Where smoke rises, there usually is a fire close by. It was therefore no surprise to have Mikel John Obi finally admit to having footed bills, ranging from feeding to transportation, of Nigeria's U-23 side as part of preparation for the Olympic Games in Rio.

The story had been reported by local media during the tournament, and had been vehemently denied by the captain, as well as the team’s media officer, in what one can only imagine was an act of modest diplomacy. His total expense, by his own admission to Goal , exceeded £30,000, a staggering and quite generous contribution to the enterprise.
Mikel admits he paid his own money to save

In addition to being team captain and chief creator, Mikel appeared to relish the added responsibility of being de facto benefactor to the team, producing his best football in international colours for quite some time. The team also went ahead to claim bronze, the sole Nigerian medal in a forgettable Olympic Games.
In that sense, some good came of such a farcical arrangement. The question, though, is why it all had to come to that.
Nigeria, and indeed African sides in general, have a shameful history with financial disputes in major tournaments.

If there are African reps, you can be certain there will be some scandal, typically centering on unpaid bonuses.
As recently as the World Cup two years ago in Brazil, the Super Eagles were forced to boycott training for a day before the Round of 16 tie against France, demanding bonuses due to them for equaling Nigeria’s best-ever finish at the Mundial, while Cameroon and Ghana needed money flown into South America to quell camp insurrections.
From the outside looking in, and for those unfamiliar with the workings of the local football administration, the players often have to take blame for being ‘unpatriotic’ and are charged with indiscipline, often even by the very administrators (who can forget the events of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali, culminating in Nigeria fielding an almost unrecognizable squad at the World Cup later that year?).

This, then, is a breath of fresh air: a player for once going out of his way to demonstrate commitment to a cause, displaying the sort of mature leadership that recognized how to bend ever so slightly without breaking.
It helped, perhaps, that there was a personal ambition to be fulfilled--having missed out in 2008 as Samson Siasia led Nigeria to silver, this was one experience lacking in a storied career. If you ever wondered what an Olympic medal could be worth to a player who has won every major club trophy available, then wonder no more.
However, it is entirely possible for even an act of inherent nobility to set a bad precedent.
Nigeria is a country that glories in triumphs against the odds, one that seems incapable of grasping the fact that exceptions to the rule are just that: freak occurrences. Rather than introspection and reform, this debacle will further entrench complacency and abdication within the hierarchy of Nigerian football.
It could also lead to a conflict of interest down the line.

The coach of a team can hardly be expected to function unimpaired when one of his players is actively footing the bills. It’s all well and good when the player in question possesses Mikel’s natural ability, of course, but it would have been interesting to see where Siasia’s loyalties would have lain had the team’s sustenance come from a less reliable member.
It also taints the otherwise perfectly logical decision to transfer the team captaincy to the Chelsea man upon arrival, fringing it with a patina of lucre-y grime.

There are lessons aplenty, but typically, Nigeria - and its fellow African nations - may never learn them.
Over in Ghana, there is a messy separation ongoing between the Black Stars and the people, with the GFA playing the role of unscrupulous divorce lawyer, directly as a result of the issue of player welfare.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. For now though, it suffices simply to salute Mikel’s patriotic sacrifice, as we await the next African money scandal on the world stage.