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I repeat, 2006 World Cup was not our birth right - Galadima

Category: Sports Published on Saturday, 05 November 2011 06:00 Written by David Ngobua Hits: 1130

Former NFA Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima is known for his principles and eloquence but he hardly grants elaborate interviews. However, when Shot! caught up with him in Kano, he opened up on the 2006 World Cup debacle and maintained that it was not Nigeria’s birth right to be in Germany just as Gabon/Equatorial Guinea is not the country’s birth right. He spoke on so many topical issues concerning Nigerian football. Excerpts:

I came into football lately but people see me mostly as former Chairman of the NFA. But I was in sports generally before I got fully into football administration. I have been 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 on the board of the commission. I was the 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.

What legacies would you say you left as chairman of the Nigeria Football Association?

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that things were done in line with global standards in FIFA and also to get FIFA to support me in getting that decree repealed.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I leave that for prosperity to judge but I feel I did enough to get FIFA’s attention, support for us to get that decree repealed and of course like I said we had so many stories as to whether it has been repealed or not. At one time we heard it has been repealed but of course we have continued to see the hands of authorities confirming that decree 101 is still there but may be in a different guise.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 beacause 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.

How disturbed are you about the downward movement in Nigerian football? At the moment Nigeria is 44th on FIFA ranking?

Any true Nigerian should feel disturbed about the downward trend, the deterioration of our own standing in terms of football globally. Nigeria does not deserve to be where we are. We have all it takes to be greater than where we are at the moment. Unfortunately, for lack of planning, lack of purpose and lack of direction we have not made any appreciable progress. Nigeria has the raw materials. Talking about the market, in Africa and globally, Nigeria should be ahead of most countries. Unfortunately because we have not been able to sit down and articulate this issue of where do we want to go, we have lost the opportunity of graduating our players from one level to another. If we had paid attention to youth football, I am talking about real ages declared for age grade football championships, by now we would have gotten players who in the next four to five years would be groomed into a team that would be untouchable not only in Africa but the world over. The world believes Nigeria has the reservoir of talents that can be relied upon.

We have to look at things from three perspectives. First, is the issue of the players themselves. We are talking about players commitment as a team. Yes, individually some of them are committed, but as a team, they have not shown enough commitment. Secondly, members of the technical crew have not improved themselves technically. Like in the game against Guinea, why do you concede a last minute equalizer in a game that you would have won?. That had exposed the technical inadequacies of the crew which obviously calls to question their own understanding of what the game should be. It was a game that everybody was looking forward to win. The last minute goal is unpardonable. Of course the federation itself have some blame in sitting by the side , watching the crisis between the coach and some senior players in the team get to the level it got. When Siasia had problems with Vincent and Osaze, I would have expected the Federation to come out and get involved to see how it could check it but the federation chose not to be involved in order not to be accused of interfering. They wanted to be seeing as giving free hand to Siasia to operate. They allowed the issue to get to a level the players felt the coach was fighting them and we got to where it was alleged the players planned against the coach to sabotage him by not winning. Right or not, I don’t know because one would have to make investigations to confirm that.

Talking about football development, as a former NFA chairman, what advice do you have for the present leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation?

It has happened it has happened. We have to go back and address issues. When I talk of addressing issues, we need to go back and address what has been wrong with our football. Maigari came into office just last year, it’s quite beyond him. We have been in this mess for the last couple of years now. What the present NFF needs to do now, even though they have not solicited for my advice, I am just offering this without being asked for, is to try and win back people’s confidence. Confidence winning is very important because they need to win back the people’s confidence in the leadership of football in the country. The trust has to be restored. We have seen sponsors running away from putting their money into football. We have seen the league almost dying for lack of sponsorship. We have seen the Federation Cup two years now without sponsorship. The Nigerian public no longer trust the authorities to carry out the mandate which they gave them. So I think the NFF has the responsibility of restoring that confidence first and foremost. That to me is the most important thing. Let them win back the confidence. Let people believe in them and say now we can trust you with our money. In addition, they have to try and get people who are knowledgeable in the game to assist them. There are millions of Nigerians who are really committed, who are free and willing to offer any advice in terms of improving the sector. So the NFF should now try and open the door for the real stakeholders to come in. When I say stakeholders, it is not in the usual manner that we have been doing. There are people who call themselves stakeholders and they are not stakeholders. They are instead destroyers. 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.

Would you say the Nigerian Football Federation is well structured to carry out its mandate of developing football in the country?

We do not have any structures on ground for football development.  I think what is important is we need good structures in terms of football administration. For instance, I cannot see how we would continue to run football without having an effective technical department in the NFF. At a point I was told that Siasia was told to oversee the technical department which is not supposed to be so. It is a key department that should be supervising Siasia. It is supposed to be the engine room. I remember when we were there during the crises, we set about recruiting the best hands to run the NFA. We advertised the positions and got a consulting firm to handle the process, only for that to be set aside for people to be appointed on the basis of who you know. People got into positions because of their connections and so on. So what we have now is a collection of people who have been brought in to satisfy some desires. This is why we are where we are today.

