The Honourable Minister of Sports, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, has set up a committee to look at the possibility of settling the several problems in Nigerian football. It is a worthy effort. I have met the new minister and something tells me he will succeed largely where others have failed, not necessarily because he will offer something new but because of the fresh passion he brings to it at a time when the combatants may be getting weary and would be ready to accept certain compromises that they would have considered acceptable a few months ago. The chaos and confusion started with the elections into football administration in 2006 and 2010.

Thankfully, Davidson Owumi’s case has finally been settled by a court. New elections into the board of the NPL have been ordered. The only issue with that would be that of eligibility of the contestants. Things have changed since the last elections. The status of the combatants has changed. So, how will that be resolved? Will they still be eligible to contest?
There is also one particular situation that I keep wondering how anyone can tackle successfully in other ways other than simply obeying a court judgement.

In the case of the NFF, I can’t see a way out. A judgment of a court exists. It has not been obeyed several months after. It has not been vacated or invalidated by a higher court. Indeed, the case that brought about the judgement was never heard and no longer exists, as it has been withdrawn. It cannot be re-listed or heard again. There was no appeal within the stipulated time after the judgement passed on order of court. The attempt by NANF to re-enlist the case was thrown out, so there is really no case in court about the annulled elections except the new suit filed by members of the board of the NFF stopping the IG from arresting them. That can be dealt with and withdrawn.
So, the questions are these: what happens to the order of court stopping the August 26, 2010, elections from taking place? What happens to the judgment of court annulling the elections that resulted from the disobedience of the court order? What happens to all those that obeyed the court order? If there is anyone out there that can provide the answer let him do s quickly. The entire crisis of Nigerian football start and end on those points.