The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Encounter with Keshi

    Encounter with Keshi

    The time was 7.45pm on Tuesday. I looked at the pages of Sportinglife for Wednesday and couldn’t find a lead story to sell it. I went into my office to cross-check my diary. It was empty. A few stories that I saw were either not topical or weren’t good enough for a midweek edition.

    Tense, I took my telephone outside the office to call my colleagues in Abuja to find out why the day was dry. Two calls to Andrew Abah and Patrick Ngwaogu added to my frustration of not finding a lead story. They were headed for the new secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in Abuja, where Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi was visiting, ahead of the opening of the facility built with the cash generated by the Presidential Task Force (PTF). The minister’s visit was to ensure that things were in place for President Goodluck Ebere Jonathan to open it for football business.

    A last call to another colleague, Segun Ogunjimi, didn’t resolve the matter. It brought forth the poser many readers of this column have asked me. Many were wondering if I talk with Super Eagles chief coach Stephen Keshi. They looked forward to the day we would meet.

    When Ogunjimi picked his phone, the place was rowdy. He told me he was at the new secretariat. Then Ogunjimi shouted: “Hold on sir!” I could still hear the noise but I felt he wanted to give the phone to a source who he felt could confide in me to get a story. It wasn’t to be. It turned out to be Keshi.

    When Ogunjimi handed Keshi the phone, I could hear him whisper, “na who bi that?” Ogunjimi replied: “ Na my editor, Ade Ojeikere”.

    I could feel Keshi’s deep breath. Then he said; “Ade Ojeikere, na wetin I do you? I take your girlfriend, abi na your wife? You just dey yab me. Wetin I do?”

    Keshi expected an answer, but I wasn’t ready for that. His voice was high. He was angry and never hid his disgust about my writing. I waited until he said: “Oh boy, I dey vex for you. You just dey hit me. In fact, I dey watch AIT this morning (Tuesday) where you talk say if you bi sports minister, you for don sack me for wetin I do for Namibia?

    At this point, it was evident that Keshi’s anger had fallen into a receptive voice where I could throw a counter question. Again, I expected his response to be laced with rage.

    “Skippo, I dey vex for you too. You sef yab with the things wey you dey do. Dem no good at all. You fall my hand. You go dey fight anybody wey talk wetin you no like. Abi we no get right to ask you things wey we no know? I dey write my columns, ask you those questions make you for fit answer. Even if you no talk to me.

    Keshi interjected: “Ade wetin you dey talk so? Shebi you get my number? Why you no call me? Walahi, Ade, you dey disappoint your fans o. Dem don tire for you. People wey like you before dey vex. No matter wetin you think say I do, you for call me na?”

    It was clear that a dialogue had ensued. I told him I didn’t have his number anymore. The number I had, I was told he broke the SIM card in anger when he resigned in South Africa.

    Keshi raised his voice again, this time he said: “How can you talk like that Ade? Why didn’t you ask Segun for my number?

    Yet I asked Keshi if it was out of place for him to call me if he felt what I was writing was not fair to him.

    “Oh boy, na true you talk. But you know now, I dey vex. You sef, you too talk.” Keshi said.

    “Big Boss, me too dey vex,” I retorted. Keshi wanted to interject again. This time I stopped him, saying that I would be in Abuja on Wednesday and we would talk.

    “Okay o. I dey wait. Make we see o! And he handed the phone back to Segun Ogunjimi, after saying: “Ade Ojeikere, na wa for you o.”

    This dialogue lasted for five minutes but it broke the ice of a relationship that had gone awry, occasioned by the demands of our jobs.

    Keshi has the right to pick his players. He chooses how he wants to train them and how he wants the team to play. Keshi has done well with the Eagles, although he admits that it is work- in- progress.

    For this writer, there is the need to ask the coach why certain things aren’t in place. But most coaches don’t like to be told about their team’s flaws no matter how close you are to them. If you dare ask such questions, they will either not pick your calls or raise their voices in resentment. It happened to me once with Keshi, when I wanted to pick his brain to write a story about his likely list of players ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    At the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, I had a little unsavoury session with Samson Siasia, when I questioned the rationale in dropping Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Anichibe for fumbling players. Siasia told me to face my journalism job while he does his.

    Surprisingly, Siasia made the desired changes in the next game and Osaze and Anichebe were the goal scorers. Smart guy Siaisa is, he apologised at the next international post-match press conference. He said he was in a foul mood after that game. Siasia is human, so I moved on.

    One of the hazards of journalism, a few would say. But the job must be done in this era where those in authority blame journalists for all the societal ills. Busy bodies, they shout to the roof but we are condemned tell our readers the stories the next day. I digress.

    How did you feel Ade after the Keshi spat, many would ask? I’m still excited. The best copies for journalists come when you put your interviewer on the spot. You need to ask him the questions that outsiders confront you with. We are confronted daily with questions. And it is always nice to throw them back at the coaches so that their responses could get to the soccer faithful.

    Once The telephone conversation over, I went back to contending with finding a lead story, which I got by sending a text message to a source.

    Behold, Keshi’s team list for the August 14 Mandela Challenge in Durban, South Africa. I was excited. A good copy had come at last. The list, though tentative as it turned out to be had Obinna Nsofor and Shola Ameobi. I was relieved that Keshi had started listening to good advice. If what Keshi said was anything to reckon with it, it was that he also reads this column, given the details he reeled out in his fit of rage.

    Again, my informant said Keshi submitted the 24-man list to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for vetting, unlike in the past. The NFF directed him to prune it to 18- the number of players that the organisers asked for. Keshi chose 20 players instead and listed four others on the waiting list. Kudos, big Boss. that is what we want rather than outright rejection of the NFF directive which makes your employers look like puppets.

    I was pleased with this revelation. Besides, it didn’t leak to the press nor was it an issue for public debate until I stumbled on it. If you ask me, we are making progress.

    It is also cheery news that the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye, reconciled Keshi and the NFF chiefs. Elegbeleye’s message of securing our national interest above selfish agenda should serve as the fulcrum for Keshi to take the good criticisms and discard the others.

    Keshi should know that he is answerable to Nigerians and not all of us will tell him what he wants to hear. Keshi shouldn’t insult our sensibilities by telling us that Joseph Yobo is the team’s captain. Keshi’s body language and utterances show that Yobo isn’t in his plans He only wants to mock Yobo. He should move on because Yobo isn’t a fool, given his recent stoic silence on the team and Keshi.

    Indeed, Keshi’s double-speak at press conferences is disturbing. In one instance, he tells his audience that he won’t beg Victor Anichebe. In another response on the same issue, he startles his listeners with suggestions that he has asked Mikel Obi to talk with Anichebe to do a rethink. Keshi should know that the world is a global village. Whatever he says about his players during press conferences are read by them. He must put himself in these players’ shoes and see if he won’t react otherwise. Thank you for the five minutes discussion. Let’s do it again soon. Ramadan Kareem.

  • This rot must stop

    Football is just a game. It entertains the fans. It also unites people. It belongs to them. They follow it passionately. It has also forced warring nations to sheathe their swords for it to be played. Need I mention the contrasting scenarios in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup?

    Despite the protests from angry Brazilians over the state of their country’s economy, the Confederations Cup held. Football has global appeal. It ranks among the highest money spinners. It creates employment for the people.

