Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has revealed that he bypassed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to secure the payment of players’ bonuses, after months of failed promises by football administrators.
Speaking on his Obi One Podcast, released on Tuesday, the former Chelsea midfielder said he contacted the office of then President Muhammadu Buhari through his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, when it became clear the players might never receive their entitlements.
According to Mikel, FIFA releases advance funding—often referred to as “parachute money”—ahead of major tournaments to help federations meet obligations such as players’ bonuses. Despite this, he said the Super Eagles players were owed for months leading into the World Cup.
“We had been asking for this money long before the tournament,” Mikel said. “Each time, they told me, ‘Don’t worry, it will be sorted.’ We got to camp, still nothing. The players kept coming to me because once the World Cup ends, you don’t know if you’ll ever see that money again.”
With tensions rising in camp and no resolution from the NFF, Mikel said he reached out directly to Abba Kyari.
“I told him, ‘We have a serious issue in the national team. The players need to be paid what was promised,’” he said.
Mikel disclosed that within 24 hours, a private jet arrived at the team’s hotel in Russia, delivering millions of dollars in cash.
“The money was brought hand to hand,” he said. “I collected it and gave it straight to the team secretary. I told him, ‘This money is for the players. It must not go to the NFF president or anyone else.’ I didn’t even want it in my room.”
He said the move angered senior football officials, including the then NFF president, who summoned him to a meeting days later.
“They told me I made them look incompetent,” Mikel recalled. “I told them I had been patient for months. When you fail, I have to step up because the players need the money. This is not a favour—it’s owed.”
Beyond the 2018 bonus saga, Mikel also raised concerns about the recent retirement of Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, describing the timing as suspicious.
“You don’t just have your captain retire weeks before a major tournament,” he said. “Ekong is passionate about Nigeria. For him to step away like that, something serious is going on behind the scenes.”
Mikel concluded by criticising the broader state of football administration in Nigeria, insisting that progress would remain impossible without major changes at the NFF.
“We are killing our own talent because of greed and poor leadership,” he said. “Until the right people who understand how to treat players and grow the game are in charge, Nigerian football will keep suffering.”