A sport enthusiast and trustee of CSED Initiative, Cornelius Ehimiaghe has advised former Nigerian sportsmen and women, as well as sports administrators not to expect the Federal Government of Nigeria to come to their rescue after they have committed offences or abused their position of trust, while carrying out their personal or national assignments.
Ehimiaghe, a sport for change practitioner while reacting to a recent press statement by Samson Siasia expressing his disappointment with the Nigerian government for not supporting him during his alleged “match fixing case,” said given the nature of the allegation against Siasia, there is no way any responsible government would take side or support him.
He explained that match fixing in sport undermines the spirit of fair play and damages the integrity of sport, adding that people who are involved in match fixing seek to do so for their own personal gain.
Ehimiaghe argued that the victims of match fixing like doping in sports are footballers, the football club and the football fans. Sometimes an entire country could also be a victim of match fixing
“There is definitely no way any right thinking government could support an individual who try to gain an unfair advantage by tarnishing the image of football which is one of the platforms that brings Nigerians of all tribes together.
The fact that Samson Siasia is a Nigerian football legend does not grant him the privilege to attempt to twist the story of his match fixing the way he is doing now, as he is not the first ex-footballer, coach or sports administrator to be charge with match fixing, administrative malfeasance, abuse of position of trust or the abuse of the athletes under their guardianship. Siasia should try and reflect on the incident that led to his ban, resolve to learn and teach other persons how to avoid making the same mistake in future.”