By Daily Sports on September 5, 2016

I am here again this morning, writing on yet another crisis involving the ever turbulent Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and its former employee, Coach Samson Siasia over unpaid months’ long salary.

It is really sad that no good news comes out of this supposedly esteemed body rather the negatives. Of truth, is instead of happily rolling out achievements and agenda setting feats of the NFF, what has often played out is from one crisis to the other since this leadership assumed office in 2014. 

I don’t know if you have observed that such nonchalant attitude is more pronounced in this regime than ever. Truth is that many have come to identify the leadership of the apex football governing body as haughty and defiant too.

But let me quickly add this cliché, while l will not totally disagree with the above observation, however, there are some very few amongst them that listen and learn rather than being adamant to warning or candid suggestions from their betters.

It is a known fact that no man is an Island, but this NFF claims it is. Unfortunately, these listening few are in the minority; they can, like rule of the thumb have their say while the wrong majority always have their way. That is the burden of this NFF. It has failed woefully to listen to wise counsels, thereby extending the vicious circle of doom to the only game that uplifts and unites the nation. The wary citizenry are dejectedly watching even more disappointingly.

Let me further be honest with you, my heart goes out for the few that saw themselves in their midst, their spirit to serve and be answerable to the people have been overshadowed by self-centered leadership that claims to know all while it knows next to nothing. It is hell bent on creating avoidable attention to the supposedly reverend football federation like its counterparts in other climes.

The present NFF leadership craved that notoriety for itself and it has held the game down since it came to power after equally controversial congress of 2014. Nigerian football has never known or seen peace rather it has been experiencing free fall; for instance, the two back to back inabilities to qualify for the continent’s prime football summit are pointers of colossal failure and enough for whoever that leads the body to resign.

Well, that is not the focus for today.  The one on the front burner is the trading of words over several months of unpaid salaries the body has engaged  Samson Siasia who until now was the head coach of the U-23 Eagles.

A recap, the coach resigned from the employ of the NFF because he wants to move on with his life and career. The universally accepted norm is whenever you are no longer interested in or satisfied with your employers, you officially give them notice to quit the job and once it is accepted by the said employer, the organisation is under obligation to pay all the employee’s out-standings without foot dragging. But, trust the NFF the reverse is the case.

What NFF has subjected her employees, dead and alive to all these years is better imagined than described? It is on record that the body owed late Steven Keshi and Amodu Shuaibu. Until Siasia’s sudden resignation over a coded issue, both parties were hiding it, now the bubble has burst hence this unhealthy situation in the public domain.

However, my candid take is, NFF should go ahead and pay the coach his full salaries. Threatening to leak his dossier which would shock the public and finally destroy his career forever is simply unnecessary. It is also a blackmail of the highest order. A face saving maneuver, nobody is interested in listening to the dry joke and comic. We don’t need all these trash from the NFF and its hired agents of destruction.

The coach worked for his wages and has the right to receive them without all these washing of very dirty hands in the public. NFF’s problem on this subject matter and others are self-inflicted. I don’t cry for them because Amaju Pinnick and some of his executive committee members are deaf and dumb to the yearnings of their employees and football fans in the country. Such attitudes have worsened the state of the game.

Amaju and those his agents of doom threatening Siasia ought to bury their naughty heads in shame but rise above board and remain perpetually grateful to him for salvaging Bronze medal which turned out to be the only one the country won at the recently concluded 2016 Rio Olympic Games. But see how Amaju’s NFF is acting like a demented hen that sucks its finest eggs. It has brought out itself again for public to feast on.

That leads to the question: When will this set of NFF executive committee put its house in order? The crisis which heralded its election to the board regrettably is massively persisting. Could it be likened to the maxim, ‘the evil that men do lives after them’ sort of? It has clearly shown that Amaju Pinnick has no capacity to govern football effectively in the country but highly interested in divide and rule tactics.

