I once had a friend Sule, who became a smoker at age 15. His father adored him not because he smokes, but because he was the only son. Sule’s father was often never around to witness what a misfit that Sule had become.

Sule’s mother tried her best to raise his son to be a responsible boy, her efforts was been hindered by the tacit support and endorsements that Sule enjoys from his father who by the way lives and works in another country.

She knew that things had gotten out of hand when Sule at age 17 impregnated a girl who was then aged 15. Sule’s mom tried several things including withdrawing Sule from his school so that he can be cut off from the bad influences of his peers at school. She even at a point engaged the services of spiritualist to help deliver his son from ‘demonic bondage’.

But each of her efforts was met with lack of support from her husband, instead he accused her of being over-bearing on the young man. He reminded his wife that Sule was a grown man and warned her to quit meddling in his son’s affairs.

One late evening, Sule’s father got a distressed call from home – his only achievement in life, his country home has been completely razed down by fire. The fire was caused by a flaming cigarette butt. He lost everything in the fire, including Sule who was asphyxiated.

When I learnt of the fire incident at the Nigeria Football Federation (Glass House) yesterday, the first thought that came to my mind was the cost of our not being able to stand up to FIFA as a sovereign nation that pays the salaries of the jokers working at the Glass House.

For those who have been too busy following the tragic drama at the Glass House, NFF President, Mr. Aminu Maigari was first removed from office by a court of law in Jos immediately after the World Cup for alleged corrupt practices part of which resulted in our players refusing to train unless their monies were paid in Brazil. Afterwards Maigari rushed to FIFA; expectedly FIFA slammed and banned Nigeria for government interference in football matters.

Maigairi was back in office, but the reprieve was short lived as he was impeached by the NFF executive committee, who accused him of grand larceny, he then was reported to have purportedly threw in his resignation. Mr. Mike Umeh then stepped in as interim NFF president, but with a motive to become the next NFF president.

Cutting long story short, on August 15, FIFA reinstated Maigari and two others with specific instructions that they must be part of the forthcoming NFF elections on August 26. The result was the burning down of the NFF office yesterday.

MY TAKE:

Between Aminu Maigari and Mike Umeh, one of them knows something about the arson that was committed at the Glass House yesterday. It was a targeted inferno that was said to have started around 9.15am at the office of the Chief Accountant and later spread to the Accountant’s office, Secretary General’s office and then IT department, burning files and computers.

Maigari has the motive to cover up his mess, no documents, no proof – little wonder why he described the fire incident as an “Act of God.”

Umeh on his part also has a motive – he has been disqualified from contesting in the forthcoming August 26th elections. He probably participated in the alleged sleaze as he was the Vice President under Maigari. His may also be a case of "if I can’t have it, no one else can."

The irony is that even if a case is established against any of these blokes, government can’t fire them without FIFA baring its fangs. At this rate, when NFF finally moves its secretariat to its permanent site at the Abuja National Stadium, be very sure that one day we will wake up one morning and find that edifice in ruins and we can’t even lift a finger against them, if we do, FIFA will ban us!

They can #FireUs but we can’t #FireThem

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