Former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has criticized the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Government for allegedly abandoning the family of late goalkeeper Peter Rufai.
Speaking during Rufai’s burial on Friday in a video shared by News Central, the ex-Inter Milan star expressed deep disappointment over what he described as the continuous neglect of Nigerian football legends after their death.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family,” West lamented. “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.”
West, visibly emotional, recalled how the death of Rufai—popularly known as “Dodo Mayana”—hit him harder than even the loss of his parents.
“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. There were tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?” he asked.
The former international also drew attention to the similar plight faced by families of other late Nigerian football icons, including Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha. He argued that the repeated neglect of ex-players discouraged him from supporting his children’s ambitions to represent the country in football.
“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Do we have a Football Federation or do we have a Football Association in Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way in his family,” West stated angrily.
He further described as “madness” the fact that Rufai’s family had to depend on financial solicitations from former teammates and friends for burial expenses.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit within our groups to ask for money? That is madness. Look, please let me go. I don’t want to pour my heart,” he added.
Peter Rufai, who died in July 2025, was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the Super Eagles’ victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations campaign and the country’s debut at the FIFA World Cup the same year.
