Category: Ade Ojeikere

I won’t disappoint you, dear reader. Many would want my views about what transpired at the Sports Minister Solomon Dalung’s office on Wednesday night. I don’t care who runs the NFF, provided they emerge from elections supervised and approved by FIFA- the only body empowered to talk about elections into their group, not any truce meeting, and ministerial intervention as many would want to call it to avoid FIFA’s sanctions.

The minister, we are told, has a degree in Crisis Resolution but he is an interloper in this matter since FIFA is a society with laid down rules obeyed by over 207 countries. If Nigeria doesn’t want to belong to the body, she has a right not to, but it should not make us the laughing stock in the soccer polity, simply because our government is paying lip-service to repealing Decree 101, which empowers our Sport Ministers to intervene in a crisis, which most times are fuelled by them.

We give FIFA chiefs the impression that elections into the NFF are done using their statutes. What it simply means is that the elections must follow FIFA rules, which define the voters and what their qualifications should be. FIFA statutes provide for how conflicts should be resolved. FIFA frowns seriously at government interference, which is what happened on Wednesday at the minister’s office.

Like the Americans would say, ain’t no break; no fix. The Muhammadu Buhari administration’s focus includes the fight against corruption. Among its achievements are the sterling performances of our sportsmen and women with football being the flagship.

With such impeccable performances by our soccer teams, it doesn’t make sense for any minister to listen to protesters who have exploited all the means of seeking redress and lost. With due respect, Buhari should tell Dalung to mind his business.

Some people think that they must run our soccer, even with the evident changes in the new dispensation. These disgruntled few must be told to join hands with the new group at the NFF, which has so far guided the Golden Eaglets to an encore FIFA U-17 World Cup victory, the winners medal at the Africa U-23 Championships where Nigeria won the trophy for the first time, Nigeria is still looking for the qualification ticket to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations while the country’s domestic league players are focused on doing well at the CHAN Championships holding in Rwanda, with the CHAN Eagles beating Niger 4-1, in the opening game.

A saner polity would have supported the incumbent NFF to achieve its objectives instead of dragging us back to the past. Sadly, rather than accept the verdicts of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which threw out the petition of the complainants, we are toying with another potential FIFA ban by looking for a political resolution, for a matter that had been withdrawn or struck out in court. CAS’ decisions on all sports matters are final. I do hope that in seeking the political solution, we must understand that FIFA has over 209 countries; 208 of them have complied with FIFA’s statutes. We cannot be the exception to the rule, simply because a few people have been eased out of the NFF. NFF should never be a job for the boys. It must be run by tested technocrats who are adept in the dynamics of business. The days of lickspittles in the NFF are gone.

Those striving to resurrect a dead issue must pro vide answers to these nine posers; otherwise Nigeria would be worse off when FIFA wield its axe.

 The nine posers are:

1. Let Giwa produce those who voted for him on August 26.
2. Who were the accounting officers at the August 26 elections; where is the list of accredited voters? Did the electoral committee that organised that election have the stipulated number of members as outlined by FIFA, NFF statutes and electoral guidelines? Did FIFA send representatives to monitor the August 26 elections? Isn’t that the norm?
3. Let Dalung ask the former Sports Minister if FIFA, the NSC and the NFF had not agreed that elections should not hold on August 26 but rather that date should be used to draw up a new roadmap for credible elections after it became obvious that the then NFF Electoral Committee Chairman Amoni Biambo couldn’t handle the exercise.
4. Didn’t former Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo publicly admit that the way Amoni Biambo was handling the issues and elections forms were being hoarded, there was no way a proper elections would have held on August 26?
5. Can anyone remember the famous petition of Abba Yola on the disaster waiting to happen if Amoni Biambo and his group were allowed to go on with organising the ‘fraud’ called elections on August 26?
6. Did anyone tell Dalung that on the morning of August 26, the man who was supposed to declare the Congress of August 26 open, Aminu Maigari was in DSS detention alongside the NFF Secretary General and another board member?
7. What is Dalung’s agenda? The fact that his SA Media started a live tweet of what was meant to be a private reconciliation meeting means there is more to his actions than meets the eye.
8. The Perm Sec of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Ohaa underlined his complete ignorance of the whole issues by asking why Pinnick never appealed against Giwa’s election?…an election that FIFA described as a sham, an election that failed every integrity test, an election where some persons who were not FA chairmen were mobilised to vote?
9. Why has Dalung decided to bring back a dead matter, a matter that CAS had ruled on and that we have all moved on from?

“It’s really unfortunate because, in the first instance, that meeting was uncalled for. The timing was bad; Chris Giwa and his group were called by the Secretary of the Government in the past and if they wanted to be part of the elections (2014), they knew the rules. They went to the Tribunal, FIFA and even CAS and before that there was a court ruling.

