The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Waiting for Argentina

    Injuries have been very unkind to key Nigerian and Argentine players ahead of the November 14 clash in Russia. It has taken the spark out of the game, with key players such as Lionel Messi and John Mikel Obi, waiting for the Mundial for a likely showdown. Messi’s absence isn’t because of injuries. Messi is out of the game in partial fulfilment of his contractual obligations to his European club, Barcelona FC of Spain. Barca’s coach wants Messi to rest for the daunting European tasks. Will you blame the coach? He who pays the piper calls the tunes. A sigh of relief for Mikel, but it won’t be an easy game, considering the presence of Di Maria, Aguero et al in the Argentine side. Di Maria’s goal cost Nigeria the gold medal in the final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

    Both countries want the game, going by the stories that the Argentines rejected offers from Ukraine and Azeberjian that are better placed on FIFA ranking than Nigeria. Nigeria got the Argentines’ nod because  of our players’ exploits with their European clubs. Besides, the Argentines have had remarkable experience playing against Nigeria, especially this golden generation of players in Argentina.  The Argentines still point at Nigeria’s 3-2 victory over them at the Atlanta’96 Olympic Games as one of their saddest moments. Will you blame them? We had such great players as Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amuneke, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Uche Okechukwu et al.

    On November 14, the Argentines won’t be seeing Samson Siasia on the bench. Siasia has lost thrice to the Argentines. He got his pound of flesh against them in Nigeria with a 4-1 whiplash at the National Stadium in Abuja.

    The November 14 encounter best suits Nigeria because we have been crippled by injuries to key players, such as Ogenyi Onazi, Simon Moses, Odion Ighalo, Victor Moses and recuperating goalkeeper Carl Ikeme. This setting has made it mandatory for Coach Gernot Rohr to field new players who have been warming the bench when the big boys held forte.

    Eagles’ biggest test for Rohr will be goalkeeping where I expect the manager to field the two goalkeepers at the appropriate time in the game for them to prove their mettle. Perhaps field one goalkeeper per half. Most pundits believe that one of the weakest points in the Eagles is in goalkeeping. They want Vincent Enyeama back. A good choice if he is fit, irrespective of fears of leadership tussle between Eneyama and Mikel.

    Rohr will try Mikel, Oghenekaro Etebo, Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi in the midfield. Etebo and Iwobi will be replacing Simon Moses and Onazi, who are injured. The Argentines have a galaxy of intelligent midfielders, such as Di Maria. The Argentines have very fast strikers, who have been scoring goals for their European clubs. One is excited that Troost Ekong and Leon Balogun are fit. It will be nice to see how they battle it out with the sleek Argentine side.

    Rohr should know that the Argentines are not formidable at the rear, which explains why their coach is ruing the absence of Manchester City defender Otemandi. Unfortunately, Nigeria will be missing Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo and Moses Simon in the attacking section. Perhaps, Iwobi and Iheanacho can trouble the Argies.

    Feelers from Russia suggest that the weather is at near freezing point, but that shouldn’t trouble our players who play in Europe and are used to such unsavoury weather conditions.  This is the first reward for the players with this game in Russia. I hope that NFF chiefs will seize this trip to scout for training grounds, camping centres and hotels where they hope to keep the team next year.

    Based on FIFA ranking, Nigeria shouldn’t beat Argentina. But it is a different game with shocking results, where ‘’minnows’’ upset the big boys. A win for Nigeria will boost the players’ confidence. It will throw up new options for Rohr to plot his World Cup strategies. Victory for the Eagles will increase the competition level for first team shirts.

    Nigeria appears to be a team of 11 players. Only Grade A matches, such as the one against as the Argentines, can push our boys to give their best as the world waits for the fixtures on the Russia 2018 World Cup to be drawn on December 2.

    I hope NFF chieftains can organise more top grade games for the Eagles before the Mundial to help the coaches blend the players properly. NFF’s men must ensure that the Eagles play a send-off game in Nigeria before the World Cup to give Nigerians the chance of seeing their ambassadors to the Mundial against a big football nation – Brazil, Germany and Spain. Interestingly, Rohr has pleaded with NFF chiefs to get a send off game for the Eagles in Nigeria. that is how it is done. Other climes renowned for soccer always get their teams to play the last preparatory game at home. Such games precede a buffet later at night with the head of government of such coun tries. The reception will further strengthen the players’ resolve to do well at the Mundial.

    Indeed, when countries head for the World Cup, they do so with great ceremony. It is always a spectacle to behold countries with national airlines land in World Cup venues with the airplanes emblazoned with these countries’ flags and colours. When will Nigeria join the party of countries which celebrate their arrival at big sporting event now that we seem to have found the key to qualifying for the World Cup?

    It is always shameful seeing Nigeria’s delegation arrive in competition venues in batches. Our administrators like it because it hides their ineptitude. But the message is sent when our big stars are part of such batches. Our stars’ arrivals are always captured in lousy dressings unlike their contemporaries who arrive in neatly cut designer suits in one delegation. 

    2018 marks Nigeria’s sixth appearance at the Mundial. Are we arriving in Russia in batches? Will the Eagles be wearing all manner of apparels as if they are going to the beach? What has happened to our national dresses which show who we are? We seem to be destined to arrive in Russia in foreign airlines, but we can still get attention if our players deck our national attires. When will Nigeria have a national carrier? That is discussion for another day.

     

    Thank you Emenalo

     

    Michael Emenalo has quit Chelsea honourably, with the owner Roman Abramovich and board members acknowledging his laudable contributions towards lifting the club to new heights after 10 years.

    Emenalo came with Avran Grant, a former coach of Chelsea. He remained after Grant left, working behind the scene to recruit the right players and give the owner quality advice which have made Chelsea the brand that it is today.

    In his 10 years at Chelsea, Emenalo fought battles with new managers, who wanted to annexe his behind the scene jobs to their coaching assignment. He  won all the battles, twice against the Special One Jose Mourinho. The owner stood by Emenalo, who earned his trust and confidence. With Emenalo’s help, Chelsea have won the Premier League title three times, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League while he has been at the club.

    Stories from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground last week suggested a rift between Coach Antonio Conte and David Luiz. Emenalo’s exit is said to be a fallout of the rift. Emenalo has left Chelsea with dignity, not trying to destroy what he built simply because Conte wants to do his job. It is quite cheery that Chelsea’s owner has acknowledged this quality in Emenalo with this statement on his exit.

    The statement states: ‘’ It is with regret that the owner and board of directors accepted Michael’s resignation this week. He has had a tremendous impact on the club over the past 10 years and this is evident in everything we have achieved. We are sorry to see him go but understand his desire to move on and explore new challenges.’’

    Emenalo told the media in London that: ‘’ After 10 years here, 10 wonderful successful years, but very demanding years, it is a very difficult thing to decide to step aside. It is entirely my decision and it has come about for very simple reasons. I need an opportunity to get to see my young kids grow and also to step back and reflect on the work that I have done here and the things that we have been able to accomplish together in this great club.

    ‘’It is something I have been thinking about for quite some time now and it is something I have discussed with my family and they understand the reasons and timing for wanting to step aside,’’ Emenalo.

    Thank you Emenalo.

  • Enyeama’s needless controversies

    Enyeama’s needless controversies

    Vincent Enyeama must be laughing over the needless controversies surrounding his likely return to the Super Eagles, which he captained meritoriously by leading the team to win the Africa Cup of Nations diadem on February 10 in South Africa. I’m sure he knows he is being appreciated for his good performances with the Eagles. Enyeama must have been following the debate about his return. His recent silence on the matter indicates that he could be ready to play again. But, is Enyeama fit for this assignment? Will he want to destroy the reputation he has built on the altar of another World Cup appearance?

    Enyeama earned his place in the Eagles through his heoric feats in the domestic league and the Challenge Cup, playing for Enyimba FC of Aba. When renowned tactician Adegboye Onigbinde drafted Enyeama into his 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup squad, many reasoned that he wanted to give the goalkeeper the exposure through learning from the older goalkeepers in the camp and those he would be watching at the Mundial in Asia.

    Onigbinde got the opportunity with Nigeria’s last but meaningless game against England in the Group. We had been techncially eliminated from the Mundial, so it was worth the gamble. Ike Shorunmu distinguished himself, first against Argentina (we lost 1-0, courtesy of a Gabriel Baptistuta header). Shrounmu was in goal when we lost to Sweden 2-1. By Onigbinde’s calculations, there was nothing to play for. What made sense to the Modakeke chief was to hand Enyeama a starting shirt in goal against England, irrespective of the presence of the famous David Beckham and his curly free-kicks. The worst that would have happened would be a loss, which didn’t happen eventually with Enyeama in goal.

    Onigbinde listed Osaze Odenwingie as a standby player. He wanted Osaze to have a sense of belonging and also witness the World Cup setting. Osaze became our star player, having broken his yoke at the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup.

    In a post-match interview with the press, Onigbinde insisted that fielding Enyeama against world stars, such as Michael Owen, Beckham et al, was the elixir Enyeama needed to announce his arrival as one of the future goalkeepers. How prophetic Onigbinde’s decision has been. Interestingly, Onigbinde argued that keeping Enyeama on the bench would have killed his enthusiasm, pointing out that all new players, goalkeepers inclusive, need such big games to hit stardom.

