Proverbs 27:6, says that “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Such wounds or truth from a sincere friend are better than many kisses or lies from an enemy.

One truth which many Nigerians failed to accept was the one Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima told them in 2005 as the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Six years after that statement, in an interview he granted the Daily Trust newspaper, he reiterated his position that the World Cup was not Nigeria’s birth right.

He however, revealed that some hawks in football administration used that to hound him out of then NFA but that was not the main reason. I am posting an excerpt from that interview here for readers who didn’t get to read that interview to know it today.

Asked what legacies he thought he left in football administration, Galadima said, “I think it is not proper for me to say what legacies I left behind. I will leave that for prosperity to judge. But I have to mention one particular aspect which I think was the cause of the problem my board had with authorities. It was my struggle for NFA independence. The struggle to repeal Decree 101 and to ensure that things were done in line with global standards in FIFA and also to get FIFA to support me in getting that decree repealed.

For me that could be said to be my main positive approach towards sanitizing the game of football and ensuring proper foundation was laid for

the game in Nigeria. Other aspects like I said I leave that for prosperity to judge but I feel I did enough to get FIFA’s attention, support for us to get that decree repealed and of course, like I said, we had so many stories as to whether it has been repealed or not. 

At one time we heard it has been repealed but of course we have continued to see the hands of authorities, confirming that decree 101 is still there but may be in a different guise. We are yet to get to the National Assembly to be told in specific terms, if that decree has been abrogated or amended. We have not heard that up to this moment obviously because those who are controlling sports in this country have not demonstrated enough commitment to do away with the decree because it will take away some of the powers they enjoy and that was my own crime. I therefore say what Nigerians were talking about not qualifying for Germany 2006 was just a ruse. The main issue was this man was stubborn, this man was  trying to bring something alien to us, so let’s get rid of him. That was it.”

In that 2011 Daily Trust interview, Galadima disclosed that before his foray into football where people see him mostly as former NFA chairman, he was involved in sports administration “for the past three decades. I was a member of the National Sports Commission on five different boards from 1981.

I was Commissioner of Sports in Kano State. Before then I was Director of Sports in Kano. I was involved in all spheres of sports. Football just took prominence in 2002 when I became the chairman of NFA and that was when people got to see me as being closer to football. Sports administration has been a greater part of my life.”

Talking about 2002, I remember traveling with the NFA delegation he led to Blantyre, the commercial capital of Botswana for a Nations Cup qualifier.

One afternoon as we were relaxing at the hotel lobby, he told me to join him to discuss sundry issues. He then called an NFA staff, now late, to help buy us soft drinks. As the official made to go, Galadima called him back and gave him money to buy soft drinks but he said Galadima shouldn’t worry that he had some money from the Secretariat fund.

Galadima would have none of it and insisted he took his own money to buy it. As the official left, he said, “Patrick do you know why I insisted, I don’t want a situation where they would say they spent so much money entertaining the chair-

man in Blantyre”. 

I also remember how he had exhibited transparency before my eyes in 1999 when Nigeria hosted the World Youth Championship as the U-20 World Cup was then known.

Kano was a sub-seat and he was appointed the chairman there. At the end of the competition, there was some unspent money and he returned it to the government through then NFA chairman, retired Col. Abdulmumini Aminu.

In September this year, the NFF will be having another election and some stakeholders are already complaining of being locked out of the system.

Galadima advised against this about 20 years ago thus: “The NFF should now try and open the door for the real stakeholders to come in. There are people who are real stakeholders and are willing to offer any advice on how to improve the sector. NFF should look around for such people and see how they can sit down and objectively look at issues.”

Because they have never listened to him or taken his advice, they keep having issues.

They called for his head in 2006 when Nigeria didn’t qualify for the World Cup. Nigeria has failed to qualify for two consecutive World Cups. Yet the administrators who shouted ‘crucify Ibrahim Galadima’ are sitting tight and plotting a second term of office.

Penultimate Saturday Galadima passed on. The much the government can do for his soul is to ensure that the NFA Act in the National Assembly is passed into law so the NFF is no longer run as a government agency which keeps prospective sponsors  away.