THE RECENT COURT VERDICT AND THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL IN TARABA STATE- SADIQ MOYOYO
By Abubakar Sadiq Moyoyo, Dallatun Bantaje.
Permanent Member II, Taraba State Sports Development Commission, Jalingo.
The long awaited verdict of the Federal High Court of Justice, Jalingo has finally come.
That verdict, which annulled the election of Timothy Magaji Heiman purported to have been conducted sometime in June 2023, has put to rest months of uncertainty, suspicion and stagnation in Taraba football.
The court not only sacked Heiman, it upheld the election of Sanusi Mahmoud as the duly elected Chairman of the Taraba State Football Association.
To many Tarabans, particularly football enthusiasts who keenly followed the trends of events as they unfolded, the judgement did not come as a surprise.
It was expected, because the process that brought Heiman to office was fraught with soddy arrangements, irregularities and open disregard for the statutes governing football administration.
Delivering judgement, His Lordship Mr. Justice Mashkur Salisu, PhD, was clear and unambiguous. Mr. Heiman is barred from parading himself as the Chairman of the Taraba State Football Association.
The court further declared that Sanusi Mahmoud is the duly and legally elected Chairman of the Association in Taraba State.
The judge went further to award the sum of Five Million Naira as cost of litigation against the defendant, Timothy Heiman, to be paid to the plaintiff, Sanusi Mahmoud, for all the expenses he incurred during the course of litigation.
According to the judgement, the new Chairman will serve for a term of four years, as provided by the FA Statutes.
This judgement came at a very difficult moment for Tarabans who are in dire love of the game of football.
For more than two years, football in Taraba was held hostage by litigation. The beautiful game suffered. The love and morale of football lovers in the state was completely killed.
Grassroots tournaments disappeared. The State League became epileptic. Talented youngsters who would have been discovered and exported to bigger leagues were left idle on dusty fields.
Even the then defunct Taraba State Sports Council and the disbanded Ministry of Sports did not help matters.
Instead of playing the role of unbiased arbiters and guardians of sports development, they took sides with one of the aggrieved parties because of the little stipends he dropped on the table, thereby compounding more challenges to the skirmishes.
The crisis became personality-driven rather than principle-driven.
Heiman, on his part, enjoyed what looked like home support. When he returned from a function in Abuja, his supporters would roll out drums, smile and cheer.
Sanusi, on the other hand, was always outside the state, pursuing his case quietly without so much local noise. That created a false impression that he had been forgotten.
Heiman banked on this support from individuals and groups. Instead of towing the path of reconciliation and peace-making in the interest of the leather game and its progress in the state, his approach was that of arrogance and high-handedness.
He became inaccessible. Too big to accept or seek advice from anybody. He saw himself as the alpha and omega of football in Taraba.
His frequent trips to the Glass House in Abuja became more about securing Taraba slots for foreign trips for himself and his cronies, rather than developing football at home.
The result was predictable. Football administration became a one-man show. Meetings were not called. Congress was not convened. Stakeholders were sidelined.
Thank God for organizations like JAFCA in Jalingo, BALI ALL STARS, WUKARI VETERANS, IBI UNITED and other community-based clubs that kept football lovers entertained, football in Taraba would have become history.
These are the real heroes who kept the ball rolling when the FA was busy rolling in court.
They organized competitions with their meager resources. They kept the youth engaged and away from crime. They did what the FA failed to do.
With this beautiful judgement, truth has prevailed. Justice has spoken.
The judgement has now cleared the air. Those who sat on the fence because of fear of contempt of court can now breathe.
I mean the State Referees Council, the State Football Coaches Council, the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, and indeed all clubs and associations that are directly connected with football.
For over two years, these critical stakeholders avoided open identification with any faction, not out of indifference, but out of respect for the rule of law and fear of the prolonged litigation.
Now, they can come out confidently to synergize with the legally recognized FA Chairman.
This is the time for unity. This is the time to rebuild.
The newly established Taraba State Sports Development Commission has officially collected the certified true copy of the court judgement and is prepared to work with the provisions of the law of the land.
