July 22, (THEWILL) – The question of how far a country like Nigeria can go to “handle” a citizen for negative comments about Nigeria when these comments were made in a distant other country like Austria, with laws that differ from what is obtainable in Nigeria, is the crux of a trending story about the Super Falcons.
As the story goes, some squad members of the senior female national football team, the Super Falcons, who are encamped in the Austrian city of Vienna in preparation for the Aisha Buhari Invitational scheduled for the 14th to the 20th of September in Lagos, decided to see the city via public transportation.
It was in the train that, as video evidence revealed, they were accosted by a self-acclaimed Nigerian, who railed against their decision to represent what he perceived to be a repressive administration. He queried them for playing for Nigeria despite the atrocities going on in the country instead of being at the forefront of speaking against the government.
He could be heard in the video saying: “I am also a Nigerian, and I have lived in Vienna for so many years and you people are representing a terrorist group. You Nigerian youths should be very ashamed of yourselves, every one of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
“This can’t happen in another country, that their youths are representing this government. Over 10 million Nigerian youths are abroad doing nothing and you people who are supposed to know about it are representing a terrorist organisation called Buhari, kidnapping citizens, killing youths.
“I am calling on you, go back home, don’t represent this country, you don’t understand what Nigerians are going through, you should be the ones to fight for everyone.”
The man alluded to being a sportsman himself before moving to Austria as he claimed: “I played for Julius Berger, I am a footballer also, the corruption in Nigeria drove me here and I am here suffering.”
Concerned about the reactions his tirade was evoking in the players and officials he was needlessly berating, the man threatened to call the police on anyone who tried to touch him. He was reportedly let off at the next station to put an end to his haranguing.
Jairo Pachon, who is Nigeria’s FIFA Match Agent, relayed the incident to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and confirmed that it had been reported to the Austrian Police and the Embassy of Nigeria in the country. He noted that this was a first from which lessons have been learnt.
But, Pachon wrapped up on a positive note about the Super Falcons squad. He said: “This incident will not in any way affect the team’s camping programme and they will remain in Austria until Saturday, 24th July as scheduled.”
However, the major concern with the question raised about how far a country like Nigeria can go about reaching beyond her borders to get a citizen that expresses negative views of her government within the sovereignty of an Austrian state that respects the rights of residents to freedom of expression relates to the reaction of the NFF.
Their action, upon hearing of the matter was to, according to the Federation, initiate moves to ensure “the unmasking of the self-acclaimed Nigerian who got on the train with the Super Falcons in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday and made the players uncomfortable with inflammatory political talks.”
Amaju Melvin Pinnick, President of the NFF, insisted that they would immediately report the matter to world football body FIFA and pursue the case to its logical conclusion. Yet, the question persists: what is the said logical conclusion? To prosecute the man as a criminal? Or for posing a nuisance in public? Or for inflammatory political comments? And will these be according to the Nigerian Constitution or according to Austria’s?
Pinnick appeared just as infuriated as he made these comments: “We are infuriated because these are young ladies who are our ambassadors and are there in Austria preparing for major international competitions. That was a dastardly act by that fellow and we are not taking it lightly.
“The girls simply wanted to go on sightseeing and there is nothing wrong with that. They do not deserve to be subjected to such diatribe by a so-called fellow Nigerian. We will unmask the fellow and then take it from there.”
Where it goes from unmasking will be interesting to follow as there are differences in the perception of how these situations are handled in Nigeria, where government stifles disparagers and dissenters, and Austria, where there is a more liberal society and an individual’s right to personal perspectives is respected.
The development will be followed closely by THEWILL to see if said the unmasking will take place and where the NFF “take it from there” will extend to.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
