Guardian ‘NFF Bill, Elixir To Nigerian Football Ills’ SATURDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2013 00:00 CHRISTIAN OKPARA SPORT - HOME Eagles-28-09-13 Godfrey Gaiya is the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee On Sports, which is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the country’s sports follow the right path to progress. The member representing Zango/Kataf in the House has recently been involved in some disagreements with some sports administrators, but he says all he is doing is to ensure that the right things are done. Fielding questions from CHRISTIAN OKPARA, Gaiya looks at the chances of Nigeria in the last round of the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying series, the NFF Bill and the Super Eagles’ bonus crisis, among other issues affecting the country’s sports. APART from his duties as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports, which is to ensure that the sector gets the best possible service from those administering it, Godfrey Gaiya is also one of the Nigerians doing everything possible to ensure that the country regains its position among the top countries in international sports. On September 7, Gaiya was among the crowd at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, who cheered the senior national team, Super Eagles, to victory over Malawi in their last group match of the qualifying series for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. With that battle over, the legislator has now turned his attention to helping in providing the conducive environment for the Super Eagles to beat Ethiopia in the last qualifying round to the World Cup. Speaking to The Guardian in Calabar after Nigeria’s defeat of Malawi, Gaiya says the House of Representatives, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) have the duty of ensuring that the country is represented at the World Cup, hence the resolve to put the team in good shape for the final onslaught on the Brazil 2014 ticket. Analysing the current state of the national team, Gaiya opines, “The Super Eagles are very good. There is some measure of blending, some measure of understanding by the players. We saw a very good teamwork in the game against Malawi and we can now begin to think that they have almost arrived. “But again, as in anything human, there is nothing perfect. However, I think they will continue to improve as we move to the last qualifying stage.” Although Gaiya believes that Nigeria has nothing to fear in Ethiopia, the Super Eagles next opponent in the series, he admits that football has gotten to a level where there are surprises everywhere. “That is why tiny Cape Verde could go to Tunis to beat Tunisia. For the last stage of the qualifiers, we have to prepare very well so that we will not be surprised by any team. We should be prepared to face Ethiopia and emerge successful,” he says. Calling on all Nigerians to support Coach Stephen Keshi and his team, Gaiya says, “The national team is our asset. For me, the Super Eagles is one of our best assets as a nation. Whenever they are doing well, Nigerians are happy. You saw how Nigerians jubilated all over the country when we beat Malawi. “So I think it is a worthwhile investment if the government can do all within its financial capability to ensure that the national team lacks nothing. “So far, the NFF has tried by ensuring that the Super Eagles’ coaching crew and players have conducive camp wherever they are preparing for any game. “What the National Assembly is doing is to ensure that they have the enabling environment for them to do well. That is why we are pursuing the NFA Bill with all seriousness because we know that without a law, without any guide you will just be working without anything to measure whether you are succeeding or not. We are working very hard to provide the NFF a very good working environment to do the job to the satisfaction of Nigerians. “When we started working on the Bill, there were 17 cases against the federation. We have had to pacify a lot of people. In fact, there were questions as to the legality of the NFF itself. And you cannot keep pacifying and appealing to people not to go to court when they feel that things are not right. So, we believe that if there is a Bill signed by Mr. President, that Bill becomes the law of the land and it is meant to be respected. Now that will give the NFF the confidence that once they operate within the ambit of the law, nobody will take them to court to cause distractions” Gaiya also believes that the NFF Bill would make a code of conduct for the national team unnecessary “because there would have been an encapsulation on what they need to do to run the game in tandem with what FIFA requires.” On the bonus crisis that engulfed the Super Eagles on the eve of the Brazil 2013 Confederations Cup, Gaiya said the situation would have been avoided if the NFF had handled the issue differently. “As people overseeing the NFF, we always advise them to be mindful of their utterances so that they do not rock the polity. And if you have a good system, if you plan well, if you know how to manage your resources, you should be able to say one thing and let that one thing stand the test of time. “Today, if our football is ascending and we are talking about reducing the entitlement of the players, I don’t think that the two work together. When I am succeeding I should be rewarded, and not when I am succeeding I am made to earn less. So, I think that decision is unpopular with Nigerian people.” Gaiya describes as a good move the current drive by the NSC to lure Nigerians in the Diaspora to represent the country in international competitions, adding, however, “we should ask why have Nigerians decided to choose other countries instead of their fatherland. “I think that is a vital issue we should address and I am happy now that the present administration is addressing that issue. “I was told that the NSC director general went to meet our athletes in the Diaspora to woo them back. The truth is that those people felt that their motherland was not there for them or will not be there for them or cannot manage the system to ensure their needs are taken care of. “Until we address such salient issues, they will continue to embrace other countries. We have to put in place structures that will assure those in the Diaspora that the system is working, that when they come home, they will not be shortchanged or will not in any way be made to look as if they have no other choices. “Then again, we will still have other Nigerians living in other countries and are willing to compete for those countries. There is nothing we can do about them. But I think all that is changing, as I said earlier, because this administration is working to change things for the better.”
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 06:52:49 +0000
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