The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Young, gifted Kuti shares table tennis’ dreams

    Young, gifted Kuti shares table tennis’ dreams

    At 11 Matthew Kuti started rubbing shoulders with some of Nigeria’s best table tennis players. His emergence three years ago did not come as a surprise to many as his skills coupled with his entertaining style of play  has made him a delight to watch.

    Young and gifted Kuti  announced himself at the 2019 Aso National Championships held in Abuja when he defied the  odds to edge out some of the top seeds to earn the cadet title.

    In 2021, Kuti returned to the same stage to compete in the junior event, and just as he did at the cadet level, he braved the challenges to become the Nigeria national junior champion, a status he still commands up to date.

    In his maiden international outing for Nigeria at the 2022 ITTF African Youth Championships in Tunisia in July, Kuti claimed two silver medals in team and doubles events while he was edged out in the quarterfinal of the Boys’ U-15 singles.

    The Tunisia experience prepared Kuti for the bigger challenge at the WTT Youth Contender in Cairo, Egypt. With the experience garnered in Tunis, Kuti was listed for the Boys’ Singles U-11 and U-13 Events.

    Despite not being listed among the top seeds, Kuti worked his way to the podium to become the champions in U-11 and U-13, a feat he said he did not expect.

    “Initially I was in love with football at a tender age because that was the most popular sport in Nigeria and in  my town,” the youngster said.“ So, at four, I was fond of playing football.

    “ But my father was a coach for my town, and he decided to encourage me to be joining him in training that was how I found myself in table tennis and since then, table tennis has been my life.

    “Everything around me revolves around the sport that I eat and breathe table tennis now,” he added.

    For Kuti, winning the Aso National Championship opened doors for him: “I think winning the Aso Championships really helped my confidence and exposed me to the national coach. This contributed to my invitation to the national camp where I made my international debut this year.

    “Before then, I dominated the junior division in Nigeria where I won virtually all the local competitions, especially in Lagos where we have a lot of young players like me.”

    “I train twice daily starting at 9 am to noon and I return to the training again in the evening and this helped me to prepare for the WTT Youth Contender in Cairo.

    “At the African Youth Championships in Tunis, I was a bit nervous and that really affected my game being my first international outing for Nigeria. I lost in the boys’ U-15 singles in the quarterfinal while I was able to settle for silver in doubles of U-19 and the team event of U-15.

    “ Going to Tunisia really boosted my confidence that I can do well in any competition. Knowing fully well that I would be going to Cairo for WTT Youth Contender, I moved to Abuja where I trained well hoping to exceed my performance there.

    “Before the tournament, I just wanted to go out there and show what I can do because I did not expect I could win any title. I had also been told that it will be tougher than Tunis being a tournament for players across the globe.

    “But after my first game, I knew that if I wanted to win, I needed  to play with backhand because, in Nigeria, we play more of the forehand.

    “ We have confidence playing with the forehand, but we are not too sure about playing with the backhand. After my first game, I started training with my backhand and took a lot of risks with it. I started playing well, especially in the semi-final of the U-13 where I faced one of the strongest players in the category.

    “ I noticed that my opponent played from all angles and I needed something extra to win him. So, I decided to take a risk with my backhand and this worked for me in the game.

    “After qualifying for the final, I knew that it will be easier than the semi-final because my semi-final opponent was stronger than my final opponent. So I was a bit more relaxed in the final and I played with ease to claim the title. In all my matches, the semi-final of the U-15 was the most difficult match for me in Egypt.”

    Like every athlete, Kuti believed  he has the quality to become one of the best players in the world while his immediate dream is to attend more competitions outside Africa as well as continue to work on his backhand.

    “For me to become what I dream of, I think I need to redouble efforts in working on my backhand because, without it, it will be difficult to be the best,” he added.

  • Modupe Oshikoya: My golden moments in athletics

    Modupe Oshikoya: My golden moments in athletics

    From dominating inter-house sports competitions at Methodist Girls’ High School, Modupe Oshikoya worked her way into the national and international limelight from her humble start  in the 1960s despite the fierce rivalry involving  other budding stars from Reagan High School and Queens’ College in Lagos. At several meets, her bravery on track aided her school’s  success  and she got a call-up to the national team  as a teenager in 1970. From 1973 when she made her debut at the African Games, Oshikoya won five gold medals as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal and the legendary athlete spoke of her rise to stardom in this interview with TUNDE LIADI.

