accusation and counter accusations, about funds embezzlement and bribery and corruption, overnight the office complex of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at Wuse Zone 7 in Abuja went up in flames, beginning from the specific offices of the Chief Accountant and the General Secretary. Holy Moses! One would have thought that glum that greeted the era of using the instrumentality of arson to destroy official record in order to conceal crime had gone forever. Alas, it can be seen now that we are utterly wrong. What to do now, gather all the implicated and implicatable officials and hound them together into jail, as is being suggested in some quarters lately, and risk the permanent destruction or the justice system in the country? We hope not. The more civilized option: to endeavour to eliminate all temptations from the structures and administration of systems and organizations.

---------------------------------------- where facts are facts ----------------------------------------

 

THE NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION

IN URGENT NEED OF DELIVERANCE

THE BRAND NEW GLASS HOUSE OFFICE THE NFF
[HANDED TO NFF BY GOVT. IN JULY 2013]

The House of Football in Nigeria now urgently needs deliverance before all those masquerading themselves as leaders of the NFF would completely annihilate one another in a vicious nihilistic battle for supremacy to gain total and uncompromising control over the proverbial "national cake". Currently, disunity reigns in NFF; just as everybody is the opponent of everyone else. But groping in their self-made darkness, and for want of what to do, they somehow managed to agreed on a common enemy in Stephen Keshi, the Coach of the Super Eagles, to scapegoat for all the inanities going on at the NFF, hence a floodgate of attack was unleashed on him with a convenient slogan cry that they invoke in their turns – KESHI MUST GO!

Expectedly, responding to natural human traits, Keshi in turn has tried to defend himself against the cacophony of all the vitriolic attacks. And in any case, how do you defend yourself against attacks that do not mention the particular area of what might have been your shortcoming, except just to blame generally "NON-PERFORMANCE". This is a surprising sort of accusation against a Coach who had just lead his team to a sparkling win of the African Cup of Nations, as well as lead the same team for an outing at the World Cup that saw them up to the group of 16, in which a formidable country like England, the home of nativity of the Football Game saw herself dispatched home at the opener level of the competition. 

A nation has the absolute right to wish for the best performance from its team. But it is absolutely unsportsmanlike not to appreciate the genuine efforts of your own team. It is most certainly against the background of this purposeful line of thought that Keshi responded. In hindsight, however, he might be regretting why did today, guided by eternally wise advisory that admonishes "Never respond to any angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it . . . Don’t allow his anger to become your anger", - Bohdi Sanders, Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for Modern Warrior.

NFF GLASS HOUSE UP IN FLAMES AUGUST 2014
[BARELY ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE IT TOOK POSSESSION]

The unnecessary escalation of this type of dichotomy in an employer/employee situation is very unhealthy; because employment situation is sustained only by the principle of "balance of fear" that forbids the employee to talk down on his employer. The breach of this unwritten covenant by either side of this guiding principle most certainly will inexorably lead to the defecto determination of the employment situation

in one way or the other. The simplified oral interpretation of this principle runs thus: on the part of the employer – "Oh, don’t let us treat this employee in a manner an alternative employment". And on the other hand, for the employee: "Oh, let me not conduct myself in a manner that would make my employer not be impressed by my contribution to the activities to the company any longer, to the extent that the employer might be tempted to to begin to prospect for my replacement". The day either of the that he will find offensive, else he might be tempted both to engage in some disguised disobedience, dwindling in productivity, and worse still to begin to scout for parties would damn the consequences and breach this unwritten covenant as such, in industrial relations parlance, we say that they employment situation is as good as determined.

In the light of the incontrovertible principle presented herein and the authentic logic upon which it is based, we now can see why it is that in spite of the rather irresponsible and shameful leadership turnover at the NFF, you will find that all the irregular and uncoordinated successive short-term leadership are strangely united on one base cause – that Stephen Keshi, the Coach of the Super Eagles Football Club of Nigeria must go. And for what reason? "Oh, his non-performance is to blame" they say. But a close study of the real hidden agenda shows that this gang-up project by the collective of the ill-motivated, piecemeal, disjointed and passing phase leaderships of the NFF is only but a subterfuge meant to divert attention from the rot and fractious tendencies able option that have now made the NFF inoperable as an institution as it stands today.

NIGERIANS LOVE THIS GAME OF FOOTBALL

If the only thing that is causing the indignation of the populace is the level of crass ineptitude that has sunken deep into the fabric of the organization, perhaps it could be opined that you cannot crucify people for their inability to perform or lack of the know to address the challenges of the office that have been saddled with. But what can anyone say about a people who were elected or selected into an office with the laid down objective of working for the progress of an organization, only to turn around to conduct themselves in a manner likeable only to bull in China. A striking case in this regard is: the leadership of the NFF was handed the keys to the new NFF Glass House about the end of July, 2013. But barely a year after they were handed the key to brand new office, precisely on August 20, 2014, the Glass House mysteriously went up in flames, beginning from the offices of the Chief Accountant and the General Secretary! This event qualifies to enter the Guinness Book of Records as a case of extreme lunacy and brigandage.
 

Of course no remorse is expected on the part of anybody because no has either claimed responsibility or found to have been culpable. So far, life continues and for the combatant NFF feuding leadership, the struggle still earnestly continues, A Luta Continua! [The Struggle Continues!]. As things now stand in respect of the NFF, any way, the most charitable option now open is a total refurbishment. How and who to do it should be worked out after due consultation with FIFA, so that the malaise that is making the NFF inoperable will be cured once and for all.