Inside Gusau’s ‘rotten’ NFF, by Patrick Omorodion

Calls for the resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership, headed by Ibrahim Musa Gusau, are intensifying within Nigeria's sports circles. Prominent figures like Chief Segun Odegbami, Dr. Danladi Bako, Barrister Godwin Dudu-orumen, and Tony Ubani, editor of Sporting Vanguard, believe Gusau and his board lack the moral standing to seek re-election.

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I know you folks want me to give you chapter and verse on all that is happening. But to be honest, I’m fed up of talking….

Adding his voice to the chorus is Osasu Obayiuwana, a London-based anti-corruption crusader in football and former BBC sports correspondent. Obayiuwana, who has worked with the NFF on reform committees, expressed weariness with discussing the federation's issues but felt compelled to speak out. He stated that recommendations from a governance reform committee, on which he served between 2018 and 2020, were disregarded by the NFF during Amaju Pinnick's tenure, which included Gusau.

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As a member of the NFF governance reform committee, between 2018 and 2020, I said all that needs to be said, about what must be done to put the filthy house of Nigerian football in order. The NFF during Pinnick Amaju’s time, of which Ibrahim Musa Gusau was also a board and congress member, threw our well thought out recommendations into the dustbin.

Obayiuwana highlighted a specific instance of poor governance: the NFF secretariat's three-month delay in providing an organizational chart despite repeated requests. This lack of transparency, he noted, revealed the poor quality of NFF governance. He also pointed to frustrations voiced by coach Austin Eguavoen and assistant coach Justin Madugu, who complained about a lack of support and unpaid wages, respectively. Obayiuwana questioned why these issues were not raised publicly before competitions, contrasting the situation with the swift resignations of Paolo Maldini and Leonardo from the FIGC when their work was disrespected.

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Do you know that they could not give this to me for three months, despite repeated requests? And when they did, they sent me a pathetic scrap of paper that said nothing. That told me everything I needed to know about the quality of NFF governance.