    Ironically, Onigbinde, a Nigerian coach, gave Enyeama the biggest fillip of his game. Yet, he never enjoyed a good relationship with most former Nigerian internationals who took charge of the Eagles, perhaps because of those coaches’ inability to accept the fact that most big stars are brats.

    Samson Siasia had a running battle with Enyeama, which cost Nigeria the ticket to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (co-hosted by Gabon and Equitorial Guinea), largely because we drew at home 2-2 against the Syli Nationale of Guinea. Goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba’s costly mistakes ruined us. But, Siasia’s shocking revealed that he didn’t know the rules of the competition. Indeed, all that Siasia’s team needed was a win of any goals’ margin not a whiplash. If he knew the rules, he would have urged his players to hold on to the 2-1 lead in Abuja, instead of surging forward to look for more goals. This flaw on Siasia’s part was chiefly responsible for Nigeria’s ouster, not Aiyenugba’s fumbling hands. Aiyenugba hasn’t returned to the Eagles. But Enyeama did when Siaisa was shown the exit door.

    Need I restate Enyeama’s acrimonious reationship with former Nigeria international and coach Sunday Oliseh? Enyeama has a good heart because he visits the players in camp in Uyo whenever he is in town.  There can’t be  a better morale booster than that exhibited by Enyeama.

    Enyeama’s encounters with Siasia and Oliseh have been similar. As captain, Enyeama spoke for the group when things went awry. He would have been seen as a weak leader, if he couldn’t represent the players well while discussing with the coaches and chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Without the players, there can’t be coaches and administrators. For insisting on his mates having their dues, he got into trouble with the officials, who didn’t like his guts.

    Shortly before Nigeria’s opening game of the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Chipolopolo of Zambia in Ndola, the talk was the need to bring Enyeama back to the team. But Enyeama said his sojourn in the Eagles was over. When Carl Ikeme was fielded many doubted his abilities. Ikeme became the hero of the game. His subsequent outstanding performances for the Eagles eased the talk of Enyeama’s return. But it appears it won’t go away.

    The talk resurfaced when Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukemia. This cancer of the blood ailment puts a big doubt on Ikeme’s continued appearance for the Eagles. Several goalkeepers have been fielded, but it appears Ikechukwu Ezenwa is poised to grab the shirt. This time Enyeama isn’t talking. No need to. He hasn’t hidden his preference of staying out of Nigeria’s international matches. Rohr wants Enyeama, which is expected. But he isn’t playing regularly yet. This raises the poser of his fitness. It is important to state here that Argentina’s first choice goalkeeper Romero is a reserve for Manchester United FC of England. But Romero is still Argentina’s first choice – Argentina’s manager is relying on Romero’s experience, having manned the goalpost in the finals of the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil.

    Enyeama’s experience isn’t in doubt. I feel strongly that Rohr should keep an open mind in getting a new goalkeeper. Rohr could tow Onigbinde’s path and rely on Ezenwa et al. What has happened to the reasoning that the goalkeeper is as good as his defence? Rohr should get other players to improve on their marking style. Our players should be challenged to mark the nearest person as soon they lose the ball.

    Interestingly, a new goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, has been exposed to the European game by a Spanish side. He has manned the goalpost twice with rave reviews from soccer pundits. Guess what, Uzoho was in the Golden Eaglets that won the gold medal and the U-17 World Cup for Nigeria. He was the reserve goalkeeper.

    Uzoho represented Nigeria under-17s at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Only 14, he was an immediate back-up to Dele Alampasu. Uzoho was dumped by the Nigerian system which discourages a seamless transition of discoveries from such cadet competitions to the next cadre, preferring to use and dump players with every competition.

    In 2016, after impressing at a tournament in Barcelona, he joined Deportivo de La Coruña’s Juvenil squad. Age rules meant that Uzoho could only become available to sign a contract with Dépor in January 2017;shortly after signing his contract, he started to train with the first team. Promoted to the reserves ahead of the 2017–18 season, he made his senior debut September 10 with a starting shirt in a 3–0 Segunda División B home win against Real Madrid Castilla.

    Uzoho made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 15 October 2017, starting in a 0–0 away draw against SD Eibar. At 18 years and 352 days, he became the youngest ever foreign goalkeeper to make his debut in La Liga, and the second-youngest player to appear in the league during the campaign, only behind Real Madrid’s Achraf Hakimi.

    One thing is clear, Rohr’s decision to invite Uzoho means he could be the man to solve the goalkeeping problem, irrespective of his age. Spain’s legend Iker Casillas started manning the goalpost for the Spaniards after the 1999 World Youth Championships held in Nigeria, which Spain won by beating Japan 2-0 at the Sportscity at age 19. Casillas is the most capped player in the history of the Spain national team. Following his full international debut at the senior level on 3 June, 2000 against Sweden (at 19 years and 14 days).

    Casillas was an unused substitute at UEFA Euro 2000. He was part of the roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, initially as the understudy to Santiago Cañizares. Coincidentally, he became first-choice when Cañizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury from a freak accident.

    Why are we always scared to introduce young players into the Eagles? Edson Arantes do Nascimento was 17 when he played for Brazil at the World Cup. Norman Whiteside played for Northern Ireland at the Mundial at age 17 and 41 days. After becoming the youngest player to appear at the World Cup and starting all five of Northern Ireland’s games at Spain 1982, Whiteside would go on to represent his country again at the global stage four years later at Mexico 1986. Why can’t we blaze the trail if we have the players to do so?

    No European club will give a foreigner a starting shirt if he isn’t better than their nationals? If Uzoho got two appreances for the Deportivo de La Corona, it means he earned it. The two appearances for Uzoho in Spain’s elite league, La Liga are better than any local goalkeepers’ 50 outings in the Nigerian league. Uzoho is the youngest foreign goalkeeper to ever play in La Liga.

    Were there other Nigerian goalkeepers who made their names with Deportivo? Peter Rufai signed with established Deportivo de La Coruña the ensuing summer, backing up another African, Jacques Songo’o, for two seasons. The late Wilfred Agbonavbare played for New Nigeria Bank F.C. and BCC Lions FC. In 1990, he moved to Spain where he spent the rest of his career, starting with Rayo Vallecano in Segunda División.

    In his second season with the Madrid outskirts club, the late Agbonavbare appeared in all 38 league games (3,332 minutes of action, 27 goals conceded, second-best in the competition) as the team finished second and returned to La Liga after two years of absence.

    Spain is a breeding ground for Nigerian goalkepers. Uzoho should rest this Enyeama saga. It is about time.

     

  • World Cup not a myth

    Nigeria’s quest for a credible outing at the Russia 2018 World Cup is now in the front burner. Suddenly, those who didn’t give the Super Eagles any chance of qualifying from the much touted ‘’Group of Death’’ – Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia, all four countries former Africa Cup of Nations winners –  have invaded the media with all manner of analyses, which seem to be dictating to manager Gernot Rohr about the composition of the squad to the Mundial.

    Credit hasn’t been given to the players. Nor have the coaches got kudos for throwing negative predictions into the lagoon by remaining unbeaten in the group. The World Cup is eight months away, enough time to scout for younger players to compete with those whose positions appear to be our weak areas. Rohr built the squad to this point. He should be allowed to do his job. You don’t give a man a job with one hand and then turn around to dictate to him. Who carries the can when things go awry?

    This will be Nigeria’s sixth appearance at the Mundial, with nothing to show for it beyond what we achieved at our debut outing in USA 1994. We did so well that we were rated the fifth best soccer playing nation. If we had listened to Clemens Westerhof’s pleas to relocate the Eagles from their posh hotel where they were being distracted before the game which we lost 2-1 to Argentina, Nigeria would have been the first African country to play in the semi-finals of the World Cup. This isn’t a patriotic claim. After all, Nigeria whacked Bulgaria 3-0 in one of the group matches, yet the Bulgarians left US in 1994 as the third best team of the tournament.

    The discussions have hit a frenzy pitch, such that these analysts have started naming those to play and those who should be dropped, with the ripple effect being a likely bad blood among the players when they resume in camp on November 5 in Morocco. Nigeria has a meaningless final round game against Algeria on November 10. It is our best chance to begin our preparations for the Mundial. It is heartwarming to note that Rohr wants to field our best, knowing that friendly games cannot be decided now. Most countries that have qualified are waiting for the Russia 2018 World Cup draws slated for December 1. It is only when the draws are made that countries can plot their strategies, using teams in the groups to pick their pre-World Cup opponents.

    Russia will be full of upsets. My hunches tell me that Nigeria will be one of the fairytale countries, given what we are seeing in terms of our preparations. With a game left in the group,  Amaju Pinnick and his men have secured an international friendly game against Argentina in Russia on November 14. We are waiting for FIFA’s approval. But the biggest aspect of the game is that both countries have agreed terms and know the venue. FIFA picks the match officials, which is its prerogative.

