LAGOS, Nigeria – A former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, is unhappy over the treatment of ex-internationals by football authorities in the country and won’t advise his son to play for Nigeria.
West spoke on Thursday in Lagos during the service of songs for former Super Eagles goalkeeper Peter Rufai.
“What kind of nation is this? With the type of example that they have shown with Shofoluwe, Stephen Keshi, Thompson Oliha, Rashidi Yekini, I’ll never advise my son to put his feet for this country,” the former AC Milan player, who was visibly angry, told reporters at the event in the Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos.
The ex-defender accused football authorities of doing little to support Rufai’s family following the death of the goalkeeper, who was Nigeria’s first choice at the 1994 World Cup.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family. I felt in my spirit that there is nothing to put your life on the line for. That’s why I say I have to shift back so that I will not implode. It’s grieving.
“My mother passed on. I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands. I never shed tears,” he said. “When Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples on my body. And every individual I’m speaking to, there were tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?”
Describing Rufai, a former Sharks Football Club player, as a “football evangelist,” West accused the Lagos Football Association and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of not supporting the legend’s family.
“Do we have a Football Federation or do we have a Football Association in this Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way, and his family.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit within our groups to ask for money? That is madness. Look, please let me go. I don’t want to pour my heart,” he said angrily before abandoning the interview.
Rufai, fondly called “Dodo Mayana,” was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and the country’s debut at the FIFA World Cup the same year. The footballer died last month.
He was buried at the Ikoyi Cemetery, Lagos, on Friday in a ceremony attended by family, friends, and former internationals.
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