By Ghazali Ibrahim
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, who died in July 2025.
Speaking at Rufai’s burial in a video shared by News Central on Friday, West expressed deep disappointment over what he described as the neglect of Nigerian football heroes after their passing.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family,” West lamented.
He recalled being moved to tears by the goalkeeper’s death, an emotional reaction he said he had never experienced even after losing his parents.
The former Inter Milan star also drew parallels with the neglect suffered by other late football greats such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, warning that such treatment discouraged him from advising his children to represent Nigeria in football.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit in within our groups to ask for money? That is madness,” he said.
Rufai, fondly known as Dodo Mayana, was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the country’s 1994 Africa Cup of Nations victory and its debut at the FIFA World Cup the same year.
He died in July 2025, prompting tributes from fans and former teammates, but also reigniting debate about the welfare of retired and deceased sports heroes in Nigeria.
