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“A Man Who Returned What Was Not His” — Hon Green Hails Late NFF boss Galadima’s Rare Integrity
Barrister Christopher Green, Rivers State Commissioner for Sports and former NFF Board Member, has paid a deeply emotional tribute to former Nigeria Football Association Chairman, Ibrahim Galadima, describing him as a father figure, mentor, and a man whose integrity shaped his life and career.
I am grieving.
Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima was not only a mentor but a life coach to me. I met him first when I was about 12 years old in Kano. At the time, I was a pupil in Holy Trinity Primary School, Kano. He got interested in me because of his closeness to my late father, Micah Ibifuro Green, who was fondly called “MIG” by his friends and associates and “International” by football fans—and indeed the football family in Kano—because of his unique and peculiar way he handled football matches with such bravery, definitive stance, accuracy, consistency, and humour.
My late dad was one of the early FIFA-graded referees and a founding father of the Kano State Referees Association. We used to have primary school football competitions before Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima became Chairman of the Kano State Football Association. Not long after, he was made Chairman of the Kano State Sports Council. Around that time, I had switched to basketball at the Kano Educational Development Centre (KEDC), before I was discovered by Coach Dean and taken in as a junior player.
It was a remarkable period for sports in Kano State. The Sports Council would send out a brand-new Toyota Coaster 30-seater bus daily to pick us from our homes to Kofar Mata for training. That level of organization and support defined the era.
I later left Kano for my secondary and university education in Port Harcourt, where I played for Rivers State. After my Youth Service, while practicing law, I became Secretary of Sharks Football Club, and our paths crossed again.
Indeed, Kano Pillars, which was the state team, was originally formed in the early seventies before it metamorphosed into Darma United, Raccah Rovers, and eventually the resurgent Kano Pillars shaped by Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima.
Years later, when I became Chairman of the Rivers State Football Association, we met again at a higher level. I contested for a seat on the NFA Board with Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima as Chairman. This was meant to be his second term, in an election conducted in Kano by the diligent, irrepressible, and incorruptible Nduka Irabor (The Duke).
Then came what I describe as “government magic,” accompanied by threats. But for Galadima—a man of peace—who chose to relinquish his position for the sake of football, the situation could have escalated badly. He did not want the game destroyed. I remember him pleading with me to allow peace to prevail.
FIFA had to step in and threatened sanctions against Nigeria due to the crisis. Some members of his board betrayed him and crossed over. In the end, they did not even enjoy the spoils, as many exited in bizarre circumstances.
When Galadima urged me to step back from the fight—which I was ready to pursue relentlessly—I refused to contest the subsequent election out of principle. I saw grave injustice and resolved to stand against it.
I dare say that Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima remains the best-ever Chairman of the then NFA by miles—defined by character, integrity, personality, and candour. He was a man who would return excess estacode if he spent fewer days than approved. He was the very embodiment of integrity.
He was detribalised, deeply committed to fairness, and unwavering in his belief in equity.
Our only disagreement was my stubbornness. I was strong-headed, defiant, and always ready for confrontation. But he guided me. His counsel shaped my life. At one point, during turbulent times in Nigerian football, he even hid me in Kano when there were attempts to “neutralise” me. That is the kind of man he was.
I spoke with him less than three weeks ago, when Ahmed Musa visited him and he asked after me. He encouraged me, said he was proud of my achievements, and urged me to keep pushing. He even advised Ahmed Musa to follow my path and seek my counsel in football administration.
I offered to support him financially—a gesture he declined, asking instead that I call him at my convenience. Not because he lacked, but because he was a man of dignity and contentment.
Today, I have lost a father, a mentor, a life coach, and a friend.
Thank you, Sir, for raising me.
Thank you for your love.
Thank you for teaching me humility and good character.
Thank you for instilling honesty and the courage to shun corruption.
Thank you for holding my hand that day at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, when FIFA delegates met with warring factions in a moment that nearly descended into chaos.
Rest in perfect peace, a truly good man.