    Argentina is a Grade A football nation. The Argentines have some of the biggest soccer stars in the world, such as Lionel Messi, Higuan, Aguero, Di Maria et al. Any game involving Nigeria and Argentina has some landmarks, which the players cherish. Very few countries are bigger than the Argentina, which makes the November 14 game, the biggest fillip for our preparations for the Mundial.

    The first advantage is that it offers both countries to have the privilege to play on one of the designated stadia for the Mundial. It gives the players an opportunity to play under the same climatic conditions as they would find when the World Cup holds next year. I’m glad the two countries are fielding their best players. I also hope that the re sults will help either team on FIFA’s ranking.

    The Argentines offer skeptics the best chance to access our goalkeepers, especially Ikechukwu Ezenwan. I hope Rohr will have the courage to test Ezenwa and another goalkeeper, irrespective of the result. There cannot be a stronger attacking onslaught than what the Argentines (Messi, Aguero, Higuan and Di Maria) have. In fact, the trio of Messi, Higuan and Aguero rank among the highest goal scorers in Spain, Italy and England. So, it is a battle of the fittest for our goalkeeper(s) and defenders. What a way to start preparations. Thumbs up NFF.

    Don’t wake me up from this dream that England wants a friendly game  against the Eagles as part of their preparatory plans. I’m not surprised because most of our big boys play in England. And we represent the best of Africa’s physical approach to the game, although we have the talents to play the attractive brand. Our ability to combine both styles of play is what would have informed England’s quest for a friendly. I hope it holds because if on December 1 we are grouped together, then no dice for this mouthwatering tie.

    FIFA World Cup draws are such that there must be one European team, one South American team, and two from any three continents in each group. So, you can see why the English (European block) want the Eagles. You can appreciate why the Argentines (South American block) have agreed for a game on November 14. Argentines have not forgotten what the Cameroonians did to them at the Italia’90 World Cup. Cameroon beat Argentina 1-0, courtesy of Francois Omam-Biyik’s goal. The Argentines had the revered Diego Amando Maradona playing in a country where he was a demi-god.

    The Black Stars have qualified for three FIFA World Cup tournaments; (2006, 2010, and 2014). In 2006, Ghana was the only African side to advance to the second round of the FIFA World Cup in Germany and was the sixth nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup. The Black Stars had the youngest team in the FIFA World Cup 2006 with an average age of 23 years and 352 days.

    In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana progressed beyond the group stages in South-Africa, and reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Uruguay. Isn’t it true that Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria are in the league of big football nations in Africa? It is our turn to make the biggest impact at the Mundial by qualifying for the semi-finals. It isn’t beyond us.

    Senegal didn’t need a pilgrimage of World Cup appearances to do well at the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup. Senegal made its debut at the Mundial in 2002 and qualified for the quarter-finals, with average players – in terms of international exposure. Senegal’s coach then wasn’t one of the best European coaches but his tactics and the players’ resolve to make a name did the magic that shook the world in Japan and Korea.

    Come on Eagles, it is your turn to stun the world in Russia.

     

    FIFA Player of the Year Awards: if it held in Nigeria

     

    Monday’s FIFA Player of the Year Awards held in London was a great spectacle. The audience was defined. The players took the centre stage. They came with their spouses. The dress code was unmistaken. It lit up the red carpet. The media coverage was awesome. The questions bothered on the players. No question was controversial. The players responded well because their questions were friendly.

    As I watched the event run through its 90 minutes course, one foolish thought, yes foolish, ran through my mind. I wanted to know how the red carpet and the main ceremony would have looked like if the event had been held in Nigeria.

    This thought flashed through my mind the moment Cristiano Ronaldo, his expectant girlfriend Rodriquez and his son, Junior alighted from the car. No ceremonies. They were guided in by the ushers. No rowdiness. Ronaldo was the star actor but there wasn’t any trouble when he hit the red card.

    If Ronaldo was a Nigerian player, he would have arrived the place two hours after the event must have started. He would have blamed it all on the traffic and the organisers – for not creating a special route for him. If Ronaldo was a Nigerian, his arrival would have been chaotic. Urchins and roughnecks would have led the way. Security operatives would have had a hectic time pushing them back. There would have been a stampede, which would have grabbed the headlines.

    Guests would have been tear gassed. Bags, phones, jewellery would have been missing. There were no top government officials in flowing dresses in the hall. They were there but their entrance was quiet because the event wasn’t theirs. At the gates in London on Monday, the security operatives were civil.

    If it was in Nigeria, we would have lost count of gunshots. We would have seen the dignitaries coming in with the gun-totting security operatives who would have crowded the red carpet with the top government’s aides, not forgetting his wife and kids.

    The London event lasted 90 minutes. No long speeches. No long recognition of guests. No theatrics. Things went as scripted. No needless praises to sponsors, the Queen of England et al. No formal announcement about the late arrival of the guest of honour or any big shot in the society.  No apologies from a dignitary who couldn’t attend as he had to attend to urgent matters of state.

    Presentation of awards was by the icons of the game, not the heads of government, National Assembly members, ministers, governors, Obas, Obis, Igwes, Otunbas, Alhajis, Mallams, Imams, Etuboms, etc. No sweet talks. No gallivanting by FIFA members or their staff. The FIFA president only came on stage with the winners’ diadem.

    Sponsors of FIFA didn’t have to present any awards. Nor was there any need to ask the Queen, the Sports Minister, the Prime Minister or parliamentarians to do any presentation. Some of these people were in the hall, but they knew the ethics of such occasions. They didn’t need to throw their weight around to be recognised like our leaders do here. Lessons learned, I hope.

  • Rohr, the right choice

    Nigeria needed a quick fix for the biggest brand in the country. It was lying prostrate, waiting for the surgeon’s death certificate. The oxygen bag was running out of gas. There was panic everywhere.  Nigeria had been eliminated in two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations, a competition which should be our birthright, given the exploits of our young men overseas.

    Our age-grade teams were fumbling, losing to countries we could have beaten easily. Indeed, the female soccer teams were not faring better, in spite of the fact that we started the game much earlier than most African nations. The teams that made it to the world stage showed their naivety, no thanks to the quality of coaching the players were exposed to. So, the need for change became inevitable to revive the game.

    Soccer is Nigeria’s most popular game. It is like a religion here. It unites Nigerians, such that when it is played everything comes to a halt – for the duration of the game. Most governments, especially during the jackboot era of the military used soccer as their biggest Public Relations (PR) tool. I remember how the Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games’ gold medal team was celebrated on all the front pages of American newspapers, despite Nigeria’s pariah nation status in the Sani Abacha years.

    People’s perception of the country changed, such that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was presented with Austin Jay Jay Okocha’s Paris Saint Germain (PSG) jersey during one of his visits to France. For a long time, the pre-face of the German Bundesliga had one of Okocha’s wonderful goals as the symbol of the domestic game.

    So, when the door was thrown open for a foreign coach for Nigeria to re-jig our soccer, people waited to see the country’s choice. Many renowned coaches’ names were dropped. Some others with less pedigree than those who had handled the Eagles tried their luck. There was stalemate. The committee charged with the responsibilities of picking the new manager opted for Belgian Tommy Saintifet, who was rejected by former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi. NFF President Melvin Amaju Pinnick sneezed at the choice, preferring Franco-German Gernot Rohr.

    Blue murder, Technical Committee members screamed. Many Nigerians who rooted for a high profile manager for the Eagles, considering the stature of most of our Europe-based players, sneered at the choice.

    Rohr’s previous records at Burkina Faso etc couldn’t match what the committee wanted. They considered the stature of our players as being too big for Rohr, who coached African countries whose players were not as big as ours. Some people argued that Clemens Westerhof and Johannes Bonfrere, who have the best records with the Eagles, didn’t have intimidating career records, but they picked our best players and gave them the feats they used to get other jobs after exiting the Nigerian job.

    For Pinnick, it had to be Rohr based on researches he conducted with technical experts in FIFA and CAF. They recommended Rohr, despite his inexperience with big African team. Rohr was doing technical jobs for the German Football Federation. His employers were excited that he was being tipped for the Nigerian job. In fact, Pinnick talked with Rohr’s former employers in Africa. They recommended him strongly and cited his fatherly relationship with his players. Nobody was shocked by Pinnick’s actions, coming especially after the Sunday Oliseh saga.  The buck stopped on Pinnick’s desk and he took the risk in giving Rohr the Nigerian job, a gamble he confesses he took that turned out very well.

    Was it worth the gamble when most of our players were warming the bench in their European clubs? Yes. Rohr provided the missing link for our players by visiting their European clubs’ managers to find out what their problems were. Rohr’s sessions with our players’ managers changed their mindset about our relationship with our players beyond just playing for Nigeria.

    These European managers got assurances from our coach. The discussions helped our players. It became easy for our boys to leave their teams and return without squabbles or losing their first team shirt. Unlike in the past when our players lost their shirts after coming home to play for their country.

    Rohr succeeded because he watched our players. He didn’t rely on second parties before taking his decisions. He had an incredible scouting team that identified new players. But he watched them unnoticed – to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Rohr’s players’ selection was flawless. Those who did well earned their places. It showed in the way the Eagles played.

