Abuja — After the storm comes the rain. The much talked about Nigeria football federation election has come and gone, and so have the dusts raised before and during the election. For some soccer pundits, this is the time for the Alhaji Aminu Maigari-led executive board to settle down and work. Nigerians expect a total departure from the way the previous board led by Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi handled football-related issues.

Qualification for the cup of Nations and world cup was a headache, grassroot football development was abandoned and we had an NFF that was only interested in estacodes. Football development nose-dived within the four-year period with the dismal performance of the super Eagles at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa as a term of reference.

For many soccer followers, the newly emerged NFF board is an old wine in an old bottle. While some believe that Alhaji Maigari and his board have nothing to offer Nigeria, considering the composition of the board (according to them, it is made up of mere, hungry football administrators) . Others are of the opinion that the end will justify the means, therefore the board be given a trial.

Irrespective of pessimism in different sections of the football family, the task before the board is enormous. However, Nigerians are waiting to see drastic changes taking place in the football house.

But it would require courage, determination, political will and selflessness to turn Nigeria's football around for the better. Now that the election is over, the Maigari-led board is faced with the herculean task of building a solid foundation for Nigerian football.

LEADERSHIP SUNDAY Sports sampled people's opinion on what they expect to see in the next four years.

Afonne Emmanuel (Journalist): "the NFF should have a befitting football secretariat where football will be administered properly. On the national teams, Maigari and his board should ensure that players are not imposed on coaches, who in turn, must be given free hand to operate. Let it be a total departure from the norms laid by the previous board."

Barry Osenemen (civil Servant): "The new NFF board must realise that Nigerians are not happy with the rate of football development in the country. For the new board to make an impact, they should go back to grass-root football development. Football in primary, secondary schools and higher institutions should be given adequate attention. Besides, the NFF should employ more coaches and send them to these schools, zones and states to fetch out these young and talented players for the national teams. The technical department of the NFF should be headed by a second coach and restructured to meet the dynamics of what obtains in England, Spain and Germany."

John Madu Best (Trader): "The NFF should re-organise the marketing department to be more business-oriented. The present marketing department lacks the marketing drive to bring business or sponsors to the NFF. This is why they keep on running to the government for funds. The present NFF board must embark on the re-packaging of Nigeria's football at all levels. The football authorities should understanding that the super Eagles and other national teams are big brands that should be marketed to attract huge sponsorship."

Musa Isa Suleiman (Car Dealer): "The new NFF board should embark on building a new super Eagles. Look at the team we took to the world Cup, they were not only old, they were not committed. We need young players who will be in the national team for a long time. This is the reason why the NFF should go back to the grassroots. Let them comb the streets, schools and villages for these players. You cannot get good players in the cities. The new board must put things right. We want to watch the super Eagles in the 2012 nations cup with open mind. A lot of people died and many had heart problems during the last world cup, we do not want a repeat of that again in our football."

Stella Manasseh (Nurse): "The Nigeria football federation should take a critical look at our league. This is where we will get the players. Emphasis should not be placed on foreign players who are already rich and are not committed. Our local players would be hungry to make name for themselves and the country.

"Besides, the NFF should ensure that all the clubs have feeder teams or academies. Without all these, we will continue to face the problem of players."

Andrew Abba (Secretary General , SWAN): "I want to advice the board not to be hasty in taking decisions. They should be able to consult wide before arriving at a conclusion. On the issue of the super Eagles' coach, the board should be able to decide whether they need a foreign or local coach , to avoid the blunders made by the past board. They should realise the circumstances that brought them to power and also ensure that the state FAs orgnaise their election before the year ends,in comformity with the FIFA guidelines.

The new NFF board should look into the present management of th e football house with a view to doing away with non-performance and bring in new bloods that will bring bite into the activities of the NFF ."

Arafat Aliu (Journalist): "The composition of the board shows that on the average, it is a young board. This should translate into the system. We are looking forward to a board that will not wait for ages before making vital decisions. Alhaji Maigari has decleared that he wants to operate an open-door policy, we want him to stick to it ,because there will be wolves and foxes who would want to force him to play their cards. He should be a man of his words, stick to his two-point agenda of devleoping the game from the grassroot and building winning teams for all the national teams."

Jude Opara (Journalist): "I am a bit worried that Maigari has started recalling some of the people that the former president of the NFF unilaterally recuited. Somebody said that was part of the bargain for him to win the election. Goodluck to him, but he must remember that it is all about Nigeria's football and not any body's personal interest. Alhaji Maigari and his board should also remember that four years is not eternity and very soon, his score-card will be made open. So whatever he wants to achieve, success or failure, is left for him."

Tony Ezimakor (Journalist): "One of the greatest problems the former president of the NFF, Alhaji Sani Lulu faced was his tendency to employ sycophants as staff. These were people who told him what he wanted to hear and not what would improve Nigerian football. These are areas the new board must guide against. Uncomfirmed reports suggest that the condition for Maigari to be elected was that Lulu's former staff be retained and that he must run football the way they did. That will be too unfortunate. It would mean that nothing has changed. I am convinced that Alhaji Maigari will do well if and when he engages people who have something to offer Nigerian football."

Lekan Showande (Journalist): "Maigari should focus more on grass-roots football development programmes, because this is where we will get those players that will replace the ageing ones. The NFF should stop relying on foreign-based players who usually hold the nation to ransom. The new board should find ways of relating with the National Sports commission, in order to avoid constant threatening of Nigeria with FIFA by NFF. They should look for sponsors of the federation cup.

"The new president must be able to put the secretariat to effective use. Part of th e problem with the NFF is its secretariat. The secretariat is supposed to be vibrant. We have good suggestions, but implementation has been the problem, because management staff and board members are busy chasing estacodes. For example the technical centre ought to have been functional, but today, nothig is happening many years after the FIFA commissioned the project.

" The NFF ought to have, at this time, created regional offices to take charge of football adminstration in the region, but the secretariat staff fraustrated that effort.

"Maigari should ensure that these regional offices are created and programme officers appointed to commence work.

"The IT unit should be overhauled and made functional. The liberary should be restructured and a data bank of all the NFF's activities created. He should also create research and documentation unit."