The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • FIBA World Cup: Nigeria beats Cote d’Ivoire to inch closer to Tokyo 2020

    Nigeria’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, defeated Cote d’Ivoire 83-66 to move a step closer to claiming the sole Africa Olympic ticket at the FIBA World Cup in China yesterday.

    In the 17 -32 classification match played yesterday, the Nigerian team led by veteran Ike Diogu out-scored their opponent in two quarters, one ended in favour of the Ivorians, while the last quarter ended in a draw. The four quarter scores were 24-18, 13-17, 28-11, 20-20 for a total score of 83-66 in favour of Nigeria.

    After extending their lead by 17 points at the end of the third quarter, the Nigerian team did enough to protect their lead in the fourth quarter to emerge victorious in a game between two leading West African teams.

    In the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria defeated Côte d’Ivoire in Lagos 84-73 before suffering an away 72-46 defeat in Abidjan to hand the Ivorians a World Cup qualification lifeline. But the D’Tigers moved a step further to confirm their supremacy over their African brothers with the 17 points win.

     

    Read Also: FIBA World Cup: Nigeria saves face with emphatic victory over Korea

    Vincent Nnamdi, who came up from the bench led the Nigerian team with 15 points, Al Farouq Aminu and Ekpe Udoh had 13 points apiece, while Stan Okoye and Ben Uzoh contributed 10 point each. Diogu, Ike Ireogbu and Josh Okogie also added single digit scores to put a gloss on the scoreline, while Coach Alex Nwora decided to rest his son, Jordan.

    The Nigerians now has two win from four games – a 50 per cent record.

    They will take on host – China in their next classification match early tomorrow in Guangzhou.

    The man of the match, Al-Farouq said that with the new goal being a qualification for the Olympics, the team came out to get the job done. “That is our goal now obviously. We got knocked out of the contention to get a medal so we had to change our vision and continue to make sure that we keep Nigerian basketball, playing every year and compete. So, we want to ensure that we do the best to qualify for the Olympics.”

  • Anthony Joshua insists: I won’t quit boxing

    Back in New York City – the place where Ruiz Jnr stunned the world by knocking Anthony Joshua to the canvas on way to victory – the Briton has renewed confidence ahead of the pair’s December rematch in Saudi Arabia.

    Many see the rematch as a defining moment in Joshua’s career, with another defeat at the hands of the Mexican likely leaving him in disarray.

    But for Joshua, he has been around the sport for long enough to know his strengths and his shortcomings but he is confident in right now to restore normality on the heavyweight division.

    ”There were times when I faced defeat as an amateur,” he said at the New York leg of the press tour on Thursday.

    ”My third fight; imagine I stopped then, there would be no now. I lost in the European Championship quarter-finals. Imagine I stopped then, there would be no now.

    ”I lost in the World Championship finals. Imagine I stopped then, there would be no now. Stopping isn’t in my DNA. As long as I have breath, I will keep fighting for the passion of boxing and more so as an ambassador for championship-level fighting. That’s where I belong.

    Read Also: UPDATED: Andy Ruiz beats Anthony Joshua

    ”I was born with a fighting spirit. I know how to fight. People say, ‘you lost your titles’. I say, ‘to lose something is to never get it back’. I have a second chance on December 7. I didn’t have a warm-up fight, I’m not gun-shy.”

    While Joshua was accused of taking Ruiz Jnr lightly the first time they met, the belt holder has no such plan to underestimate heavy artillery from a fired up Joshua in Diriyah.

    New York brings fond memories for Ruiz, as he became the first heavyweight champion of the world for his nation and he is determined not to end the year with a return of the belts he took so spectacularly this summer.

    ”This is where I became the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world,” he said, wearing a black sombrero as a nod to his country. ”But I know Joshua wants his belts back. I know how it feels to lose – I lost to Joseph Parker when I thought I had won. Joshua can bounce back. My job is not to let him get the belts back.

    ”I’ve had doubters my whole life, telling me I’d do nothing because of my appearance. Just because of how I looked. People can now say, “if he did it, I can do it”.”

