Speaking during Rufai’s burial in a video shared by News Central on Friday, the ex-Inter Milan defender expressed anger at what he described as the repeated failure of Nigerian authorities to honour their legends.
“It’s disheartening that Lagos State and the NFF leave everything to the family,” West lamented. “It makes you wonder what is worth sacrificing your life for. When Rufai died, I was broken. I didn’t shed a tear when my mother died, nor when my father passed in my arms. But when Rufai passed, I wept uncontrollably. What kind of nation treats its heroes this way?”
He pointed to similar neglect of past stars like Yisa Sofoluwe, Stephen Keshi, Thompson Oliha, and Rashidi Yekini, calling it a shameful trend. “I would never advise even my son to play for this country. Imagine Rufai’s family begging for money from groups just to bury him — that is madness,” West said.
Rufai, Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, was instrumental in helping the Super Eagles reach the Round of 16 at both tournaments. He also shone at the Africa Cup of Nations, winning silver medals in 1984 and 1988, before lifting the trophy in 1994.
Nicknamed “Dodo Mayana,” Rufai made his international debut in 1981 and went on to enjoy a 14-year national team career, playing club football in Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. He died on July 3, aged 61, in a Lagos hospital after a long battle with illness.
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