    One is still pinching oneself to ask why any right thinking Nigerian will leak out unfounded information to necessitate the exit of the country’s flag-bearer at the CAF Confederations Cup competition, Enugu Rangers FC.

    One has heard of rivalry among club sides, which is permissible. But, providing facts to undo the other to the detriment of the nation is one offence that requires stiff sanctions for the saboteurs. We must denounce bitterness in our sports, which what this diabolic act translates to. I wonder if any country would do that. I ask: why are we so blessed?

    No matter how aggrieved any group may be, they ought to have known how to utilise all the channels of seeking redress than to wash our dirty linens in the public.

    Participating in continental competitions opens a new vista for the players, most who couldn’t make the national teams. This platform provides another exit route for the good ones, who later get picked for the country’s bigger soccer competitions. It is the denial of the motley group from seeking greener pastures elsewhere using Rangers’ Confederations Cup matches that should have pricked the conscience of these saboteurs before leaking out what appears to be the information.

    One doesn’t support fraudulent practices, provided they are proven. But with what the League Management Company (LMC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are brandishing as it concerns goalkeeper Daniels’ registration, it is only fair that Rangers are reinstated by CAF. Are both bodies telling the truth on this issue, especially with 3SC’s startling revelations?

    Interestingly, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) officials argued that Daniels collected October 12 salaries from them.

    3SC’s spokesman revealed that their protest letter against Daniels, certainly in their away game against Rangers in Enugu was acknowledged by the Match Commissioner, Mr. E.E.E. Ebito, who included it (the protest letter) in his match report. A copy of 3SC protest, which was acknowledged by the Match Commissioner, is also attached for ease of reference, according to the club’s mouthpiece. So, where is the Rangers’ versus 3SC’s match report LMC and NFF? Is it true referee Ebito that the protest passed through you?

    They alleged that Rangers notified them of Daniels’ presence in their camp without negotiating for his transfers. They said that N3 million was the transfer fee discussed with Rangers, but the Enugu-based side’s management said they could only cough out N2.5million.

    What this means is that no deal was struck between 3SC and Rangers. How come Daniels played for Rangers in three Globacom Premier League matches? Who signed Daniels’ licence for Rangers without clearance from 3SC? In fact, one of the three matches was against 3SC? Will the LMC and NFF say that 3SC didn’t lodge a protest in the game against them? Haba! This case is looking like the one between Rangers and Warri Wolves involving Sunday Mba and Chibuzor Agbim. Clearly, it seems to me that the person who handled transfers for the Flying Antelopes does not know his job. When the dust on this issue settles, it is important that the NFF and the LMC review the whole gamut of transfers, beginning with the intra-club movements.

    Globally, intra club and inter-club transfers are revenue generators. But the scams associated with these two exercises are mind-bogging. Ordinarily, details of players’ move

  • Keshi sack Amokachi now

    Keshi sack Amokachi now

    Stephen Keshi deserves to be praised. We

    had written off the Super Eagles until the

    Big Boss turned things around for the better. But, Keshi got intoxicated and wanted to run the race all by himself. Such ambitious moves are permitted, except that football is a team sport.

    Wherever Keshi is today, he would realise the difference between being a winner and a loser. Keshi changed his lines, which were usually jammed after the Cup of Nations. He evaded calls – not because he didn’t want to answer them; he needed rest after guiding Nigeria to lift the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    Now Keshi’s phones aren’t that busy. Don’t worry, Nigerians are like that. They like winners. Who doesn’t, anyway? What happened to the Eagles in Brazil was expected, given the pedigree of some of the four countries that qualified for the Confederations Cup semi-final. Yet I felt that Nigeria would have upset the apple cart had we not totally destroyed the Eagles side that lifted the Africa Cup of Nations on February 10.

    Ideally, that winning squad ought to have formed the nucleus of the squad to Brazil. Keshi thought otherwise. I won’t blame him. He wanted to avert the setting where some players would think that they are indispensable. I have no quarrel with such instructive changes, provided they are not done on the altar of using indiscipline to eliminate players who don’t bow to the coach.

    Keshi should subject his list to the scrutiny of the technical committee. He needs to explain why he picked players for assignments. They may not agree with some of his reasons. They could also provide solutions which he could tacitly accept by subjecting those new additions to his programmes in camp, because without the technical committee members, he has no job. When Keshi was employed, he subjected himself to the committee’s scrutiny and we saw the results.

    He denied himself of holidays while rebuilding the squad. Today, he doesn’t work with those people. He picks his squad without consultation. This has brought plenty of problems, given the replacements he has made. They are not better than the 2013 heroes. If you must make changes, they must be worth it and task the 2013 heroes in a competitive environment.

    To correct this mistake, Keshi must accept to work with the technical committee because his right hand man, Daniel Amokachi, has failed. Amokachi should teach the strikers how to convert chances. He doesn’t. He cajoles Keshi to drop players who don’t kowtow to his dictates, forgetting that they are adults who make their decisions.

    I recall asking Keshi why he opted for Amokachi. What I went home with was that Da Bull was picked to satisfy the geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Keshi’s body language, while we talked on the subject showed that he would have preferred the Togolese Valarie.

    Amokachi was a prolific striker with the Eagles, easily one of our best. It is a different setting now as a coach. Amokachi should be left to do his television commentaries with Supersports weekly programmes instead of being a cog in the Eagles’ wheel.

    Eagles have problems with their attack because Amokachi has failed to identify the right strikers for Keshi. Nigeria is blessed with strikers. I’m not surprised that Amokachi doesn’t know what to do. He is a loudmouthed braggart who feels he knows it all not to ask the relevant questions from the domestic league coaches. Keshi needs to move on without Amokachi. No paddy paddy for jungle, Big Boss; a word is enough for the wise.

    I’m sure that if Fernando Torres was a Nigerian, he would have been dropped from the Confederations Cup squad based on his club form. The Spanish coach stuck to Torres because of his records with the national team. This is the first lesson Keshi should learn from his unfulfilled mission to Brazil.

    It is a travesty that Ikechukwu Uche has been dumped from the Eagles simply because he was poor at the Africa Cup of Nations. He is the country’s highest goal scorer behind the legendary Rashidi Yekini. He didn’t have a good outing in South Africa, but he is a better player than those Keshi paraded in Brazil. Ike Uche’s poor show wasn’t surprising after a long lay-off from football due to an injury he sustained while playing for Nigeria. It isn’t also fair to drop Ike Uche on spurious claims that he and two other players canvassed for Keshi’s sack with a certain top shot at the National Sports Commission (NSC). Do you not have a contract to know that players cannot sack you? I’m sure too that if Balotelli were a Nigerian, Keshi would have banned him for his conduct. The Italians haven’t done that. They have stuck with Balotelli because of his talent which transcends his “negative” attitudes. Keshi, please show me a perfect being; are you one? I dey laugh o!

    It is about time Keshi reached out to Shola Ameobi. He dumped Nigeria at the Cup of Nations due to contract clauses with Newcastle, not because he doesn’t want to play for Nigeria. I don’t know why Keshi always insists on players showing commitment to Nigeria before he picks them. Do these players not have reasons why they are reluctant to play for Nigeria? In any case, there are two sides.