    Rohr’s biggest impact in the Eagles has been his decision to field younger players, which has drastically reduced the average age of our players to 26. We have a mobile team which competes at any pace during matches. In picking players, Rohr chose Nigeria-born lads whose ages we can vouch for to replace our stars in the twilight of their careers. Today, the Eagles can boast of Victor Moses, Leon Balogun, Troost-Ekong, Aina Ola and Alex Iwobi as some of the additions from Nigerians in the Diaspora.

    I was in Ndola last year when Nigeria beat Zambia at home. Rohr ensured that the players bonded as a unit. He fought for new welfare packages for his boys. His methods enthralled them  because they were seeing what they had in their European clubs. Nigerians forgot the code of conduct act which addresses discipline largely because Rohr is an advocate of keeping to camp rules. We had a few cases of players’ unruliness but the coach handled matters maturely.

    Indeed, Rohr stood by his players in everything. He took responsibility when the team didn’t play well. He applauded them in victory but was quick to remind them of  the task ahead – qualifying for the Mundial and doing very well. These attributes by the manager created the right synergy between the coaches and the players.

    Rohr has used the last 11 months to introduce new players into the team, such that Nigerians can easily pick 14 who will be in the Eagles squad, barring injuries. The manager’s transparent handling of the team is such that no one will be surprised if Vincent Enyeama returns to the team. Enyeama stormed out of the team after a feud with the former Eagles manager Sunday Oliseh, himself an ex-international and captain of the team. Rohr thinks the team needs him. He wants to excel in Russia and needs our best, which is what he can get from Enyeama’s experience. It is heartwarming that Enyeama has been recalled by his France side. This will help him regain his form and agility. The NFF should let Enyeama return. At best, he could be made to apologise to the team.

    Eagles’ defence is on the verge of being fixed. We can heave a sigh of relief about the central defence where Troost Ekong and Leon Balogun have been awesome. We can smile now that Mohammed has mastered his act at the right back position. Many people have blamed Elderson Echiejile for his role in the left back position. I shudder to differ here. Those who function on the left side for the Eagles’ attacking line hardly fall back to retrieve the ball. This flaw leaves Echijile with the task of marking the opposition’s right back, their right sided midfielder and their right winger. Marking three men is quite an impossible task. Rohr needs to instruct Victor Moses, Mikel Obi and Alex Iwobi to fall back. Iwobi does; Moses and Mikel don’t.

    I have watched Eagles’ game against Zambia in Uyo. I noticed that our defenders could not sprint. The Zambians outran us in the defence. You need to check this flaws, knowing that most big strikers are fast. I don’t think that Eagles midfield can compete against teams with taller and bigger players. Our players can easily be shoved aside. We need strong markers, such as Oguenyi Onazi. The Mundial is a different kettle of fish.

    Like a true professional, Rohr has asked his employers to settle all financial issues with the players before the camp opens. NFF chieftains rose from their Annual General Assembly (AGA) on Thursday in Jos with some resolutions.

    According to NFF Second Vice Chairman Shehu Dikko: ‘’NFF would work to ensure we discuss and agree all fundamental issues with the players and officials as per training camps, bonuses, allowances, appearance fees, rewards etc for the World Cup 2018 and agreement put in place before the year 2017 runs out and so the players in the World Cup squad would know what they are entitled to, what they get for performances and when and how the money would be paid and from which source. So this would certainly ensure a rancour-free and optimum motivation and concentration for the World Cup by all parties which could help deliver a great performance.

    ‘’ NFF have the objective to see if we can prosecute the World Cup with “Zero Public Budget” meaning we will give it our best shot to source funding from our sponsors, new commercial and business development activities, fees from participation at the World Cup etc to fund the World Cup activities. Hopefully, we will achieve this noble objective and we may end up even declaring surplus from participation at the World Cup and or worst case require little intervention from public purse.’’

    So help us God, my father would always say to such propositions.

  • A safety shot basketball

    Sports Minister Solomon Dalung ascribed the recent cup winning feat of Nigeria’s female basketball team to the reforms he introduced into the sporting federations. I thought it was an early celebration, considering the fact that the team was once the continent’s queens in the dunking game and could reinvent itself with proper management of the key details of cup winning teams. I thought it was a needless attempt to mock the other faction. Dalung, as minister, should be neutral in such matters. He should look at the bigger picture in all his decisions, which is Nigeria.

    The promptness with which Dalung ushered the triumphant girls to President Muhammadu Buhari for the reception attracted complaints from the wrestlers, especially Adekouroye who won a silver medal for the country at a World championship, the first ever by a black woman. She felt slighted by the minister, considering the fact that her feat was at a world championship whereas the girls are collective African queens.

    Has the minister taken Adekuoroye to President Buhari? I don’t think so. Don’t ask me for the reason if he couldn’t tell us that his reforms also gave Adekuoroye the silver medal. Have the Paralympians been received by the President? I don’t think so. These were world beaters at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Tokyo 2020 Paralympics is three years away? What shall we tell the Paralympians now – that we have used and dumped them? This Animal Farm reward system is responsible for the exodus of our star athletes to other countries. I digress.

    As the minister was celebrating the girls, it struck me that the male team would soon defend its title. I wondered what the minister would tell the President if they failed to defend the trophy weeks later as we have seen. I’m not a prophet of doom. I reckoned that the Tunisians will do everything humanly possible to avert another defeat by the Nigerian side in front of their nationals. Nigeria beat Tunisia to win the trophy which they predictably lost 65-77 to the Tunisians in another final fixture. It has come to pass.  Dalung, how far?

    Aside, only one member of the last golden team reported to camp. They wanted the coach who led them to victory to defend the trophy. It made plenty of sense. But with an acrimonious change of guards at the helm of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), the changes and the team’s consequent results shouldn’t surprise us. Those who followed every game of the Afrobasket tournament in Tunis until the finals this year will agree that they were nerve-wrenching matches, underlining the fact that the squad had defects. In fact, the team lost all its games in the third quarter, apparently it lacked stamina, a major coaching flaw, if you ask any avid basketball follower.

    This article isn’t one to mock the minister. It is rather, an appeal to him to seek audience with chieftains of FIBA to amicably resolve the impasse at the NBBF for the good of the game here. FIBA chiefs have an idea of what they want to do if we fail to reach an amicable resolution. It will be sad if FIBA appoints outsiders to run the game for us as its rules state. The November 30 deadline is enough time for the minister to decide using the acceptable parameters for conducting elections. One fact is clear. If Nigeria did the right thing at the last elections, FIBA would have recognised the new body without setting the November 30

    • Continued from back page

    deadline.

    Indeed, the feedbacks from the two factions suggest that there cannot be any truce. If so, will the minister have the courage to wield the stick on both factions and get new people to run the federation without rancour? The minister can appoint a five-man interim body to run the federation with a time frame and mandate to conduct elections ruling out all the combatants in the factions.

    With our women being the best in Africa and the men in the second best in the continent, it is clear that the home of the dunking game is here, despite the in-fighting in the NBBF and our derelict facilities. No surprises at our present rankings in Africa, if we remember that Nigeria produced one of the greatest male basketballers in the world, Hakeem ‘the dream’ Olajuwon, although he was nurtured to greatness by the Americans, to whom the dunking game is a religion.

    Dalung sir, it is instructive to remind you that 80 per cent of the players who won these laurels for us ply their trade in the United States (US). They should be the nexus of a new beginning in the dunking game, only if you play the role of an umpire. They have distinguished themselves based on the training they received outside. This foreign platform has given them the impetus to compete with the best in the world, an edge we have used to conquer Africa. We need to ask the foreign legion what operates where they are based.

    Our boys and girls are schooling and playing the game. Their exploits haven’t gone unnoticed by the Americans. What they want from our system to contribute to our basketball chain for producing talents is a template recognised by the government for them to do sports business.

    Every facet of the game is business – from the billboards inside the halls, the equipment, floors of the courts, scoreboard, changing plates, television rights and the coverage of the matches e.t.c. They will generate revenue to improve the game.

    The Americans have built their basketball around the schools. It is at the nursery level that the basics can be taught. We need to take sports to kids. This can only happen if we have schools that produce games masters and mistresses who know the fundamentals of games.

    Can Nigeria win a medal at the Olympics in basketball? Why not? Who would have thought that Nigeria could clinch the gold medal of the football event in Atlanta, considering the stature of the countries which participated in the games? Nigerians are known to give their best when underrated. We won the football gold medal because our players were doing well in the European leagues where the big boys played. It is the same setting now in basketball. Our boys and girls play in the US. The advantage is that they know those who are in their league. The fear factor for such bigger basketball countries is thrown into the lagoon. Interestingly, these big players know that we can compete with them. It is for this reason that Dalung must rescue this potential medal winning game from the brink.

    I’m excited about the prospect of having the Americans to introduce youth academies here where our kids can combine sports with academics, which is the asset every American carries with him/her at retirement.

  • League without end

    In developed countries, sport is business because deliberate attempts are made to create a product which is packaged in such a way to make it a brand. It is only when it is a brand that connects with the people that the blue-chip companies seek to identify their products and services with it. However, such a brand shouldn’t be linked with any unit that thrives in controversies and sharp practices. Otherwise the big players would look elsewhere for less controversial brands.