  • Lagos Anglican Communion condemns attacks on Nigerians

    The Diocesan Bishop and Missioner, Lagos Diocese Anglican Communion, Rt Rev Humphrey Olumakaiye, has condemned the consistent attacks on Nigerians and other nationals in South Africa.

    Olumakaiye, who stated this in a press release made available to The Nation on Friday, said that as a church, “we are saddened by the inhuman treatment of Nigerians and other nationals in South Africa and utterly condemn xenophobia in all its appearances, whether tacitly or full blown.”

    He noted that Nigeria, through her government and beautiful people, was very accommodating to the South African nation during the ugly episode of apartheid, and so do not deserve to be paid back with this inhuman treatment of her citizens in South Africa.

    He advised the government of South Africa not to sweep the issue under the rug, saying that we are all humans created in God’s image.

    “We want to encourage the Nigerian government to explore every diplomatic avenue to put an end to this dark episode threatening to rip the fabric of friendship between these two top African nations,” the bishop said.

    He stressed that the Nigerian government should not, however, go into negotiations without demanding lasting solution.

     

    Read Also: South Africa President condemns xenophobic attacks

    “Everything necessary should be done to bring to justice those who partook in the attacks and adequate compensation should be sort for the victims and their families,” he said.

    Olumakaiye posited that it is also important to note that the response of some Nigerian youths to the news of the xenophobic attacks is an indication of an impending catastrophe, if not immediately addressed.

    He warned that under no guise would one consider the actions of these youths acceptable. “We see it as a symptom to what we have been talking about for a while now.

    “There is immense poverty in the land. The resort to looting and vandalism was not borne out of accurate information but a case of ‘an idle hand is the devil’s workshop’. This cannot be allowed to continue”.

    “And the only productive way to address it is to engage the younger Nigerians meaningfully.

    “We advise the government at all levels to sit right and address the hunger in the land.

    “The Youths are bottled up, and if care is not taken, they can upturn the future of this great nation,” he warned.

  • South African police arrest 497 as looting of shops continues

    The South African police said on Friday that they have arrested 497 suspects who have been looting shops in Gauteng Province.

    The police said they are on high alert monitoring the situation, adding that some people started looting shops since Sunday and have continued to date.

    Police spokesperson, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, said 74 persons were arrested in Katlehong on Thursday, bringing the total number of arrests since violence erupted in Johannesburg to 497.

    She said the situation in Katlehong and other areas in the Province remains calm as the number of incidents continue to decline.

     

    Read Also: South Africa arrests 90 for xenophobic attacks, looting

    Peters said while 11 people were killed during this period, only seven deaths have been directly linked to the incidents of violence and the police will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding each death.

    Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lt.-Gen. Elias Mawela called on the people to respect the law.

    He warned the people to stop spreading fake news on the social media.

    “We must work together to make sure that no one gets to undermine the authority of the State and together, condemn the violence and criminality towards ensuring the safety of everyone in the Province.”

  • Blame our leaders for Nigerians’ ordeal in S’Africa

    Lagos- based social critic and political activist, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has blamed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa on bad governance by past and present Nigerian leaders.

    In a statement in Lagos on Friday, Chief Onitiri emphasised that if Nigerian leaders at federal and state levels had harnessed and utilised the available human and financial resources in the country to the benefit of Nigerians and the youths in particular, the youths would stay at home, instead of getting out of the country for greener pastures.

    “The maltreatment of Nigerians all over the world is as a result of bad governance in Nigeria.

    “This is why Boko Haram, herdsmen, kidnappers and bandits constantly and freely unleash havoc on citizens at will with the connivance of our security agencies or rather while our security agencies look elsewhere.”

    Read Also: Xenophobic attacks: NANS rejects exchange programmes with S’ Africa

    Onitiri expressed sadness that the Nigerian government could no longer provide security for the lives and property of citizens.

    “Our youths migrate massively out of the country for greener pastures. Our teeming jobless youths prefer death to staying in Nigeria,” he said.

    He called on the government to do the needful by giving the people the dividends of democracy and improve their lots, provide jobs for the teaming youths and empowering the women who he said are in the majority.

