Galadima is unpopular choice for Adamu's position

By Ifeanyi Ibeh


November 24, 2010




It emerged on Monday that the former boss of the football association, Ibrahim Galadima, had been nominated by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to seek election into the executive committee of Africa's football governing body, CAF.

His nomination, which also reportedly got the backing of the sports ministry, comes in the aftermath of the three-year suspension slammed on Amos Adamu by football's world governing body, FIFA. Adamu, up until his suspension, was a member of the Executive Committee of both CAF and FIFA. The suspension meant that Nigeria no longer had any representation in the decision making bodies of the two organizations.

However, every member nation in CAF is permitted to send in a nomination ahead of next February's elections into the executive committee coming up in Khartoum, Sudan. But the question on most people's minds is how did Galadima emerge as the country's candidate where he will be up against the Ghana FA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi and Jacques Anouma of the Ivorian FA? "I wonder how his name popped up in the first place because to the best of my knowledge the NFF did not meet," said football analyst, Bode Oguntuyi.

Galadima was the boss of the FA between 2002 and 2006, before his place was taken by the erstwhile head of the NFF, Sani Lulu. His exit was however under controversial circumstances as he had been re-elected for another four-year term only for the sports ministry, then headed by Ismaila Sambawa, to nullify the election's outcome.

He subsequently lost out to Lulu in a re-run of the polls, but his name remained etched in the consciousness of football followers in Nigeria for the infamous statement he made in 2005, when he said that qualification for the World Cup was not "Nigeria's birthright" while the country battled for qualification during the 2006 World Cup. The football administrator will also be remembered as someone not tainted by any allegations of corruption.

Galadima's sin

"I don't think it is fair to give such an opportunity to someone who famously said that the World Cup was not Nigeria's birthright," said Oguntuyi. "No sane administrator will make such a statement." When asked how Galadima's name emerged as the country's nomination for the CAF position, the acting secretary general of the NFF, Musa Amadu, refused to comment on the issue, stating instead that he will speak on the issue at a more opportune time.

Dare Esan, the editor of Nigeria's all sports daily, Complete Sports, feels that Galadima is not the best candidate. According to him, the likes of former internationals Segun Odegbami and Adokie Amiesimaka, as well as Adeboye Onigbinde, the former Super Eagles coach who is also a member of CAF's technical and development committee, are better placed to represent the country's interests not only in CAF, but also in FIFA.

"There are lots of other Nigerians who can represent us and do a better job like Odegbami, Adokie and even Onigbinde," he said. "These are people I believe that can elevate Nigeria's status in CAF and FIFA but I guess they were not even considered in the first place by those that nominated Galadima. A lot of politicking takes place within CAF and FIFA but these organizations also know the importance of having technocrats and that's why we need the likes of Adokie and Odegbami who can represent Nigeria in CAF and FIFA the way the late Patrick Okpomo did."