By By Victor Enyinnaya on August 22, 2022

Nigerian football fans heaved sigh of great relief last week Thursday when at last Nigeria Football Federation elective congress date was finally announced after high wire scheming, intrigues and sundry by the sitting Amaju Pinnick led executive committee board.

 Dear loyal and numerous readers “the peaceful” out come if you like was made possible through horse which attended the final concession that threw up the September 30, date.

Take it from me here that it took “monkey to catch monkey” in this context. The emperor had calculated how to shift elective congress to future date but wisdom and tenacity by some members won and only ten (10 days) was conceded to which ensured conclusive Annual General meeting.

It was well delivered. Now Nigerian football may breathe sigh of great relief if the elders will ever give way.

It is therefore, instructive to note the kind of celebration that followed the fixing of date for the elective NFF congress in Benin City Edo State. The wisdom and tactical strategy used to extract that meaty pound of flesh from Amaju Pinnick and some of his executive committee members totally disarmed them hands down.

Home truth however remains that it was not easy for September 30 date to come by. If you read the lips and body language of Amaju Pinnick you must have noticed that he had the desire to install a puppet leadership in the apex football governing body in the country.

He is making no mistake about it. In short he is not pretending either, rather it is boldly written for anybody who cares to see to do so. He is ever ready to entrench his men.

Pity that those people who have long been parading themselves as being interested in the topmost job of the body as events unfold would be seen dropping one after the other. There are many pretenders to the position no doubt.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be proved wrong. In that category are all ex-internationals who have indicated or expressed interest which pundit have dismissed as being on paper. I tagged such categories of people as notice me NFF Presidential aspirants.

They are more interested in becoming members of one committee or the other after the poll.

I have never hidden my stand for Christian Emeruwa for obvious reasons which are for the good of the game in the country.

Aside the fact that, he is an egg head and an establishment fellow too, he has something very concrete and cogent too to offer which would not only re-invent our fast dwindling football but would bring to the immeasurable value that will change the present ugly face of the sport in the land to the table, much more that would explore the greater potentials Nigeria’s football prowess can offer or represents.

That is the only/best way to go for now. It is unambiguously clear that there is nothing rewarding Amaju Pinnick would put forward as successor that would offer anything tangible for the game. Sad the present executive committee board has left game kissing dust, weak and worn out. If you like our football is currently on life support. Definitely not how it should be.

Let me make it abundantly clear that Christian Emeruwa is the only candidate so far that is not having any baggage of corruption and embezzlement of public funds entrusted to him when he was in employment of the NFF.

He is a front line aspirant for the NFF top position in this regard and foremost, the way and manner with which he intends to turn around the fast declining fortunes of Nigerian football remains dripping.

Truth must be told, Nigeria football needs a true “messiah” to rescue her football administration that would translate to the field of play and sundry and the time is now with Christian Emeruwa as the leader. I don’t have anything sinister to that than to see Nigerian football recover from her present state of comatose to her supposedly pivotal role in the continent’s football.

The other prominent candidates for the top job in NFF are either from Amaju Pinnick or the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare.

Look at this; while Amaju Pinnick is supporting Shehu Dikko, Sunday Dare on the other hand is for Abba Yola.  For the records, Yola is a well known sports technocrat who has held various positions in the Sports Ministry and the defunct National Sports Commission, (NSC).

No doubt he has the experience however the wave of the new era of administration in the globe which Nigeria is no exception becomes most imperative.

Therefore, Yola is out of it as Nigerians cannot yet again afford another analogue man at the helm of administration as the fear of Mahammadu Buhari ever remain the beginning of wisdom for Nigerians, because as an analogue President who knew next to nothing in this computer era in the scheme of things hence, he plagued Nigeria in an unending crisis where the supposedly rich country has long became the poverty capital of the world.

Bluntly put, Abba Yola will be replica. I don’t know where and who exhumed him for what he is doing now for Dare in the Sports Ministry. Yola has expired in sports cum football administration. However, if Federal government wants to support a candidate which there is nothing wrong about such move definitely not Abba Yola, they should offer him another job.

Yola will be yet another bad news for NFF and Nigerian football. Anything legal that would be done to see off Amaju Pinnick and his cohorts in the administration of the game in Nigeria must be carried. Therefore all hands must be on deck.

We elder ones remaining actively in this beat knew the antecedents of Yola when he was active on the field. One may not deny his acumen but the kind of sophistication technology and sundry have imposed on administration of any sort in today’s world would never/must not be swept under anymore as  Mahammadu Buhari would remain a reference point or case study in future researches.

I have said it over and over again and without any prejudice on this page and other fora, that Nigerian football at that highest level must be put in proper perspective in all ramifications and true meaning of the word this time.

It is now or never. I won’t waste my energy and time writing or analyzing Amaju Pinnick’s inspired candidate, Shehu Dikko who we have seen his performance since eight years now because in sane society there is no how such candidate can stand the taste of time. Their report cards are woeful.

Head or tail forward with Christian Emeruwa. All ex-internationals in the race should out of their love for the game they labored for to upheld in their active playing years and handed over to the present corps of players must close ranks in order not to allow unknown administrators who have done so much damage to the game and leaving it undeveloped to gain entrance into its administration come September 30 elective congress of the body.

A word they said, is enough for the wise person. We keep this sensitization upbeat as we count down. Stay with www.dailysportsng.com for authoritative, unbiased, authentic etc reports.

Keep shooting hard till next week.  Meanwhile we wait!!  

Source Daily Sports Nigeria

Posted August 22, 2022

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