    In Nigeria, our reliance on government sponsorship for sports has blinded our administrators to the need for creating business activities around the existing 29 sports. All sports are business concerns in countries that understand how each entity can create employment, mobilise the citizenry and improve health. Our administrators muddle up the finer details of creating brands at critical moments. A case in point is the ‘concluded’ 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

    Our sports administrators hardly learn from their mistakes because there are no structures to plug loopholes of the previous season. Otherwise, how would they present Plateau United of Jos with its trophy as the Nigeria Premier League champions for the 2016/2017 season yet three clubs (Wikki Tourists of Bauchi, Gombe United of Gombe and Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC)) are still waiting to know which one of them will be demoted? Is this not a joke?

    Battles involving teams climax any league season, with the organisers focusing their attention on the six teams at the top and the last six teams at the lower rung of the ladder, with five matches to go.

    In fact, on the last day of the league, matches involving the top four are closely monitored, especially if it is a tight race. In the case of the NPFL, Plateau United and MFM FC of Lagos stood a chance of winning the title. The difference was that Plateau had its last game at home against Enugu Rangers while MFM had a difficult game against El-Kanemi FC in Maiduguri. It would have been easy to wave off MFM. But it is a team that has remarkable records away from home.

    Pundits felt that MFM should be taken seriously, considering the fact that the games involving Plateau and the Lagos sides would be shown live on television. These purists reasoned that Rangers, incidentally the defending champions, could come up with their Spartan fighting spirit to shock the Jos side at home. Such is the dynamic nature of the beautiful game. For the records, Plateau beat Rangers 2-0. El-Kanemi stopped MFM’s away record with a 2-1 victory over the Olukoya Boys.

    The League Management Company (LMC) did very well in covering the two matches to decide the winners on television. But the LMC chiefs ought to have ensured that the relegation dog fight was closely monitored. If they had given the games involving these relegation battlers some serious thoughts, officials of 3SC won’t be disturbing the media with hopeless analysis that it could escape relegation if Gombe beat Wikki in Gombe. The game in Gombe ended in a fiasco with part of the stadium premises burnt by irate fans who came to the stadium after rumours of a sellout in favour of Wikki. Ordinarily, a game involving Gombe and Wikki Tourists of Bauchi should be a stroll in the park for the team that needs assistance. Gombe used to be part of Bauchi, which is Wikki’s home. Historically, the rivalry between Gombe and Wikki is so fierce. It would please already relegated Gombe FC’s fans to drag Wikki down than to be beaten by their worst enemy.

    I’m miffed by the stoic silence of the organisers. LMC’s COO comes from Gombe. He knows the fierce rivalry between both teams. This writer is forced to ask what mechanisms the league body has been adopted to forestall this imminent fiasco. LMC’s COO is adept in the administration of the league. My fear is that he may have chosen to be neutral in order not to be accused of being partial.

    In other climes, the LMC COO would have been present in Gombe to see things for himself. I won’t blame the COO because Nigeria is a different kettle of fish. As it is, the game has been taken to the political realm, leaving either 3SC or Wikki condemned to relegation.

    It should be an easy verdict; awarding the three points and three goals should go to Wikki, who were leading 1-0 until the game became violent. But the LMC has ruled against awarding boardroom points. Stalemated matches are usually replayed at the same stadium under closed doors, with the game continuing from when it was stalemated.

    Will LMC still stick to its rules by continuing the game in Gombe? Will the referees who may still be nursing injuries have the courage to handle the game again? Will Wikki not insist that the game is continued outside Gombe, given what they experienced in the stalemated game? This kind of show of shame won’t encourage the business community to identify with the domestic league. It explains why our local league players cannot compete with their foreign counterparts.

    Sadly, the league has not been able to get a credible title sponsor since telecommunication giants, Globacom ended its sponsorship package. The best way to get the corporate world to sponsor the league is for the matches to be shown live. That way, sponsors can either create a window which they hope to support or find the cash the LMC’s marketing packages, which will improve on the weekly matches.

    Our administrators blame the media for highlighting the flaws of establishments, forgetting that there isn’t another way to report the truth. How can anyone distort the fact that the result of the match between Wikki and Gombe hasn’t been decided, four days after it was played? For instance, the controversial incident involving Liverpool’s striker Sadio Mane and Manchester City has been decided, yet the Liverpool game held earlier than the Wikki game.

    With the Liverpool game shown live, it was easy for pundits to critically analyse every detail of the crunchy tackle in slow motion to see if Mane’s tackle was deliberate or an accident. It didn’t shock Barclays English Premier League followers that Mane’s three-match ban was upheld after Liverpool’s management appealed for a reduction of the matches that Mane would miss. The organisers stood by the referee’s decision because they had done their homework. The game was played last Saturday. A decision was taken the following Tuesday, less than 72 hours after it was played. No discussions. All the parties agreed on the outcome.

    LMC’s N7 million sanction on Gombe may look weighty but it doesn’t solve the problem caused by the urchins.  Continuing the game in Abuja would have been avoided if the organsiers had taken adequate precautionary measures before the game. What if Gombe wins the game in Abuja? Would it not be a subtle way of asking clubs to take the laws into their hands if they smell foul play?

    The LMC has improved the domestic league. There is the urgent need to fix security at match venues before, during and after matches. The LMC must identify high-risk matches and send credible officials to such games, which must be shown live. The LMC must get the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to send a special squad to match venues with instructions to arrest people with unsportsmanlike conduct, which would have been captured by the television crew inside the stadium. Those arrested must be investigated and prosecuted. These urchins are no spirits. We know them but we have been tolerating their nuisance weekly.

    Perhaps, this is the time to ask the Inspector General of Police whose duty it is to ensure security in any gathering. How come the police are disinterested in securing our match venues, knowing that football is an emotional game where some criminals can take the law into their hands?

    Dear Inspector General of Police, thugs, roughnecks, and urchins storm the stadium with raised chests, warning that they are around and not scared to repeat the mayhem. This impunity won’t occur if security operatives whisk them away for punishment. Others will behave properly. The IGP should, as a matter of urgency, ask Police Commands in the states where matches are played to storm the venues before a referee is killed simply because some fans are unhappy with a decision. Teams which suffer from such unruly behaviour return home to await their hosts in the second leg game.

    We shouldn’t wait until deaths are recorded in the stadia before taking action. Match commissioners must insist on having 80 policemen to man security. The LMC must get the Commissioners of Police in the states where games are held to post their men to the stadia. The few security operatives seen in most stadia are supporters of clubs. You see them where referees are molested but no arrests are made. Where arrests are made, eminent personalities ensure that there is no prosecution in the law courts.

    The LMC has taken many of these urchins to court, with few let off the hook or given a slap on the wrist. But with the magnitude of injuries inflicted on referees, the three fans caught in Bauchi should be allowed to go through the court process. The media must follow this case to its logical conclusion.

    The backlash from the fans’ misdemeanours explains why the league is struggling to have a sponsor. Dikko et al have done well to reinvent the workings of the league. But these criminals’ invasion of match venues is a big smear on the game. It must stop.

  • Buhari: After the Eagles match

     Pictures don’t lie, as they say. But with the advent of the photoshop technology, we are compelled to take a critical look at pictures for details to be sure that what we are seeing are real. In this case, however, there wasn’t any reason to doubt whose photograph it was. President Muhammadu Buhari didn’t want any distraction. He wanted to see things first hand, obviously unaware that his picture was being taken. What intrigued this writer was that the President saw the game to the end. The closing stages were nervy.

    He sat alone, watching Super Eagles fight tenaciously for the point which the team secured on Monday night against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Yaoundé. The game ended in a pulsating 1-1 draw. President Buhari showed he understood where the citizenry’s passion lied. It is a welcome development. I’m sure that the players, coaches and indeed soccer-crazy Nigerians would have been bowled over seeing the picture of President Buhari watching the game.

    I’m sure that Buhari will sustain his desire to be part of Nigeria’s soccer history now that it is looking like we will become the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals at the Russia 2018 World Cup, after beating the Zambians in Uyo on October 7. On that day, Mr President, the Zambians will be free to exit the qualification series for the sole ticket in Group B, with a whiplash. It would also be the icing of the cake if the President can watch the game live in Uyo.

    Since the picture of President Buhari watching the Eagles was splashed on some front pages, I have tried to figure out what went through his mind as the game rolled through its 90 minutes. I am sure that the President has seen the windows of using sports, especially soccer to change the perception of the world towards Nigeria. The revelation that the President is willing to pay the Eagles N5 million for every goal the players scored against Cameroon inside the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo is thought provoking, given the derelict sporting infrastructure around the country and the seeming neglect our sports ambassadors face while preparing for global sporting competitions.

    If Nigeria had a befitting stadium in Abuja, perhaps the President would watch the game unannounced, boosting the players’ morale. Nigeria spent billions to build the Abuja Stadium before hosting the All Africa Games with pomp and ceremony. The premises is in ruins. The fields for other sports have been overgrown with grass, enough for cattle to graze. The indoor sports halls are abodes of rats and reptiles. No hyperboles, Mr President. The cracks on the walls will widen with time for, these animals to reside. This isn’t an attempt to ridicule Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, because the rot in the Abuja Stadium predates his tenure. Need I list how we can turn the premises into a business hub? That will be for another column.