“We shouldn’t ridicule ourselves; we know the rules. I would advise the Minister strongly he should distant himself from Giwa’s group because FIFA is watching and it could evoke certain sections of the statutes which could have serious consequences,” Sani Toro told footballlive.ng on Thursday.

I rest my case.

 

Buy kolanuts here

 

I’m a strong advocate of cash rewards for our athletes, knowing their flotsam and jetsam upbringing, where many literally scavenge to make ends meet. I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for giving out cash and gifts to our distinguished sportsmen, women and officials for feats recorded in sports competitions. I was deeply touched when Buhari directed a minute silence for the late Kingsley Aikhonbare, the band-wearing Golden Eaglets’ defender at the 1985 Kodak U-16 World Youth Championships held in China.

The President, who directed a one-minute silence in honour of the late Kingsley Aikhonbare (a member of the U-16 world champions of 1985 who died in London in 1996), said the reception and rewards were “in line with our belief that the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.” I digress!

Most of our sports ambassadors don’t like to talk about their beginning. They keep their parents from public view, knowing that their new status would bring the desired change. Majority of them have intriguing grass to grace stories which underscores the depth of talents in the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria. The grassroots is rich in any human endeavour, provided the government is prepared to institute structures that would help them develop their talents.

The latest in this rags-to-riches tale in sports is Chisom Chikatara’s block-buster performance against Niger in the ongoing CHAN competition holding in Kigali. Chikatara was introduced into the game as a 52nd – minute substitute. Warming up at the sidelines before his introduction on Monday evening, many things ran through his mind, especially the fear of failure. He didn’t exhibit it, yet it was obvious that he was determined to seize this life time chance to write his family’s name in gold. Chikatara achieved that but not after he had tottered for 15 minutes. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t make the initial impact. As a rookie, playing on the big stage for the first time, he needed time for his adrenalin to rise to the level where he would give his best.

Chikatara missed some unbelievable scoring chances, but the three goals he scored showed that he will be a revelation, if he keeps his head down, listens to the coaches’ instructions and remains humble thereafter. He ran around the field, pulling his tug as if to remind himself he was in no trance. Chikatara’s runs off the ball and ability to be in scoring positions in the early minutes of his entrance into the game gave this writer hope that he could be the CHAN Eagles’ “undertaker” in this competition, depending on what Coach Sunday Oliseh has designed for the Abia State-born star.

Chikatara’s pace needs to be exploited by the creative midfielders in the team. With a dashing Chikatara, the CHAN Eagles would leverage on his strength on the ball to use the wings to destroy any opposition.

I saw Chikatara’s naivety after the game when he was discussing with the match referee. Ordinarily, Chikatara ought to have picked any of the balls used during the match to take home as his reward for scoring a hat-trick.  The referee knew he was meeting a rookie and enjoyed cracking jokes with a pleasant player, who wasn’t desperate to claim the match ball with him.

I salute Chikatara for showing understanding with the referee. He eventually got the ball inside the dressing room. I’m tempted to ask CAF to query the referee. But is CAF any better?

From the back streets of the dusty Umuahia town comes a budding star, Chikatara, who hawked kolanuts for his parents to make ends meet. He joins the legion of self-made achievers who toiled to earn their stripes.

Not born with the proverbial silver spoon, he woke up to help his parents do the routine morning chores before heading for school. Back from the school, it was time for him to hawk kolanuts brought home from the farm.

Of course, walking through the streets, Chikatara kicked any round object, a trait which stuck with him until he got the attention of football scouts, who watched him play on bumpy playgrounds across the town.  Won’t you join me in welcoming a new star?

Happy New Year Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung. I don’t envy your position because of the intrigues of the ministry. Many ministers before you told us how they won’t be football ministers but they were all caught in the football web. Today, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has the fight against corruption and our feats in soccer competitions as its poster achievements, going into the New Year.

I dislike putting the sports minister under any searchlight since it has become the penchant of most administrations to send to sports an administrator whose knowledge of the terrain is at the kindergarten level. I also don’t blame such administrators because there isn’t any school where sports administration is taught as a discipline – perhaps as elective courses in Public Administration. The interesting aspect of sending those with good knowledge of sports to be ministers is that they have failed woefully. On that score, I welcome you to the industry, where you must look before you leap, dear Dalung.

So much has been said about your attire. I won’t join the crowd since there isn’t any dress code for ministers. However, sir, please avoid being caught in the football web – courtesy of the whispering of some of your aides and those who have your ears.  Honourable minister, it would do you a world of good if you see the final copies of policy statements bearing your name to avoid sensational reports like the unsubstantiated claims that NFF people illegally sell players to European clubs.

