By Ademola Olajire

As someone who has been in the mainstream of journalism/media management practice for more than two decades, I was aghast at the write-up by Joe Ehizode on this page exactly one week ago, in which he nonchalantly dismissed the persons making up the present Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation.

According to Ehizode, who is presently based in Canada, and who confessed to many years of not being an active journalist, those who run Nigeria football are a ‘noisy bunch’ who got to their present position, not through their antecedents or qualifications, but as a result of ‘a system that deals in patronage,’ whatever that means.

Ehizode went ahead to castigate the present NFF administrators as ‘people who got there courtesy of a system that tosses up people not based on competence but rewarded for their loyalty.’

Amazingly, Ehizode could have conducted his campaign decently, without hurling insults and try to rubbish a people who, in the past two years, have brought real honour and glory to our nation. In the first instance, it was this same ‘noisy bunch’ who gave Coach Stephen Keshi the job, gave him all the support to succeed and have backed him all the way.

Is it morally just to assume that Coach Keshi and his hard-working crew won the Africa Cup of Nations, qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals and clinched third place at the 3rd African Nations Championship without the active support of the NFF?

How appropriate is it to abuse, insult and castigate an administration for poor run of results by the National Teams, and then turn round to say that the same group does not deserve praise when those teams are winning?

Pitiably, Ehizode’s campaign was launched almost TWO WEEKS after the NFF President himself, and before him the Technical Committee, came out to deny any move to hire a foreign assistant for Coach Keshi. An innocuous statement promising that the NFF was ready to give Keshi all the ‘assistance’ he needs to do well at the World Cup has been misinterpreted wildly to mean offer of ‘assistant’. And the disco critics have been dancing themselves lame. Any reason, whether real or imagined, to abuse and insult others, is always welcome as far as this band is concerned!

The NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, has made it clear at several fora that the NFF would support Keshi all the way. Apart from being the most successful administration in the history of Nigeria football (10 trophies in three years, plus uncountable off-the-field accomplishments), Maigari’s administration is the only one in the history of the nation’s football-governing body to stick SOLELY with indigenous Coaches.

Since he came into office, all the National Teams have been coached by Nigerians. His confidence in them has been justified. Every other month, President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR has reason to host and reward one Nigerian National Team or the other. Government officials now underscore the successes of our football teams at every opportunity.

As for the idle assumption that the Maigari team got into office as reward for loyalty and not as a result of competence, it is important to have Mr. Ehizode define competence. Maigari himself was a member of the previous Board, after serving as Chairman of Bauchi State FA for more than a decade and acquitting himself brilliantly in other public offices. He was a brilliant footballer in his days, even though he did not play for the National Team.

Chief Mike Umeh, Vice President, needs no introduction having been a Team Manager of the National Team more than two decades ago, and being actively involved in football development ever since. Is it Chief Emeka Inyama, a former newspaper publisher, who held key positions in COJA 2003 and Nigeria 2009 and has served as Commissioner in his State, that is unknown?

Hon. Shehu Adamu was also in the previous Board, and is a four-time Commissioner in Kaduna State. Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande is a Member of Parliament (Nigeria’s Lower House); Chris Green has been involved in football administration long before Ehizode departed Nigeria; Muazu Suleyman is a permanent secretary in Sokoto State; Effiong Johnson was a local council chairman and leading figure in Akwa Ibom State; Deji Tinubu was Chairman of Lagos State Sports Council; Felix Anyansi-Agwu won back-to-back CAF Champions League titles with Enyimba FC a decade ago and has remained a pillar in African club football administration.

Yusuf Ahmed Fresh has been a leading figure in football administration in Niger State for more than a decade, and Mrs Dilichukwu Onyedinma was a key component of the crew that engineered the transformation of sports in FCT. Ahmad Muazu Kawu became renown after a yeoman’s job in Kano State during the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009.

In the NFF Management, the General Secretary, Musa Amadu qualified as a lawyer 27 years ago and is the first Nigerian to bag the FIFA Master in Law, Management and Humanities of Sport; Emmanuel Ikpeme is a doctorate degree holder in sports administration, was involved in COJA 2003 and is a senior university lecturer; Mohammed Sanusi also has a doctorate in sports administration and is a senior lecturer and regular resource person and author, and was also involved in COJA 2003 ; Adama Idris won his laurels in marketing before coming to the NFF and has continued to perform brilliantly and; Jarafu Mamza is a respected civil servant managing financial resources.

Nonchallant dismissal of people that we do not know, or wish to pretend we do not simply because we want to mount a campaign, and the employment of abusive and derogatory words to score cheap points, may seem fashionable. But it is the trade of the intellectually indolent.

•Mr. Olajire is Assistant Director (Communications), Nigeria Football Federation.