Dare Babalola
Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has disclosed that he reached out to the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s office to push for the payment of players’ bonuses, which had been delayed for months by the Nigeria Football Federation, following the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
On a recent episode of The Obi One Podcast, Mikel revealed that Nigeria’s players were still waiting for bonuses from qualifying for the tournament, with officials’ promises falling through once the team settled into camp.
“Talking about fighting for players’ bonuses, I went above the president of the NFF to get those bonuses, which is what I did a couple of times during the World Cup,” Mikel said.
He explained that FIFA releases what is known as parachute money ahead of major tournaments, which is meant to be shared among players, while federations typically borrow funds to settle bonuses early before repaying lenders once FIFA payments arrive.
He said, “Leading up to the World Cup, we were owed money.
“We had been asking for this money for months before the tournament. They kept telling me, ‘Oh, Mikel, don’t worry, the money will be sorted when you come to camp.’ I said, ‘Okay, no problem, but make sure the money is there because the players are asking me about their bonuses.’”
According to Mikel, those assurances were repeated even after the team arrived in camp. “We got to camp, and I spoke to the team secretary and the president. I asked, ‘Where is the money?’ Again, they said, ‘Don’t worry, Mikel, we’ll sort it out.’”
He said players grew increasingly concerned as days passed without payment.
“A week went by. The players kept coming to me saying, ‘Mikel, we need this money. Once the World Cup is over, we don’t know if we’ll ever get it.’”
With no resolution forthcoming, Mikel said he contacted the late Abba Kyari, who was then chief of staff to President Buhari.
Obi added, “I called him and said, ‘Mr chief of staff, we have a serious issue in the national team. We need this money to settle the players. This is what was promised.’
“24 hours later, a private plane arrived. The money was delivered to the hotel, hand to hand. Millions of dollars.
“I took the money and handed it to the team secretary and told him to hold it. I said, ‘Make sure this money does not go to the president or anyone else. This money belongs to the players.’”
He added that the bonuses were calculated and distributed to all players involved in the World Cup qualifiers the following day.
Mikel said his actions angered senior officials, including the then NFF president, who summoned him to a meeting. “They said, ‘Mikel, why did you do this? You’ve made us look like idiots,’” he recalled.
“I said, ‘Are you serious? I’ve been asking you for this money for months.’”
“When you fail, I have to take responsibility because my players need the f**king money,” Mikel said. “This money is owed. It is not a favour.”
He stressed that the funds were not extra incentives but earnings from qualification.
Nigeria were eliminated at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup after defeats to Croatia and Argentina, despite a victory over Iceland. The team subsequently earned $16m in prize money for their participation, and the tournament remains Nigeria’s last World Cup appearance.
Mikel, who retired from the team a year after the incident, made 91 appearances for Nigeria, winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and an Olympic bronze medal in 2016.