    It is good that President Buhari is seeing things by himself. It means that he recognises sports as the biggest public relations tool available to the government. It is also the most effective vehicle to mobilise the people to embrace his change mantra. Indeed, in other climes, the revenue from sports is enormous –enough to loan the government, if the right structures are established with enabling laws to strengthen the confidence of the foreign investors to do sports business with us.

    President Buhari’s renewed interest in sports as captured by the picture will reinforce the corporate world’s interest for sports, knowing that their contributions won’t go unnoticed. This is what the big players in our economy are waiting for to support sports. Those sports-loving firms who support European sports will be challenged to contribute their quota to our sports development. These firms will ease the burden of sponsorship, which is wholly government here, like Aiteo and Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel are doing with our football. Already, the President has seen that money motivates our sportsmen and women. I won’t blame them because the life span of any athlete doesn’t exceed 20 years, barring injuries. It is what they get now that they will use to prepare for their retirement as amateurs in their chosen sport.

    It is important to say here that many countries began their Russia 2018 World Cup quest after the Brazil 2014 Mundial. We are three years behind, largely because we spent those times bickering, culminating in several court cases, which almost incurred FIFA’s wrath. In fact, Mr. President, there is a pending legal issue which scuttle our appearance at the Mundial, although a few people are saying those in court don’t have a case. We hope so.

    With nine months to the Mundial in Russia, there is the urgent need for the Presidency to challenge the sports minister to organise the Russia 2018 World Cup dinner with the corporate world, where the President will challenge the blue-chip companies’ owners to contribute to Nigeria’s quest to lift the World Cup next year.

    The Russia 2018 World Cup dinner with the blue-chip companies can be extended to the 37 states to reawaken corporate sponsorship of sports around the country. Government alone can’t fund sports. It must involve the business community like it is done elsewhere, which must be told what they would gain from such sponsorship packages, even if such support forms part of the firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS).

    Eagles are the biggest brand to market. But the brand’s image has been dented by the needless controversies at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), arising from the change of leadership at the Glasshouse. Nigerians are sour losers and most of them aim to destroy our football when they are edged out through an election. No firm, Mr President, will leverage its good and services in any parastatal burdened by crises and unproven allegations of corruption.

    This Russia 2018 World Cup dinner with the private sector shouldn’t be another Presidential Task Force (PTF), which has been a distraction in previous competitions. The excuse that a body sourced for the cash and should be allowed to disburse it is wrong. After all, we have the EFCC and ICPC to do their jobs, if there are cases of sharp practices in the disbursement of cash raised.

    Members of previous Presidential Task Force divide the players and coaches against the NFF chieftains. Thank God, we will qualify without qualms. Soon, the hawks will seize the platform to source for cash and introduce another committee. It shouldn’t happen. Of course, the President won’t approve a government delegation of officials who hardly watch games but go on shopping sprees.

    Your Excellency, we must draw a line between what is for the players and coaches and what the country stands to gain beyond participating at the Mundial. We have been to five World Cup competitions, unable to point at the benefits of our participation. The government should invite the hierarchy of the players and coaches to a meeting where details of their entitlements are spelt out with all the parties satisfied.

    It is unthinkable for players and officials who have been rewarded in every game from the qualifiers through the main games of the World Cup to hold us hostage, asking for their share of Nigeria’s entitlements from the gates and other cash benefits from FIFA.

    Our players in collusion with their coaches held us hostage demanding a share of what belongs to the country. It was a tug-of-war in France in 1998, for instance. They didn’t train before the second round game against Denmark. Nigeria was beaten 4-1 by the Danes. Again, in 2014, our players and coaches refused to train before the game against France at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. The Jonathan Goodluck administration brought in $3.8 million to settle them. In fact, the players, coaches and backroom staff spent the day before the France game sharing the cash. It showed in their lacklustre display against the French who won 2-0.

    The Eagles can’t be paid for games won and drawn yet they expect to be given what we earned from the turnstiles and other marketing benefits. Is this what operates elsewhere? I don’t think so. It is unethical. After the Mundial, we should compute our gains and losses, even though the benefits of having our players move to Europe subsequently is the essence of the qualification.

    Your Excellency, this is the most problematic area of our football, which is chiefly responsible for our absence from two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations.

    70 hearty cheers for  Mrs Dolapo Coker

     Today is my 57th birthday and I thank God for the good health. I look forward to this day with happiness every year. My late mother Abigail Isevba Ojeikere (mehen nosen Abigail) shared the day with me.

    I didn’t want to write about my birthday, but I changed my mind when another elderly birthday mate (I dare not put his name here otherwise he will strangle me) introduced me to another September 9 beauty, Mrs Dolapo Coker, who turns 70 today. You will agree that three scores and ten is the biblical requirement which could be increased.

    It is my wish that Mrs Coker lives to celebrate as many years as the Lord wishes for her. Happy birthday Madam. Emi a sopo e.

  • Victory is sweet

    Victory is sweet

    I’m tired of writing about the National Sports Commission (NSC). Please don’t remind me about the Ministry of Sports formerly known as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, especially those who have headed the bodies either as chairmen or sports ministers. Since 1999, 14 politicians have headed the body with nothing to show for it, except a gale of controversies and our sports ambassadors being walked over at events or denied entry visas to countries where competitions’ dates have been known as far back as four years.

    What we hear when our athletes face such embarrassment are jives thrown at the foreign country’s embassy chieftains as if we don’t know the process of getting such entry visas. In fact, most of these embassies in Nigeria are right in denying our contingents visas because they are faced with lists that have 20 athletes, for instance and 50 officials with different nomenclatures. Our federations’ officials forget that countries that are hosting events are given rules governing such competitions. Such rules contain the composition of a country’s squad and the ancillary staff. Since most sporting events are media events, accredited journalists are given waivers. Officials who belong to the particular sport’s international and continental bodies get waivers too since they have roles to play there.

    Anyone outside the designated few must subject himself to routine documentation to qualify for entry visas, especially with the prevalent global security problems. Perhaps, the ministry should have an international department like we have at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for entry visas instead of this tardy method of issuing note verbal as a saving grace for our administrative ineptitude.

    The ministry’s structure is responsible for the disconnect between the centre and the states of the federation. Growing up at Government College Ughelli in the 70s,one saw how the 37 states, Abuja and the National Sports Commission sent coaches to spot and train talents in the six geopolitical zones.

    The coaches met talents in the hinterland because the school system embraced sports in its curriculum, which eventually threw up all the sporting activities between schools and then the states. Indeed, there was a synergy between the schools and the Ministry of Education, acting on the instructions of the state government. Some governors, such as the late Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia of the old Bendel State, created models that increased the supply line of sportsmen and women, who represented the country. Ogbemudia’s model was copied by other sports-loving governors. This setting created several sports centres with certain states having a monopoly of games. Lagos became renowned for table tennis, swimming and cricket, Bendel mastered athletics, boxing, judo and gymnastics, to mention a few states.

    The dearth of grassroots competition immensely affected the hosting of the National Sports Festival because most of the governors saw the event as a waste of cash and would rather use funds for sports to do things which in their opinion, will give them votes at the next election. The few governors who liked sports opted to host the National Sports Festivals with one aim – to win; not to provide facilities that would be used for future competitions.

    These self-seeking governors chose sports in which their states had comparative advantage over others. This way, the gradual death of such technical events as swimming began. It got so bad that a former sports minister alleged that blackmen don’t win swimming competitions because of their body physiology. The former minister forgot that many Nigerians won swimming events in previous All African Games.

    Swimming was removed from the National Sports Festivals on the ridiculous excuse that the states couldn’t afford pools, chlorine (can you beat this), divers etc. What is the essence of the festival if not to discover talents? It is sickening to be reminded that the last festival was in 2012, an event which was biannual, hosted with pomp and ceremony.

    With the death of the festival, our administrators opted to comb Europe for Nigeria-born athletes to represent us. Is anyone shocked that 80 per cent of the Nigerian women who won the Africa basketball trophy in Mali last week reside in America? Truth is these girls cannot represent America because of the glut of talents there. Basketball is like a religion in the US.

    Our administrators are not just inept; they have no regard for the athletes once they are ageing. It will shock many readers of this column to hear that Blessing Okagbare has quit athletics with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) chieftains are unperturbed. She won’t encourage her kids to do sports. If they do, she will stop them from representing Nigeria. This has been the trend with our sports ambassadors and their kids and grandchildren.

    It is good to hear that the government gave the basketball girls N1 million each for winning the trophy. But many are wondering when the government will receive the physically challenged athletes who won several gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2016 Paralympics Games held in Brazil.  Again, pundits are miffed that Adekuoroye, who is the second best wrestler in the world in the 55kg weight, hasn’t met the President. Adekuoroye is hurt that her feat, which happened before the basketball feat, has been treated as a no-event. A world championship less important than a feat recorded for the first time in the tournament’s history for an African? In which sphere is Nigeria rated the second in the world?