    At 68, Modupe Oshikoya cannot but relishes her experience as an athlete where she grew from being a school champion to becoming an African and Commonwealth champion.

    Narrating her foray into sports at Methodist Girls High School in Lagos,  she said it was inspired by the support the then government gave to sports in the country.

    “In those days, we had good coaches that were able to breed athletes up and the government was supportive of athletes’ wellbeing,” she  said  days after being honoured in Abuja  by the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN).“I’m not here to be able to know what is happening now at home.

    “But from things I hear from other people, I was told the government is not doing enough.

    “Running and jumping came to me naturally. It was while I took to athletics which was known as track and field then. I took part in basketball, badminton, table tennis, and a few other sports when I was growing up but it was athletics that I stuck to.

    “I got some good coaches that encouraged me to go far in it. Dr. Elias Awoturele who took me under his wing and Dr. Ogunmakinde and a couple of others. It was one of my teachers in the elementary school, Mr. Adam that spotted me and kept on encouraging me.”

    despite her parents’ indifference to sports, Oshikoya said: “Initially my dad wasn’t too supportive of my decision to go into sports. He said women were not supposed to take part in sports but Dr. Elias and my principal in Methodist Girls High School, were able to convince him that sports won’t get in the way of my education,” she recalled with fondness.

    “I didn’t get much encouragement from home at all because they didn’t know too much about sports. My mum wasn’t that educated enough to know what sports is all about.”

    It was through her exploits in athletics that Oshikoya was able to secure a scholarship to study in the United States of America where she also represented her school. Despite her success on the track, Oshikoya never allowed her education to suffer. “Education was very important to me as an athlete back then. I took it seriously right from when I was in Nigeria and even when I got to the United States and ran for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the coaches were trying to make athletics the major priority. I made them know that I came to the US for my education while athletics is secondary. I made sure I got my degrees first. I know that with the education I have something to fall back on in the case of injury or retirement from the sport.”

    Recalling how she secured the scholarship to study abroad. “I met with a United States coach during the Africa/USA Games in Senegal that saw me running and jumping. He was impressed and he invited me to come and run for him,” she said.

    “I told him to approach the Nigerian officials and it was decided it was best for me to go in 1974 after the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.”

    On the memories of her exploits at the African Games, she said: “My love for track and field made it fun and interesting for me to go to extra length to achieve the results I got. I would have won three gold medals at the 1978 African Games but I picked up a groin injury that forced me to pull out of the 100m hurdles. “At the 1973 African Games, I competed in the high jump, 100m hurdle, and long jump and I clinched the gold medals in the three events. I was thrilled to win the gold medals as it was just fun for me then,” she noted.

    and the 1978 edition in Algiers, she reclaimed the gold medals in the high and long jumps but a groin injury forced her to pull out of the 100m hurdles.

    She described her gold medal at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand as the climax of her career.

    “The Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1974 in New Zealand in the long jump event was special. I was close to winning the gold in the hurdles too but I tripped towards it and ended up with a bronze medal,” she recalled.

    She, however, lamented the inability of Nigeria to take part in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada in protest of the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

    “We were already at the 1976 Montreal, Olympics in Canada and waiting for the opening ceremony before we pulled out of the competition a day before it.

    “Everybody was disappointed because of the hard work we had put in preparing for the Olympics for four years but it wasn’t the end of the world,” she said.

    Oshikoya said her mother remains her source of inspiration. “My mum was a strong woman but she didn’t really understand what the sport is all about,” she added. “She was there for me whenever she can and whatever she could do for me, she tried her best.”

    With the state of sports in the country, Oshikoya urged the government to pay attention to sports as this can keep youths away from vices.

    “They must catch the athletes when they are young. We started very young. They must encourage the athletes with good incentives to be able to compete,” she said.

    But she however counselled upcoming athletes not to ignore their education ahead of their participation in sports.

    “I will tell the athletes to work hard and not to let sports get into their heads. They must complement their endowed talents with education. It gives them something good to hold on to after their retirement.

    “Also as an athlete, you need to be disciplined and make up your mind on what you want. You must determine what you want to do with your life,” she said.

    Oshikoya was among the awardees at the just concluded event organised by the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN) to honour former women athletes of the 1960s and 1970s.

    She called on the government and corporate organisations and individuals to partner with the organisers of the AFFAN awards to ensure its sustainability.

    “It was nice to witness the event and I hope it is sustained because it brought athletes of yesteryears that have not seen for years together, it was a good experience,” Oshikoya said.

