By Paul Bassey
Sometimes we should not be in a hurry to condemn people. Or put in another way, there is no man born of a woman that is without blemish.

Much as I can use this to introduce today’s piece, let me quickly say that the  criticisms against Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi have nothing to do with his character as a person.For some of us, his administrative competence especially in football matters has always come up for questioning.

That is why the refund of over 700 million naira of the 900 million by the Lulu administration has come up for commendation. I know that a lot of people still believe that  more money should have been returned, given the short duration of the Nigeria expedition in South Africa and the fact that no match was won. I agree, but when did any NFA administration ever refund any money?

It has also come up. There are those who believe that he has done so to curry political favour. There is no gainsaying the fact that the current NFF board desperate to come back ( All of them have picked up nomination forms ) did not spare any dollar to guarantee that, including the ferrying of hundreds of potential voters to South Africa and the exorbitant payments made out to a coach that they believed could help them realize that dream.
But all that has been debunked by the resignation of Lulu and his board. All those who were present at the solemn ceremony, I gathered, nearly shed a tear as the NFF president delivered a moving speech while handing over the resignation letter and that of his board members to the sports minister.

The minister thanked him profusely “for a land mark decision in the history of Nigerian sports. “ I commend you today for bowing out at the appropriate time. You have listened to the voice of the people and posterity will respect you for it. I know you meant well, unfortunately it has not turned out as you expected” the minister said while wishing him well in his future endeavours.

Though President Lulu has been commended most of his lieutenants are not happy he took the decision he took. “…well he has resigned and we could not be seen to stay put. Were we supposed to go into the field and play? Tell me what we should have done that we did not do.” He asked rhetorically.

The shock of all this is the press conference addressed by coach Lagerback in Johannesburg. Now that he is under fire, he has come out to say that players were forced on him. That if he had his way, he would not have taken Kanu, Utaka, Shittu and Aiyegbeni to the world cup. I know Nigerian journalists will feast on this, because they had all along insinuated along these lines, but the technical committee of the NFF under Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, kept on insisting that the man was his own boss.

Wait a minute why is he saying all this now? What about his supporters, those who feel he should be retained? The man has shot himself in the foot.

Wait a minute…..I believe that is the ringing tone of my phone. I struggle to open my eyes….. pick up the phone and answer it…….What a dream. What a fantasy of a dream…….
See you tomorrow.