It is said that a General is as good as his army, a team is as strong as its weakest link and it takes two to tango.
We know all of the above are logically and practically true, which now begs the question:
IS PINNICK THE ONLY CORRUPT PERSON IN THE NFF?
According to public records, the organogram of the NFF also places some key people in sensitive positions, that makes them either enablers or principal actors in the rut and corruption bedeviling our football
While Pinnick has become the most infamous football administrator over the past decade for reasons purely caused by him, there is no way he would have operated without the support, active advice and fully cooperation of the following men:
Seyi Akinwunmi – Lagos FA Chairman and Pinnick’s 1st VP
Shehu Dikko – Businessman, Pinnick’s 2nd VP and LMC chairman
Mohammed Sanusi – NFF General Secretary
There exist rumours of Akinwunmi and his alleged shady deals in Lagos State not forgetting his mirage of a tournament that appears and disappears like a magic act (with no explicit details as to what happens to the children after), still linger uncleared.
Dikko is a name that this new NFF cannot do without as he has his tenterhooks into every fabric of this administration, to the extent of allegedly having his own private companies, securing and executing deals for the NFF, which reeks of corrupt services, conflict of interest and total lack of integrity.
It is like Gianni using his own company to run FIFA activities. That act alone is enough to establish a proper criminal charge against Dikko in connivance with the NFF but why that is yet to happen? Well, your guess is as good mine
Then the silent yet critical partner in all this, Sanusi…. A name that manages to slide under every investigation almost as if he doesn’t exist, but the fact remains that no atom of corruption can exist in the NFF if he doesn’t allow it either directly or otherwise
On the side, we have the small players like Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’ and his cronies, but since they have no true powers to influence anything, they are small fries and perhaps, may have acted as mules in the execution which will surely make them guilty of course after all, the getaway driver in a robbery, is as guilty as the armed robbers themselves even though he handled no weapons or was in any position to decide how the actual robbery went down
So, if Nigeria Football wants to be seen as responsible, accountable and a good investment channel, then the NFF must be fumigated painstakingly, starting with the key actors above as Pinnick cannot be corrupt without the willing participation of the above listed even though Pinnick doesn’t make it easy on himself by his behavior and attitude, not to mention his knack for picking unnecessary fights and engaging substandard individuals to sing his praises, he ends up drawing more attention to himself, thereby taking almost all of the heat when in fact, he is not more corrupt than his own lieutenants
So, as we call for Pinnick’s head, other heads must roll as well as Lagos FA should start making plans to crown a new boss, LMC can easily take care of itself and perhaps get SuperSport back on board as well NTA and other terrestrial media houses for live broadcast of games, then the NFF should get another General Secretary as well.
Once these things happen, the NFF will become the beautiful bride once again, an investment haven and the pride of the nation.
Let’s make NFF and Nigeria football great again.
By Ugochukwu ‘Thanos’ Ifeanyi