    I won’t join the motley crowd lampooning the ministers. Whoever appointed them didn’t consider sports as a tool for social reengineering of the country. Yet, sport is the biggest Public Relations (PR) tool that any government can use to reshape the perception of people about Nigeria.  Can someone please drive President Muhammadu Buhari around Abuja, for instance, anytime the Super Eagles have a game anywhere in the world? Mr President, for free, the streets will be deserted. Everyone will be glued to his television set. Take the pains, Mr President, to drive close to any viewing centre. When Nigeria scores sir, you will be awed at the thunderous ovation from the spectators. Shouldn’t the government key into such an industry that unites the people? I digress.

    Nigeria’s topography encourages sports development. Plateau State’s landscape can match what we have in East Africa where long distance runners are found. But our administrators are lazy and unable to task our coaches to exploit the setting in highlands in the North. Will you blame these administrators? I won’t. In the past, coaches and indeed administrators get into national focus based on what they have achieved in their states. So, that national level in the past comprised men and women who had distinguished themselves either as administrators or athletes, who on retirement became coaches.

    These people know the rules of their sports and their contributions are driven by their love and passion for the game, not necessarily the drive to line their pockets with estacode. The coaches understand the dynamics of the sports. They also know how to groom new talents since they know the catchment areas of the sport.

    Sports died in Nigeria with the introduction of free education in the 80s because sports fields and facilities were eventually built up to accommodate more students. Schools now have arms up to letter z, even if such classrooms don’t have windows and doors. For the private schools, no sports facilities beyond the lawns used for assembly on important days.

    The boarding house which served as catalyst for students to compete in sports became classrooms. It didn’t matter if sports could help to improve students’ health. Evenings became class hours. Sports died across the country under this setting. With the sports ground built up, games masters and mistresses turned to either farming or working for politicians. Schools now hire stadia and playgrounds for their annual inter-house sports. What a shame.

    Is anyone shocked the schools’ competitions, such as Hussey Shield, Lady Manuwa Cup, Grier Powel Cup, Morocco Clarke Cup e.t.c are extinct? Is it not a shame that the Principals Cup which produced many student footballers is moribund? Does it matter to anyone that the inter-school relay races, which climaxed schools’ inter house sports, are dead? Yet we expected our 4×400 metres relay girls to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships held recently in London?

    Victory is the reward for hard work and precise preparations for competitions. But I dare say that it is not always the case in our clime. Can we really say that our victories in global competitions are the result of hard work and good preparation- from administration to on field delivery by our sportsmen? Your answer is as good as mine!

    However, it is important that we pause for a moment to assess the women basketballers’ level of preparation for the competition. Was the Basketball Federation there for the team, preparatory to the tournament? What was the nature of support the federation gave the ‘African heroines’ before and during the competition? What sort of training did the team receive before going to conquer Africa? Were their allowances paid as at when due?

    The team would have returned home unannounced and disunited, if they had failed. Victory is indeed sweet! In celebrating this victory, the federation needs to examine what it has and what it intends to do so as not to make this a pyrrhic victory.

    This is why it is pertinent to ask what the federation is doing to ensure that the victory is replicated in subsequent competitions. It should also use the momentum to groom younger players that who rise to the occasion when the need arises. Victory is very sweet, indeed, but we should not be carried away as we often do. That is the bitter truth.

  • Onazi’s pain, Eagles’ gain

    Onazi’s pain, Eagles’ gain

    Call me a killjoy, I will accept with thanks.
    Call me a spoilsport, I will bow and move on. What happened to Oguenyi Onazi at Birmingham is enough for our foreign legion to play Nigeria’s matches as if their lives depend on them. Anytime Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are playing for their countries, they exhibit the kind of passion, commitment and determination that we see them display at their European clubs. They even play for their countries using pain relievers, if the need arises.
    Need I remind you of Ronaldo’s conduct when he was substituted in the final of the Europe Cup with his strapped leg? Ronaldo endured the pain from his injury, which happened in the 25 minute of that final game against France and almost took over the manager’s job by shouting out instructions to his colleagues. As far as Ronaldo was concerned, his country’s global standing as a soccer nation was sacrosanct.  Is anyone shocked that Portugal beat France in the game?
    The Portuguese and Argentine FAs have the type of administrative problems that our players complain about NFF, but Ronaldo and Messi forget those intrigues and play for their fatherland. Messi quit the national team because of the administrative lapses in Argentina’s FA. The Argentine President persuaded Messi to return to the national team. Messi is the team’s captain. Ronaldo is Portugal’s.
    The United Kingdom’s refusal to grant Onazi work permit as a Birmingham player due to Nigeria’s low ranking on FIFA’s monthly chart is a wake-up call on our players. It shows that they need Nigeria more than the country needs them, even though it ought to be a symbiotic relationship. Our players now know that their future rests with how well the country performs at global competitions.
    Under the indigenous coaches, our players did what they liked. They reported to camp days after being released by their European clubs. At other times, they allegedly collude with their foreign clubs to skip some of our matches, especially when such fixtures clash with their clubs’. Since they are key players, we didn’t have the courage to punish them. Rather, we condoned their antics, which affected Nigeria’s rankings on FIFA’s chart and culminated in some poor outings.
    Today, one of the big boys, sadly the one who honours all our matches, except when he is injured, has seen his quest to play for a foreign side that pays salaries monthly dashed. Poor Onazi.

    The era where players play as if nothing is at stake is over. This isn’t a new rule. It is part of the rule where players must have played 75 per cent of their countries’ games to qualify to play in Europe. The English are dogmatic on this rule and insist on it for all transfers involving foreigners.
    No surprises about Onazi’s fate because most

    European clubs consider players based on national teams’ performances, not because they are too skillful. Of course, these players don’t get exposed until their countries field them in big tournaments.
    There isn’t any Utopian setting anywhere. People strive to excel despite all odds. This is the spirit we expect from our players in Uyo on September 1, when Nigeria confronts Cameroon in one of the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers inside the Nest of Champions Stadium from 5pm.
    Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million should make her participation at the Mundial a birthright, given what our players are doing in Europe. We hardly hear of issues of allowances from big players during competitions. Eagles’ players have truncated our chances to excel at the big stage due to the shortcomings of the federation only to play again under the same setting. Messi and Ronaldo have issues with their federations but they give their best, knowing that the issues will be resolved. Ours make it look like the world will end if they are not paid. Don’t get me wrong. They deserve their wages. Till date, no federation chief has been found guilty of misappropriation of funds. It means that our players must learn how to believe their federation chiefs, especially if things remain the same.
    Our players know the importance of playing at the World Cup. Many Nigerians haven’t recovered from their wasted revenue when we failed to qualify for the Mundial. Nigerians make a lot of money when Eagles are doing well in major competitions. The media are awash with stories and people do brisk business selling wares with our players’ pictures, business centres accommodate more fans and eateries, bars and hotels increase their stock.
    Onazi’s fate should bring back the long lost patriotism in our players. It is now time to re-enact the patriotism that saw the late midfield maestro, Sam Okwaraji, paying for his flight to honour national calls. Okwaraji never needed the country as much as the country needed him; he was an established player in the Bundelisga; the 75 per cent appearance for national team rule never existed in his days.
    However, the Onazi episode, it must be stressed, should not be seen as an opportunity for NFF officials to exploit the players. For years, Nigerian players have cried of exploitation and maltreatment. They are right.
    Have you wondered that 28 years after Okwaraji died right on the turf of the National Stadium in Lagos while playing for Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier against Angola, the best the country and the NFF have done for his family and his memory is a bronze head statue of him placed in front of the stadium, which has been overgrown by weed.
    Okwaraji has a mother? Who’s taking care of her? What about his children? What benefits were paid to his family?
    I am sure the NFF will want to take me up on this. If a civil servant dies while in service, is he not paid death benefit plus five years pension and gratuity? The players must have a union to set the pace for others to emulate. What does it cost to religiously make an event out of the Okwaraji statue each year? That way, the structure won’t be in the derelict state it is, most times without the head.

