By Segun Odegbami

Even the elements joined in the conspiracy and the celebration. They ensured that the news of the resignation of the President and members of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, coincided with the marking of the anniversary of the day of my birth. It was a lovely birthday gift.

This is to publicly thank all those that sent me warm messages on the day reminding me about how the years have rolled by so fast. It is already evening in my journey through life. Meanwhile, Nigeria has played a great part in providing me opportunities to enjoy every bit of the journey, good, bad, ugly and more.

Every day that passes now is a bonus, one of giving out without expectation; of striving to add a little value to the community, to my country and to humanity; of making a little positive difference to a world that has treated me fairly and very well throughout my life.

My new mission is to utilise the (unearned) privilege of a good life gifted me by the Creator of all things, and to follow the Nike credo, ‘Just Do It’, fearlessly, and without favour. My objective is to play my part well in this life and leave the rest to posterity.

It is already the day-after, as I write this.

I thank all those that sent me goodwill messages. I congratulate Ibrahim Gusau for taking the honourable path of resigning along with his board members from the Executive Committee of the NFF.

Whilst leaving, he recounted his major contributions to the game of football as a whole. I truly commend his contributions, industry and commitment. However, that the various national teams did not do well enough was the Albatross of his tenure. That’s what people remember.

‘Winning teams’ are the only measure of achievement in sport, in which case, his board fell short.

I commend President Bolà Ahmed Tinubu for the bold decisions he has taken in sports, unlike previous governments that shied away from confronting the monster that had taken over Nigerian sports as a whole.

BAT gave the leadership of the National Sports Commission the guidance, the backing and the confidence to hard decisions needed to break free from the shackles of the fear of a FIFA ban. How the termination of the NFF tenure was handled is a master stroke.

So, with the threat of a FIFA-ban out of the way, Nigerians can now breathe freely and take decisions that will remove the shackles of past errors, past misdeeds and the products of ignorance. There is now space for fresh thinking, new ideas, and opportunity for a new vision in drafting new governance statutes that will produce the next set of administrators with the competency to take Nigerian football to the stratosphere.

What affects football affects all the other sports. What impacts the Nigerian Football Association will also impact other sports federations. What impacts all the federations will cascade to the Nigeria Olympic Committee that has been stagnated for decades.

Nigerian Sport is on the cusp of a revolution. These past 24 hours have been very indicative. The National Sports Commission are taking the right decisions and heading in the right direction.

I hope they will sustain the momentum, create the platform and assemble the egg-heads with the capacity to shape the future of sports in Nigeria going forward!

The first important issue to be quickly resolved is the legal status of the name of the organisation.

There is everything in its name – NFF or NFA. I don’t expect that most people will understand this. But therein lies the difference between success and failure in the reforms ahead.

Yesterday, I received the perfect gift for my birthday. Thank you President BAT!