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Posted by BBC Sports on
Former Nigerian football international Taribo West has declared that he aims to become the president of his African nation in the future.
Former Nigerian football international Taribo West has declared that he aims to become the president of his African nation in the future.
The 31-year-old is currently playing football for Al Arabi in Qatar after spells in European football in, among other countries, England, Germany and Italy.
"I want to go into politics when I retire from football," the dreadlocked defender told BBC Sport.
"I want to become the governor of my state (Bayelsa state) and from there, I have the target of becoming the president of Nigeria."
West explained that he does not intend to contest the next Nigerian elections scheduled for 2007 but in the distant decades to come.
"I will be aiming to become president in 20-25 years' time when I will be very prepared."
And the former Inter Milan, Kaiserslautern and Derby County defender said that his time in Qatar has given birth to his interest in politics.
"We have so many resources in Nigeria but the resources cannot go round to affect people's lives for the better," the former Super Eagle said.
"The resources in Qatar are very small but they have an employment scheme for skilful people who are not working.
"If you are a Qatari without a job, you are entitled to a car loan and a house loan.
"An average Nigerian should be entitled to this type of thing based on our resources but that is not happening.
"We have a lot of poverty instead and it is not supposed to be so - it is very bad that this is happening to our country."
West explained that he is taking inspiration from Liberia's former World Footballer of the Year George Weah, who is running in this year's presidential elections in his homeland.
"I know that if George, who has been through many things, wins the elections, he is going to help the masses," the Nigerian explained.
And these are the people that West, who made his debut for Nigeria in 1994 but has since fallen out of favour with the national team, also wants to assist.
The sturdy defender is keen that his West African nation should keep hold of its citizens instead of losing some of them to questionable practices abroad.
"It is not good that our girls go abroad to involve themselves in prostitution or that our young men engage in fraudulent practices in other countries to survive," he added.
"We Nigerians take all kinds of roads to Europe to survive when we have all in our country that we can give them.
"So why not change the system and make sure that the wealth coming into the country can touch the average Nigerian and they can use it to do better things and become better Nigerians for tomorrow?
"I believe that the wealth in the Niger Delta alone can feed the whole of the African continent, so why can't we do something for our country?"