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TECHNICAL CAPACITY: THE REJECTED FOUNDATION OF FOOTBALL IN NIGERIA

Published

4 years ago

July 29, 2022

By: Godwin Bamigboye.

I presented a 30 point Agenda in my first write up on Wednesday 27th July, 2022 titled,
IF I WERE PRESIDENT, NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (NFF).

I have since then received so much responses. The feedback is quite inspiring. I want to state again that I am not giving this gesture in return for any gains. It is indeed a free consultancy gesture in the interest of Football in Nigeria.

I will begin to dissect and reveal or expatiate on the 30 point Agenda. In this write up Number 2, I will be making a presentation titled:

TECHNICAL CAPACITY:
THE REJECTED FOUNDATION OF FOOTBALL IN NIGERIA.

In the same manner, I will be listing points that will revolutionize the Technical Competence of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). If I were the President, Nigeria Football Federation:-

I will immediately give priority attention to the Technical Capacity of NFF. It is the Foundation or the Bedrock on which the NFF is built.
Among the Football Stakeholders, there are three major Actors viz,
a. Players;
b. Coaches;
c. Referees.

The Players (they are like blood running in the human system) are at the forefront. The Coaches are the Heartbeat of Football). The Football Referees (are arbiters or regulators).
The Coach who are expected to be conversant with the Rules of the Game, imparts the required knowledge into the players.

Invariably, if the Bedrock or Foundation of Football in Nigeria is to be strengthened, you must pay attention to these MAJOR ACTORS (PLAYERS, COACHES and REFEREES).
The starting point of implementation is the
TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT of the Nigeria Football Federation.
The Department is currently understaffed. The Technical Structure of NFF is embarrassingly too small, though the few Technocrats there are qualified. Therefore, there is the need to immediately expand the Department in terms of structure and personnel. I had in my first write up said the various LEAGUES, that is, NPFL, NNL, NLO and NWFL will have Technical Divisions answerable to the Technical Department of NFF. The Technical Department of NFF through the 36 States and FCT Football Associations will have a functional Technical Unit each that will get the latest Technical activities for the benefit of their States. This is in addition to the existing working relationship between the Technical Department and the Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA).

INDIGENOUS COACHES VS FOREIGN COACHES.

This is an issue that will be handled expediently. I am not against the engagement of expatriate Football Coaches to handle our National Teams. The foreign coach must justify the reasons for his/her engagement. Some of our Clubs have engaged foreign coaches in the past and even presently. I am aware that some Football Academies also engage the services of foreign coaches.
However, my concern is that we have lost focus overtimes and we are facing the reality of diminishing returns. Otto Gloria, Clemens Westerhof and others could be given some credit as foreign coaches who made impact in Football in Nigeria but Clemens Westerhof stands out. Can we make reference to any of the foreign coaches engaged after the ones aforementioned that has impacted our Football positively?
Randy Waldrum can only prove he is a good tactician if he goes to the World Cup and surpass the records of our domestic coaches who dominated Football in the African continent since inception of AWCON in addition to appearances/performance in the FIFA Women World Cup. I have seen no ADDED VALUE from Waldrum. In the male category, our Coaches dominated the World in the age grade World Cup but the same Coaches were not encouraged to transit to higher levels. They needed to be PREPARED FOR HIGHER RESPONSIBILITIES but there is a lack of will or vision in this direction. It is not a guess that the REMUNERATION of a foreign Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles per annum is adequate to upgrade 12 INDIGENOUS COACHES into WORLD CLASS COACHES. It is a worthwhile investment in human capacity development.
Why waste our RESOURCES on UNPRODUCTIVE FOREIGN COACHES?
I shall not embark on quick fix approach to our Technical issues. Rather, it shall have a structure that will be SUSTAINABLE.
We shall have a POOL of talented PLAYERS that will be SCOUTED for and DEVELOPED for National Service.
This training or preparation shall be sustained and improved upon.
Nigerian Coaches shall celebrate the resumption of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Coaching License Course which has been stopped about three years ago. This is UNACCEPTABLE. Nigeria with the highest population in Africa MUST be given an unconditional approval to RESUME MASSIVE TRAINING OF THEIR COACHES FOR THE VARIOUS CAF COACHING LICENSES.

Let me pause here since I cannot exhaust everything on how I shall address the Technical issues bordering on Football in Nigeria.

I hope ALL aspirants to various elective offices in the Nigeria Football Federation will leverage on this submission.
The foregoing are among the very many plans I have for the growth of Football in Nigeria.
If I were the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Look out for more. Thank you.

From:

Godwin Bamigboye
Phone: 08033141852 .
Email: godwinbams@gmail.com

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

20 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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