Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has said that footballers can't enjoy the proceeds of their success alone and then outsource their failure to society.

In a Facebook post, he stated that sportsmen, athletes, entertainers, and artists are not the responsibility of the government or society, except where they become civil servants, in which case they are entitled to a pension according to their terms of service.

He cited the case of Joe Lasisi, a staff member of the Nigerian Customs Service, who was paid salaries, benefits, and entitlements, despite earning his own personal income from professional boxing.

According to Omokri, it is regrettable if some national icons die broke or broken, emphasising that the responsibility for their end state should not shift from them to the public.

Omokri said this after former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, blamed the government for how his former colleague, goalkeeper Peter Rufai, ended up before his death.

He wrote, "When and if they perform national assignments, they should be paid. If they are not paid, I recall that the public always fights for them until they do get paid. Beyond their due payments, they often get gifts of money or property from an appreciative country after winning Mundials and tournaments.

"Thereafter, what they do with those monies and property, as well as the largesse they get from their professional lives, is their business. And naturally, they do not share such payments with the government or the public. In fact, many of them do not even pay taxes in Nigeria.

"To then grow old in poverty and blame the government or society, either by themselves or through their friends and family, is tantamount to mental laziness and unawareness of how the world works.

"Sportspeople, athletes, entertainers, and artists also go broke in Europe, America, Canada and Australia. None of them blame the governments of those nations or even the public.

"For example, and please fact-check me: Paul Gascoigne, a former English professional football player who played for England, is broke and suffering from depression after losing his £20 million fortune. Neither he nor his family have blamed anyone—Ditto for Trevor Sinclair.

"It would amount to making themselves further objects of ridicule.

"Such an entitled mentality means that persons who think like this do not understand how life works and are immature. In truth, they ought to have been placed under the care of persons who understood better how to manage their success and finances and prepare them for retirement.

"You can't enjoy your success alone and then want to outsource your failure to society."

ASA