    “I want to thank Dr. Toyin Aluko and the members of AFFAN for what they put together. It is laudable for them to still appreciate the former athletes. It was really great. I pray that God will give them the wherewithal to continue. I also hope the government and corporate organizations would support it too so that it can be sustained.”

  • Dolphin Swimming League comes alive at CIS

    Dolphin Swimming League comes alive at CIS

    The third leg of season four of the Dolphin Swimming League will tomorrow comes up at the Children’s International School (CIS) in Lekki, Lagos.

    Grange School, Ikeja has hosted the first two legs of the first private school inter-school swimming competition and top swimmers from the participating schools will converge at CIS for the third leg which precedes the finale for season four of the annual tournament.

    The Principal of CIS, Stewart King said the school would be ready to welcome all the competitors. “It is always a privilege to host such events, but this is particularly the case after a period where, understandably, opportunities for inter-school competitions have been limited.  Competition amongst schools and pupils is a fundamental part of the education of each child imbued as it does qualities such as resilience, sportsmanship, leadership, and teamwork,” he said.

    According to the coordinator of the tournament, Oluseyi Oyebode, the essence of taking the tournament around the schools was to provide opportunities for the host school to improve their performance as well as engender friendship among the swimmers.

    Rite Foods is the official sponsor of the league and they are hoping to excite the swimmers this weekend.

  • Derby FC overpowers Golden Eaglets in 10-goal thriller

    Derby FC overpowers Golden Eaglets in 10-goal thriller

    Abuja-based football academy Derby FC yesterday beat Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets 6-4 in a friendly game.

    The victory is not the story but the manner in which they manhandled the national U-17 team.

    The national team which is warming up for the 2023 U17 AFCON in Algeria found it difficult to cope with the crispy-like brand of football displayed by the visitors.

    Derby’s winger Osaghae Uyiosa Eugene was practically unplayable and consistently easily breached the Eaglets’ defense and assisted the 1st goal as early as the 6th minute.

    The Eaglets responded well with an equalizer three minutes later after their opponents lost the ball in the build-up.

    Derby went on to score two more goals and even missed a penalty to end the 1st half leading 3 – 1.

    Two quick goals, one each from both teams early in the 2nd half took the score line to 4 – 2.

    Derby then scored two more goals while the national team scored two more penalties to end the game 6 – 4.

    Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro and Nigeria’s technical director, Austin Eguavoen, were both present to see the game and were seen taking notes.

    The Eaglets have been grouped alongside Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia in group B of the CAF U17 championship which kicks off on April 29.

  • No regret snubbing England for Nigeria, says Lookman

    No regret snubbing England for Nigeria, says Lookman

    Super Eagles striker Ademola Lookman has said that he has no regrets over snubbing England for Nigeria while admitting that he joined Atalanta in the summer because they score ‘many goals’.

    The 25-year-old has taken Serie A by storm since his €9m move from RB Leipzig last summer.

    Lookman was born in London to Nigerian parents and made his senior debut with the Super Eagles on March 2022.

    “I have no regrets, he admitted. I took the right decision. This is my career, I want to play for Nigeria. I am proud of this. I was born in England, but my family is from Nigeria and I have a strong bond with both countries,” he said.

    Lookman has scored 12 goals in 20 league matches, providing four assists, quickly becoming a regular starter under Gian Piero Gasperini.

    “I joined Atalanta because they are a great team and score many goals,” Lookman told L’Eco di Bergamo as quoted by Calcioatalanta.

    “I am happy here, I knew I could do great things.”

    His compatriot Victor Osimhen is Serie A’s leading scorer with 16 goals so far. Does Lookman aim to reach him?

    “I have just one target and I focus on one game at a time,” he said.

    “I’ve never thought about records and I want to continue working to improve. We’ll see what I’ve reached in the end. I know Osimhen well and I can say he is an incredible player with exceptional characteristics. Everyone is seeing the champion he is.”

  • INEC to women: you can do more than singing, dancing for politicians

    INEC to women: you can do more than singing, dancing for politicians

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State has reiterated its commitment to ensuring active participation of women in electoral processes, particularly during the forthcoming general election.

    The Deputy Director in charge of Civil Society Organisations Division, INEC headquarters, Ndidi Okafor, spoke in Awka during a town hall meeting with women groups and gender-focused civil society organisations.

