Category: Ade Ojeikere

Many have described him as the messiah of our football. Some believe that he achieved much because he had the ears of the government top shots. Many players ascribe their emergence on the European football scene to his technical savvy. Others feel that the Dutch was overrated especially as he couldn’t replicate his feat with the Super Eagles.

But the Dutchgerian, as the media later tagged him, deserves all the accolades that the beautiful game has brought to this country. He laid the structure that transformed our football to the heights where most countries watched in awe as our hitherto rookies dazzled top stars with their sublime skills, zest and an undying determination to excel, despite the odds.

He left in controversial circumstances in 1994 after guiding the country to her historic debut at the USA’94 World Cup. Since his exit, the Super Eagles have been tottering. The once famed Super Eagles have earned the sobriquet Super Chicken after a series of shambolic outings. Pundits have rooted for his return to tinker the Eagles, especially after his second-in-command, Johannes Bonfrere, handled the country’s U-23 side to win the gold medal of the football event at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games.

Clemens Westerhof has fouled the air with his unsubstantiated allegation that players bribed their way into the Super Eagles before he took over the squad. He alleged that these corrupt players paid as much as $15,000 to get shirts to play for Nigeria.

Westerhof chose the international media to make these claims about Nigerian’ coaches and players. There isn’t any problem with that. But he should have had the courtesy to name the culprits, if he was convinced that he was saying the truth. Making the allegations without providing these details isn’t fair to our Europe-based players.

Westehof’s uncouth utterance is capable of ridiculing our foreign-based stars. It also suggests that we are cheats. It gives the impression that our players are desperate and could be prone to receiving bribes to fix matches, since they have the culture of inducing people to play.

We may flip over it because he didn’t provide details. But in other climes, Westerhof would be challenged. In England, Spain, Italy and Germany, for instance, a judicial panel would have been constituted to probe the veracity of his claims. Many eminent coaches such as Adegboye Onigbinde, Sebastin Brodericks-Imasuen and others, have coached the Eagles. Westerhof’s reckless statement is targeted at them. I just hope that Onigbinde can challenge Westerhof to name the coaches and players, or face a legal battle.

He has unwittingly smeared the character and reputation of the coaches before him. The biggest people slandered by his shameful talk are the coaches in the squad that he replaced.

Westerhof’s jibes add vent to previous claims that Nigerian coaches take bribe from players to play for the national teams. Will NFF men cast an indulgent eye on Westerhof’s claims because the era wasn’t theirs? Is it right for the NFF as the regulatory body to ask the Dutchman to substantiate his allegation at a time when he is doing football business with their affiliate football federations in the states? Westerhof must be called to order. He can’t be doing football business with us and deriding us. We are not a polity of cheats nor are we a people who earn things through inducements.

Akpoborie did not spare Westerhof, who had the balls to lift the lid on the bribery scandal in Nigeria’s national team in the past.

“My question to him (Westerhof) would have been, was it the bribes he received, then, that made him not to play me at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations? He was chief coach, so that statement does not separate (exonerate) him,” he said.

Good question, Akpoborie. What was Westerhof before he came to Nigeria? What did he achieve after the Eagles’ feats? Don’t we know how Westerhof was employed through the back down? Can we call that bribery? Did Westerhof go through any open screening before he was employed? Was it not through the Nigeria way of peddling influence that he got the job? Would it be fair, Westerhof, if those who lost out of the Eagles job then, allege that you paid those influence peddlers to get it?

Ikhana’s needless attack on Green

It appears too that we are in a season of allegations. Most people have saluted Coach Kadiri Ikhana for having the courage to resign after leading the Super Falcons to its worst football outing on the continent.

I waited patiently to comment because I know that many a Nigerians is not known to surrender such jobs without potshots at his employer. I didn’t wait too long. I read Ikhana’s tales against NFF’s Technical Committee Chairman Chris Green.

Ikhana alleged that Green and indeed, the NFF failed to secure the release of two players for the assignment. Ikhana showed clearly that he didn’t watch his country’s female teams that played in the two age grade World Cup competitions. If he did, he could have seen some girls that would have done the job.