    Therefore, Keshi must head to England to sort out things with Victor Anichebe. Anichebe is indifferent to playing for Nigeria because each time he sustains an injury he is neglected until when he is fit. The good thing is that this trend didn’t happen in Keshi’s tenure. Instead of demanding commitment from Anichebe, given his reason, Keshi should go to England. He does not need to call. His presence will convince Anichebe that things would change.

    Suarez won’t be in Brazil with Keshi’s hard line rule. The Uruguayans took him. His impact was awesome until they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Brazil on Wednesday night. The lesson again is that good players are brats. Keshi needs to manage players’ idiosyncrasies. He should pick what he wants in them and get the results. A coach is as good as his last result and Keshi’s in Brazil, I dare say, is nothing to cheer. Osaze Odemwingie’s comments have been terrible. He can be forgiven if he apologises. He can still play for the Eagles. Obinna Nsofor has a place in the Eagles, only if Keshi wants him. Nsofor ranks among the few players who give everything playing for Nigeria. He is clearly better than those Keshi paraded in Brazil. Eagles’ camp should not be a rehabilitation centre. It also shouldn’t be the platform to expose players for mercantile purposes.

    Those who didn’t see anything wrong in Keshi placing skipper Joseph Yobo in limbo must ask why the Uruguayans ensured that Diego Forlan hit the landmark 100 caps for his country. Unlike Yobo, Forlan was stripped of his captain’s band, yet the coaches fielded the Uruguayan. Of course, he capped his 100th game with a blistering goal, as if to remind Keshi that it takes nothing out of any coach to help his captain attain glory. Yobo should return now that a void has been created in the defence.

    I don’t know what was going on in Keshi’s mind for refusing to replace injured Ogenyi Onazi. Onazi promised to rejoin the team, according to the doctors. Was that enough to convince Keshi? He must be ruing his folly because Oduamadi’s injury further reduced the Eagles’ depth-in-strength, ahead of Sunday’s outing against Spain.

    Keshi should carefully look at Brazil’s coaching crew. It has Pererrira on the bench as one of the assistants. He won the 2002 World Cup for Brazil. He is there to help Scolari expose the weak points of the team. He also reads the games for Scolari.

    I don’t know if Keshi has ever called Adegboye Onigbinde for advice? The Big Boss must emulate what happens elsewhere. He doesn’t know how to read matches. His substitutions are awful, leaving those watching the Eagles’ games asking if he understands his team.

    If Keshi is reluctant in sacking Amokachi, can’t the NFF help him out? This is the time for Keshi to mend fences with his former players. He needs them; 2014 is barely 12 months away. The rebuilding of the Eagles must stop, if we hope to make any impact next year.

  • Letter to Jonathan

    Letter to Jonathan

    Super Eagles players are big clowns. Their coaches, I dare say, are jokers. With such a comity, it didn’t come as a surprise that they couldn’t ponder over the smear that they brought on Nigerians with their mercantile acts in Namibia.

    Having scraped through a nail-biting 1-1 draw against Namibia, our boys thought that such petty blackmailing of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was the best way to cover up their folly against the Namibians. Nigerians are wiser now.

    Nigerians are used to such indecent acts from the Eagles when they are doing well. It is not the first time. What these self-serving players and coaches didn’t reckon with is the fact that NFF chiefs have learnt how to dine with the devil with the proverbial long spoon.

    I’m convinced that this despicable action was concocted by them to explain away their anticipatory bad performance at the Confederations Cup.

    Given the pedigree of our players, especially with the home-grown rookies in the squad, Nigerians looked forward to the Eagles beating Tahiti resoundingly. Nigerians left the two games against Uruguay and Spain open, with many banking on the unpredictable nature of football for any upset.

    Many soccer fans braced themselves to accept any result against Uruguay and Spain. We also hinged our qualification for the semi-finals on luck. Why luck, you may want to ask? We are used to permutations when it comes to the Eagles. We reckon that Spain will beat Uruguay, Tahiti and Nigeria. We always pray for us to qualify. In this case, many prayed that Uruguay should not beat Tahiti. We want Tahiti to win. They reckon that with a last game against Spain, the world champions will parade a second-string side that we can handle. The purists, among us feel that Spain would want to sacrifice Uruguay by losing to Nigeria, knowing that on a good day, the Eagles are a softer meat to chew than the Uruguayans. Please, don’t laugh. This has been the Eagles’ lot when it comes to matches of this nature.

    The Eagles should have left the window of excuse in the event that they don’t do well at the Confederations Cup on the altar of fatigue, arising from a crowded fixture. Nigerians would have appreciated that excuse, not the disgraceful act in Namibia.

    Over time, our players and coaches have sustained this campaign of calumny against the NFF because their spurious claim of being shortchanged by the Football Federation has never been investigated. I will be surprised if things change with this incident.

    It has been the easiest lie against the NFF and it is time this trend is stopped. Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan, in the euphoria of the Eagles lifting the Africa Cup of Nations’ diadem, after a 19-year break, graciously gave Stephen Keshi the leeway to see him if he had problems. I won’t blame Jonathan, given the setting. But most Nigerians abuse such privileges. What the President didn’t know is that Keshi likes power and knows how to use it forcefully; little wonder his alias Big Boss.

    The President needs to order a probe into this incident. Those found culpable should be punished.

    Let us look at the situation dispassionately. It could be that the players and coaches felt that the NFF was given money by the government and wanted to shortchange them, hence the outcry. But, the intervention by the Honourable Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi should have offered them the plank for a rethink. It was an act of insubordination by Keshi not to have been able to convince his wards to proceed to Brazil, on the strength of the minister’s promise to bring the cash to them there. It is simply preposterous for the players and the coaches to have directed that the minister should text an undertaking to one of their telephones as a commitment.

    The quick questions are: has the Minister reneged on any promise to the Eagles? Okay, if the players and coaches didn’t trust NFF, how about the Minister? Why must we drag the President into such despicable act? Why did the Senate President call up the President for a matter that the Minister could handle?

    Don’t try to paint the picture of how the leader of the delegation to Namibia, himself a senator, called the Senate President or the picture of the Senate President trying to convince the President to release more cash to avert a national shame? Don’t bother to figure out the expression on the Minister’s face when Keshi told him that he couldn’t convince the players to stop their shameful act. Don’t also try to figure out what you will do if you were the Minister being asked to send a text message of committal to pay cash by players and coaches?

    Such scenarios happen here because we sweep everything under the carpet, when the issue is the Super Eagles. But should we fold our arms? No way. This international disgrace must stop.

    The Minister must stand up to this challenge. The Minister must direct the NFF to fix the premium to be paid to our players. This decision should have the players’ and coaches’ inputs.

    A quick way towards solving this problem is to aggregate what other countries spend on such issues and find the middle position. The problem with us is that governance isn’t a continuum here. The minister may fix a figure that his successor, in an attempt to play to the gallery will reverse.

    This fresh brouhaha is one of the vestiges of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) hitherto meant to motivate the then “Super Chicken” at the 2010 World Cup, after a nerve-wrenching 2010 Africa Cup of Nations performance, but which has returned to haunt us, no thanks to the callous acts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hierarchy on the PTF chairman, Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi. No one knows if the PTF has been disbanded. No counter-instruction has come from the government on the bonus issue.