    She said the commission was desirous of seeing more women move beyond singing and dancing for politicians to taking active part in political activities.

    Okafor lamented increasing level of violence perpetrated by youths before, during and after elections, attributing it partly to nonchalant attitude of parents, particularly mothers.

    She said: “Women can do more than dancing, singing. How can you be comfortable with singing for politicians when there are no drugs in hospitals and your children are sitting on bare floor to learn?

    “What’s wrong with you emerging as the national chairperson of a major political party other than a woman leader? Women are well educated and intellectually healthy to also contribute to governance.

    “This is why the commission has a written document attesting to its commitment to ensuring increased participation of women in the electoral process, including gender policy, which speaks a lot to its commitment.

    “The commission has established a gender and inclusivity department to cater for electoral needs of women and marginalised groups, which also attests to the same commitment.

    “Overtime, women have been sidelined, occasioned by religious, cultural, social and economic reasons. All these have connived to put women down. But now, INEC is saying women can contribute to nation building.”

    “The women on their part have decided not to be behind, but beside; it’s a gradual process because of the patriarchal nature of the society that women should not be heard.

    “We’re glad about the cooperation of some men, especially those we call he-for-she, men, who believe in the capacity of women to come to the table and not the menu.”

    Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare Mrs. Ify Obinabo urged women to take advantage of their positions in homes to convince their husbands and children on the need to play positive roles in the political processes.

    “Women should see themselves as agents of change. We’re expecting them to participate fully during the elections. We’ve started that already by encouraging them to register and collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs),” she said.

    The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Elizabeth Agwu, said the meeting was targeted at encouraging women to speak to their children, particularly those who willingly submitted themselves in the hands of unscrupulous politicians to foment violence.

    Agwu, represented by the Head, General Administration and Procurement, Sunday Nwegbe, described women as direct beneficiaries of elections outcome, positively or negatively, advising them to give the exercise the seriousness it deserved.

    “We are here to sensitise women to appreciate they bear much of the brunt. This is why they should appeal to their children to shun violence and be part of those who will contribute to peaceful elections,” she said.

  • ‘Flood killed 29, affected 2,934 in Bauchi in 2022’

    ‘Flood killed 29, affected 2,934 in Bauchi in 2022’

    Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency (BASEMA) has said no fewer than 29 people were killed and 2,934 others affected by floods in the state in 2022.

    Director of Planning Research and Statistics of the agency, Mr Adamu Nayola, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Bauchi.

    He said the affected people cut across all the 20 local government areas of the state.

    Nayola listed the worst hit local government areas as:  Zaki, Gamawaa, Shira, Jama’are, Kirfi, Alkaleri and Misau.

    “In the 2022 flood, 29 people were confirmed dead and 2,934 others affected in 250 different locations. Not less than 8,457 houses were destroyed, 4,500 farmlands submerged, 32 people injured and 26 roads affected, while 1,856 IDPs households were also affected,” he said.

    Nayola said that the agency engaged in effective management of flood, such as early warning and massive sensitisation of residents of the state in 2022.

    “As a result of the sensitisation campaigns, the impacts of flooding and its devastating effects were drastically reduced. The agency always warned citizens to adhere to the early warning avoid blockage of waterways,” he said.

    Nayola said that the agency would continue to enlighten the public on early warning campaigns and mitigation measures.

  • Forum to empower 50 widows, 200 indigent children

    Forum to empower 50 widows, 200 indigent children

    A communal organisation under the auspices of Okam Forum said it would be empowering 50 widows with grants of N250, 000, and 200 indigent with scholarships in secondary schools and tertiary institutions at N100,000 each.

    The chairman of the forum, Chief Emmanuel Ameh while briefing reporters said they decided to render the support because the Orokam community has a high school drop-out percentage due to the inability of many families to finance the education of their wards with.

    According to the chairman, the organisation which is aimed at promoting the socio-economic development of Orokam in the Ogbadibo local government area of Benue State, will focus on brilliant students identified either as orphans or from very poor families who need support to progress in school.

    He further said that the forum would be honoring many national icons and members of the association for distinguished national service and commitment to community development within the Idoma Nation, and Nigeria at large on February 7, where the scholarship and grants would be given to beneficiaries.

    He said that they will also focus on other issues like the health support programme for Community Health Insurance with N5 million revolving drug fund and medicare to reduce infant and maternal mortality, and disease prevalence in Orokam.

