Mikel Obi: How I Contacted Buhari To Secure 2018 World Cup Bonuses

Mikel Obi: How I Contacted Buhari To Secure 2018 World Cup Bonuses

By Admin 

Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has disclosed that he intervened at the highest level of government to ensure Nigerian players received their outstanding bonuses following the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Mikel said months of delays by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) forced him to contact the office of then President Muhammadu Buhari after repeated assurances over payments failed to materialise. The revelation was made during a recent episode of The Obi One Podcast, released on Tuesday.

According to the former Chelsea midfielder, players were owed bonuses earned during the qualification campaign for the World Cup, but concerns over non-payment persisted even after the team assembled for the tournament.

“I went above the president of the NFF to get those bonuses,” Mikel said. “I had to do that a couple of times during the World Cup.”

Mikel explained that FIFA typically releases advance funds commonly referred to as “parachute money” to participating nations before major tournaments, while football federations often borrow to settle players’ bonuses early and repay lenders once FIFA payments are received.

Despite these mechanisms, Mikel said the Super Eagles players were left unpaid for months. “We had been asking for this money long before the World Cup,” he said. “They kept telling me, ‘Don’t worry, the money will be sorted when you come to camp.’ I made it clear that the players were already asking questions.”

He added that similar assurances were given even after the squad arrived in camp, but no payments were made.

“A week went by, and the players kept coming to me, worried that once the World Cup was over, the money would never come,” he said.

With frustration mounting, Mikel said he contacted Abba Kyari, who was then Chief of Staff to President Buhari, to raise the issue.

 “I told him we had a serious problem in the national team and that the players needed to be paid what was promised,” he said.

Mikel claimed that within 24 hours, the funds were delivered directly to the team’s hotel.

 “A private plane arrived and the money was brought in millions of dollars,” he said. “I handed it to the team secretary and told him to hold it and make sure it went to the players.”

The bonuses were subsequently calculated and distributed to all players involved in Nigeria’s World Cup qualification campaign the following day, according to Mikel.

He said his actions angered senior football officials, including the then NFF president, who summoned him for questioning.

 “They told me I had made them look bad,” Mikel recalled. “But I had been asking for this money for months.”

Mikel stressed that the funds were not special incentives but payments legitimately earned through qualification.

 “When you fail, someone has to take responsibility,” he said. “This money was owed. It wasn’t a favour.”

Nigeria exited the 2018 World Cup at the group stage after losses to Croatia and Argentina, despite a win over Iceland. The team earned approximately $16 million in prize money from the tournament, which remains Nigeria’s most recent World Cup appearance.

Mikel retired from international football in 2019 after earning 91 caps for Nigeria. He captained the Super Eagles to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2013 and won an Olympic bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Games.