    I recall that the former NFF President, Sani Lulu, had issues with the PTF on this subject, when he insisted that the federation wouldn’t be able to sustain the payment of $10,000 as winning bonuses to the players and the double figure for the coaches.

    Lulu’s insistence on paying what the NFF could sustain accounted for one of the reasons why he was perceived as stubborn. Lulu was hounded out of the NFF, yet his fears stare us on the face like a sore thumb.

    The fight over bonuses got to a head, culminating in the decision where NFF brought US$5000 and the PTF provided the balance of US$5000. Even at that, Lulu still says it till date that the PTF never fulfilled their side of the agreement.

    Maybe the Mr. President can re-inaugurate another PTF and fund it like the late President Umaru Yar’Adua did with the Amaechi-led body.

    Like Drogba, like Mikel

    John Mikel Obi has a big cross to carry. He must decide his future now. He needs to look at the long term in his career. In doing so, he must understand that the life span of an athlete is short – on the pitch, that is.

    I really don’t envy Mikel. With returnee coach Jose Mourinho, I would rather Mikel takes the plunge and grab the Galatasaray FC of Turkey deal. He could bench Mikel for long periods which would inevitably affect his market value, if he wants to move.

    Like Dider Drogba, Mikel has won the UEFA Champions League, the Europa Cup, the Barclays English League diadem, Carling Cup and the English FA Cup. There isn’t any trophy in England and Europe that he doesn’t have the medal at home.

    Now is the time to plan for his retirement benefit, which many may argue is too early. It is better now than later.

    Come on Mikel, follow Drogba’s path. Leave Chelsea now that your market value is high. The Ivoiren is in Turkey, smiling to the bank with his mega bucks. Mikel could return to England late to end his career with smaller clubs. Who knows?

  • Forgive Victor Moses

    Forgive Victor Moses

    Our players should be courteous. Super Eagles coaches deserve the kind of respect our players give to their European counterparts.

    We see how they comport themselves in their European teams. Many may argue that these clubs have structures. But I ask, has Stephen Keshi not created a structure in the new Eagles? If you ask me, I will say ‘yes.’ So why do they still misbehave?

    Perhaps, many of these boys would have got the right ‘lessons’, if they had not been allowed to spend too much time playing the beautiful game unhindered as kids because their absence eased the problem of over-crowding at home and reduced the number of mouths to feed.

    Quite a few overcame the tough they had. They combined playing soccer with acquiring knowledge, which they now use to earn a living.

    Victor Moses’ case is pitiable. He stands today in England alone, all alone. No father, mother, brothers or sisters. Moses lost them all to the insensitive carnage in Kaduna, according to his accounts.

    As an orphan, he lived a reclusive life. Catered for by foster parents who didn’t know the African culture of nurturing kids, Moses has been unable to bridge that gap, now that he is mature as an adult. This is not to say that foster parents don’t nurture kids properly.  They do. Perhaps, Moses’ case is the exception to the rule. You won’t blame the young Nigerian growing up in foreign land, oblivious of what the future held for him in those traumatic years.

    The story was once told of how Moses didn’t bother if he had a privilege discussion with the sports minister of his country at the Heathrow International Airport in England. The minister, we were told, recognised Moses inside the airport lounge and walked up to him to exchange pleasantries.

    The minister could have ignored Moses like many of them do, but he chose to chat with the Chelsea star. In fact, the minister wanted to congratulate Moses for opting to play for Nigeria. He succeeded but Moses was not interested in further discussion, as he fiddled with his telephone. Of course, his ears were covered with the ear phones of his set. Will anyone blame Moses for that? Certainly not this writer since Moses has walked this earth alone after his parents’ death.

    Interestingly, the minister wasn’t offended by Moses’ conduct. The star had been listening to his music before he was politely interrupted by the minister. He sympathised with him and felt perhaps he was not in the mood to be distracted.

    This Football Mirror of England’s account of what Moses said about himself: “Austin Moses, my father was a Christian minister in Kaduna at a time when religious violence between the Muslim majority and Christian minority was rife.

    “Thousands of Christians had been killed there in 2000 when they objected to the imposition of Islamic Sharia Law.The news wires mention countless examples of Christian pastors being butchered in their churches by Muslim rioters.

    “Still, Austin Moses remained a pastor and with the help of his wife, Josephine, continued with his missionary work. He did not have time for football but Victor played every day, in the streets or on a dusty concrete pitch surrounded by houses. His heroes were David Beckham and Michael Owen.

    “But in 2002, there were more religious riots. The family knew that because Victor’s father had his own church, he would be a target. Victor, the couple’s only child, was playing football in the streets with a ball made up of sticky tape bound tightly together when his uncle came to find him.

    “He told him rioters had set upon his parents in their home and murdered them. He said Victor’s life was in danger, too. The little boy, an orphan at 11, was hidden at a friend’s house.

    “I just tried to be careful afterwards,” he said. “It was a week after they were killed I came to England. They got me out as quickly as they could for my safety.”

    “He left so fast and in such panic, shock and bewilderment that he did not even have the chance to bring any pictures of his parents.”

    Why the narration about Moses’ past? Today Moses is not with the Super Eagles in Brazil for the Confederation Cup. It was reported initially that he was injured. Many questioned this shocking revelation because he had nodded down a brilliant cross which Fernado Torres blasted inside the net in Chelsea’s 2-1 against Everton at Stamford Bridge to qualify for the 2013/2014 UEFA Champions league competition.

    They couldn’t reconcile this setting with the injury claims, especially as Moses didn’t limp off the pitch. Incensed by the development, NFF sought to know from Chelsea what his problem was. But the English replied to say that they had released John Mikel Obi and Moses, the two Nigerians in their employment, to play for Nigeria.

    Having known the truth, NFF and indeed the team’s chief coach wanted to know what his problem was. Rather than pick his calls or return the voice messages left on his answering machine with a call, Moses, I would rather say, shied away. He didn’t have the courage to tell Keshi and NFF eggheads the truth. He surely needed a break from the beautiful game to be with his kid, born by a live-in lover. I won’t blame him.

    The flipside to the tale of the two players is that Mikel was courageous to tell Keshi that he needed to rest. He was excused to miss the friendly game against Mexico in Houston, United States. Mikel returned to play pivotal roles in Nigeria’s 1-0 victory against Kenya in Nairobi and against Namibia in Windhoek on June 5 and 12.

    Nobody has heard from Moses. Keshi and the NFF are amazed but have remained calm. But Keshi’s and NFF top men’s silence is betoken. Moses may go the way of Osaze Odemwingie because he has refused to pick his calls or return messages that he obviously listened to.

    Indeed, the body language of those in the Glasshouse and the Eagles technical team suggests that Moses has been axed. No qualms but don’t we think we should treat his case as that of a first offender? As a young boy, he certainly didn’t know how to tell both parties that he needed a break.

    The difference between Osaze and Moses is that the latter spent part of his ‘holidays’ wishing the Eagles well before their games and congratulating them where necessary after such matches. He also hasn’t said anything about his absence nor did he go the Osaze way of pouring inventive on the coaches or the NFF.

