Former Nigeria national team goalkeeper Peter Rufai recently passed away.
At the funeral, his former teammate Taribo West mourned his friend while sharply criticizing the Nigeria Football Federation and the Lagos State Government.
According to him, these two organizations failed to give proper attention to the loss of their football legends, and the process was completely neglected.
“The Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Football Federation expressed their condolences. But the family isn’t receiving sufficient support.
“I feel in my heart that dedicating your life to Nigerian football has no meaning. That’s why I have to stay silent to control my anger. It’s very upsetting,” he said.
“My mother passed away, I didn’t shed a tear. My father passed away in my hands, I didn’t shed a tear. But when Rufai passed, I got goosebumps all over my body. Everyone I spoke to had tears running down their faces. What kind of country is this?”
“I Want to Keep My Son Away from Nigerian Football“
Taribo West recalled that similar situations occurred with other late football legends such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha.
For this reason, he said he would advise his son not to play football for the country:
“Looking at this example, I would never advise my son to set foot in this country. Leave me alone! Do we have a Football Federation, or just a Football Association in Lagos State? Does this hero, this soldier, this football ambassador have to be treated like this along with his family?”
“Can you imagine, the family has to ask for help in such a situation to raise money? This is madness. Please leave me alone. I don’t want to pour my heart out anymore,” he added.