I WAS still contemplating whether to comment on High Chief Emeka Inyama’s “right wing” attack on Chief Segun Odegbami last week when Barrister Chris Green launched another “midfield” offensive on Sunday Oliseh on Monday this week. That second offensive made up my mind for me.

Inyama (a journalist) and Green (a lawyer) are two of the more enlightened members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive committee. If they are resorting to abusive language and throwing all caution to the wind to address issues that a lot of people feel should have been ignored completely, then something must be amiss.

One theory that has been suggested by those in the corridors of the Glass House power equation is that both men are jostling for the attention of NFF president Alhaji Aminu Maigari. By virtue of his position as chairman of the influential technical committee, Green reportedly enjoys Maigari’s listening ear and is the de facto “vice president” of the NFF. Inyama joined the committee only recently, after “overcoming” the controversies that trailed his election as National League chairman and executive committee member.

Maigari reportedly had to placate his North East geo-political zone members to allow Inyama take his NFF seat as the second member from Abia State, even when the NFF Statutes say that no state should have more than one member in the executive committee. The story goes that Inyama’s attack on Odegbami is part demonstration of Inyama’s readiness to “fight for Maigari” in appreciation of Maigari’s magnanimity. The story goes further that Green’s offensive on Oliseh is also a quick public demonstration of his loyalty so that Inyama does not supplant him as Maigari’s right hand man and top member of the president’s “kitchen cabinet.”

I expect Inyama and Green to read the foregoing “theory” and laugh because it is just a figment of the theorists’ imagination. But that is the type of wild speculations you expose yourself to in these strange circumstances.

Now let us examine the issues, if there are any, raised by the two gentlemen in their scathing press statements against two former captains of our national football team.

Inyama On Odegbami

lInyama’s major grouse is that Odegbami refers to the NFF executive committee as an “illegal” body, following the controversial elections of 2010. Quote:

“He (Odegbami) continues to write about ‘illegality’ every week after failing miserably to get anything done about a legally-composed Federation, which won a proper election and has court orders validating its existence.”

But rather than simply cite the court orders and other pieces of evidence (which I dare say are many and adequate) to prove the NFF’s “legality,” Inyama personalized the issues and proceeded to rubbish Odegbami’s legacies. Quote:

“It is a shame that Odegbami has continued to attack the Nigeria Football Federation for no just cause. He chickened out of the election because he saw the handwriting on the wall, knowing he was facing spectacular failure at the poll. He knows virtually nothing about association football and has no sympathy with any Football Association in the country, not even in his Ogun state. We remember he got only one vote in the last Ogun State FA elections.

“How can someone who cannot even win support in his home state be talking about running football at the centre? What a joke? Odegbami served on the board previously and came out a woeful failure. Let him tell Nigerians one single venture he has undertaken in Nigerian sports that did not end in a colossal failure” said Chief Inyama.

The NFF Executive Committee member continued: “He started a football academy that now only exists in his own imagination, several years after.

“The present NFF is composed of persons of high integrity and achievement in several areas of human endeavour, and despite a few setbacks, no thanks principally to distraction championed by the likes of Odegbami, we are determined to lift the Nigeria game and keep it at the top.” End of Quote.

In Defence Of Odegbami

lAS I stated at the start of this article, I wasn’t going to comment on Inyama’s outburst and that is for obvious reasons. Odegbami is a director at Complete Sports where I work and I risk being accused of bias. But in spite of that risk, I decided to comment anyway.

While other sports newspapers ran Inyama’s statement last week, Complete Sports editor, Dare Esan, (not on anybody’s instruction) opted not to publish it presumably in solidarity with Odegbami. But then, I observed that The Punch and The Guardian (where Odegbami is not a director) also did not publish the statement apparently because they decided it was in bad taste. All editors are entitled to their news judgement.

Inyama is my friend and colleague and he knows that in journalism, opinion is free but facts are sacred. It is a matter of opinion to say that Odegbami is a personal failure or a success, depending on your parameters for judging “success” (fat bank accounts, high connections, huge government patronage, exemplary behaviour or professional integrity).

