As expectations, anxiety and suspense grow over the formation of a normalisation committee to reform Nigerian football, an ex-international, Paul Okoku, has suggested that it must follow previous examples in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Sports247 reports that Okoku, who was part of Nigeria’s silver medal winning squad to the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, stated that achievements gained from both precedents should guide a similar structure being planned for his country.
He added in his latest article on topical issues regarding the round leather game in Nigeria that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the global body, FIFA, must put in place an effective committee as they did in the past for Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The former midfielder, who first dazzled for Nigeria’s youth national team, Flying Eagles, added that CAF and FIFA must liaise with various agencies in Nigeria’s sports, legal, economic and security sectors for impeccable people who will be appointed to the committee.
Okoku added at length, “This is not a new standard being proposed solely for Nigeria. FIFA’s governance framework requires candidates for Normalisation Committees to pass eligibility checks. Its published guidance also recognises that the selection process should consider competence, accountability and independence.
“There is precedent for this requirement in Africa. When FIFA announced Ghana’s Normalisation Committee in August 2018, it expressly required eligibility checks for members. When it announced the committee for Cote d’Ivoire in December 2020, it applied the same principle.
“Nigeria should expect the same rigorous standard. FIFA and CAF should obtain any protected information only through lawful procedures and appropriate authorities. The objective is verified integrity screening, not trial by newspaper.
“All prospective members must meet the applicable standards, including those with no previous NFF appointment. The goal is not to ban familiar faces or reserve positions for a preferred group. It is to make public service answerable to evidence.
“Competent former officials should have their genuine contributions recognized. Serious adverse findings should receive appropriate consideration. Nigerian football needs professionals who can reform the system without being beholden to its competing interests.”
Okoku, who was the assistant captain in Nigeria’s under 20 squad that made history in the country’s first outing at the World Youth Championship (WYC), by winning a match during the competition’s 1983 edition in Mexico, concluded by providing details of upright values each member of the forthcoming committtee should flaunt.
“The responsibility is too important to become another contest over personalities. It must examine the institutional problems, support lawful reforms and help restore confidence in football governance. That demands integrity from the people entrusted with the assignment.
“FIFA and CAF should publish the appointment criteria, provide relevant information about those selected and confirm that every member has passed the required eligibility checks. That is how a reform process begins to earn trust.”
Sports247 reports further that Okoku, who is also a football historian, analyst, investigative writer and founder/CEO of Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund (GTCF), stressed that past records of all substantive members should be thoroughly checked across various levels of life.
