Nigeria: As the Noose Tightens On Maigari And Co

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Peter Edema

25 June 2011

analysis

This is not the best of time for Aminu Maigari and his co- travellers on the illegal Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board. I do not feel for him, for whatever crisis he and his board members are going through is a self-inflicted one.

Reason being that the election that ushered in the board members was an illegal one; for a Federal High Court had ruled that the election be put on hold pending a determination of a suit before it. Despite this order, Maigari and his co-travellers decided otherwise and went ahead with the election telling the court to go to hell because FIFA would ban Nigeria should the government insist on ensuring that the order of the court was obeyed.

The court after the illegal election declared the entire process a nullity, even ordering that nobody should parade himself or herself as an NFF board member based on the said election. But today people are flouting this order of the court with impunity and the executive expected to ensure that court orders are obeyed seems un- perturbed.

Because the government has shown no interest, this gave the board freedom to depose to an affidavit that the NFF is a private organisation and not a parastatal of the government. It also went ahead to state in the affidavit that the funds from government are grant-in-aid, hence it is not expected to render any account to the government on how tax payers’ money is disbursed. It also deposed that Nigeria Football Association (NFA) was a dead organ hence it is only NFF that is in existence. But Maigari and co forgot that Decree 101, which later became an Act of the Parliament in 2004, upon which NFA came into existence, has not been abrogated. It is the law that gave teeth to the NFA to administer football in the country on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria.

Should Maigari and co get away with this flagrant disobey of court orders and with the impunity displayed by them, then there is no reason for the existence of courts in the country.

I have one or two questions to ask: If a court in the USA should give an order that an election into the United States Football Association be put on hold pending the determination of a case before it, will the FA go ahead with the election in the absence of a superior court order vacating it? We all know that such group of persons by now will be languishing in jail. I blame the executive that has allowed the Judiciary, an arm of the government, to be ridiculed by those who have no respect for the laws of the land. If the government had arrested all those who flouted the order and ensure that they face the music, all this nonsense will not be witnessed.

The second question: Will FIFA recognise Maigari NFF if Nigeria is removed from its name? Of course no. Then if we all agree on this, why is the government dilly-dallying on what to do? Is the government afraid of ensuring that the laws of the land are obeyed?

Has the president forgotten that one of the planks of this administration is rule of law? If he has forgotten, I think he should be reminded.

The Solicitor General of the Federation has advised the government not to only stop further disbursement of funds to the illegal NFF, but should retrieve all government property currently held by it. But today nothing has happened. Maigari is still parading himself as NFF president. He has gone to confer with CAF boss, Issah Hayatou, to come and bail him out of the self-inflicted crisis. In desperation during the week, Musa Amadu, the NFF acting scribe, deposed to another affidavit denying the earlier one. Will deposing to another renders the earlier of no effect? I think the attitude of the so-called NFF members is to the fact that they have no regard for the country and should not be allowed to be in charge of Nigerian football for whatever reasons.

I rest my case.

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