Faith Akindele
Reacting to the resignation of former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF ) President Musa Gusau, Coach Anthony praised him for putting the interest of Nigeria ahead of his personal ambition, despite the circumstances surrounding his departure.
“Gusau, na man you be,” he exclaimed, describing the former Zamfara State Football Association chairman as someone who could have chosen to escalate the matter by challenging the decision at FIFA.
“You are a man indeed. No matter how it came, for you to step down, I think what is important is that you put Nigeria first ahead of your own ambition,” Anthony said.
He noted that Gusau could have remained in office until the expiration of his tenure or taken the matter to FIFA, but argued that either option could have created further complications for Nigerian football.
“If he takes the case to FIFA, nobody can do anything to him, and at the same time, it’s going to be a setback to Nigerian football,” he added.
“I thank God that he decided to step down for the betterment of Nigerian football and for football lovers to continue to see their darling national teams in football activities,” he said.
While acknowledging some of the achievements recorded during Gusau’s tenure, Coach Anthony disagreed with the assessment that the administration was an overall success.
He specifically highlighted improvements in coaching education, including the introduction of CAF Coaching Licence programmes, the alignment of the domestic league calendar with the European football calendar, developments in refereeing and efforts towards improving football infrastructure.
“For me, I don’t see him as a success. He didn’t succeed. He started and well achieved some personal goals, which are the CAF Coaching Licence B, C and A that he introduced after so many years,” he argued.
“I think he brought it back, kudos to him. We also saw that he started well with the national team, where we took second with Jose Peseiro, and the Super Falcons qualified for the Olympics after eight years of not being there,” he added.
However, Anthony defended Gusau against what he described as undue interference from powerful interests within Nigerian football, arguing that such interference contributed to some of the administration’s challenges.
According to the coach, “godfatherism” remains one of the major problems affecting the administration and development of Nigerian football.
“Godfatherism,” he stated emphatically, arguing that certain individuals benefit from a poorly structured football administration.
“We have some people who benefit from a rotten organisation. When an organisation is not well structured, some people benefit from it,” he said.
He alleged that some influential individuals put pressure on the former NFF leadership to influence decisions concerning players and coaches.
“Most of them, they give him pressure, like interference, for him to take their players and coaches. That is what led to the Super Falcons not qualifying for the World Cup,” he alleged.
Coach Anthony also expressed delight over the cancellation of the NFF Elective Congress earlier scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, describing the development as another significant step towards reforming Nigerian football.
He stressed, however, that the reform should go beyond simply amending the NFF Statutes. In his view, the process must involve stakeholders at every level, from local government authorities to state governments and the Federal Government.
Anthony urged the authorities to use the opportunity to pursue a holistic restructuring of Nigerian football, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, administration and stakeholder participation.
“Like now, we talk about Enyimba, Rangers, we talk about those people that are going to play in the continent. None of them have a stadium of their own,” he noted.
“Inviting the governors, the local governments and the Sports Minister, I think those things can help us now to tap into the real infrastructure that we need for our football development,” he added.
The coach further emphasized that football remains an important instrument for promoting peace, unity and national cohesion in Nigeria.
He therefore called on the authorities and relevant stakeholders to develop a clear and sustainable template for the reform, expressing confidence that a properly structured football administration, improved infrastructure and broader stakeholder participation could help restore the fortunes of Nigerian football.