But when you now suggest that Odegbami was not such an extra-ordinary player because he could not “single-handedly steer Nigeria to the FIFA World Cup finals in his playing days,” that  is a petty attempt to stand FACT on its head. It’s like saying Johan Cruyff is not a Dutch football legend simply because  he couldn’t “single-handedly” win the 1974 World Cup for Holland. Or, Lionel Messi did not deserve to be World Player of the Year in 2010 because he couldn’t “single-handedly” win the  World Cup for Argentina in South Africa.

The RECORDS are there to show that Odegbami is one of Nigeria’s greatest footballers ever, and whether he becomes NFF president or not will not change that fact. In the course of Inyama’s journalistic career, I am sure that he would have had cause to report a great goal or fast dribble by “The Mathematical” who helped Nigeria win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1980, and was recognized as Africa’s second best player, amongst many other accolades. Furthermore, Odegbami’s role in assisting Chioma Ajunwa to win Nigeria’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal at Atlanta ‘96 is a FACT that is well documented. And, Odegbami’s Academy (it’s actually a school!) at Wasimi Orile which he sold a property that I am personally aware of to start, is still offering students a chance to do sports while they get an education. These are just a few of Odegbami’s accomplishment. These are FACTS.

No matter the depth of Inyama’s anger over the legality or illegality claims concerning the NFF, he should have restrained himself in his comments. And if he didn’t, those with him in the NFF should have restrained him.

It is wrong, absolutely wrong, to rubbish our national heroes simply because we have some disagreements with them. And when it is the NFF itself that is rubbishing our football heroes, that is a tragedy.

In 2009, Adokiye Amiesimaka was called all sorts of names by the NFF for daring to reveal an over-aged player in the ranks of the Golden Eaglets. Now, it is the turn of Odegbami to be abused for expressing his personal views in a newspaper column.

NFF members must not continue on this path. They should learn to take criticisms in their stride and remember that being in the NFF does not necessarily make them more patriotic or knowledgable than the rest of us. They are only performing  a public service and they are not infallible. They should let their good works and results speak for their performance, rather than attacking perceived enemies.

Twice now, literary icon, Chinua Achebe, has rejected a national award partly because he is not happy with the performance of those in government. He has not been castigated as a result. Presidential spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati has not released a stinker to rubbish Achebe’s legacy.

Achebe should thank his stars that he is not an ex-international footballer, otherwise he would have been in trouble!

Last week, I got a call from one of our doyens in sports journalism, Mr. Fabio Lanipekun. He was curious to know why Inyama had been so harsh on Odegbami. I suggested that he put the question to Inyama directly.

He promised to call him. If Uncle Fabio is reading this, please tell Inyama that he over-reacted in this affair and that he should apologise to Big Sheg. I believe he will listen to your unbiased and wise counsel.

Green On Oliseh

lAFTER all I’ve said on the Inyama-Odegbami affair, I believe there’s little else to say in the Green-Oliseh matter. If the speculation of the theorists is true that Green only wanted to out-do Inyama in fighting Maigari’s “enemies,” then Oliseh is just a fall guy.

Just like Inyama, Green is my friend and I would have told him my opinion in private if he had asked me. But since the statement is already in the public domain, my reaction will be made in the public domain.

I wish Dare Esan had been consistent and also blacked out Green’s statement like he did with Inyama’s because Green’s statement was totally unnecessary. There was a clear unanimous verdict that Stephen Keshi was a better candidate for the Super Eagles job than Sunday Oliseh and I am aware that Oliseh congratulated Keshi on his appointment (Complete Sports reported it).

Green’s suggestion that Oliseh should probably not have applied at all because he’s a “pupil coach” compared to Keshi is not tenable. By applying now, I think Oliseh has put himself in the frame for a stronger consideration in the future and I can’t see anything wrong with that strategy. Keshi got the job this year partly because he also put himself forward last year despite overwhelming evidence that Samson Siasia would be appointed.

