A former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has accused the Nigeria Football Federation and Lagos State Government of abandoning the family of late goalkeeper, Peter Rufai.
Speaking at Rufai’s burial in a video shared by News Central on Friday, the sportsman lamented that Nigerian football heroes are neglected after death.
He fumed that, given the precedent the country was setting, he would never advise his son to serve that country through football.
According to him, “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
The former international recalled similar situations with late football icons such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, stressing ex-players’ treatment.
“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.
Rufai, fondly called “Dodo Mayana,” was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and the country’s debut at the FIFA World Cup the same year. He passed away in July 2025.
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