How Buhari’s office intervened to pay Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup bonuses — Mikel Obi

Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has disclosed how he reached out to the office of then President Muhammadu Buhari, through his Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, to ensure the payment of players’ bonuses at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, following months of delays by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Mikel said the intervention resulted in the delivery of millions of dollars in cash to the team’s hotel via a private jet just days after the tournament began.

The former Chelsea midfielder made the revelation on his Obi One Podcast, released on Tuesday, where he criticised the NFF for its repeated shortcomings in managing players’ welfare and bonus payments.

He explained that FIFA usually releases parachute money ahead of major tournaments, which football federations often use—sometimes through borrowing—to settle players’ bonuses before later reimbursement.

“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.

According to him, the players were owed money for months leading up to the tournament, despite repeated assurances from NFF officials that the issue would be resolved once the team arrived in camp.

Mikel recounted that even after arriving in camp and engaging the team secretary and NFF president, the promised payments were still not made, prompting growing concern among players who feared they might never receive their bonuses after the World Cup.

As the situation deteriorated, Mikel said he contacted Abba Kyari, then Chief of Staff to President Buhari, to intervene.

“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,’” he said.

“24 hours later, a private plane arrived. The money was delivered to the hotel, hand to hand. Millions of dollars,” Mikel added.

He said he handed the cash to the team secretary with strict instructions that it should not be passed to any official, stressing that the funds belonged solely to the players.

Mikel noted that his actions angered senior officials, including the then NFF president, who summoned him to a meeting two days later. He said he attended the meeting fully aware of the tension and faced what he described as the “whole cabal” without fear.

“They said, ‘Mikel, why did you do this? You’ve made us look like idiots; we don’t know what we’re doing or our job,’” he recalled.

Mikel said he defended his actions, insisting that the bonuses were owed to the players and not a favour.

Beyond the 2018 bonus issue, Mikel also raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding William Troost-Ekong’s recent retirement from international football, describing it as uncharacteristic and suggesting unresolved internal problems.

He argued that a captain retiring just weeks before a major tournament points to deeper issues within the team, noting Troost-Ekong’s passion, leadership qualities and commitment to the national side.

Mikel further criticised the current state of football administration in Nigeria, insisting that genuine progress would remain elusive without sweeping changes at the NFF.

“If Nigerian football must go forward, they [NFF] have to go. It’s crazy that we’re killing the talent and potential that we have in this country just because of greed from people that don’t want to do the right thing,” he said.