Some Nigerians in the capital city of Abuja took to the streets to demand the arrest and prosecution of Nigeria Football Federation President/FIFA Council member Amaju Pinnick for allegedly destroying their football and using it for personal gain.
They said the once Africa’s number one ranked football country, Nigeria has dropped so badly in recent times, no thanks to the current Nigeria Football Federation led by Amaju Pinnick.
The present board of the NFF led by its president, Amaju Pinnick, was first elected to office in September 2014. On 20 September 2018, Pinnick was re-elected as the NFF President. He was also the First Vice President of Confederation of African Football (CAF) between September 2018 and July 2019, and a member of the Organising Committee for FIFA competitions.
His personal popularity and growth has failed to translate to the growth of Nigerian football, as the game has steadily declined.
The climax of all the calamities is Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022. Soccer fans who thronged the Sixty thousand capacity stadium in Abuja did the unthinkable by destroying facilities there.
When this current NFF board were elected for the first time in 2014, Nigeria was ranked 37 in the world, just few months after a Round of 16 finish by the Super Eagles at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But ever since, the Eagles have failed to qualify for two Africa Cup of Nations (2015 and 2017), and managed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 AFCON where they manage to come third.
The fall of the Eagles and the general decay in Nigerian football has been deduced to several blunders committed by the football body under the leadership of Amaju Pinnick some of these are:
1- No blue print for the development of the game on the home front.
2- Inability to produce local players for the national team.
3- The deterioration of the Nigeria Premiere League.
4- Lack of transparency in the administration of football.
5- The dwindling future of the Super Falcons.
6- Building the national team with foreign-born Nigerians instead of home grown talents.
7- Amaju criss-crossing Europe to look for Nigerian-born players.
