By Abdullahi Shehu Karaye
My Take On Recent Appointment In Barau FC. What will bringing in Dominic Iorfa and Kabiru Baita mean to the team a club that already has a President and a Chairman? Now they have an additional Vice President and General Manager. Is it to salvage their season or to make that dream a reality? What will be their role in a club that already has a President and Chairman? Or is the club trying to use their influence to bypass the process?
It was confirmed that veterans Dominic Iorfa and Kabiru Baita were appointed as General Manager and Vice President, respectively, in a statement the club released on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.
Ever since the club started competing in the Nigeria league from the third tier (NLO) in 2023, they got promoted to the NNL (second division) the first time of asking. Then they got promoted in the 2024/2025 season to the top tier of the Nigerian league, also the first time of asking, which means they have achieved a lot. But does that mean they are successful? That is the question one will ask.
If you really define success as finishing on the podium, you lose out completely. You will get to understand that finishing on the podium is temporary, and the bar keeps rising. Then you forget your "why," which I think is the same thing Barau FC is going through currently after failing to win a single game in the NPFL this season. But they forget that at the end of the first round in the NNL last season, they were in survival mode, trying to escape relegation, which they didn't only achieve but also won the ticket to the NPFL.
The first target is to win a continental ticket at the end of the season in their first season in the NPFL. Not only are they in the NPFL for the first time, but they had only two weeks to prepare, recruited a new coach and more than 10 new players, struggled to get a home since their stadium doesn’t meet the NPFL requirements, and administrators have no experience of the NPFL. With these hurdles, their target for the season can never be realistic if they are honest with themselves.
If you are in Nigeria and you have a passion for football, you have numerous frameworks that will help you understand football. For example, Kunle Soname’s model in Remo Stars Sports Club or Ikorodu City’s model or Sporting Lagos’ model or Inter Lagos’ or Smart City’s model. All models are available and free for one to copy from.
Finally, in the modern world of sports (football in this case), success is not limited or defined by only winning a trophy but also by its effect on the socioeconomic aspect. So Barau FC and DSP Barau Jibrin should understand that just like in politics, there’s a process, and in football, you can’t cheat the process. If not, one might end up wasting resources that he could channel to his constituency, which will be more impactful than in football.
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