  • ‘Ruling out compensation for affected Nigerians unacceptable’

    It is extremely disappointing that South Africa ruled out payment of compensation to Nigerians affected by recent xenophobic attacks and Nigeria must mobilize effective sanctions, constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Inibehe Effiong has said.

    “I fully support legal redress against South Africa. It is regrettable and unacceptable that the South African government has ruled out paying compensation to Nigerians and other African migrants who are victims of the xenophobic violence,” Effiong told The Nation.

    “The federal government should now deploy maximum diplomatic pressure and reciprocal actions against South Africa. We cannot accept this sort of criminality.

     

    Read Also: NANS vows to deal with South Africans over xenophobic attacks

    “I do not believe that South African companies in Nigeria should be nationalized, but that will only be necessary if we end bilateral relations with South Africa.

    “The federal government should impose punitive tariffs on all South African companies in Nigeria.

    “While I support all actions taken so far by the government, I believe that more can be done.

    “Let the government galvanise multilateral efforts across the continent with the aim of isolating South Africa.

    “They must be made to pay a heavy price. South Africans must be made to realise that their behaviour is intolerable,” Effiong said.

  • Clamour for compensation unrealistic, says SAN

    Kwara State based legal practitioner, John Baiyeshea (SAN), on Friday called for a break in the diplomatic ties between Nigeria and South Africa.

    In an interview with one of our correspondents in Ilorin, the state capital, Baiyeshea said the country has tolerated the excesses of South Africa for too long, adding that Nigeria must not give the impression that she needs South Africa more than South Africa needs her.

    Baiyeshea said: “I personally believe that Nigerian government has tolerated the excesses of South Africa for too long. Kid’s glove diplomacy will not work in this situation.

    “The most appropriate diplomatic response now will be for Nigeria to temporarily suspend diplomatic ties with that country to let them know the depth of our disdain and disappointment.

    “If and when they show remorse, and after assurance for protection of lives and property of Nigerians, we can now reconsider restoring diplomatic ties.

    “Nigeria must never give the impression that we need them more than they need us.

    “Nigeria must come out of/from what I refer to as ‘inferior diplomacy.’”

    The Senior Advocate of Nigeria noted that the South African government has not been acting in good faith since the attack on and killing of Nigerians began.

    He said: “Apart from unfortunate and tragic xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, even top Nigerian executives who go to that country for conferences are being killed in their hotel rooms.

     

    Read Also: Our moments of horror in South Africa’s xenophobic attacks —Nigerian victims

    “The South African government has never shown genuine and sincere concern for this tragic loss of lives. They have never been known to prosecute those who carry out the killings.

    “To me, South African government seems to be complicit in all these sad situations as they shield the perpetrators of these savage acts against Nigerians.

    “South Africa is hostile to Nigerians and it not only treats our people with contempt, it hates us. “Despite all the huge sacrifice that Nigeria and Nigerians made to liberate it from over

    600 years of apartheid, oppression and suppression, the killing of our people is their own ungodly way of paying us back.

  • Visa applicants fret over passports stuck in diplomatic row

    Thousands of Nigerians who applied for visas to South Africa in the last two months have been thrown into confusion following the closure of the country’s diplomatic missions in Nigeria.

    The development was fallout of increased incidents of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals in several suburbs of Pretoria and Johannesburg, and reprisal attacks in some Nigerian city.

    Our reporter, who visited the South Africa Visa Application Centre in Woji – GRA Phase II office in Port Harcourt on Friday, reports that the place was under lock and key. Applicants who had submitted applications before the crisis wore worried looks as they left the office in disappointment.

    A terse notice at the entrance to the VFS Global Service office at the Vineyard Shopping Centre stated: “Kindly note that the South Africa Visa Application Centre will remain close (sic) to applicants till further notice.”

    “NOTE: VFS is only a visa application submitting centre,” the notice added, ostensibly to discourage similar angry attacks that were visited on South African-linked companies in some parts of the country.

