Samson Siasia whose life ban from all football-related activities by FIFA was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), has lamented that he was abandoned by the federal government when he needed help most.
However, the Minister of Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare., in reaction, called the former Olympic Eagles coach a liar.
A statement by the minister’s media aide, John Joshua Akanji insisted that the ministry did not abandon Mr. Siasia as the former Eagles player claimed. He outlined efforts made by Mr. Dare to raise money for Siasia to prosecute his case at the CAS.
“The ministry, through the Minister, was able to raise the money which Siasia personally collected while he was also connected to persons and entities who raised money to assist him in appealing his case at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).”
Continuing, Akanji insisted, “The minister stayed on top of the case by pulling all strings to assist Siasia,” adding that “in addition to the governors of Edo, Delta, and Lagos, he (Dare) made an appeal to Governor Kayode Fayemi who is the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Ekiti state governor.”
When contacted, Siasia said, “With due respect to the minister and his office, since I met him, he has been very nice to me.”
Siasia said, as a person, he has no problem with the minister. “Why would I have a problem with him?” he asked. Adding “he has tried his best to help me, that is what I am saying. But the position I maintain is that the Federal Government of Nigeria did not back me when I needed help most.”
Siasia insisted, “I am not a liar.”
He recalled the Minister’s role in his fundraising drive before the appeal was heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sports. “If I can remember, the ban came a week or so, before or after he(the minister) was appointed. I had a chance of meeting with him and I told him about my case and that I would need help. He said, ‘you can see that we just got into office, we don’t have money now,’ but promised he would try and see what he could do to help. I even wrote a letter to that effect to his office.”
Siasia continued, “So he started talking to some of his colleagues, maybe during NEC meetings and all that. The only people that responded were Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State who gave me $5,000 and the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Honourable Phillip Shaibu who gave $10,000. Those were the only people that he spoke to on my behalf that gave me money.”
The former Super Eagles striker expressed gratitude to the minister for sparing time from his tight schedule to source help for him and said those two were the only donations he got through the minister’s effort.
“As for Sadiq Umar, the minister cannot claim he knows Sadiq more than me, I trained that boy, he was in the Olympic team with me. So I don’t know how he knew Sadiq even gave me money. Sadiq didn’t give me $5,000 (Five Thousand Dollars) as is being claimed, he gave me N1 million (One Million Naira)”
Siasia who led the Dream Team to two Olympic medals (silver and bronze) in Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016 said he did not understand why the Minister was so enraged to the extent of calling him a liar. “So I don’t understand which standpoint the minister is coming from. I only said the government did not assist me when I was in trouble with FIFA. I believe he is taking this fight now like his own fight because he is the one representing the government. That is the way I look at it. But I don’t lie. That is not fair to me, calling me a liar.”
He asked, “Why would I be lying when I need people to help me? I can’t begin to cause confusion when I actually need sympathy and help from people. If I said anything in an interview that he disagreed with, he could have invited me to talk, not by going to the public and start embarrassing ourselves. I have very serious issues to worry about, like trying to see how to appeal against the judgment: they said five years, now about two and a half years left. What am I going to be doing between now and then? How am I going to survive? Who is going to help me? Those are the things I am worried about.”
“What I am saying is that the Federal Government of Nigeria did not back me.”
“Of course, I am disappointed. Do I have the muscle to fight FIFA? From the Nigeria Football Federation and the Ministry of Sports who have all the time and access to the President, I am disappointed. They should have taken the plea to the President and tell him, this is one of our sons and he needs help. The President ought to know what is going on. I served this country. I won two Olympic medals (as coach), up till now, no handshake; I have trained more than 30 players for this country. Two Olympic medals and to date they have not told me what they would do, with all my players. Nothing.
“In 1994 we won AFCON in Tunisia. That was 27 years ago, they just announced they have given us houses. We are still waiting for the handover of the houses.”