    Hello… Abiola Ajimobi

    In developed countries, sports is introduced to kids in schools. The exceptional ones get the apparatus to blossom to greatness. Indeed, anytime such chosen few excel in their sport, the neighbourhood where the kids live gets all the attention, including those responsible for the discovery of the stars.
    In fact, there is hardly any neighbourhood in Europe and the US that you don’t find sporting facilities. Primary, secondary and tertiary schools have sports programmes in their curriculum unlike ours where sport is tagged as “play play” by those who should provide the foundation for talents in the 774 local government areas here.
    Elsewhere, coaches don’t wait until talents are discovered to train them. They take the initiative to discover them knowing that structures abound to nurture them. These structures take care of things, such as getting the athlete insurance schemes, combining education with sports, having health care packages etc. Once a talent is seen to have the potential to hit the headlines in sports, he/she is secured for life, except such an athlete misbehaves, But it is rare.
    Since we don’t have such development programmes, our leading lights in sports, such as Blessing Okagbare, Aruna Quadri, Funke Oshinaike, among others deserve to be encouraged, beginning with where they come from.
    I’m glad that the Bayelsa State governor and his deputy are solidly behind former Olympic Games gold medallist, Daniel Igali, himself a Bayelsan, who heads the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF). The Bayelsa government has repeatedly sponsored Nigerian wrestlers to international sporting competitions.
    Today, Odukuoroye is the second best female wrestler in the world in the women’s 55kg free style. Nigeria’s anthem was sung, not Bayelsa’s as she collected her prize. I just hope that the Muhammadu Buhari administration finds a way out of this quagmire where our sports ambassadors risk missing competitions if they cannot find governors, such as Dickson, Ambode, Nyesom Wike et al to rescue their dream. It is important to stress that participating in sports, for many of them, is a vocation, not a recreation. Indeed, at the amateur level, it is the prerogative of the government to pay their way to such competitions.. imagine if Dickson didn’t fund this trip and the spiral effect of Adekuoroye’s career?
    Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode has continued to support sports programmes. Ambode has improved on these events using the marketing window of the corporate world. Most, if not all the sporting events which Lagos government organises are heavily supported by firms and banks under the CRS or PPP initiatives. Ambode has shown that governance in Lagos is a continuum by improving on how sporting events are organised.
    Quadri is the only Blackman to have reached the quarter finals in the Olympics men’s singles. He is the African champion. What would it cost the governor of Oyo State Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to spearhead the campaign to get Quadri a coach?

  •  Who will lead the way?

    In Nigeria, we engage the reverse gear and expect the car to move forward. It won’t happen. This is the story of the country’s participation at the IAAF World Athletics Championship, seven years after the country’s shambolic outing at the 2012 Olympic Games. What changed in the way athletics had been run since 2012? Nothing. Yet we were expecting a miracle to happen, forgetting that our conquerors at sports meet plan for their feats for over 10 years. They don’t wake up from their sleep and expect to succeed.

    After the London 2012 Olympics, stakeholders across all spheres, including prominent sports administrators in other countries, met inside Aso Villa in Abuja, with former President Goodluck Jonathan in attendance, for a whole day, charting the way forward for sports.

    The foreigners at the meeting shared their experiences. Their submissions opened the eyes of the Jonathan-led administration to see every facet of the industry through the prism of business, not the play play stuff, like former Edo State governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole always tags sports, albeit, jokingly. At that meeting, there was the call for the corporate world to key into the industry. Indeed, those present at the presidential conference broke into groups to produce a document that would serve as the rule book for sports development.

    Most of those who spoke at the conference were not convinced that the blueprints would be implemented. They alluded to previous conferences whose reports lay on the dusty shelves at the Sports Ministry. Jonathan’s reassurance was doubtful, especially when aspiring federation Chieftains read out what wasn’t decided by most of the break-up groups. Simply put, the new document was dead on arrival. No surprises that nothing happened to our sports thereafter.

    At the conference, I was wondering how anything useful would be achieved with the absence of most of the 36 governors. The states own the facilities just as the governors institute the programmes and provide the cash to run the competitions. So, why were all the governors not in Aso Rock? The government in power was PDP. So those who were there belonged to the ruling party. Yet, sport is the only endeavour that unites Nigerians. When sport is on, Nigerians forget creed and religion. During competitions you find Nigerians agreeing on one issue.

    The former sports minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, anchored this sports referendum, but when it was time to implement the policies suggested, Abdullahi had been replaced on the altar of politics. Those proposals agreed at the conference are inside the dusty cupboards at the Ministry of Sports.

    Abdullahi’s replacement signposts the era of policy summersaults in sports, such that the industry has seen 14 sports ministers in 18 years. From the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 1999 till date, 14 politicians have held the portfolio. They are Damishi Sango, late Engr. Mark Aku, Steven Ibn Akiga (also late), Col. Musa Mohammed (RTD), Dr. Saidu Sambawa, Bala Ka’Oje, Abdulrahman Gimba, Sani Ndanusa, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, Bolaji Abdullahi, Tamuno Danagogo and Solomon Dalung. This ridiculous figure explains the chaos in the industry.

    Abdullahi led the Nigerian contingent to the London 2012 Olympic Games. He took notes of what transpired. He provided the template for the Presidential Conference in sports, where he again noted all the points raised to improve the industry. He indeed organised the elections into the federations.

    Abdullahi had commenced grassroots development for six sports, culminating in the Performance Enhancement Centre (PEC) in Port Harcourt, which was supervised by renowned sports coaches from the United States. Had Abdullahi been allowed to prosecute the template, we would have had a large pool of talents from the chosen sports to represent us in London.

    Abdullahi’s exit meant the collapse of most of the federations, with election losers becoming big impediments. Rather than establish a structure for sports to thrive, those who lost the elections returned to the trenches.

    In other climes, big athletes, such as sprinter Blessing Okagbare and table tennis star Aruna Quadri would have been introduced to one of the indigenous firms by the government for sponsorship, with the corporate bodies enjoying tax reliefs for their contributions. Okagbare and Quadri need world class coaches, who will draw out programmes for them. These coaches will get them the required backroom staff whose duty is to condition them for the big competitions. With this arrangement, they won’t participate in needless tournaments.

    This writer on Sunday asked Quadri what it would cost him to get a good coach. He said the coach he wants would cost N20 million, stressing that for the coach to leave his other wards, he must be guaranteed minimum things in one year. I asked again what he would  need to get a coach to accompany him to key tournaments over six months. Quadri said N10 million. My mind went straight to his state’s governor.  But the other question rests with his interest in sports. Will Senator Abiola Ajimobi splash the cash on Quadri to actualise his dream? He is so close. Oyo State government can easily cough out N5 million in a fund raiser that would compel the big players in the corporate world to donate towards the course. Simple. The governor has 200 friends who can easily bring out N500,000. Quadri needs a good coach.

    Okagbare has problems with getting off the starting bloc early and it showed in 2017. What Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) chiefs ought to have done if they were proactive was to get her a starter’s coach who would have corrected the flaw. Besides, such a specialist would not allow Okagbare run in every athletics meet to earn a living. Rather, the specialist will draw out a programme which will spell out her roles and what the federation needs to provide for her to stop running for cash.

    I know that Okagbare has a corporate sponsor in Nigeria. But the problem with such arrangements is that those who package them get more than what is due to the athletes.  The bank sponsoring Okagbare can effectively take care of her needs to leverage on its sponsorship. I don’t know if the bankers were told about getting her a dietician, a doctor, physiologist and a psychologist, for instance, which are integral units crucial to her build-up for new seasons.

    The making of world champions is a project which the sponsors will leverage on if they are told the benefits of such a relationship. A life and style interview session with Okagbare on CNN, BBC etc wearing such companies’ apparels is unquantifiable in terms of public relations. The look and feel the effect of having a world champion wearing kits with a Nigerian firm’s insignia around competition venues will spur other athletes to give their best.

    Indeed, champions don’t come from infighting among federations’ members. They are discovered, nurtured and exposed to the world through competitions, starting from the grassroots. No competition, no athletes will be discovered. We don’t lack talents. What is missing is the enabling environment for the youth to embrace sporting activities.

    It is sad that Nigeria, which once dominated the African tracks and a force to reckon with at the world stage, has suddenly been relegated to oblivion. This calls to question the relevance of the sports associations. Suffice it to say that they have all failed woefully and need surgery. Or how do we explain that after the exit of athletes such as Innocent Egbunike, Sunday Bada, Chidi Imoh, the Ezenwa brothers, Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, to mention a few, the country has not been able to produce athletes to match these peoples’ achievement. When will Nigeria hear her athlete being referred to as “Egbunike of Africa” again?  Oh yes! That was how a foreign commentator referred to the Nigerian ambassador at an international meet after Egbunike powered out from behind the pack to coast home to victory in the men’s 4X400 relay in an international meet. That was one of the glorious moments in Nigerian sports.

    Today, Ghanaians, South Africans, et al make mincemeat of our athletes. Today, Nigerian athletes are no longer dreaded on the tracks. Such is the failure of the sports associations and administrators. But should any sports pundit be surprised at the nosedive? A Nigerian contingent has more administrators and hangers on the plane heading to a major competition. This presupposes that what is uppermost in the minds of these so called administrators is the estacode they will collect rather than the country putting up a sterling performance.

    Perhaps if they have been considerate to inject the interim estacode benefit into developing facilities across the country, then we will not be where we are today.

    We should have maintained our dominance and challenged others where we did not dominate. For instance, long distance races are better suited for people living in high-altitude areas. Therefore, nothing stops the AFN from having a training camp in Jos, Plateau State, for athletes in long-distance races. Any wonder Kenyans, Ethiopians, and East Africans see this segment of athletics as their birthright? Our associations are bereft of ideas. They have lost the confidence of the corporate world. Where is the Nigerian Mobil Athletics classic?  This is a competition athletes looked up to yearly.  It also served as our avenue for selecting our team to major athletics competitions.

    What has the swimming association done to discover and nurture talents from the riverine areas of the Niger-Delta to become world beaters? Officials will rather sit in the comfort of their Abuja offices while talents waste away. We need a revival, but who will lead the way?