Former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has criticised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Government for allegedly abandoning the family of late goalkeeper, Peter Rufai.
Speaking at Rufai’s burial in a video shared by News Central TV on Friday, the ex-Inter Milan star expressed disappointment over what he described as the persistent neglect of Nigerian football heroes after their death.
“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,” West said.
He added that the loss of Rufai affected him deeply. “My mother passed on, I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands, I never shed tears. But when Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples all over my body, and tears rolled down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?”
West also recalled similar experiences with other late Nigerian football legends, including Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, lamenting that such neglect discouraged him from urging his children to represent the country.
“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Could you imagine that the family would be crying, just to solicit money within our groups? That is madness,” he stated.
Rufai, fondly called Dodo Mayana, was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the Super Eagles’ 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and their debut FIFA World Cup appearance the same year. He died in July 2025.