Former Nigerian defender, Taribo West, on Friday criticized both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Government, accusing them of neglecting the family of late goalkeeper Peter Rufai.
At Rufai’s burial, in a video shared by News Central, the ex-Inter Milan player voiced his frustration, lamenting what he saw as a culture of disregarding national football icons once they pass away.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family. I felt in my spirit that there is nothing to put your life for. That’s why I say I have to shift back so that I will not implode. It’s grieving.
“My mother passed on. I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands. I never shed tears. When Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples on my body. And every individual I’m speaking to, there were tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?” he said.
West went on to recall how other fallen legends like Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha were treated in similar fashion, stressing that such neglect has made him reluctant to encourage his own children to play for Nigeria.
“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Send me out! Do we have a Football Federation or do we have a Football Association in this Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way in his family.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit in within our groups to ask for money? That is madness. Look, please let me go. I don’t want to pour my heart,” he stated.
Nicknamed “Dodo Mayana,” Rufai was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the country’s 1994 Africa Cup of Nations victory and also at their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance that same year.
