They referred to as him “Jay-Jay” as a result of he was so good they named him twice, soccer analysts say. Austin Jay-Jay Okocha is a reputation that evokes magic, audacity, and pure, unadulterated footballing genius. It’s exactly this emotional connection that makes the rising requires his ascension to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chairmanship so dangerously seductive and so profoundly misguided.
The elemental problem going through Nigerian soccer isn’t an absence of ardour; it’s a disaster of management.
The usual for the NFF chairman has eroded to such a level that we appear to have forgotten what the function requires. A real chief isn’t merely a well-known title however a visionary, a strategist, and a supervisor of advanced methods. They have to be a vendor in hope, armed with a confirmed report of turning imaginative and prescient into actuality, constructed on a basis of each hard-earned victories and instructive failures.
This isn’t an indictment of Okocha’s legacy as a participant, which is untouchable. It’s, nonetheless, a plea for logic over emotion.
For a football-obsessed nation, failing to qualify for 2 consecutive World Cups is a catastrophic failure. Because the saying goes, the definition of madness is doing the identical factor repeatedly and anticipating a unique end result. Swapping one figurehead for an additional, primarily based on sentimental attraction slightly than govt competence, is exactly that sort of insanity.
So, what’s the actual drawback with the NFF? It transcends any single particular person. The core points have compounded over a long time, rooted in a historical past of unqualified management. The federation has been stricken by short-termism, political interference, and a persistent lack of strategic planning. It operates as a reactive physique, not a proactive one, resulting in a systemic failure that has infested all ranges of the soccer ecosystem.
Moreover, the absence of a cohesive nationwide soccer philosophy is evident. From the grassroots to the senior nationwide crew, there isn’t any constant identification or type of play. Improvement is haphazard, not structured. A glance again at our most potent and productive years, from 1993 to 1998, ought to have supplied the blueprint for a nationwide taking part in philosophy that might transcend regimes and coaches.
Then there may be the executive ineptitude. The latest self-inflicted media wound by the NFF’s personal media unit says all of it. After a harmful 1-1 draw in opposition to South Africa, a portion of an official press launch learn: “Cyriel Dessers, who had an unimpressive recreation in Uyo the place he turned out a substitute that was substituted, didn’t have a greater recreation as he was too sluggish to latch onto passes, couldn’t win aerial balls and did little in bringing alive the Nigerian assault.”
That is an unbelievably unprofessional act for any severe organisation. Within the aftermath, NFF Common Secretary Mohammed Sanusi acknowledged, “I noticed it similar to you noticed it, and no one within the headquarters was proud of that launch. The NFF didn’t direct it… We’re not comfortable that a person is singled out.” But, vital questions stay unanswered: The place did the discharge emanate from? Who wrote and permitted it for publication? And what has occurred to the wrongdoer? As of now, no one has misplaced their job.
This incident is only a symptom of a deeper rot. Accusations of non-payment of match bonuses, some allegedly stretching again three years, haven’t been refuted. Fixed contractual disputes with gamers and coaches, mismanagement of funds, and decaying infrastructure all level to a system in determined want of an overhaul.
Filling this vital function requires a person with a demonstrable historical past in sports activities administration, monetary acumen, and the ruthless pragmatism to repair a damaged system. We don’t simply want a legend who impressed us on the pitch; we want a builder who can assemble a sustainable future off it.
Naturally, Okocha has his supporters. Cameroonian legend Samuel Eto’o informed ESPN, “In Africa, the most effective gamers are from Nigeria, however they lack good administration. We’ve got nice ex-footballers in Nigeria, but politicians are appointed to run the soccer affairs, leaving the skilled footballers behind… I’m urging Nigerian soccer followers to rally spherical for Jay-Jay Okocha to emerge victorious.”
Apparently, Okocha had taken a shot at soccer administration years again because the Delta State Soccer Affiliation chairman, however he didn’t cowl himself in glory.
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“I failed woefully as Delta FA chairman. Didn’t full my tenure, I walked away,” the previous Tremendous Eagles captain stated whereas talking about his tenure in a chat with Sports activities Zone on Lagos Talks FM in January 2025.
Okocha bluntly admitted he “didn’t obtain something” within the workplace, although he blamed the scenario on the unfavourable working circumstances he discovered himself in.
Whereas we are going to perpetually rejoice Jay-Jay for what he was-one of the best gamers to ever grace the game-let us not confuse the brilliance of the magician with the meticulous talent of the architect. Our soccer future is just too necessary to be constructed on a mirage.