    Keshi should reach out to Moses, scold him and get him back to the team. Moses knows he erred, although he has consistently said he was gutted by the ‘injury’ that forced his absence from the Eagles’ busy June schedule. Moses doesn’t know of the Chelsea letter that put a lie to his injury story.

    Eagles need Moses. One goal from 180 minutes of soccer against Kenya and Namibia is an appalling goals record, given the pedigree of our players. Keshi and NFF need to close ranks with our erring players. We need to play the next stage of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with our best stars.

    We lost so many scoring chances against Kenya and Namibia as attested to by NFF’s General Secretary Musa Amadu and his boss Aminu Maigari in post match comments. Even Keshi acknowledged that his boys were wasteful. For the next stage, there should be zero tolerance for fluffed chances because the opposition will be stiffer, having separated the boys from the men in the team.

    I don’t expect much from the Eagles when this year’s Confederations Cup competition begins today. It is a learning curve, one in which we can gauge our coaches’ technical savvy against some of the best tacticians in the world.

  • Namibia will surrender

    Stories from Nairobi didn’t come as a surprise because leopards don’t change their spots. It won’t be fair to tag Kenyans as hooligans. But their soccer chiefs and fans are incorrigible. They tarnish the country’s image with their poor conduct. Otherwise, Nairobi is a serene town that holiday makers would cherish.

    The Kenyan government needs to ensure that honourable men are picked to run their football. Soccer is just a game. It is also a platform for friendship. Football, like other sports, serves as the rallying point for countries to change the perception of the world about their citizenry. Soccer entertains the audience. It is not a theatre of violence.

    I’m sure that the Kenyan government didn’t ask the FA chairman to direct security operatives at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to barricade the gate, in a bid to stop the Nigerian delegation from leaving the place.

    Knowing that no East African country has ever made it to the World Cup, the Kenyans must have been in a dreamland to think that their resort to brigandage would secure them victory.

    It is scandalous that in an era of civility, the Kenyans could descend to barbarism and thuggery for losing to Nigeria.

    The spectacle in Kenya, if anything, only offered a peep into the level of football development and administration in Africa. One wonders if the ugly trend would ever play itself out in Europe.

    This calls to question the role of the CAF leadership. This is not the first time this has happened to Nigeria, yet there has never been any reprimand from CAF against those who bring the beautiful game to disrepute. Maybe, a change in the leadership would breathe a new lease of life into the federation.

    In Africa, we do untoward things to win matches, including tampering with the visitors’ food, water and, of course, looting of their teams’ locker rooms in the stadium. We harass visitors to secure victory.

    For Nigeria, we have been through this path to Nairobi before. The lesson learnt from previous visits informed the way in which we stormed the Kenyan capital in the wee hours of Tuesday.

    We arrived when the country was asleep. It was deliberate – to ensure our safety. So, for the FA chairman, who statutorily should know when we arrive to have masterminded the assault on the Nigerian delegation is not only appalling, but one incident that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should report to the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) in Zurich.

    We could have avoided informing the Kenya FA chairman of our arrival. We didn’t disregard him because it would have been anti-FIFA rule. He was told of our arrival schedules.

    With a Nigerian High Commissioner in Kenya, our arrival had to be handled by the officials in Nairobi, irrespective of what FIFA’s rule states on the matter. What the embassy officials did by providing better accommodation for the Nigerian delegation was in sync with our culture. After all we are not called giants of Africa for nothing.

    The other lesson learnt from the unscrupulous manner in which the FA chairman handled our passage through Immigration is that our embassy staff will seek for independent security arrangement for our sports ambassadors. I hope it does not get to that extent.

    Not much can be said of the Super Eagles’s victory over Kenya on Wednesday in Nairobi, since it wasn’t shown live. It wasn’t going to be an easy game. Our victory underlines the vintage Nigerian spirit. I hope that our players can imbibe the culture of ensuring that Nigeria’s participation in top class football competition is topmost on their minds.

    It is important to remind the players that they could in the future be playing Stephen Keshi’s role as coaches, managers or even football federation bosses. They can only do so on the big stage, if they play their hearts out for us during matches.

    The winning mentality in the Eagles is back, courtesy of Keshi’s renowned courage. He has instilled the can-do spirit in the players. They trust him and he believes in them. That is what we need to change the face of the game here.

    However, Keshi should learn to be a team player. He must not play to the gallery. He must reflect before opening his mouth to speak at any public forum. He didn’t need to voice his unhappiness with the team’s travelling plans to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Didn’t he shun his employers when such details were being discussed last in December?

    Glad to know that NFF chieftain Chris Green treated the Keshi backlash with maturity. Green categorised what Keshi said to mind games meant to deceive our opponents. Well said Green. This country belongs to us. We owe it to the future generation to make our sporting industry a viable one like we have in other climes.radually, the Eagles’ defence is growing in confidence, with their seamless transition from defensive play to attacking without conceding cheap goals. No one is surprised because Keshi was a dependable defender in his playing days in the Eagles.

    Goalkeepers Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide are the regulars. They now understand their defence line. We hope that Keshi has dependable players in these key positions.

    The midfield quartet of John Mikel Obi, Onazi, Sunday Mba and Oduamadi looks formidable. It is instructive to note that Eagles played without injured Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike.

    My worry though is that the Eagles’ attackers have been very wasteful with the goal-scoring chances that they create. Goals win matches, not ball possession or dribbling skills. There is no second chance to convert a missed goal opportunity. Most times, such misses are costly at the end of the game.

    Indeed, June 12 is a watershed in Nigeria’s political history. It was on that day in 1993 that Nigeria had its freest and fairest election ever, won by frontline businessman and Pillar of Sports in Africa Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola. The election was annulled by the military for no just cause. Pardon my digression.

    On June 12, Eagles have a date with destiny against the Namibians in Windhoek. Victory for the Eagles would earn the team a berth at the last round where the 10 winners will fight for the five available slots allocated to Africa.

    Namibia should be a piece of cake for the Eagles. They are not a reputable soccer nation. But that is where the Eagles’ problems begin. The Eagles are unable to string together two back-to-back games. Simply put, they are not consistent. When you think that the Eagles will demolish a weak opponent, they totter.

    Having drawn their last game against Namibia at home, the Malawians will do everything under the sun next Wednesday to earn the three points. If that happens, the Malawians will have nine points, depending on the outcome of the Eagles’ cracker in Windhoek against Namibia.

    What this setting portends is that the Eagles must beat Naimbia to move to 11 points. If we beat Namibia, the August 15 last game against second-placed Malawi will offer us two options- a draw, we qualify for the next round of matches; a win also does.

    History has an uncanny way of repeating itself. I must warn the Eagles that they are very poor in fulfilling football permutations, especially for the World Cup, when it comes to the last game of the group. Need I remind Nigerians of the Eagles’ inability to beat Angola when the game was taken to Kano?

    Opinions were divided over where the game should be played. It was eventually played in Kano and the Eagles faltered and Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.

    Nigerians watched in awe as the Guineans celebrated inside the Abuja National Stadium. The Guineans secured the ticket to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with the 2-2 draw against the Eagles.

    All manner of excuses were traded between the coaching crew and the NFF. I ask: do the coaches know what it entails to qualify for the next round of matches? Any need for such a question? Ask Samson Siasia why he lost the Super Eagles job? The rules of the competition are sacrosanct to all the parties- players, coaches and NFF.

