…Enoh, Minister of Football

COPYING from the risible playbook of his predecessor, John Enoh, the Minister of Sports Development, has transformed into the ‘Minister of Football.’ This is administrative impunity. Since the Super Eagles drew with Bafana Bafana and lost to the Benin Republic in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers this month, Enoh has become more visible in football administration than the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation board. His interference in NFF affairs, just like Sunday Dare that preceded him, is overbearing and will entrench the chaos and bad blood at the helm of affairs of the sport. The minister should let the NFF alone.

Shortly after Nigeria lost 2-1 to Benin on June 10, all hell broke loose. The fans blamed Finidi George, the coach, for the woeful result that consigned Nigeria to fifth place in Africa Group C behind Rwanda, South Africa, Benin, and Lesotho. This continues the shabby results in the first three matches, all 1-1 comebacks against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

In a statement, Enoh warned: “The Nigerian Football Federation must provide a comprehensive technical report explaining the reasons behind this poor showing and give cause why there mustn’t be consequences.” This is a tactless statement.

Talking about consequences, that cannot be for the NFF board. By FIFA law, which Nigeria is a signatory, Enoh cannot sack the NFF board before its four-year tenure expires in 2026. If he does, FIFA will suspend Nigeria altogether.

Nigeria suffered this fate when former President Goodluck Jonathan precipitately suspended Nigeria from international football for two years after the Eagles’ scandalous outing at the World Cup 2010.Jonathan rescinded the ban after FIFA’s hammer.

Enoh’s hand is visible already. He summoned a meeting with the NFF board and decided to hire a foreign coach to boss George. Feeling slighted, George resigned. The minister’s meddlesomeness has precipitated anarchy again: the NFF is now searching for another coach.

Enoh should be realistic. He was probably deceived by the silver medal the Eagles won at the Nations Cup in February to continue lording it over the NFF. Although he is new to sports administration, he is already part of the rot in the system.

This showed in the dissonance between him and the NFF after the Nations Cup over the appointment of a substantive coach for the Eagles. The two parties kept on delaying the simple matter of naming a coach until George was appointed two months after the exit of Jose Peseiro.

With the exit of George, the chaos might fester.

Yet, his brief covers all the sports, not just football. On his watch, Nigeria’s u-17 team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The Flying Eagles fell by the wayside in the All-African Games in March. So much for administrative acumen.

Enoh should curb his toxic interference in football and convert his energy to all sports. Indeed, other sports are suffering in silence. The Nigerian Basketball Federation withdrew D’Tigers from the Afrobasket qualifiers in March in Tunisia because of a lack of funds. Although the NBBF later sourced funds with the permission of the minister, D’Tigers lost all three matches because of their late arrival.

The minister’s priority should be sponsorships to revive the domestic leagues in volleyball, basketball, handball, hockey, and once-popular competitions like the Asoju Oba, cycling meets, and athletics.

Like his predecessors, President Bola Tinubu shares part of the blame. He rewarded mediocrity by lavishing gifts on the Eagles for placing second at the Nations Cup! That was in bad taste. Like previous presidents, he assigned a novice to the Sports Ministry. For Nigeria to fulfil its potential, the President must assign knowledgeable persons as the Minister of Sports.