Taribo West Slams NFF, Lagos Govt for Abandoning Late Goalkeeper Peter Rufai’s Family

Former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, has berated the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Government for allegedly neglecting the family of late goalkeeper Peter Rufai.

Speaking at Rufai’s burial in Lagos, in a video posted by News Central on Friday, West said he was deeply saddened by what he described as the repeated abandonment 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,” he said.

West, who starred for Inter Milan in his playing days, recalled how similar neglect befell the families of late football legends such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha. He said the trend has discouraged him from encouraging his children to represent Nigeria.

“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Do we have a Football Federation or a Football Association in Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way in his family? Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit within our groups to ask for money? That is madness,” he lamented.

Rufai, fondly called “Dodo Mayana,” was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and the Super Eagles’ maiden appearance at the FIFA World Cup the same year.

He passed away in July 2025 at the age of 61.

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