    VFS Agency handles application on behalf of the South African High Commission, and the Port Harcourt office was opened not long ago to cater for applicants in the South-south and Southeast.

     

    Read Also: 16th Abuja International: All South African film entries suspended

    Our reporter gathered that the uncertainty surrounding the fate of pending applications have got applicants worried, especially over what would become of their passports that are trapped therein.

    An applicant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Nation that she submitted her application two months ago but had not heard from the agency despite providing a telephone number for contact.

    “Even if my application is approved now, I don’t want to go to South Africa for the holiday, because it might turn into a nightmare. I just want my passport back because I have a visa that I want to use for the Christmas holiday.”

    Another source said she applied for visa more than two months ago, having been told that the process would last just a few weeks.

    Tourism industry sources told our reporter that visas to the country, which usually took two – three weeks, became increasingly difficult to come by in recent times because of stricter restrictions.

  • Why my life ban should be upturned, by Siasia

    FORMER Super Eagles’ Chief Coach Samson Siasia has appealed the life ban slammed on him by world football governing body FIFA.

    Siasia disclosed at a press briefing held at the Media Center of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium yesterday that his lawyers filed the appeal to FIFA on August 27, 2019, while the other appeal was sent to the Court of Arbitration for Sports on the 29th of August, 2019.

    Siasia, however, denied involvement in the illegal activities that are contrary to the ethics of football.

    “I wish to state that I have never been and would never be a party to any form of unethical conduct or perversion in the discharge of my duties in any capacity. I built my career in the football industry on the foundation of hard work, integrity, consistency and God.

    “In all my career, I have done nothing but serve my country clubs to the best of my personal and professional ability, with all my strength and might, with discipline, pride and passion and an awareness that it is a privilege to be an ambassador of our great nation. It is my greatest hope and belief that my Country also stands by and with me at a time like this.

    “The entire proceedings and decision were only brought to my notice on the 16th of August, 2019 when the news broke in the public domain and friends and family started to call. I was unaware of the proceedings until I heard about FIFA’s decision.

    Read Also: FIFA bans Samson Siasia, fines ex-Eagles Coach N18.5million

    “While I may not be able to publicly divulge the details and specifics, I think it fit to inform you that I have appealed against FIFA’s Decision and you all will probably hear the results as you hear about the ban. I am currently taking legal advice. My lawyer Mr Austin Otah has been liaising with the NFF and their counsel.

    “I thank everyone who has supported me in one way or the other. I must state that this is the most trying period of my life. I am still dealing with the pain and challenges of my mother being kidnapped again and fighting to secure her release. I urge the nation to support me with prayers, goodwill and support of all kinds. The demands are very heavy”, Siasia disclosed.

    His lawyer Mr Austin Otah also reacted on the appeal. “We have assisted Mr Samson Siasia to file his appeal and we are awaiting FIFA to acknowledge the receipt of the appeal. We are awaiting feedback from FIFA and CAS.

  • Resident Permit knocks Onyekuru out of Ukraine tie

    SUPER Eagles winger, Henry Onyekuru has confirmed he won’t be available for Nigeria’s high profile friendly against Ukraine next week, AOIFootball.com reports.

    The Monaco winger, who confirmed the news of his unavailability to AOIFootball.com, stated that he was yet to get a resident card and would find it difficult to return to France should he fly to honour the game in Kyiv next week.

    “It is true that I won’t be available for the match against Ukraine next week due to resident permit.

    “I only arrived here less than a month and I’m yet to get my resident card, so if I leave now I won’t be able to return and will then have to apply for another visa to fly back to France,” Onyekuru explained.

    Read Also: Henry Onyekuru seals €15m  5-year deal with  AS Monaco

    The winger’s case could, however, be likened to what transpired between former Arsenal midfielder Kelechi Nwakali who flew into Nigeria for the U-23 qualifiers against Libya in March but had to stay back for months due to resident permit to Portugal, a situation that cost him his season with FC Porto.

    In his absence, Eagles gaffer Gernot Rohr has already called up Belgian based Dennis Emmanuel Bonaventure to replace the Monaco winger.