    The coaches must instruct the players to win both matches, leaving the permutations for those who want to indulge in such an exercise. Good luck Super Eagles; well done Keshi.

  • Kenyans will see fire

    Kenyans will see fire

    God truly loves Nigeria. News filtering in from Nairobi indicates that the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) President Issa Hayatou will be watching the game between Kenya and Nigeria on June 5, at the behest of the Kenyan president. We are told that they are friends.

    We can start to celebrate because the Kenyans would not be as viscous as they were the last time Nigeria beat them in 2009. This writer cannot but celebrate. It would be a level playing field and I dare the referees to play their usual pranks for home teams.

    Yes, the smiles are back on the faces of the custodians of our football. The Kenyans, I dare say, are in trouble on June 5 at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi

    Super Eagles players, coaches and, indeed, eggheads of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are heading to Nairobi with one target- beat the Kenyans silly in front of their home fans, no matter their antics.

    The synergy struck by the three blocs culminating in Nigeria’s surprise emergence as the best football playing nation in Africa on February 10 in South Africa, is back.

    One of the combatants called this writer on Monday, boasting that the Kenyans would be shattered. I asked if he had forgotten his earlier vow to scuttle our 2014 World Cup quest, he replied: “The chicken has come home to roost.” I was impressed. I was excited and moved to watch the game in Nairobi, irrespective of my earlier vow not to. I declined earlier because of the bitter experience I had when Nigeria beat Kenya 3-2 in Nairobi to snatch the 2010 FIFA World Cup ticket.

    We were pelted with all manner of objects by the fans. We ran from our seats onto the tracks at some point in the game, with the fans alleging that we influenced the referee, even though the Kenyans scored first in that game.

    It was a very difficult game. The Kasarani Stadium pitch was a pigsty. Undulating, almost bald, the pitch was a potential career wrecker for any player who didn’t play with caution. So, it was understandable that our players were cautious, with the Kenyans shining because they knew the turf. Obafemi Martins’ poaching instinct gave us the game. I can still figure Segun Odegbami’s stunned face, hands akimbo, swinging his head, apparently wondering how the beautiful game was being turned into a battle. Odegbami has seen it all. He definitely hadn’t seen this madness with the way he looked. He was part of the Presidential Task Force, who saw the game.

    Nigerians living in Nairobi, who came for the game, hurriedly left for their homes, especially those who came with their kids. It was a horrible experience. We escaped the mayhem because of the ingenuity of the Nigeria High Commissioner to Kenya. He led the soldiers who fought the urchins who had laid siege to the stadium, awaiting the Nigerian delegation outside.

    For once, I appreciated the essence of having an ambassador in a foreign land. This one was awesome. At some point, I thought he was an ex-military man. But looking at his name, he didn’t carry any military appellation. In fact, I walked up to shake his hands when we got to the hotel. I digress.

    Going to Nairobi will be full of challenges, but a united house of players, coaches and the NFF officials is the battle axe that we need to crush the Kenyans’ resistance on the pitch.

    We will miss Victor Moses’ deft touches and dribbling runs, yet we have the men who will spring surprises. If you ask me, Moses’ absence is good. The Kenyans would have kicked the hell out of his feet. They would have flung their elbows at Emmanuel Emenike, if he was there too. The few who didn’t play in the first leg game in Calabar will keep their traps shut at dusk in Nairobi.

    It is heartwarming to note that John Mikel Obi will be in Kenya. Mikel will be looking out for the rocky part of the descent into Nairobi. I can bet you, it is a scary but bumpy experience for first timers into Kenya. We were told that Mikel vomited inside the chartered aircraft.

    In fact, he opted out of the return journey, preferring to fly British Airways out of the country to England. No joke, it is really a horrible experience if you had gone by air to the East African country, for those who don’t sleep inside the aircraft.

    Each time Mikel wants to play for the Eagles, he makes the difference. If you ask me, Mikel gave Nigeria the trophy in South Africa. Recall the last minute safe he made by clearing the ball off the feet of one Ivorien in the quarter finals game. I thought the goal

    had been scored, watching the Ivorien lift his leg high and backwards to blast the ball home. Mikel stole in from behind and kicked the ball through the Ivorien’s legs. He was shocked. He thought he had scored. Such is the commitment of Mikel when he comes to a game ready to play. I won’t blame him, not after over 64 matches for his club, Chelsea, across the busy European league season. Take a bow, brave guy.
    If Mikel plays to his capacity in Kenya, the hosts will fall. But we need to remind goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to concentrate fully during the game. He had a few bad outings against minnows, such as Kenya and Liberia, in the past. Many explained his poor showing to his being on the bench at Lille FC in France. Now that he had decent runs with his Israeli club, one hopes that he remains alert all through the match. If he had positioned himself properly in the first leg game, the Kenyans wouldn’t have scored a goal.
    Between Mikel and Enyeama, lie our hopes of beating the Kenyans. The goals will come from set plays but these two men must talk to others on how to control the game without incurring the wrath of the fans through unnecessary delays. We could kill off the game with three first half goals. If that happens, the Kenyans would be forced to applaud good possession football since they would be watching the current African champions live, for most of them, for the first time.
    Going to the FIFA World Cup subsequently should be our birthright, given our players’ exploits in Europe and the Diaspora. As much as 23 Nigerians won medals for England at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Need I mention Nigerians who play football for other countries? We must be at all World Cups, like Brazil; it is not an impossible task.

    Wanted: psychologist for Super Eagles
    I have kept my distance on matters concerning the Super Eagles, with particular reference to the change of guards. It is true that funding the team costs so much.
    I have chosen to comment on it because the NFF has recalled the media officer. It means that they want to be told the truth. No team goes to a football war without a psychologist. Such a man must be tested. Robinson Okosun was in the Eagles squad that lifted the Africa Cup of Nations. The psychologist is as important as the doctor, nurse and masseur. They are the ones who condition the players (athletes) for sporting activities after the coaches have done their jobs. It is a symbiotic chain that works.
    In the first two games where the Eagles wobbled through their matches, it was said that Okosun played a significant role in psyching up the boys to better their performance.
    The evening before the game against Cote d’ Ivoire, I was on the practice pitch to watch the team. Okosun and the players understood themselves. Okosun, the players said, went round each one’s room before the game to psyche them up. They spoke glowingly about Okosun’s competence. One was, therefore, shocked when he and the media officer were dropped.
    Now that NFF chiefs are fortifying the squad, it won’t be out of place if the team’s psychologist returns. We don’t need any campaign before the NFF knows the importance of having a psychologist in the Eagles.
    I don’t know if the chief coach made any complaints about Okosun’s competence. I doubt it. With a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PHD) in psychology, with cognate experience in the sporting aspect of it as a player and athlete, I wonder why he is still at home, while the Eagles are in Germany. It is instructive to add that Okosun’s first and second degrees are in Physical and Health Education. So what other criteria does he need to keep the job?
    Okosun may not be indispensable, but why don’t we learn to sustain a working formula?

  • FCT gets community-based health insurance committee

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has established a technical committee on community-based health insurance scheme in order to ensure affordable access to healthcare services in rural communities in the territory.

