Few days ago, I read an article titled: Ibrahim Gusau: The Man, The Myth, The Legend—Two Years of Leadership Reviving Nigerian Football, written by one Abubakar Barde which was posted in one online sports platform of which I am a member.
The writer in his effort to showcase the good side of the present NFF administration praises the leader of the board via his many good and palatable words on the two years of Ibrahim Gusau as the present president of the Nigeria Football Federation.
According to him, throughout his career, he has had the privilege of working with many remarkable leaders, but Ibrahim Gusau has been an extraordinary revelation.
“Working closely with him over these past two years has been nothing short of a master class in leadership”, he added.
Malam Barde further explained that, the transformation he (Gusau) has spearheaded at the NFF is undeniable as his leadership has brought unprecedented transparency through the implementation of an open accounting system, secured vital corporate sponsorships, and attracted significant funding from FIFA and CAF.
He further revealed that Gusau has revitalized women’s football, elevated the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL), and ensured the Super Falcons receive the same level of support and resources as their male counterparts.
“He has also prioritized the welfare of the players and the crew, ensuring timely payment of wages, allowances, and bonuses”, Abubakar Barde added.
“In a footballing landscape where demands are high for both immediate results and long-term growth, he has skillfully navigated the complexities of harnessing homegrown talent while ensuring that international players, often stretched by rigorous schedules, are still able to contribute effectively to the national team.
“This delicate balancing act speaks to his leadership’s foresight and ability to maintain harmony between building a sustainable football future and delivering on Nigeria’s present aspirations,” he further stated.
Abubakar Barde then revealed that, beyond these impressive achievements, what strikes him most is the man behind the reforms as Gusau is not just a visionary leader but a guardian of the very soul of Nigerian football.
“He has meticulously balanced the demands of the international stage with the nurturing of local talents, ensuring that both aspects grow in tandem.
“His leadership has already borne fruit, with the Super Eagles clinching silver at the AFCON, only bowing out to the hosts, and the women’s national team making waves at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, showcasing the immediate impact of his revolutionary vision,” said him.
“… undoubtedly reaping the rewards of his leadership today because it is clear that the full scope of his legacy will be even more glaring in the not-so-distant future”, he explained.
Barde further added that Gusau’s focus on grassroots development and his astute vision for long-term sustainability are laying the foundation for a formidable future for Nigerian football.
“To watch him in action is to study the maestro of transformational leadership at work, shaping not just a team but an entire nation’s sporting destiny. I earnestly pray that all his plans and dreams for Nigerian football come to fruition, as his leadership has the potential to elevate the game to unprecedented heights”, Abubakar Barde concluded.
But after patiently and carefully perusing the narratives of my good friend Abubakar Barde, I first asked myself if he is in this country and actually following soccer development in the country.
This is because I doubt if there is anybody, especially sports stakeholders in this country, who will be happy with what is happening in our football or who will agree with a single point illustrated by Barde in his write-up.
Left to me, I don’t see anything worthy of celebrating in the two years of Ibrahim Gusau NFF leadership, because we only see Gusau’s as a failure who is only there to milk the systembut not to serve and produce results.
His administrative failures are many but the most glaring are:- Poor governance and leadership which includes his inability to resolve conflicts with stakeholders in the area of elections and composition of executive committee members that always ends in civil courts.
There was no NFF election that did not end in court and that explained why there were calls and appeals from various angles to the NFF to expand the elective congress so as to accommodate more interests but up to now nothing.
I could remember that this weekend is exactly one-year when the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh directed the NFF to domesticate its statutes at their last Annual General Assembly 2023 especially in electoral process, voting rights, board composition and representation as well as compliance with FIFA and CAF regulations which requires member associations to be domesticate in their statutes.
So the Ibrahim Gusau two years as NFF president my good friend Barde is clapping hands for was a deception because Gusau did not win election as NFF president he is occupying the office illegally.
We all know that he and his gang stage managed the election in Benin after forwarding a fake injunction from Court Appeal which gave them go ahead and conducted the election which the Court Appeal later distanced itself from and ordered the Federal High Court to continue the hearing of the case against the NFF.
My readers will remember that it was the States Football Associations chairmen that connived and made themselves major forces in the congress which give them the advantage to emerge victorious in every NFF elections because they are the majority in the congress.
I also remembered that it was the NFF’s failures to domesticate statutes that led to FIFA’s suspension in 2015, 2018 and 2022.
CAF also sanctions and fines, loss of international competitions hosting rights, reduced funding and sponsorship, damage to Nigeria’s football reputation.
Another administrative failure of Gusau is his refusal to establish an independent electoral and dispute resolutions committees as well as committee to review NFF’s 2010 statutes aligned with FIFA and CAF standards that have led to criticism from Nigerian football stakeholders’ which is a disappointment and resistance to change and reform.
Another administrative failure of Gusau is his refusal to investigate the alleged financial irregularities of his predecessor that includes a $10 million FIFA grant which was mismanaged (2015).
I recalled that the former NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, was accused of financial impropriety (2019), $1.2 million CAF grant unaccounted for (2020) as NFF’s 2020 budget was not made public but Gusau did nothing to find out.
Another area which Gusau should have addressed but failed is financial issues which remain unclear with unsettlement of players’ debts, coaches, staff and other NFF’s partners which is long overdue.
Another area of Gusau’s failure is with competitions as our teams are performing poorly in international competitions as most times they failed to qualify to major tournaments (World Cup, AFCON). And where they qualified they performed badly.
Our failure to make some positive impact despite our size in regional and continental competitions where we failed to win major titles (e.g African Nations Cup) and decline in FIFA rankings are other points of reference.
That is why I don’t see any indicator of development or progress in Nigeria’s football which Gusau brought but a series of crises, failures and disappointments from his day one to date.
I see Gusau and his board as power mongers who have nothing positive to show or contribute to our soccer but catalogs of distresses and frustrations.
My friend Barde should also know that the game of football in this country is dead as the local leagues which most countries are using to develop the game are nothing but a show of shame.
Most of our leagues from the Premier down to NNL down to Pro and others are played in an empty stadiums across the country because people have lost confidence in what is going on in the stadiums.
Under Gusau and his team the corruption level in our leagues is super high as it is the referees who determine who wins or loses matches.
The win at home syndrome which characterized our leagues is another monster that is killing our leagues and must be tackled.
The failure to have good and competitive leagues in Nigeria is seriously affecting the development of the game locally.
Another good point to illustrate here is the failure of our Home based Super Eagles to win the CHAIN Nation Cup even once.
Remember that CAF organizes CHAIN for home boys because most countries prepare fielding their foreign based players but our team always fumbles because the league that produced them was a shoddy league.
On Grassroot Soccer Development in the country, I see nothing to celebrate because nearly all the known grassroots soccer organizations like YOUTHSFON, GRASSDO, FEYSOC and many others I cannot named are all dead or just a shadow of themselves.
Moreover, how can we call or name Gusau as an achiever while our clubs’ representatives in CAF Champion leagues and CAF Confederation Cup hardly survive the first rounds?
Only recently out of the four representatives in the CAF competition, Remo Stars and El-Kanemi Warriors FCs crashed out in their first matches.
Therefore until Gusau does the needful there is no way he can be a hero or be commended for a job well done.