It’s sad to see Nigerian ex-Internationals die unsung – Peter Rufai

Erstwhile Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai is a household name. Fondly called Dodomayana, he’s loved for his scintillating performance between the

bars for the national team. He’s one of the few players who hold record playing time for the country with 65 international matches to his credit. Rufai represented the nation at two FIFA World Cups, always as starter: 1994 (Nigeria’s first ever appearance, where he also acted as captain) and in 1998. He helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. On July 24, 1993, during a African Cup of Nation (CAN) qualifier against Ethiopia, Rufai scored his country’s last goal from a penalty kick in a 6–0 home win. In this chat, the Lagos-born shot stopper opened up on many interesting stuff about himself and Nigerian football.

Who do you think is a true Nigerian?

A true Nigerian is that person that beams the sign of Nigeria wherever he or she goes. The person never denies being a Nigerian to gain favour for any reason. The person is principled, dogged, committed and resilient despite challenges. Above all, he or she must be very patriotic to the good cause of the country.

Going by the high tension during football matches, a goalkeeper needs to be in the right state of mind to stop opponent’s attacks. Can you tell us what was always going through your mind between the goal post?

The 90 minutes of a football match no matter who you play against is always filled with tension and anxiety because the most unpredictable venture is game of soccer. Whether the scoreline is goalless, a goal up or a goal down, it is always the same because you know a goal can turn the table against you at any time during the match, especially during Super Eagles matches because the whole team understands the level of passion that Nigerians usually have. It’s always tension and pressure soaked. That is why I was always on my toes at every given seconds of any game we played. It takes a whole lot of concentration to track the ball from behind all through the match.

Going by some of the matches you have played, penalty shootout seemed to be a nightmare for you whenever it was required to decide a winner. Can you tell why you performed shabbily during penalties?

(Smiles) I don’t get scared with penalty shootouts or did I get tensed whenever there’s a penalty call against my team. I would rather put you (my opponent) under severe tension before you play penalty against me. I try to observe what kind of person you are because as a goalkeeper you must have   very cynical observation quality. You need to be able to conclude on how desperate the player is with the ball. Then you make your decision of the angle he may likely direct his kick. That has always help me a lot when keeping penalties but you know spot kicks are very dangerous to prevent from scoring because even if you save the initial kick, another player may pounce on the rebound to score eventually.

How did you come about the name Dodomayana?

The name Dodomayana was given to me after many years of service with the Super Eagles. We were on a training tour of Portugal and during some of the training sessions which I used as medium to showcase my talent to the coach that he can depend on me as a reliable substitute or first team player, I performed extremely good. The coach then was so technical that he would spot exactly five metres away from you. So, I make sure I saved all my balls during the session to the extent that I stretched myself beyond limit to grab balls going over the bar or inches away. Therefore, my performance was amazing to the Portuguese fans around the stadium to the extent that they were clapping continuously and hailing all my moves. So, when the referee, Otto Gloria blew the final whistle to indicate end of session, the fans watching the training session shouted no no no….. that we should continue the training session. Then, Peter Fregene called on me Dodo, the fans

heard it and also shouted Dodo which means continue in Portuguese language. Then one of the fans shouted dodo mayana? (continue tomorrow?). Then I replied them that amayana dodo. That’s how the name came into existence because the fans referred to me as Dodo Mayana.

Virtually the whole world was saddened when Rasheed Yekini died but it was amazing to see that the NFF didn’t do anything remarkable in honour of a hero like the goal poacher. Is there any package that the football federation has in stock to honour fallen heroes just like the army does?

It’s sad to tell you that a great country like Nigeria does not have any structure laid down for retired players to collectively lay our input into the development of the round leather game after active playing career. Apart from that, once you are not in active career again, the country forgets you till your demise, and there will be no structure to commemorate such sad incidents. In my own case, I anticipated such terrain while playing so I decided to further my education while in Europe by combining football and schooling. That was how I got a Master degree in Business Administration. Some of us who couldn’t achieve such due to one circumstance or the other ends up starting all over again after retirement because there is no structure that could support your new life. You spent all your life as active footballer expecting to come back into the industry again but such expectation becomes a mirage after retirement. You will be amazed that the

footballing industry doesn’t even want to see you. It is a shame, indeed. I remember the time of the late Yekini, Thomas Oliha and the likes. It was lovely but majority of them ended up bedridden and died without support from the NFF.

Does that mean there is no form of benefit for Nigerian national team players who have served the country for several years?

Not at all. That reminds me, the 1994 squad that won the African Nations Cup in Tunisia were promised houses on arrival from the competition. Would you believe that up till today we haven’t got those houses? The sad part is that majority of us have passed on. Now, tell me, when do you want to enjoy the fruit of your labour for this country.