    There are currently 861 communities in the six area councils of the FCT.

    Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, said the scheme aimed at protecting the rural poor from the burden of paying for healthcare directly from their pockets.

    “The FCT Community-based Health Insurance Scheme aims at providing access to healthcare services for the rural poor. Each rural beneficiary becomes a CBHIS subscriber the moment he or she signs up to the programme by paying a token for rural health insurance scheme.

    “Families do not have to divert money that is supposed to be used for food and education to treat illnesses. They do not have to sell their household assets to pay for healthcare services for their family members,” said Akinjide, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Rilwan Mohammed.

    The minister reiterated the commitment of the FCT Administration to create an enabling environment, develop a policy and legal framework, strengthen institutional arrangements and provide regular and sustained financial support through increased target coverage of health.

    She further explained that the technical committee was expected to come up with an institutional framework for the Community-based Health Insurance Scheme in the FCT.

    The committee, which is chaired by the FCT Minister of State, has as members the Emir of Jiwa, His Royal Highness (Dr.) Idris Musa; Director of Economic Planning, Research and Statistics, Alhaji Ari Isa Mohammed; Secretary of FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Rilwan Mohammed and Director of Primary Healthcare in Area Council Services Secretariat, Dr. Sani Muhammed.

    Other members are Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary, Mr. David Gende; Dr. Hope Iloeaja of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); Dr. Hamza Aliyu of NHIS, and Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar of the Millennium Development Goals.

    The Director of the FCT Area Council Health Insurance Scheme serves as Secretary to the committee.

  • Managing success

    We are an interesting country to behold. We make simple things look very difficult. We think more about ourselves than what we can contribute to our country. And this trend didn’t start today.

    The story from Germany ahead of the friendly against Mexico is disturbing. We are being told of our players seeking to play for clubs rather than our dear country. This is not the first time this has happened. And we are not capable of stemming the tide.

    We have thrown our arms up, but my fear is that we may have burnt our candles at both ends. I had thought that with the European season coming to a close, our players would assemble in Germany to plot the country’s strategies towards ensuring that we make the 2016 World Cup in Brazil.

    But that is not the story. Ahmed Musa has opted to play in the Russia Cup finals rather than participate in the Mexico friendly. Musa told the Super Eagles secretary that in the event that the Russia Cup final clashes with the Mexico friendly, he would play for his club.

    Could Musa have had the temerity to contemplate such a move if he were a fringe player in the squad? Is it not through Nigeria’s matches that he got the Russian deal? Is the Mexico friendly not meant to provide the platform for the players to understand themselves before the crucial 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Kenya in Nairobi on June 5 and Namibia in Windhoek on June 12?

    The flipside to the Musa story is what are the Mexicans doing for the game? Mexico’s big stars such as Manchester United’s Hernandez aka Chacharito, want to play the game. The Mexicans have three crucial World Cup qualifiers and they are in the Confederations Cup. For them, the Nigeria friendly is an opportunity to prepare for both tournaments.

    Stephen Keshi definitely needs God’s grace to have a full house of committed players for the Mexico game.

    Musa is not alone in the choice of clubs over country. Agency photographs showed John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses boarding the flight with their Chelsea mates to the United States. Obviously, they are out of the Mexico game.

    Moses, who played Chelsea’s last Barclays English Premier League game against Everton, is said to be nursing an injury, according to a letter purportedly sent to the NFF by Chelsea’s doctors.

    The question is: when did Moses sustain the injury? Was Moses not the person who headed down the pass that resulted in Chelsea’s goal against Everton last Sunday?

    We all saw him play the game. At no time did he fall down or collide with anyone. He walked off the pitch in celebration? Or could this be another conspiracy between the player and the club?

    Our players must stop insulting our sensibilities with their conduct. Chelsea couldn’t have listed Moses in their squad to the United States if he was injured. By the same token, John Mikel Obi can’t just wake up in the US to say that he is fatigued and can’t play the Mexican game. If so, what is he doing with Chelsea in the US? When last did Mikel play for Chelsea to necessitate the purported fatigue story he is selling? Did he not struggle to be fit for the Europa Cup final?

    Mikel’s history of boycotting games played on undulating pitches around Africa is legendary. When he didn’t play Chlesea’s closing stages games, I knew he would opt out of the game. I knew that he would not play the World Cup qualifiers because he wants to participate at the Confederations Cup, where he hopes to battle midfield supremacy with the bigger boys of the game.

    The story of Kalu Uche’s injury is weird. He even wrote to say that he was injured. Not one report revealed that he was. Is this his payback for Keshi for missing the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations held in South Africa? Kalu Uche is Nigeria’s highest goal scorer in Europe this past season. His injury would have been the biggest news. Anyway, let us see how Keshi fixes this “injury” puzzle.

    However, I’m worried about the silence from the NFF. Ordinarily, these unexpected withdrawals ought to elicit comments from it. Unfortunately, the NFF has cast an indulgent eye on the matter. Times past, it would have directed the players to report to Germany for the Eagles doctors to ascertain the veracity of their claims.

    NFF doesn’t want to interfere in this clay-pot-and-rat setting. It is leaving the matter for the coach to handle. I hope this doesn’t signal Nigeria’s ouster from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

    My fears are not unfounded because the boys could miss the stiffer of our two World Cup qualifiers against Kenya on June 5. And we would be in big soup because Moses and Mikel are the pivots of the team in the absence of recuperating Emmanuel Emenike.

    Curiously, the manner in which the coaches have handled players who played in the past has been awful. The coaches have made the players dispensable, such that no one would honour any late invitation.

    The dropped players sulked over their exclusion from the AFCON winning squad. This setting has tied the coaches’ hands in terms of seeking for substitutes, except they resort to the home-based. Therein lies one of the problems with our 2014 World Cup qualification ticket.

    If the coaches had cultivated the habit of talking with the players while with their clubs, it would have been easier for them to foil this late exclusion from the Mexico game.

    The coaches are shocked that the players didn’t give them any hint about their plans. How could they when their views are not sought before invitations are made?

    What is clear is that Keshi has lost the players’ confidence and trust. They are not ready to die for him. They feel he will dump them the way others were dumped, if their form drops. So, they would rather spend quality time with their clubs or proceed on their vacation.

    Perhaps, if Keshi had honoured the truce meeting scheduled in Abuja by the NFF before he left for the United States on vacation, the players would have laid their grievances on the table. All the issues would have been resolved and we would have had a fuller camp with our best players contending for positions.

    Keshi has assured us that there is nothing to worry about. I believe him because we have the talents. Yet the questions I want to ask Keshi are – when will the rebuilding of the Super Eagles stop? Won’t Keshi tell us some day that Moses is not in his plans? Will the Big Boss not shut out Mikel from the Eagles over this surprise change of heart?

    Eagles are suddenly a tournament team. They need to be in camp for long periods to gel. I had thought that the 14 days before the June 5 tie against Kenya would serve the purpose.

    Many people will argue that Moses, Mikel, Kalu and, indeed, others are tired from the season’s matches. True. How about those who are in the camp? Most countries eager to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil have scheduled warm-up games for their teams ahead of the qualifiers. Yet stars such as Frank Lampard are with Chelsea and would play in the friendly against Brazil at the end of the month.

