Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, Reno Omokri, has accused former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of trying to use the Flamingos’ FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup victory for political gain. Omokri said Obi was trying to connect himself to the team's success.
Omokri reminded people how former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Head of State Muhammadu Buhari welcomed Nigerian football teams in 2013 and 1985, respectively. This was in response to Obi's claim that officials from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) stopped him from greeting the Flamingos when they returned from Morocco.
He spoke in a statement on Tuesday, criticizing Obi’s assertion that NFF officials prevented him from meeting the team after their victory. Omokri said he was with Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in February 2013 when the Super Eagles were honored after winning the AFCON.
He pointed out that Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, despite their political plans for the 2015 elections, did not try to bypass official protocol or politicize the team's success. “Neither General Muhammadu Buhari nor Waziri Atiku Abubakar, who had contested and lost to the then incumbent, and were planning to throw their hats in the ring with him in 2015, attempted to circumnavigate the protocol or sour the joyous national mood by politicising the situation. Rather, they commended the team and the nation,” he said.
Omokri also brought up the 1985 win of Nigeria’s Baby Eagles, now known as the Golden Eaglets. He said they first met Buhari, who was then the military Head of State, after winning the inaugural FIFA U-16 World Championship in China. He added that the late businessman and politician Moshood Abiola, a major supporter of Nigerian sports, backed the team financially and morally during the tournament.
Omokri mentioned that Abiola’s contributions to sports were recognized in 1980 when the African Sports Journalists Union named him the Pillar of Sports in Africa. He noted that even with Abiola's support, the players did not meet him first after their victory on August 11, 1985.
He also compared the situation to how Spain welcomed its national team after winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Spanish team first met King Felipe VI before speaking to the media. According to the Royal Spanish Football Federation, their first official stop was the Zarzuela Palace, where the King, Queen Letizia, and other Royal Family members welcomed them before they met Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
“That is the convention, not only in Nigeria and Spain, but in every respectable, responsible, and ordered society run by the rule of law and constitutional democracies,” Omokri said. He argued that putting personal interests above national protocols could be seen as neglecting the country’s interests.
“Placing yourself above such conventions and wanting them circumvented because of your personal agenda, itinerary, and convenience could be interpreted by reasonable people as you not putting national interest first,” he said. Omokri accused Obi of trying to associate himself with a victory he did not help achieve, calling it opportunistic.
“Sports should be protected from the ‘toxic’ politics of individuals who try to sow disunity at a time when football has united the nation,” he said. He added, “Wanting to insert yourself into a victory that you did not contribute to and a team that you did not even acknowledge until they won, is not only opportunistic, it falls beneath the standard of behaviour expected from a statesman, who should know that their first port of call should be the Head of State.”
This controversy came after Obi claimed that NFF officials stopped him from greeting the Flamingos when they came back to Abuja from Morocco. Obi said he arrived at the Abuja airport around 7 am on Monday to catch a flight to Enugu when he saw the team.
He said he asked his protocol officer, Jackie Wayas, to find out if he could greet the players but was told that NFF officials had denied his request. Obi also claimed that the officials warned they could lose their jobs if they let him approach the players, calling this incident another example of toxic politics.
However, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, dismissed Obi’s story. He said officials who were there with the Flamingos did not see the former governor near the players or the international terminal. Dikko explained that two people wearing Obi’s campaign caps and attire approached officials for a meeting and photos with the players.
He said the request was denied because it was made without prior arrangement and the players were tired after traveling from Morocco. Dikko also contested Obi’s claim that officials were at risk of losing their jobs and urged Obi to apologize to the players, saying the controversy took attention away from their achievement.
Similarly, Philip Shaibu, the Director-General of the National Institute for Sports, said Obi could have waved at the players like other Nigerians at the airport instead of trying to meet them. On Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Shaibu said supporting athletes before and during competitions mattered more than celebrating with them after they win.
He also noted that President Bola Tinubu supported the team during the tournament. Bukola Olopade, the Director-General of the NSC, accused two men claiming to be Obi’s protocol officers of breaking security rules while trying to set up a meeting with the Flamingos. Olopade said officials did not see Obi at the airport when the team returned and that the two men approached officials while the players were being led to buses after their flight.
The Flamingos beat Japan 2-1 in the final in Rabat, Morocco, on November 7 to win their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title, making them the first African country to win this competition.
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