By Daily Sports on August 20, 2018

You cannot eat your cake and have it goes the popular saying. Chris Giwa, Solomon Dalung and their cohorts that brought Nigeria football yet again to this impasse and this time around for the wrong reasons, due mainly to their selfish ambition deserves trial. It is unfathomable and absurd that few months to the end of the tenure of Amaju Pinnick, Chris Giwa came from nowhere to start pushing to reclaim his purported mandate. It was not until events started playing out that the unsuspecting public came to know that this theatre of the absurd was fuelled by the Federal Government ala Giwa and Dalung. Giwa has been fronting all these while. Since they cannot do much through the open courts, the Federal Government got disenchanted hence the latest move to back Amaju Pinnick.

It is a known fact that football matters are not heard in the conventional courts other than the court of arbitration for sports which is FIFA’s internal dispute resolution arm. The Federal Government headed by a man that acts deaf and dumb, never weighing the pros and cons aspect of issue (s) went into football fight it cannot finish.

Yes, many of her lawyers must have come up with all sorts of a notion that after all government funds the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), therefore the body must be at her beck and call. Those amongst them that knew the fight won’t run either refused to advise appropriately or kept mum in order to expose the lying government to get her thoroughly embarrassed as it is today in history.

As Nigeria football hemorrhages, those that cause us this embarrassment would know no sleep. As Nigeria football bleeds, those that use the avoidable crisis to enrich themselves will account for it anyhow. It is obvious that all these shenanigans are politically induced. It is no longer a case of finger pointing where the arrow was coming from but rather it showed that no evil done to man by his fellow man will hold for so long without being redressed. As Nigeria football agonises, my take is that justice would triumph over falsehood.

From whichever angle one may be looking at it from and in all honesty, it is not normal time for Nigerian football. It is all self-inflicted injuries, personal and collective greed simply summed up as ‘Bring Down Syndrome’. The recent crisis that visited the NFF via Chris Giwa and his gang led remotely by the Sports Minister Solomon Dalung would have been totally avoidable if not the insensitivity of those clapping for Giwa and his illegality.

I have continuously made it clear that both Pinnick Amaju and Christ Giwa are my friends and I have not failed to point out to them point blank where each is wrong or right. I am about the only senior sports Journalist that have either refused any overture of any kind from or have not benefitted from any of their goodwill. The bottom line though as widely acknowledged is that truth has no bearing again in Nigeria especially in football circles; however very few of us still hold that it must be told no matter whose ox is gored. 

Today, out of greed and self-centeredness, Nigeria football is bleeding to death. A sport that is housing teeming youths, male and female sadly you watch a government that is supposed to encourage and sustain the tempo is the one fanning the embers of its demise. The present government is using Chris Giwa to cause the confusion and international embarrassment that have befallen our football before and after the World Cup.

Government is using Solomon Dalung, a sports minister that knows next to nothing in sports administration to disrupt and distract the smooth administration of the football house. The other time, the Buhari government appointed the board of NFF but to its shame, it backed down because of the consequences. As if that silly move was not enough, it went through Chris Giwa to see if it can follow the back door to obtain justice all in their bid to displace Amaju Pinnick who because he is from Delta, a strong Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) state is presumed to be a party member and therefore must not head NFF a government agency.

Due to this fact even those that are supposed to advise the government of day rather than do the needful, fooled it into this total embarrassment point. The government realising the tight corner it has boxed itself, has been running from pillar to post in order to find a way to make amends to look as if its hands have not been in the whole fiasco.  You see, except you are still caught in this government’s web of propaganda and deceitful intents you will not go too far to know that all the crisis that has been visited on our football is inflicted on it by the present government. Giwa was primed to play the script leaving Dalung in the background to look as it does not have the stamp of the government.

It met a very well organised and administered organisation in FIFA. Needless to recall how the Buhari agent, Solomon Dalung was shut out by FIFA. That shun by FIFA is enough to tell even an unsuspecting observer that this is one government that never meant good for the citizenry. If it can out of malice and pretense, allow FIFA hammer to fall thereby depriving millions of youths and the young ones the opportunity to explore, grow and fend for their living through football, which no doubt is a money spinner today, your guess is as good as mine.

The disgrace the Federal Government met in hands of FIFA is better imagined than described because the government of the day is neck deep in lies and so falls for cheap blackmail. How would you reconcile a situation where everyone except those closest to Buhari is presumed as saints? Such attitude or toga it has set for herself since it came to power in 2015 has crippled every facet of movement and growth in the country. While the outdated method of governance has left in its trail hunger, the highest rate of crime, killings by herders, nepotism and sundry yet the drum beaters are intensifying the beat.

Professor Yemi Osibanjo has been cracking his brain how to make amends. He held meeting with Pinnick Amaju and other critical football stakeholders in other to save face on the avoidable mistake his government already made. He may have dispatched Solomon Dalung, a bad news to football and sports in Nigeria to Zurich, FIFA headquarters to confer with the bigwigs only God knows what message he gave the messenger (Dalung) to deliver.

Fact is that the damage control is becoming too late and if by any act of omission or commission Nigeria is banned because of the politics Buhari brought into our local FA, he and all those that were instrumental to it would be openly stoned by both the aggrieved and football addicted adults in Nigeria. This is a revolution which time has come and no army in the world would stop.

The dance of shame this government has involved itself since it came to power has been prelim but this time its Judas Iscariot hand in our football is one last straw that would break the camel’s back if they don’t reverse themselves forthwith. FIFA is a no-nonsense highly disciplined and well-regulated organisation which you don’t push around with unnecessary influence (s). The body doesn’t carry airs either and therefore it is either you do the needful or the hammer would fall.

Now that it is obvious that this government has once again failed to fly with all its tricks, campaigns of calumny with its agents, frivolous, bogus and imaginary claims to rope the leadership of NFF into corruption allegation, there is no escape route than to use Dalung the dirty pig to see if it can save its badly bruised face. Truly, it is the shame of Nigeria.

No government worth its salt would descend as low as this Buhari’s has so far done. Nigeria is our own. Football has brought joy and fortune to many families and any person, be it government or whatever that wants to bring it into disrepute would kiss the dust by general affirmation. It’s one sport you don’t use vendetta or high handedness on otherwise it backfires as we have all seen. The hen is home to roost. The backlash would consume both the manipulator and the advisers that wrongly did and pocketed millions.

As we keep our fingers firmly crossed and watch keenly, next week on this page would be a celebration and triumph once again of justice over falsehood. We will hail the resilience of the sitting board. There is no visible Judas Iscariot so one cannot start pointing accusing fingers now than to say that no amount of locally induced politics can rubbish the administration of football in the country. They thought that as it has used vendetta and other arm-twisting measures to turn the entire government institutions upside down, that it would succeed the same in this beautiful game.

My candid suggestion has been that the struggle to right the wrong continues. Let’s take to our social media handle twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc, to discuss the Federal Government vs NFF tango as the end would be fascinating. Keep shooting real hard till next week!!!

Source Daily Sports

Posted August 20, 2018

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