Nigeria Needs A Vibrant NFF Board
Harrison Jalla, President of the National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF), is seen by some as the man with the magic wand to bring peace to the crisis-ridden Nigeria football house. In an interview with SuperSport.com. Jalla spoke about the court case, the move to settle the matter out of court, the annulled Nigeria Football Federation, NFF election, FIFA’s suspension and other burning issues affecting Nigerian football.
Who initiated the stakeholders’ meeting with NANF and what are the results of the meeting?
The meeting was held at the insistence of Amos Adamu. He represented FIFA, CAF and the NFF. The first thing he requested from us was whether or not this issue can be resolved out of court. Of course, we gave him that assurance.
The match against Guinea was so close and there was no way we could do that within the space of time we had. We agreed to give a written guarantee to FIFA that these issues can be resolved out of court and that, between now and 25 October, when we return back to court, that this matter must have been resolved. We are asking for the total reform of Nigerian football. This is not negotiable. These issues will be resolved and, once they are resolved, Nigeria will be re-admitted into the FIFA family.
Starting from Monday, we have begun to get these issues resolved and get a communiqué that will be made public to Nigerians, because the matter does not concern NANF only, it concerns all Nigerians.
What is your reaction to the papers’ report that NANF has withdrawn its case from court?
That is a mischievous report that is just the mindset of some members of the media. I am so disappointed in the story.
We invited some journalists into the meeting, they were also part of it. We deliberated together and we did that so that the correct information would be given to the public. I am so surprised that they are only saying one thing, that the matter has been withdrawn. We cannot deceive Nigerians; the matter is still in court. We just agreed to settle out of court and once the process of that settlement is completed we can get the matter formally withdrawn.
Are you confident discussing these issues with Amos Adamu?
I have confidence because we have gotten to a point where no party involved can take the other for a ride. It is possible because what we did was in the interest of the country, not of any group. We are representatives of two different organisations that have the interest of the footballers at heart. If, along the line, there is evidence of one party trying to outplay the other, that will be resisted. I can assure Nigerians of that.
What is your take on the report that the Aminu Maigari-led NFF board will be reinstated?
That again is a disappointing story, because the gentlemen of the press should be knowledgeable enough to know that it was the decision of the court. The court has nullified the elections and that election stands nullified. We have no power to reinstate any board; we just have power to resolve the issue we took to the court.
How do you reconcile Justice Okon’s discharge of the contempt charge and the fate of the 26 August NFF elections?
We have not received the order; we still want to get it because the order has been misrepresented. The sporting press is not the judiciary. There is a lot of mis-interpretation of Justice Okon’s order. We are going to get it and circulate it. You will see the court did indict them of contempt. There is a difference between being indicted for contempt and committal to prison. What the court said was that we did not give the court enough material to commit them to prison. That is not to say that they are not in contempt. They were in contempt because they disobeyed the law of court of competent jurisdiction.
The purpose for NANF going to court was not to commit anybody to prison and we are happy that nobody was committed to prison.
What are the gripes NANF have against the NFF and what issues are you contesting in court?
There were so many things that one cannot say it all in a nutshell. First of all, we were excluded from the activities of NFF.
We were not offered any reason for that. We have been part of the previous congresses. There is evidence to show that. All of a sudden they created another union and started dealing with them and opened an office for them at NFA Secretariat.
That is not even the only issue. As we speak, the statute is not in the interest of football. It has been amended to suit some other purposes.
We are against that and since 2008 we have been saying these things must be addressed. We have asked for participation from the local government, the state and the players. They must be on the board of the state FAs. We must be on the executive board of the football federation — that is the norm.
We did not just start because of the elections — the battle has been on for the past three years. We took our complaint to the ministry of sports and an arbitration committee was set up, which was running before they went to Angola, before they went to the World Cup.
Before they went to the World Cup they set up an electoral committee. We said that cannot work because there is an ongoing arbitration on the matter.
We have a fundamental human right to participate and our right is being infringed upon. We approached the presidency and within 10 days president Jonathan wrote back and gave clear instruction to the minister — please resolve this matter as soon as possible.
That was not done and they were trying to go for the election, so the other option we had was to take the matter up. That was why we went to court, so that these reforms can be inserted in the statute, so that the composition of the executive committee and the congress will be right.
Even as we speak, the so-called FIFA statute has not been taken to the National Assembly. So these are the issues we are looking at.
What is the way forward?
We must do the right thing. We must get a statute that accommodates all the constituent bodies. We must find a way of getting these things resolved, so that we can get a board that we can be proud of, a board that can sell football as a product.
We don’t want a board that will solely rely on government and FIFA grants. We must have facilities, a vibrant marketing department and a board that will make football belong to the people.
We must now go to the Corporate Affairs Commission and incorporate it as a limited liability company that is open for participation.
What is your take on FIFA’s suspension of Nigeria from its activities and its temporary relief?
Ordinary Nigerians, who are passionate about football, will say “we need this ban†today. After two or three weeks the same group will say, “let us return to FIFAâ€. I think we really need this ban because it will give us time to put the things I mentioned earlier in place. I also think this is an opportunity to clean up the system.
Bringing back the board is part of FIFA’s conditions?
Yes. We can take our decisions and tell them. We are not bound by FIFA’s decisions. We are affiliates of FIFA.
We tell them where we are, that we are resolving these issues and they must give us the opportunity to participate in matches. We will go back to them that we have resolved the issues.
We do not want a conflict between their law and our law. This board’s election has been annulled. We cannot reconcile it. We must abide by the laws of the land. We need time for fresh elections. It is what we present that FIFA will act upon. FIFA has no right to impose their decisions on us.
Many people believe that Amos Adamu has not represented us very well in FIFA and CAF. Do you share this sentiment?
I share the sentiment. FIFA does not want to get information outside the source of their federations and representatives at the executive level. Amos Adamu tells them what they want to hear. However, in our communication to FIFA of late, we have been able to tell them there are certain groups they must take into consideration, which will give them information showing things the way they are.
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