Pastor Taribo West needs no introduction to football fans in the country. He was a former Super Eagles defender, known for his dreadlocks. Apart from being a member of the Atlanta 96 Olympics gold medal winning team, he also attended two World Cups in 1998 and 2002, respectively. In this interview with Ifeanyi Eduzor, Taribo, who hung his boots after 42 caps for the country, spoke on the state of Nigerian football and other issues.
As a stakeholder in Nigerian football, how would you rate the present Super Eagles under Gernot Rohr?
I’m happy with the transformation being carried out by the Franco-German since he took charge of the national team. It must be noted that prior to his appointment, the Super Eagles were lacking in confidence and countries, which hitherto had no business beating us were beginning to rubbish us on the field of play. Kudos must go to Rohr for qualifying Nigeria for this year’s AFCON in Egypt with a game to spare and for beaming his searchlight on the different leagues across the globe from where he is fishing out talented Nigerian players he is using to rebuild the national team. I believe that with the way he is going, very soon, Nigeria will take back its rightful position in the round leather game, not only in the continent but also at the global level. My take is that we should support Rohr the way we supported Clemens Westerhof. If we do, just like Westerhof, he will take Nigerian football to greater heights.
Are you not worried that he (Rohr) is neglecting home-based players in his invitation to the national team?
One thing people should understand is that the coach reserves the right to choose players he believes will give him result irrespective of where they play their club football. Today, Rohr is the one to take the blame if the Eagles fail to deliver. Not me, not you. So, why must anybody quarrel with where the players he is using to prosecute his matches, if he is getting the result we need? If he is more comfortable relying on the foreign-based professionals, why not?
However, that is not to say we don’t have good players at home. I know we have a lot of talented players in our domestic league. After all, I started here at home, made my mark here at home, just like many other Nigerian players, before moving abroad.
What is your take on the view of many Nigerians that the mass exodus of players to Europe and Asia is affecting the standard of the domestic league?
It’s really unfortunate that almost all the players in the country want to ply their trade abroad, even when they have not made their mark locally. However, you will not blame them because the desperation to go overseas is direct fallout of the economic situation in the country. During my playing days, I laced boots for Obanta United before moving over to Sharks of Port Harcourt, Enugu Rangers and Julius Berger. I played for all these clubs before the offer from Auxerre of France came. If I weren’t patient enough, I would have hurriedly taken an offer from Cambodia or one obscure country. And back in the days, our local league was very competitive and whenever there was a league match, involving the big teams or FA Cup finals, the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, would be filled to capacity before 12noon but the story is different now. The fact is that our league is no more competitive and the administrators are not helping matters.
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Confederation of African Football (CAF) released the list of African XI during the CAF awards that was held in Dakar, Senegal, without a Nigerian player in the squad. What’s the implication of this for our football?
I must have to tell you that I’m not only surprised but also disappointed with the list. I say this because in the past, Nigeria used to dominate that list. In any case, I don’t think the list CAF released represent the best legs in the continent. I think one or two of our players ought to be there. I really don’t know the criteria they used in their selection. Having said that, the fact remains that what happened in Senegal shows that our football is retrogressing and there is urgent need for our players to up their game, aspire to play in the best club sides and leagues in the world. They must also aspire to command first team shirt in such clubs if we are to correct the anomaly.
Egypt has been given the hosting right of this year’s AFCON. Do you think the Super Eagles stand a chance to lift the trophy for the fourth time in the land of the Pharaohs?
This year’s AFCON finals will be keenly contested and with the increase of the participating teams from 16 to 24, we’ re going to witness a lot of surprises.
But the Super Eagles coming back after missing the last two editions will definitely be fired up to put up a good performance, especially with the rebuilding process currently going on in the team.
I can see the Super Eagles getting to the semi- finals of the continental showpiece which, for me, will be a good result.
Taking a look at some of our ex- internationals, one would be disappointed with their state after serving the country. How would you like them to be rehabilitated?
It is only in Nigeria that you will see legends, who served their fatherland live and die in penury after retirement. It is also only in Nigeria that you will see ex-internationals not given a role to play in the affairs of the country’s football.
In other climes, those who run their football are retired players, who know the pains of their colleagues and fashion out a good welfare package and rehabilitation programmes for them. Here, how many of us are in the FA? So, why won’t we suffer when we are not the ones running the show?
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But don’t you think the players union has a role to play in this regard?
The question you should ask yourself is whose interest is the players union representing? Are you talking of Austin Popo or Harrison Jalla, who are still fighting themselves over the control of the body or the one that was recognised the other day by the NFF and led by Tijani Babangida? I think the football administrators are enjoying the whole scenario, knowing full well that a more united players union will achieve a lot. With the division in the body that is supposed to fight for players, both active and retired, there is no way the welfare of players will be in the front burner. A disunited union gives the administrators the opportunity to treat us the way they like and we can’t even go to the government to make a case for ourselves. We must first of all put our house in order before addressing the issue of how the legends, who served this country are treated.
Since deciding to work in the Lord’ s Vineyard as a pastor, do you still have time to be involved in football activities?
My call to win souls for Christ has not in any way affected my involvement in football. Rather, it has made me more committed to helping talented players achieve success. You’re aware that late last year, I partnered with Emmanuel Emenike and some other ex-internationals to organise a successful football tournament and we hope to hold more of such tournaments to give players opportunity to excel in the round leather game.
As a player who featured in some of the best leagues in the world, do you still maintain any relationship with your former clubs?
Thanks a lot for that question. Like I told you earlier, after playing in the domestic league, I featured for Auxerre of France and from there I moved to Inter Milan, AC Milan, Derby County, Al- Arabi, and some other clubs before retiring. Of all these club sides, my heart is still with Inter Milan and to date, I maintain a close relationship with the club…the fans, players and management.
In fact, the club president calls me on a regular basis and after every of their Serie A game, we talk…he gets my assessment of their performance and stuffs like that.
