Trials and Triumphs of Amaju Pinnick at 51

HighLife

In every human endeavour, there are masters and amateurs; folks who have distinguished themselves at an art form because they are immeasurably good at it, and others who have achieved the same effect because they are irredeemably bad at it. Amaju Pinnick is the former and the sports industry is his forte. At 51, the man has managed to make a resounding name for himself on the African continent, casting his shadow across the globe.

Pinnick clocked 51 on December 1, 2021, and gave Africans something to munch on besides the new strain of a virus. At 51, Pinnick has made enough contributions to the game of sports that gigantic statues and pocket-sized figurines might soon be crafted in his honor and distributed worldwide. The truth is that he has represented Nigerians and other Africans to the best of his ability, for which the country and continent has been nothing but grateful since Pinnick made his debut as a football administrator.

Currently serving as President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Pinnick has come a long way. Who could have ever imagined that a Warri boy would one day sit on the administrative side of the FIFA Council, one of the executive members of the highest decision-making body in the world of football? But this is exactly Pinnick’s story.

At 51, so far has Pinnick come. But, the path was not free of fissures and bone-chilling gales. Over the course of his tango with football administration, Pinnick has seen the four walls of courts too many times, often figuratively wearing the colors of an outlaw. The stench of humiliation after humiliation is long past now, but it was not the same a few years ago. We could argue that Pinnick has borne the brand of a scoundrel more times than anybody else in the same business on the African continent. But then again, no guts, no glory.

At 51, Pinnick has had his guts spilled too many times to count. But, at present, the brilliance of his glory demonstrates that it was all worth it. He had to travel through and overcome all that murk to get here, the summit of his career.