    No ambitious country goes to a soccer war with her best players sitting at home. If they were injured, then their absence is tenable. Where they opt out of the country’s matches on spurious grounds of being injured only to star for their clubs, is a slap in our faces. And it is grossly unacceptable.

    If they knew that they won’t be available, they should have discussed their decisions with the coach before the list was submitted to the NFF.

     

     

  • Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe

    Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe

    How else can anyone measure development than with this description of a hitherto decrepit, dingy and hilly bush path or should I say village called Okpekpe in 2007 and today?

    Okpekpe was a forgotten hamlet – permit me to use the word- whose occupants stared as visitors meandered their way through the tough hilly terrain to attend the funeral of Lagos businessman the late Beatrice Itemuagbor, mother of Michael Eshilama Itemuagbor.

    First timers closed their eyes. Many cars stopped half way up. Other slid and got stuck. No hyperboles about what happened in 2007. For those cars with smoky exhausts, it was mission impossible.

    Itemuagbor promised to bring people back to Okpepke through good roads. How he would achieve this was difficult to see. Most of his friends, in fact, dismissed his promise as a mere dream.

    Itemuagbor, a trail-blazer, had other ideas. He waited patiently for the window of development, this time coming from a God-fearing governor, who is anxious to reinvent the wheel of a state that had been looted blind by the very administrators who swore to protect it.

    This writer couldn’t fathom how apolitical Itemuagbor wanted to modernise Okpepke. I also didn’t reckon with the fact that manna would fall in Edo State in the form of a reformer governor- Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, after the locust years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At least, not in 2007, when the Comrade Governor was active in labour matters as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Going to Okpekpe, for me, was like another expedition, irrespective of all that one had read about its new form in the media. Curiously, I insisted on doing a recce of the marathon race tracks. Behold, well tarred road. The scary hill had being dissected into a beautiful windy path, the envy of motor racing faithful.

    Driving through what was a tough terrain on good speed showed how well Oshiomhole had made his mark in the “Heartbeat of the Nation.” I was proud to be an Edo man. I was marvelled at the way the organisers utiliszed the surrounding hills to celebrate their sponsors and longed for the aerial photography of what I saw, for our dear readers to appreciate.

    As the car that I rode in snaked its way through the windy path, we noticed a galaxy of cars. We asked ourselves- could that be the Comrade Governor on inspection? We were right. Oshiomhole didn’t leave anything to chance. He was at the intersection of the marathon race path where an impending bridge was being built. Road construction had stopped there. It was clear that the governor wanted to know why the contractor was stalling.

    This writer joined in the inspection. Close to the Comrade Governor, I asked- Comrade Governor Sir, would you be participating in the marathon race tomorrow?

    Dead silence. I thought the governor didn’t hear my question. He took about 15 steps and said: “yes, I will. That is why I’m here to ensure that things are ready.” The governor continued the inspection with his aides running to macth his fast strides. All was set for the maiden edition of the Okpekpe Race last Saturday.

    D-day came with plenty of expectations. Would Oshiomhole really partake in the race? Or was his promise to run another Public Relations (PR) stunt to attract people to see how Edo is working? Would Oshiomhole keep us waiting like some of his colleagues do?

    Take a bow Adams Oshiomhole. We are proud of you. Oshiomhole arrived at the appointed time. He waited like others. He answered questions from reporters. Watching him, only the lily-livered would ask if he would run.

    The starting point broke into a roar when Oshiomhole exposed his green singlet, registered and set for the Very Important Personalities (VIP) race. Where I was, I could see the visitors from East Africa touch themselves, apparently asking if such a high placed dignitary would run in any marathon race where they come from?

    With the blast of the starter’s gun, Oshiomhole burst out of the pack and ran his race. He tried. He didn’t gnash his teeth like many had expected. He showed that he trained for the race. As he strode through the track, many were waiting for him to stop. That certainly would be the high point of the maiden edition of the Okpekpe race, since pundits had tipped the elite event to be a struggle between the Kenyans and the Ethiopians.

    Three kilometers into the race, one could see that the governor was running with plenty of effort. Of course, he broke into a stroll, which is permissible in the VIP race. Don’t ask me if the Comrade Governor stopped running. I noticed he entered his car only to emerge some metres to the finishing line. Yes, I saw the Comrade Governor cross the finish point, several minutes after the Kenyan had clinched the coveted prize.

    Not one to shy away from confounding his critics, Oshiomhole alleged though jokingly, that he wasn’t listed among those athletes who finished the race. He went further to say that he would sue the organisers to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Oshiomhole surely knows how to hold his audience spellbound.

    Hear him: “I’m surprised that my name is not among the winners or losers yet I took part in the race. I completed the race; didn’t I? Anyway, I will ask my Attorney General to file a suit at CAS prono bono, a legal term for free-of-charge. Anyway, I tried abi? At a point when I was running, I kept telling myself that I needed to be alive to collect the prize or to really give my people good governance by delivering on my electoral promises. So, I stopped when I realised that I couldn’t stress myself any further.” I have answered the question, if the governor finished the race. Oshiomhole surely deserves applause.

    The villagers cheered the runners. But it was at the finish line that most of them raised a poser, which sent the Athletic Federation of Nigeria’s (AFN’s) President Solomon Ogba reeling on the floor.

    Okpekpe people had seen the East Africans (men and women) finish the race strong and energetic. They stood on their feet. Most of them exchanged pleasantries with the people in the demarcated areas.

    But when Nigerians started crossing the finish line, they collapsed into human heaps. Several bottles of water were given to them to pour on their bodies. Many couldn’t stand on their feet. The medical men and women had their busiest time attending to them.

    It was when the ambulances were driving a few of them away that Okpekpe people asked this question. Ogba had no answer. He certainly didn’t know how to communicate his message to them in their dialect for them to fully grasp why Nigerians crumbled and others stood firm.

    However, the lessons from the Okpekpe race are many. Thank goodness Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi witnessed it all. Ogba’s presence too should embolden him to utilise the place to nurture future marathoners for the country. The East Africans marvelled at the terrain. Many of them were wondering why we opted for the 10km race instead of the 12.5km stuff. It won’t be out of place if AFN enters into an arrangement with the Edo government to make Okpekpe the breeding ground for marathoners now that some parts of the North have become theatres of violence.

    Okpekpe race organisers showed Ogba and, indeed, AFN members that if you package a product, sponsors will key into the project, no matter the sport or the location. Sports federations must shop for credible marketers to sell their sport, not board members masquerading as marketers with one objective- to get commission that is almost equal to the cash that they have generated.

    AFN members must roll up their sleeves and cultivate the habit of organising competitions with prize money for athletes. This idea of members drawing allowances only to allow the athletes burn their energy for nothing should stop.

    The event compelled the organisers to rehabilitate the buildings leading to the finishing point of the race for look and feel. The residents made brisk business; they are looking forward to the event yearly.

    Okpepke’s hilly setting will remain etched in the minds of the athletes, officials and other visitors. They took back pictures of the breath-taking scenes, the majesty of nature, back home and long to return.

    The Olympic Games’ unique selling point rests with the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is always tied to a particular city, which never remains the same after the Games.

    The Okpepke 10km Marathon will signpost development in this rustic community.