And the question is why have things gone this way? Remember, Amaju and his co-travelers were instrumental to Vincent Enyeama’s early retirement from the national team. Now Rohr wants him back.  The leadership has engaged itself more in many fights. It has made more enemies that have brought more problems than it could solve. He brought pomposity into football administration looking down on people and listening only to himself. His style of governance has dragged the game into murky waters and in its lowest ebb in the country ever.

It is safe to say that this is a failed NFF. The body that only believes in setting up spies which self-deceit drives and reigns supreme for. A leadership that builds its castle on the sandy soil and sky has no itinerary for the game. A place where one man foists his decision on the rest leaves much to be desired.  Where to be or not to be, struggle for space, leaving the sport brutally bruised, there I lie watching in open soul amazement.

 In short, what is happening in NFF is a replica of what obtains in the larger polity, where one man with his intelligent dried gang holds the system down. Not ready to look beyond their noses. It has been the anthill of the NFF and its Federal Government, as the larger country is in recession; NFF has entered voice mail long ago, both bodies take delight in bulk passing. They are not ready to proffer solutions. NFF blames every of its failure on Sports and Youth Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung even on obvious things within its schedule. The football body has bluntly refused to go to the ants and learn their wisdom.

There is no need to say about the latest claim by FG and APC that Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan caused the present economic mess Buhari’s anti-people’s policy brought on Nigerians. Nigerians are in for these avoidable nightmares.

The NFF should come out boldly if they are sure and tell Nigerians why it said it won’t pay Siasia his hard earned wages. He worked for it and without much ado deserves his pay. It should not be debatad.

There are speculations that the root of the face-off is the $39,000 gift from the Japanese -Nigerian fan. It would be recalled that the Football House bigwigs queried Siasia and Mikel on why they collected the harmless gift. They ought to have involved NFF in the collection ceremony, even that they should return it. Outrageous!

Let me confess that when I had it, I instantly screamed to high heavens, and murmured, total fallacy to no-one else.  That is Amaju’s NFF attempting to ripe where it did not sow. The U-23 Eagles single handedly earned or played themselves into the heart of the Japanese after they defeated his home country in the opening game of the recently concluded Rio Olympics.

What then concerns Amaju’s NFF with the Japanese’s largesse to the team? Was he tilting it to mean part of Rohr’s salary? These are some of the puzzles that have arisen for the NFF to come up with answers.

The body should also quickly come up and tell Nigerians why it demanded for the money in the first instance.

Amaju should tell Nigerians why after he abandoned the team in Atlanta, USA prior to the Games, should turn back to exploit them via the cash gift from a foreigner.

He should further let us know why the payment of Siasia’s wages became an issue for public consumption; why owing coaches has become part and parcel of NFF of late.

Coach Siasia made sacrifice to sustain the confidence of the moral down casted lads in Rio but instead of recommending reward and patting him and his team on the back, this is what is being presented to them in return. Haba!

I am an unrepentant believer or if you like an incurable believer in this old adage: many days for a thief, but one day for the owner of the item(s) being vandalized or stolen. Pundits are keenly watching and taking note too.

Head or tail, the unfolding events, however, have now proved critics of this executive committee right, that rather than turn a new leaf , Amaju, indeed, is still , the same old fox, with old tricks, a leopard yet to shed its spots. He is still defiant.

The world is watching the country’s football miserably going down freely yet the leadership is hell bent, beating its chest that it has been doing well. A pure tale told by an idiot.  One of the achievements it will readily point to is the engagement of German’s Rohr as Eagles technical hand. And so what?

There is strong but robust discourse among close followers of Nigeria football that the nation may not qualify for Russia 2018 World Cup summit under the German. That notion must not be dismissed with a wave of the hand.  It seems this regime is jinx. If I were Amaju, God forbid. I will throw away the pride that goes before a fall, which he has tasted often and work myself out to ensure the Eagles would come out tops from their group.

While we wait, all we are saying, NFF, please pay Samson Siasia his months-long salaries because a labourer deserves his wages!

•Victor Enyinnaya can be reached via 08055068145 (sms only) or by e-mail via sportzvictor@yahoo.com.au

Source Daily Sports

Posted September 5, 2016

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