Former Nigeria international Taribo West has berated the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Lagos State Government for neglecting the family of late Super Eagles goalkeeper Peter Rufai.
Rufai, widely known as “Dodo Mayana”, died in July at the age of 61. He was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the country’s victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations campaign and also featured at their maiden FIFA World Cup later that year in the United States.
Speaking at Rufai’s burial in Lagos, West said the treatment of the former shot-stopper’s family reflected a wider culture of neglect for Nigerian football icons.
“For me, is this acting that you have Lagos State, you have Nigerian Football Association, and they drop the buck on the family? I felt in my spirit there is nothing to put your life for.
That’s why I said I had to shift back so that I would not implode. It’s grieving,” the former Inter Milan defender said.
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West, who also played for AC Milan and Auxerre in Europe, compared the situation to the deaths of other Nigerian football legends.
“What kind of nation is this? With this kind of example, they showed it in Stephen Keshi, blessed memory, Thompson Oliha, blessed memory, Rashidi Yekini. I will never advise even my son to play for this country.”
Late Peter Rufai in action for the Super Eagles. Photo Credit: Getty Images
The former Olympic gold medallist admitted that Rufai’s passing had affected him deeply.
“My mother passed on, I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands, I never shed tears. Rufai passed on, I had ghost pimples on my body. And every individual I spoke to, there were tears rolling down my cheeks.”
He expressed dismay that Rufai’s family had to appeal for financial support from fellow ex-internationals during their time of grief.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying, just to solicit him within our groups to ask for money? That is madness,” West said.
Taribo West during his Super Eagles days. Photo Credit: Getty Images
“Do we have a football federation, or do we have just an association in this Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist has to be treated this way, and his family?”
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Rufai, who also represented clubs in Belgium, Spain and Portugal during a career spanning over two decades, later became a pastor after retiring from the game.
He founded the “Shelter in the Storm Miracle Ministries of All Nations” church in Lagos in 2014.
