Former Nigerian Players Can Run The NFF, But Leadership Must Come With Accountability — Part Two

𝐁𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟏 𝐎𝐅 𝟐

In Part One of this broader series, I worked directly from the 𝐍𝐅𝐅’𝐬 existing management model — the structure through which the federation currently operates, inherited from the outgoing administration of 𝐈𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐆𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐮 and 𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐢 — to show how budgeting, delegation, professional support and management tools such as 𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈 and 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐃 can function within that system.

Part Two continues from that same real-world model.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐅𝐅 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲.

A newly elected president would not walk into an empty office. The NFF does not disappear when a president leaves. Department leaders and professional staff remain in place across Finance, Competitions, Technical matters, Legal Services, Media, Protocol and other areas, continuing the federation’s day-to-day work.

Finance still functions. Competitions still functions. Technical, Legal, Media, Protocol and the other departments continue doing their jobs.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞.

The president works through those professionals, receives briefings, asks questions, sets direction, delegates responsibility, monitors performance and holds people accountable.

Like any executive entering an established organization, he must learn the institution.

That does not mean learning how to lead.

It means learning the organization he has been entrusted to lead.

I understand why, from a distance, some people may think former Nigerian players cannot successfully run the NFF as president. Management can sound complicated when expressed in technical language.

But the principle is straightforward:

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫.

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐞.

𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩.

Management is not easy. It requires education, discipline, judgment, emotional control and the ability to manage pressure.

But when the right people are already in place, leadership becomes clearer: lead by example, respect professional boundaries, treat employees properly and hold everyone — including leadership — accountable.

𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄

Every department must know what it owns and account for what it has been assigned.

Money entering the NFF — from 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀, 𝐂𝐀𝐅, the Federal Government, sponsors and other legitimate sources — should have a documented source and purpose.

Money leaving should have an approved budget line, authorization and supporting records.

History explains why.

In 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗, 𝐔𝐒$𝟐𝟑𝟔,𝟎𝟎𝟎 earmarked for Super Eagles World Cup qualifying activities was reported missing from the federation’s secretariat safe.

In 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎, 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐋𝐮𝐥𝐮 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐢, 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐞 𝐔𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐠𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐦, 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐰𝐨 𝐎𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐢 and 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐣𝐢 𝐎𝐣𝐨-𝐎𝐛𝐚 were arraigned over allegations involving more than 𝐍𝟏.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in NFF expenditure connected with the 2010 World Cup, alongside specific dollar-denominated allegations including 𝐔𝐒$𝟏𝟐𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 for hotel bookings, 𝐔𝐒$𝟐𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 relating to airline arrangements and 𝐔𝐒$𝟒𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 connected with the Nigeria–Colombia friendly. They were later discharged and acquitted.

In 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔, during the 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐮 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 administration, 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 questioned documentation relating to 𝐔𝐒$𝟖𝟎𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎 in development funds. Then Sports Minister 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠 said further development funding had been withheld because proper documentation had not been provided. The NFF disputed suggestions of mismanagement and maintained that its accounts had been audited.

More recently, under the 𝐈𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐆𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐮-led administration, the 𝐄𝐅𝐂𝐂 and 𝐈𝐂𝐏𝐂 began investigating utilisation of the 𝐍𝟏𝟐 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 Federal Government intervention fund for national-team obligations.The investigation remained ongoing in 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.

The lesson is prevention, not accusation.

Regular reconciliation, compliance reviews, documented approvals and independent external audits should be routine. In 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, the NFF Congress approved 𝐄𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐭 & 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 as independent auditor for four years.

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Nigeria should not arrive in camp and then begin arguing about bonuses, tickets, coaches’ salaries or accommodation.

The NFF acknowledged owing 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐚𝐢𝐛𝐮 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐮 salary when he died in 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢 was also reported to be owed outstanding national-team bonuses.

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐰𝐮 later said he was owed salary from his Super Eagles tenure, a claim the NFF disputed. 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐨 raised unpaid national-team salary issues, while 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐢𝐣𝐢 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐮 documented a claim for 𝐔𝐒$𝟗,𝟑𝟓𝟎 in outstanding estacode allowances from national-team assignments.

Before competition begins, the budget should cover salaries, bonuses, travel, accommodation, medical support, equipment, administrative requirements and an approved contingency reserve.

If the team progresses in the tournament, additional costs should already be planned. If it exits earlier, unused unrestricted funds should remain with the institution, while restricted funds must be handled according to the conditions attached to them.

And the accounting should not end when the competition ends.

If money was budgeted through the final and the team exits in the quarterfinals, leadership should be able to show what was actually spent, what remains, whether any balance is restricted and where the remaining money sits.

That should not require a crisis, an investigation or a public argument.

𝐈𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭.

FIFA’s rules against undue interference should not be turned into a shield against legitimate financial scrutiny. When the Federal Government provides grants, appropriations or intervention funds, asking how that money was spent is not the same as taking over the federation.

Nigeria should not be frightened away from legitimate accountability by the repeated warning that “FIFA will ban us.”

FIFA protects the independence of football governance, but 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The NFF itself says FIFA and CAF funds are tied to specific purposes and are subject to compliance, monitoring and audit.

So the principle should be simple:

𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭.

𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐀𝐅 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.

𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

A responsible administration should not run from an audit. It should be ready for one.

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐀𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

And Nigerians should not treat every circulating claim of a FIFA sanction as gospel. In 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, the NFF itself had to debunk a purported FIFA letter threatening Nigeria with suspension as fake.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.

If qualified former internationals ask for the opportunity to lead, we must also be prepared to accept the scrutiny that comes with that responsibility.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊

An 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 connects departments, deadlines and dependencies so leadership can see what must happen first, who is responsible and what other work is affected when something slips.

Finance may need an approved budget before travel is booked. Legal may need to clear a contract before payment is released. Technical decisions may affect invitations, visas and travel.

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 means on schedule.

𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 means at risk and requires a recovery plan.

𝐑𝐞𝐝 means immediate escalation.

The purpose is simple: identify delays early, communicate them to affected departments and escalate before they become crises.

Major competition, financial, legal or public-accountability issues should never reach the president as a surprise.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨.

In 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐨𝐟 𝟐, I turn to the human side of leadership — conflict management, performance, recognition, age, experience and the case for giving qualified former Nigerian internationals a fair opportunity to lead.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

— 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟏 𝐎𝐅 𝟐 —