From Everest Ezihe, Owerri
Former Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Gabriel Chukwuma has faulted the present leadership of the Federation being led by Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, attributing the nation’s dwindling football fortune to an alleged lackadaisical administration of the Federation.
Chukwuma who’s popularly known as Ogbuagu as well as the founder and financier of Gabros Football Club, Nnewi disclosed this while addressing Sports Journalists insisting that the present leadership of NFF is not piloting the federation activities in a way that the much needed results could be achieved, but instead offers Nigerians every now and then painful results from lack lustre outings.
He lamented that the Federation under Gusau as a result of selfishness has brought ill lucks to Nigerian national teams pointing out that the teams have been losing crucial matches at every level of football, thus dashing the hopes and expectations of millions of Nigerians.
“Within a space of time, he has crashed our Under 23, crashed our Under 20, crashed our Under 17 and now the senior national team, the Super Eagles, bungling our world cup hopes because of the business interest of going for the highest bidder. The implication is that Nigeria will not be represented at the world football levels in the next few years and this is regrettable.
“Despite all my advise as one of the highest stakeholders in private football club ownership. In fact, in Nigeria it’s on record that there is nobody that has invested in football more than I have. Does it mean, that we cannot do away with sentiments in football so as to get good results ? Of course, the coaches of these teams knew that they get their contracts with money and so, don’t need to get results. I
“In short, Gusau should start by apologizing to Nigerians for being part of the historical stakeholders that were on board when our national teams crashed out in a short period of time, because it is the tax payers’ money that is being spent on them. But unfortunately, they see it as free money which they can eat without hungry to get the desired results.
“Again, until we jettison this Northern/ Southern sentiments in football businesses, most especially, where we give an opportunity based on ethnicity to somebody who doesn’t know anything about football administration, we can’t get the needed results. But when we give an opportunity to somebody who has the capacity to deliver without caring to know his state, tribe or nationality, that is when we will get the desired results.
” I say it again , that Gusau has no business and the required experiences needed to be in the Glass House as President of the Federation. He focusses on government’s largesse and does not have interest in private club ownership, that’s why he is not ashamed of his failure after crashing four national teams of the country. I urge government to set a panel of inquiry immediately to look into the failure or poor runs of our national teams in recent times. In short, I regard Gusau and his co-travellers as ” Idumota traders” and not football administrators.
On Finidi George, the football administrator advised him to resign honorably before it is too late.
According to him, ” in my own thinking, Finidi George is yet to get the required experiences to tinker the Super Eagles to success. Like I pointed out in my previous analysis, Finidi is not in the class of world class coaches who have won laurels for different countries and clubs before now who are ideal for the Super Eagles headship job.
“He is just a player’s agent like some of our coaches who buy their way to coaching positions and collect money from players in return for matches, leaving those who merited it. Until we jettison these players’ agents, we will never make a headway in football development” Chukwuma insisted.
