Former Super Eagles defender Taribo West has delivered one of the most emotionally charged critiques of Nigerian football’s governance in recent memory.

An Emotional Plea at Peter Rufai’s Funeral

At the funeral of legendary goalkeeper Peter Rufai, held in August 2025, Taribo West delivered a tearful eulogy that doubled as an indictment of institutional neglect within Nigerian sports. Reflecting on the burdens placed on Rufai’s grieving family, West condemned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Lagos State Government, saying:

“Peter Rufai’s family had to cry and solicit for funds within our group just to bury him… With this kind of example, I will never advise my son to play for this country.”

Speaking with palpable rawness, he added:

“When Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples all over my body. Tears rolled down my cheeks… What kind of nation is this?”

A Pattern of Neglect

Taribo West didn’t stop at Rufai’s family. He highlighted a troubling trend of similar neglect befalling other Nigerian football icons like Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, noting:

“It happened to Stephen Keshi, it happened to Rasheed Yekini.”

First Daily NGThe Journal Nigeria

He called the spectacle of heroes’ families begging for funeral support “madness,” and stressed that the emotional weight of the national failure forced him into this painful conviction.

What NFF Replied

In reaction to West’s harsh criticism, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) took to social media to assert that it did provide financial and moral support during the funeral rites. Their statement emphasized the presence of top officials at the mass and earlier support for other national team legends.