    “Youth self-employment scheme to reduce the prevalence of illicit drug addiction, acts of criminality and delinquency among youths in Orokam who have been out of school and unemployed by re-directing their energy to trades, ICT, Shoe-making, phone repairs and other technical hands-on training to be supported with minimal funding and kits to enable them to be self-employed.

    “It is projected that training, kits, and take-off seed for each beneficiary will be N150,000 for each of the 200 youth in the pilot phase. This is estimated at N30,000,000.

    “As a prominent community association, we are motivated to begin these programmes because we believe that philanthropy and acts of kindness are values shared in a common humanity.

    “Over 40 Nigerian icons mostly of Idoma extraction will be honoured in three different categories: community service, meritorious retirement from service, and promotion and strategic appointments,” he said.

  • Communal clash renders hundreds homeless in Adamawa

    Communal clash renders hundreds homeless in Adamawa

    A community in Adamawa State has cried out to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri over a communal clash that caused injuries to eight people and rendered hundreds homeless.

    Representatives of the Dingle Uboh Clan of Mayah Community of Demsa Local Government Area addressed newsmen in the state capital, Yola, yesterday, urging urgent action of government to check what they described as an incessant conflict to prevent escalation.

    Spokesman of the Dingle Uboh Clan, Chindo Hebron, said during the briefing that resulting from a disagreement over a large piece of land, they were confronted by their neighbours, the people of the Wanela Wagowang Clan who inflicted life threatening injuries on them.

    He said eight of such injured people had to be taken to the Numan General Hospital where they are being treated, and that “As I am speaking to you, hundreds of our women, children and the aged are homeless in their fatherland.”

    Giving a historical account of the crisis, Chindo Hebron said: “It is a documented fact that a large farmland situated in the Dingle community has been under the control of our family for decades before the Wanela Wagowang Clan arrived the community.

    “But as the years go by and following what appears to be permanent residency by these people in Dingle and their incorporation into the community which granted them privileges to some farmlands, they (Wanela Wagowang Clan) claimed ownership of many farmlands, including the land at the centre of the current conflict.”

    He added that the annexation of the said land which started “like play in 2019” is what snowballed into a bloody clash last week during which many Dingle youths were gravely beaten up and some shot to near death, leading to the admission of eight among them for medical attention.

    Hebron said that after his people had tried in vain to sort out the conflict through the law Court and through their paramount ruler, the Hama Bata, they now look to Governor Fintiri for succour.

    He said that as peace loving people, they are compelled to seek the interventin of Governor Fintiri to constitute a panel to investigate the conflict and penalise anyone found guilty.

  • We are paying salaries before Fed Govt allocation, says Sule

    We are paying salaries before Fed Govt allocation, says Sule

    Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has said his administration is able to generate over N20 billion monthly as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) during the last two years.

    He said that the increase in IGR made it possible for him to pay workers’ salaries before federal government allocation and take care of other running cost of the state.

    Governor Sule stated this in Karshi, Karu Local Government Area during the second phase of his campaign in the state.

    “In 2019, the IGR of the state was N7.1 billion but today due to our determination and commitment to harnessing what we have, the IGR of the state is over N20 billion monthly.

    “That is why we are able to pay salaries as when due. We will not relent, what we need is your support especially the traditional rulers to enlighten the people to live in peace to attract development. Karshi which is in Karu Local Government is so dear to my heart considering it’s close proximity to the FCT, we will take advantage of the abundant resources to transform them for the development of the area and the state in general” he said

    At Panda Development area, Governor Sule promise to construct Panda-Gitata road in the state with Mpape in the FCT.

    He said when he saw the level of dilapidated of the road before his election in 2019, he took it upon himself that if elected he will ensure that the road is bring to good shape.

    Meanwhile, the governor said plans are underway to establish local processing industries, to harness the state’s abundant mineral resources.

    Sule, who stated this when he visited the Emir of Karshi, Alhaji Sani Mohammed-Bako II, noted that the state was endowed with numerous mineral resources, and establishing local processing industries to harness them would boost growth and development of the state.

    He urged the people of Karshi to re-elect him to realise these laudable plans.

    “I am happy to inform you that the marbles and tiles you see in Lagos airport and other major cities in Nigeria are manufactured in Gudi in Akwanga. So, we have started establishing local processing industries, mainly for our local mineral resources; we are doing all these to raise our revenue base,” he said.

    Emir Mohammed-Bako commended Sule for the good works he had been doing across the state, including in Karshi Development Area.