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 during Rufai’s burial on Friday in a video shared by News Central, the ex-Inter Milan star expressed anger over what he described as the repeated neglect of Nigerian football legends after their deaths.
“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They leave the burden on the family,” West said.
“My mother passed on; I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands; I never shed tears. But when Rufai died, I had goose pimples and tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?”
West lamented that the treatment of Rufai mirrored past cases involving late Nigerian football icons such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, insisting that the lack of support has discouraged him from urging his children to serve the country through football.
“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to play for this country. Could you imagine that Rufai’s family had to solicit funds within our groups just to bury him? That is madness,” he added.
Rufai, popularly known as “Dodo Mayana,” was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and the country’s maiden appearance at the FIFA World Cup in the United States.
He died in July 2025, aged 61.
