What Is Taribo West’s Offence?

What Is Taribo West’s Offence?

By Harrison Jalla

Since the emotional outburst of former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, on 21st August 2025 during the Service of Songs for the late legendary goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, Nigerians—particularly stakeholders in sports—have flooded the internet with all kinds of attacks on him.

But my question is: What exactly is his offence?
And if his outburst was offensive to his attackers, then what really triggered it?

Why are we so hypocritical in this country?
Is Taribo West the problem of Nigerian football?
Where were these critics when Nigerian football was run aground 10 years ago?

If all the videos critics wasted their time on condemning Taribo had been directed at checkmating the excesses of our football administrators and the NFF, by now Nigeria would rank among the five best footballing nations in the world.

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The Real Issues
• What happened to the over $11m received from FIFA for Forward 1 & 2 projects between 2016 and 2022?
As we speak, the only thing we have to show for it is the sub-standard Kebbi State mini stadium. The proposed Ugborodo Stadium in Delta State remains a mirage. The cost of those two mini-stadiums is $2.3m. What happened to the balance of over $8m?
• What happened to the 2014 $8.4m FIFA World Cup grant, paid on December 18, 2014, and lodged in the Zenith Bank, Usuma Street branch, Maitama, in NFF domiciliary account number 5070407456?
In the fictitious 76-item retirement list to FIFA, the NFF allocated $1m to a friendly match against Bolivia that never held. They also allocated $550,000 to a CAF congress in Cairo, which CAF has since debunked.
• How about the $10m 2018 FIFA World Cup grant that disappeared into thin air? Even the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Emefiele, could not help.
• Do we talk about the over $40m sponsorship money from SuperSport to LMC in five football seasons? Not even one football pitch was re-grassed with that money.

Let’s not forget: there are several streams of FIFA and CAF funding annually, alongside comprehensive budgetary allocations from the federation account for all NFF programmes.

Yet Nigeria did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—and as it stands, only a miracle can qualify us for the 2026 World Cup.

Those who committed these atrocities against the Nigerian state are walking the streets as free men. Some were even promoted and given higher responsibilities.

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Misplaced Priorities

Where is the National Sports Commission Board in line with the Act that established it?
Is the NFF Board and its congress truly representative of Nigeria’s five federating units? Why should one federating unit have 37 votes in an assembly of 44?

Where is the ₦78bn allocated to the National Sports Commission for 2025? Which board authorized the spending and disbursement of that ₦78bn?

It is a complete misplaced priority if Nigeria’s sports stakeholders shift their attention from these germane issues to focus on attacking one man who, rightly or wrongly, spoke out of emotion.

Stakeholders should be demanding equity, fair play, accountability, and putting measures in place to recover stolen funds.

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What Triggered Taribo’s Outburst?

Anybody could have reacted the same way Taribo reacted in the heat of that moment. The NFF and the NSC are institutions representing the Federal Government. If their principal officers had been present at the Service of Songs for the late Peter Rufai, that outburst would have been avoided.

These institutions owe sportsmen and women—particularly footballers—a duty of care. Given the short career span and precarious nature of professional sports, safety nets should be in place to help avoid the pitfalls.
• What percentage of professional footballers are successful in every generation?
• How much do footballers in Nigeria really earn?
• At what age are they recruited into the game, and at what age do they retire?

In football, this is not a privilege—it is a right and entitlement. We are not asking for government money. We are only demanding funds generated by FIFA through the activities of professional footballers globally, which are distributed annually to national federations—in Nigeria’s case, through the NFF.

The same applies to any revenue generated internally through professional football activities. A percentage should rightly go to PFAN to set up welfare programmes for current and retired footballers, through a collective bargaining agreement with the NFF and NSC. This is the global standard.

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Conclusion

If just 5% of the energy wasted on fighting Taribo West were directed at holding the NFF accountable, Nigeria would win the World Cup in no distant future.

We must get our priorities right.

– Prince Harrison Jalla