I was glad when you told the NFF Congress that our successes in soccer competitions have thrown into the trash bin all the intrigues. Please, sir, let’s sustain this serenity so that you can take the right decisions.

Dalung sir, you meant well when you told everyone that NFF was corrupt simply because the body shortchanged you as a member of the Federal Government delegation to the Mali 2002 Nations Cup. It was good that General Dominic Oneya (rtd.) subtly called you to order. Oneya was the NFA Chairman then. He told you that Federal Government delegation members were picked and paid by the National Sports Commission (NSC). Since Oneya’s correction, we have not heard what you have done to fish out the culprits. We have also not heard anything you did to the NSC like you threatened when you thought that NFA chiefs were responsible for the short change.

Being picked as far back as 2002 into the Federal Government delegation meant that you have been around our sports and football. I, therefore, can’t call you a novice as many have tagged you.

Your speech to the NFF Congress harped on the fact that you would step on toes (feel free to use the cliché). I was excited when you spotted the medical facilities rotting away in Abuja. It was reported that a committee would be constituted to find out what happened, even after the man in charge had written a memo to his bosses at the NSC then – that there was no space to mount the instruments. Have we found a place for the equipment? Do we still have functional gadgets among the equipment? We need to know sir.

But, sir, I’m worried over your instruction to the NFF not to sell players eager to eke out a living in Europe. It gave the impression that the NFF could decide where a player wants to go. I don’t think that is totally correct. NFF will only issue the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) when the agent that the player uses comes to the Glasshouse with a written contract struck between him and the prospecting club. At that point, there is little that the NFF can do, except if the agent is an NFF official.

Perhaps, minister, you could bar NFF staff and the coaches handling the national teams from acting as players’ agents, scouts or links with European clubs. This must be done urgently. I would advise that you, a lawyer, to read the literature on international transfers before making such statements which come across as government policy. Morally speaking sir, your directive is laudable. But it must be backed by a law which should come from the National Assembly for it to be binding on the international bodies.

True sir, most of our young talents from the age grade teams have faded away like ice cream under the scorching sun. But sir, this trend is there because there isn’t any law which ensures that those national properties are guided until such a time when they can take their own decisions.

Your instruction to NFF is trite until a law is passed, making the players government properties for a short period. Interestingly, your instruction as issued to the media didn’t name those fingered in the illegal transfers at the Glasshouse. That has always been the problem with inter and intra transfer cases in Nigeria. I would suggest that you start the process of instituting such a law at the National Assembly to protect the future of young boys and girls that we have discovered.

Thanks minister, for taking your time. I wish you a prosperous New Year.

 

Another Ajegunle boy

When the story of Nigerians who made their mark in the European game, especially in England, is told, Odion Ighalo may be the smallest in terms of his pedigree in the beautiful game before he played in the Barclays English Premier League. But Ighalo isn’t a small player, given the fact that he joined Watford FC from Italia division one side, Udenese FC, where he made his mark as a goal merchant. But his roots in Ajegunle make him a special footballer, who is toeing Emmanuel Amuneke’s path to glory.

It was in the Italian league that Ighalo knocked on the door of fame, culminating in his quiet movement to Watford, when they gained promotion into the elite class in England. Soccer purists, rightly, would point at Nwankwo Kanu as Nigeria’s biggest export, with perhaps Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba and the late Rashidi Yekini. This quartet’s exploits in Europe for their clubs and for the Super Eagles ensured that they were decorated as the African Footballer of the Year for the era.

True, Kanu was an enigma. He was such a skilful player whose movement off the ball confounded his markers. He knew what to do

I don’t think that is totally correct. NFF will only issue the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) when the agent that the player uses comes to the Glasshouse with a written contract struck between him and the prospecting club. At that point, there is little that the NFF can do, except if the agent is an NFF official.

Perhaps, minister, you could bar NFF staff and the coaches handling the national teams from acting as players’ agents, scouts or links with European clubs. This must be done urgently. I would advise that you, a lawyer, to read the literature on international transfers before making such statements which come across as government policy. Morally speaking sir, your directive is laudable. But it must be backed by a law which should come from the National Assembly for it to be binding on the international bodies.

True sir, most of our young talents from the age grade teams have faded away like ice cream under the scorching sun. But sir, this trend is there because there isn’t any law which ensures that those national properties are guided until such a time when they can take their own decisions.

Your instruction to NFF is trite until a law is passed, making the players government properties for a short period. Interestingly, your instruction as issued to the media didn’t name those fingered in the illegal transfers at the Glasshouse. That has always been the problem with inter and intra transfer cases in Nigeria. I would suggest that you start the process of instituting such a law at the National Assembly to protect the future of young boys and girls that we have discovered.

Thanks minister, for taking your time. I wish you a prosperous New Year.

