Banner Online News

By Chukwudi Abiandu

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has once again taken aim at Nigeria’s entrenched corruption — this time in the country’s sports sector — describing it as “a shameful mirror of our national rot.”

Reacting to FIFA’s recent revelation that millions of dollars released to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for stadium projects and youth development were mismanaged, Obi said the scandal “perfectly mirrors the broader decay” in how Nigeria handles public funds.

In a fiery statement titled “Corruption in Sports: A Reflection of Nigeria’s Deeper Malaise,” the former Anambra governor lamented that “while insecurity, poverty and joblessness continue to crush our youths, the few opportunities that could lift them are being looted by those entrusted with power.”

“FIFA’s report on the mismanagement of funds for stadium development and youth talent growth is both sickening and shameful,” Obi declared. “It shows how deeply corruption has eaten into every fabric of our national life.”

He recalled that during his time as governor, Awka was chosen as one of six cities slated to benefit from a FIFA-funded stadium project. Land was promptly allocated for the facility, he said — but that was the last the state ever heard of it.

“Years later, nothing came of the promised FIFA project. We had to build the Awka Stadium ourselves,” Obi said, describing the development as “a glaring example of how Nigeria squanders opportunities meant for her young people.”

The former governor said since 2013, Nigeria had reportedly received about $25 million from FIFA and CAF for youth and football development, yet there is “little or nothing to show for it.” He cited the so-called $1.2 million stadium in Kebbi State as “a national embarrassment,” saying it bore no resemblance to the funds claimed to have been spent on it.

“We cannot keep watching our sports decline while corruption flourishes. Our youths are our most prized assets, yet we’ve destroyed their future and turned around to label them ‘Yahoo boys’,” Obi fumed. “The real Yahoo boys are those leaders who have robbed these young people of hope.”

Obi also pushed back at critics who accuse him of “demarketing Nigeria” by exposing corruption, saying the true enemies of the country are those who plunder its resources.

“The real demarketers of Nigeria are the incompetent leaders who have forged their way to wealth through the theft of public funds,” he said. “They are the reason our nation crawls where it should be soaring.”

Calling for integrity and accountability across all sectors, Obi warned that Nigeria would remain stuck in failure unless it cleansed its leadership and institutions of corruption.

“If we truly desire to rebuild this country, we must begin with honesty and transparency,” he said. “Until then, our future will remain mortgaged to thieves in public office.”

He ended on a hopeful note:

“A New Nigeria is still possible — but only when we choose truth over deceit and service over greed.”