As simple and direct as the question above, however, the answer is blowing in the air. Respondents who have volunteered an answer are divided along two extreme ends, one side vehemently insisting that the country owes the retirees a lifetime of upkeep and the other side also vehemently insisting that the retirees got the remuneration they deserved while in active service and have no reason to demand any further compensation in retirement. Each side has held onto being accurate in its assertiveness.
The foregoing has been a debate for many years, especially at the turn of the new millennium when cases of retired footballers needing rehabilitation gained much traction in public discourse. The debate was sparked once more last month when an angry former Nigeria international, Taribo West, at the service of songs for the late former international, Peter Rufai, in Lagos accused the Nigerian authorities of abandoning the ex-footballers in their hour of need. The statement immediately went viral, attracting commendation and condemnation in equal measure. An emotional West had said: “It is disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigeria Football Federation but they dropped the buck on the late Rufai’s family. I feel in my spirit that there is nothing to put your life for. With this kind of example, I will never advise my son to put his feet up for this country.” He went on to draw inferences with former internationals, Rashidi Yekini, Uche Okafor, Thompson Oliha, Yisa Shofoluwe and Stephen Keshi, who passed away but were practically shunned by the government at their funerals.
In 2008, a former international and winner of the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1980, incidentally Nigeria’s first international football glory, Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka, had cautioned former footballers on how they criticised the government for not catering for their well-being after their active days. Amiesimaka said players that represented the country were adequately remunerated and whatever they did after their active playing days should derive from how well they managed their resources. Not a few Nigerians disagreed with Amiesimaka’s assertion, but he stood his ground. He is a perfect example of an ex-international who planned for the rainy day. No sooner did the University of Lagos law graduate call it a day at the then Green Eagles soon after the AFCON win than he resumed work in the Rivers State civil service where he rose to become the state’s attorney-general and commissioner for justice for three consecutive administrations. He was also afterwards appointed chairman of the state-owned Sharks Football Club and has since proved to be a beacon of self-fulfillment for his mates who served Nigeria at the highest level. Seventeen years after Amiesimaka served the caution on footballers in the country, another AFCON winner in 2013, Brown Ideye, went a step further by recommending a jail term for former footballers who retired into penury. Like Amiesimaka, Ideye hinged his argument on the fact that his mates who served Nigeria got adequately remunerated and have no reason to feel entitled after retiring. But while some echoed Ideye, others criticised him for what they called lack of empathy, saying the former Super Eagles’ forward had consciously and deliberately ignored players who had their career cut short by injuries or other forms of misfortune. Nonetheless, Ideye, who has had a sterling career spanning 18 years since he featured for the national team at the FIFA Under-20 hosted by Canada in 2007, has yet to withdraw his comment, especially as he is largely expected to temper the aspect recommending jail term for his mates.
A former international and 1990 AFCON silver medalist, Wasiu Ipaye, told TheTabloid.net during the week that West’s outburst, even though quite valid, was borne of ignorance. He argued that the late Rufai had not been abandoned. “Taribo’s outburst was faulty, even though he could still be right in some way. The Lagos State government had donated N15 million to the late Rufai’s family to augment the funeral costs. The NFF also donated N3 million, in addition to other donations from good spirited people. Perhaps, what Taribo ought to quarrel with is the fact the NFF was not adequately represented and face the federation squarely on that aspect, especially as this seems to have become a trend as it was the same approach meted to the families of late Yekini, Okafor, Oliha, Shofoluwe and Keshi after their passing,” Ipaye said.
A large percentage of Nigerians have continually accused the ex-international of being afflicted by the entitlement mentality and the stigma has stuck. But a 1994 AFCON-winning former international, Edema Fuludu, says the entitlement is perfectly in order. “It is wrong and unfair to label us so negatively as is being done these days. We should be entitled, especially to the Nigeria Football Federation, because the federation exploits the players’ image to earn recognition around the world, in addition to the accompanying funds garnered through participation in international competitions. Therefore, the players deserve portions of the funds,” Fuludu, who is Secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN), told TheTabloid.net.
The ex-Eagles’ midfielder, however, said his association does not support indolence on the part of the retired players, saying partnership for progress with the NFF is what the former players desire to guarantee progress for Nigeria football. “There is also a need for unity among the former footballers but this is lacking at the moment and this is what the federation exploits to deprive us of our dues, leading to a lot of avoidable conflicts among the stakeholders,” he said.
But multiple award-winning sports journalist, Olukayode Thomas, dismissed the entitled claim by Fuludu, saying the football players who represented Nigeria had got far more than they deserved in remuneration. “When footballers get invited, they are given royal treatment. They get as much as $10, 000 as a winning bonus and even much more when they win major titles. Some of them get lucrative club contracts using the Nigerian platform as a launch pad. So, when they go broke after their active playing days, due to mismanagement of their wealth, they should not hold the country to ransom,” Thomas said. He continued: “It can be understood if a physically challenged athlete, or a scrabble player, or a chess player, or a volleyball player, or a cyclist, goes broke after retirement. After all, they may not have made enough money to sustain them after their active days. But it is unpardonable for any footballer who made fortune during his active playing days to blame Nigeria for whatever challenges being encountered after retirement.”
Former Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh, who had won the AFCON gold and silver medals, disagrees with the notion of wealth and fortune ascribed to retired former internationals, even those like himself who had glittering club careers. “The highest a player has to play is 15 years, that is, if such is lucky to avoid injuries and other unforeseen challenges,” Oliseh said. He added: “Some of us retired over 15 to 20 years ago. So, how much could we have made during our active days that would have sustained us till now and for the rest of our lives? There should be something for us to live on in compensation for our service to the nation.”
Fuludu aligns with Oliseh on “something for us to live on”. He said: “It should start with an adequate pension package for players at clubs across the country in line with the dictates of professionalism. This is where all the retired players are needed to pull together and support the PFAN so that collectively the interest of players can be pursued with the vigour and resolve it requires.”
Without a doubt, the sports authorities in Nigeria should entrench the policy that stipulates a comprehensive reward system that favours all athletes, regardless of which sport they participate in. The prevailing discriminatory reward system that tends to regard the so-called lesser sports as outcasts should be reviewed without any fuss whatsoever. It is just as well that there is a glimmer of hope for the sports representatives of Nigeria in this regard. According to the spokesperson for the National Sports Commission (NSC), Clement Nwankpa Jr: “The policy is in the works with the proposals and framework being developed for the approval of President Bola Tinubu.”
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