Another Ajegunle boy

When the story of Nigerians who made their mark in the European game, especially in England, is told, Odion Ighalo may be the smallest in terms of his pedigree in the beautiful game before he played in the Barclays English Premier League. But Ighalo isn’t a small player, given the fact that he joined Watford FC from Italia division one side, Udenese FC, where he made his mark as a goal merchant. But his roots in Ajegunle make him a special footballer, who is toeing Emmanuel Amuneke’s path to glory.

It was in the Italian league that Ighalo knocked on the door of fame, culminating in his quiet movement to Watford, when they gained promotion into the elite class in England. Soccer purists, rightly, would point at Nwankwo Kanu as Nigeria’s biggest export, with perhaps Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba and the late Rashidi Yekini. This quartet’s exploits in Europe for their clubs and for the Super Eagles ensured that they were decorated as the African Footballer of the Year for the era.

True, Kanu was an enigma. He was such a skilful player whose movement off the ball confounded his markers. He knew what to do with the ball before the passes got to him. He didn’t need all the entire 90 minutes to make his mark in the game. He was a gazelle. Little wonder he was twice named the Africa Footballer of the Year.

Ikpeba didn’t play in the English league but he was the most sought-after player in France, although he later went to the tough German Bundesliga, where he distinguished himself, despite his petite (Victor will surely go for my neck when next we see) frame. He still looks like the Eaglet that he was then but was a ruthless finisher in front of the goal. He didn’t need a high back-lift to unleash a terrific shot. Though his favourite foot is the left, yet he scored thunderous goals using the right foot.

The late Rashidi Yekini chose Portugal to show his goal-scoring prowess. Yekini scored goals with aplomb. His gangling frame made his style rather awkward but he galloped past defenders with relative ease while he left goalkeepers wondering what flew past them like the speed of light. The search for another Yekini is on. But we haven’t found a striker as efficient as Yekini when it comes to converting goal scoring opportunities. He was a ruthless finisher in front of the goalpost. He riffled home the ball with precision and followed through by bringing it out of the net.

Few other Nigerians made their marks in the English game, such as Yakubu Aiyegbeni (the only Nigerian to have scored 16 goals in the Barclays English premier League playing for Portsmouth), Joseph Yobo, Obafemi Martins, Brown Ideye and Celestine Babayaro, but it was the mercurial Austin Jay Jay Okocha, who thrilled the English with his deft runs, charming dribbling skills and passes that made scoring goals for strikers look like a stroll in the park.

Okocha was so good that they named him twice BBC’s Africa Footballer of the Year. When Okocha is playing, there are no dull moments. Okocha could do the impossible with the ball on his day. Many pundits can’t fathom how Okocha does it, especially the ease with which he flicks the ball over the head of his markers. Nor can they believe how by the simple act of shuffling his feet, Okocha leaves his markers sprawling on the turf. Okocha was a gem. He still exhibits such dazzling skills but has slowed down – no thanks to age. However, trust the English press to always document such legends for posterity; you can get videos of some of the wonderful piece of football artistry by Okocha on You-tube. The world is still wondering how Okocha couldn’t win the Africa Footballer of the Year award despite his prowess for club and country.

Osaze Odemwingie, Mikel Obi, Julius Aghahowa, Dickson Etuhu, Taribo West et al played in the English game. They distinguished themselves with Mikel being the most decorated Nigerian in the European game playing for Chelsea. Mikel has won almost all the prominent European club trophies. However, Ighalo looks like the Nigerian to win the 2016 Africa Footballer of the Year award if he sustains the goal scoring tempo with Watford. Since the incumbent winner, Yaya Toure, plays in the English Premier League, Ighalo knows what the challenge is.

Currently third placed on the goal scorers’ chart in the EPL with 14 goals, Ighalo has Vardy’s 15-goal mark as the target that he must hit to be the highest goal scorer in the most-followed league in the world.

I’m excited that Ighalo wants to stay with Watford till the end of the season. It means he stands a good chance of being the highest goal scorer if Vardy moves to Chelsea. My excitement stems from the fact that if Chelsea’s owner Abrahimovic wants anyone, he gets him, no matter how much such a transfer would cost.

If Vardy moves to Chelsea, his goals could dry up. He would be struggling to take Costa’s shirt. That would be a very tough challenge. The other potent striker is Manchester City’s Aguero. But he is injury prone, leaving the coast clear for Ighalo, barring any injury to the Nigerian.

Like Amuneke, whose exploits compelled European scouts to storm Ajegunle for talents, Ighalo’s knack for goals could, perhaps, get the scouts to make AJ City their nursery for future world beaters. Will Ighalo be decorated as the 2016 Africa Footballer of the Year, if he emerges as the highest goal scorer in England? Join me in saying Amen.