Shortly after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, it was widely reported in the media that you said it was not our birth right to attend the World Cup and this did not go down well with most Nigerians. Did you make such inflammatory statement?

That’s why I talk about taking people out of context and trying to give a different interpretation to what one has said. Talking about birth right, now it has happened again in the Nations Cup.  The definition of birth right is what you believe is yours. Of course everybody believed going to Germany was our birth right even without working for it. Now we are not going to Gabon, because we haven’t worked to be in Gabon, so it is not our birth right to be in the Nations Cup. It has been proved now. So it is something people should see from that perspective. My position was that it is not our birth right because we have to work to get it. It is not something you get on a platter of gold. Nobody will just concede it to you because you are Nigeria. Now Niger is there at the expense of South Africa because they got it on merit. They worked towards it. By birth right, I still maintain my position that we have to work for it. That was what I meant by saying it wasn’t our birth right. Just as the nations Cup now we didn’t work hard to get it and that’s why we are not going to be in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea because it is not our birth right.

But the same statement was used as a campaign tool against you. Do you regret making such comment?

No! No!! I have no regret. It is something you have to justify to be there. We didn’t work to get it. I came in after everything had gone wrong. We knew the problems we faced. At stage, the ministry of sports was telling the NFA where to play even friendly matches.  NFA had no control over most of the things that happened. The money to prosecute the World Cup qualification was never in the hands of the NFA.  It was never in the hands of the NFA. The ministry was controlling every single thing in terms of resources. People who were part of it are still alive to say it.  Maybe the present NFF didn’t go through the same headache as I went through. Those who were part of the system know that NFA had no control over the resources that were to be used in prosecuting our World Cup qualification.

Was it lack of resources that compelled NFA to take the match against Angola to Kano State? We all know what happened after the match in Kano.

It was part of it and again it was part of my policy to let the team go round the country because I believe every part of this country should be given the opportunity of seeing its national team. The same Angola played us in Benin City and it ended in draw. We did not win. It was Nations Cup qualifier. Heavens did not fall, We came to Kano because Kano State government was ready to foot the bails for the match. Kano came to our rescue because I am from Kano. Kano was qualified to play host to the match just like any other city in the country so we came to Kano. People said we lost because the match was played in Kano, now it has been played in Abuja but we have not qualified.  People talked about the weather in Kano but I laughed. The same weather did not stop Jay-Jay Okocha from scoring a goal in Kano before Angola got the equalizer. The heat didn’t stop him from scoring. But he came to Kano two days before the match whereas he was supposed to have been here in Kano for at least six to seven days before the match.  As Nigerians, there was no basis for the Super Eagles to complain of heat when even the Angolans did not complain.  In Abuja Osaze was reported to have said the weather was good enough for the match but what happened? So all these stories people created, as I said earlier, was just by the side. The main issue was let Galadima be booted out because he was not the right man for business. It was not because we did not qualify for the World Cup. I remember the principal actor then who was behind what happened in terms of scheming to get Galadima and his board out, telling me and he is still alive, that people are talking about our not qualifying for the World Cup, are you the one to play the game? I said well, he should come out and say it and he is still alive. He is the one who was the principal actor who created that situation to benefit him in terms of installing his own boys into the NFA. He was saying people were stupid in making the allegation that we failed to qualify because the match was played in Kano.  So it was all lies. Now it has happened again. We are talking football so it is 1-1 draw. It is a draw. It is 1-1 right? Kano could not qualify for World Cup and Abuja also hosted but has not qualified for Nations Cup. So from this moment, from the 8th of October, I don’t expect Nigerians to be making reference to Galadima for being responsible for Nigeria failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup because the scores have been settled now.

People have different perceptions about you. Some say you are principled, some say you are arrogant and others say you are thoroughly humble. Who is Ibrahim Galadima?

He is all. I want to concede to all. I want to accept all that people say about me. I am arrogant to a point yes. Arrogance has to do with your belief in yourself. I am arrogant because I believe in myself. Arrogance can be interpreted in different ways. If they see me as being arrogant because I am standing by my principles like you say, I am arrogant and I have no apologies for that. I am principled because I have a name to protect and I have no apologies for that. I am stubborn because I want to see things done the right way and I have no apology for that. So you can see that I am in all the three and I have no single apology. If they see me as arrogant in the negative perceptive that’s a different thing. I am not saying I am perfect because no human being is perfect. I have no regret whatsoever in the roles I played in serving Nigerian football. From my back ground, I am somebody who respect elders and I still maintain and feel elders should be given their due respect. I don’t believe in the saying that if you can’t beat them, then you join them. I say if you cannot beat them, then you stay away, don’t join them. For five years now, I have not been to the glasshouse because there have been no cause for me to be there. There have been no invitations for me to be in the glasshouse. But if there was any cause for me to be there, I would have been there. But I was at the national stadium on the invitation of the NFA when the FIFA Goal project which I started was to be commissioned. They invited me and I honored the invitation. I had to be there because I felt proud that what I started was successfully completed.