FIFA Denies Odegbami

lMEANWHILE, I have “good news” for the Nigeria Football Federation. World soccer-ruling body, FIFA, have rejected Chief Segun Odegbami’s case against the August 2010 elections that brought Aminu Maigari and Co. into office. This is a scoop. It is a super exclusive and I’m serious.

Odegbami had requested FIFA, amongst other prayers, to declare the NFF elections illegal, null and void partly because the polls were held allegedly in contravention of a Nigeria High Court ruling stopping the election processes (Remember Harrison Jalla’s court case?).

But the FIFA Disciplinary Committee that handled the matter decided unanimously that FIFA had no such powers to dissolve the NFF because election matters were strictly the internal affairs of the national federations. The committee then awarded a judgement cost of one thousand Swiss Francs (Chf) – about N170,000 – against the complainant. However, Odegbami says he has already indicated that he would appeal the verdict at the FIFA  Appeal Committee. He’s not giving up yet.

Ironically, Odegbami confirmed the outcome of the case to me on the telephone on the same day that Emeka Inyama’s stinker was being circulated. I didn’t mention Inyama’s statement to Odegbami (even though I suspected that he would have heard or read about it) and we have not discussed it even up till now. But when he told me about the FIFA verdict, I reflected privately that; see, if only Inyama had been patient, FIFA would have done the “dirty job” for him!

Contrary to what many might think, I don’t always AGREE with Odegbami on every issue concerning Nigerian football. There have been several occasions when he took a position in his column in Complete Sports while I took another position on the same issue. But I always RESPECT his opinion anyway even if I don’t agree with it.

This FIFA appeal matter is one that I wish “Big Sheg” would not pursue because, knowing the way that FIFA works – corruption, kickbacks, politics and all – he is not likely to get any outcome different from the original verdict. I have told him so and, though he agrees with my reasoning, he says he is determined to go all the way.

“The judgement is not fair,” Odegbami said to me. “How can they say now that the election was an internal affair of the NFF when they sent their (FIFA) officials to issue directives and monitor the process? I will definitely appeal the judgement and I’m ready to go all the way to the Court of Arbitration (CAS) if it comes to that. I will see this to the very end,” Odegbami declared.

Now, how won’t I “respect” such a decision, even if I don’t “agree” with it. Odegbami has often been accused by us journalists of starting something that he cannot finish. We’ve always said he gave up the fight mid-way into a struggle. If he has decided to fight this particular battle to the very end at FIFA, so be it. But whatever the final outcome, win or lose, Odegbami remains a Nigerian football legend. This case will not detract from his legacy. He remains a hero for all fair-minded soccer fans.

Lucky Siasia

lSAMSON Siasia must count himself lucky to have been paid his outstanding entitlement in full, barely a month after being fired as Super Eagles coach. Credit for that must go to the NFF and I hope they will complete the good job by also paying off Siasia’s assistants as well.

I remember that former coach Berti Vogts had to report to FIFA before he received his entitlements from Alhaji Sani Lulu’s NFF. Lars Lagerback didn’t take any chances and made sure he got his pay up-front before leading the Super Eagles to the 2010 World Cup.

Not so lucky is John Obuh who was in the news recently, complaning about his unpaid salary stretching into many months or years. The question many observers have asked him is why he and most Nigerian coaches suffer in silence only to start shouting much later. The answer is that most of them lobby for the job, they don’t sign the right contracts (if they sign any at all) and most importantly, their target usually is the match winning bonuses that they receive in US dollars, double what the players get.

When the dollar bonuses are flowing, they forget the poor naira salary. But when the dollars stop flowing, they remember that the naira salary has not been paid. That has been the experience of the average Nigerian national team coach.

But trust Siasia, he collected the dollars and also collected the naira before walking off. And when the NFF offered to sell him his official car even at a knock-down price, he told them, “keep your car, I keep the cash.”

Smart boy!