Ikhana ought to have known that he would fail, having not handled a female team before. Why he accepted the job speaks volumes about the absence of structures in our football. It is laughable that Ikhana could accuse Green of sabotage in his post- competition technical report after he told us that he picked the best for the country. Not once in the competition did Ikhana tell Nigerians that the Falcons wouldn’t lift the trophy, despite their uninspiring performances. If Ikhana had issues with Green or the NFF technical committee, he should have dumped the Falcons before the competition. Having accepted what has turned out to be a poisoned chalice, he should keep his traps shut.

Again, Ikhana should apologise to Nigerians for the shameful showing of the Super Falcons. He should pray against the temptation that brought him out of retirement to accept such a sensitive job. Ikhana’s decision to coach the Falcons has rubbished his feat as the first Nigerian coach to tinker with a domestic club to lift the Africa Champions League diadem, after 38 years of misadventure. Ikhana was the coach of Enyimba FC of Aba in 2003, when they lifted the Africa champions League diadem.

Amadu’s Freudian slip on Onuoha

My heart bled when I read the report credited to NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu that Nedum Onouha must show interest to play for Nigeria before he can be invited to the Super Eagles.

The statement was unlike what Amadu could say. I hesitated to comment on it, but it is over three weeks and no retraction has come from Amadu.

Amadu sir, I had the privilege of talking with Onuoha’s mum, a medical doctor, and her grouse was that Samson Siasia treated them with levity by asking Nedum to travel from Manchester to Newcastle to see him.

Onouha’s mum couldn’t understand why Siaisa could visit Shola Amoebi where he lived and not visit them. Indeed, her angst heightened when Siasia sent the message through an intermediary or what she called an agent. Onuoha’s mum was miffed that the former Eagles coach could treat them with disrespect after keeping them waiting.

Siaisa never forgave me that I broke the story, especially as he felt that I had provided the side he may have hidden from his employers.

The truth must be said sir, that no professional player would call NFF, seeking to play for Nigeria. If Siasia could hop into the plane to visit Ameobi in England and then head for Germany to talk with Sidney Sam, it was only fair that he visited the Onuohas at home, even if he felt he didn’t need him. It smacked of double standard.

I was excited when Stephen Keshi told me that he had spoken with Sidney Sam. That is the way things are done. Our football officials must know that the world is a global village. Whatever we say is read globally, hence the urgent need to guide our utterances.

Cote d’Ivoire wanted Crystal Palace FC of England’s whiz-kid Wilfred Zaha to play for them, rather than for England. Cote d’Ivoire’s FA chiefs sensibly sent Didier Drogba to woo him. England got wind of Drogba’s move and capped Zaha for six minutes against Sweden, which the Three Lions lost by 4-2, a game where Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored easily the best goal ever seen in the world.

Joseph Yobo convinced Victor Anichebe to play for Nigeria because they were mates at Everton. Anichebe didn’t call NFF that he wanted to play. Yobo introduced him to our football chiefs and they contacted him. Yobo again troubled everyone about Emmanuel Emenike’s exploits in Turkey before he was invited.

So, Amadu, let’s contact Onuoha, if we truly need him. You will appreciate what the boy is going through, if he tells you his story. I wish Onuoha’s mum a speedy recovery from her ailment. Please, don’t ask me what the ailment is.

They have caused us pain. They have brought us shame. They have stained our sports. They have refused to change. They are unwilling to improve on their skills. They still do things in the past, yet expect to compete with the world’s best. They are unperturbed by the downward slide in our sports. They insist it is their birthright to tinker with our sports, despite the shambolic results. But I ask, can we not do without these coaches for a while? For me, Nigerian coaches should just leave us alone.

Nigerian coaches are not ready to learn. I have witnessed several coaching clinics. Nigerian coaches don’t attend them. I tried to ask some of the big ones why they didn’t participate in those courses. I was shocked to hear them say what was it that they hadn’t read in the past? Some of them described such courses as waste of time and another attempt by the organisers to grease their palms wit free cash.

I have heard Adegboye Onigbinde cry over the poor rating of Nigerian coaches. The respected tactician is miffed that Nigerian coaches still rank in CAF’s grade C (the equivalent of primary school certificate) and has taken pains to upgrade our coaches. Yet, they are not prepared to move with the times. Onigbinde has, however, blamed the NFF for foot dragging on the matter. The truth is that Onigbinde didn’t wait for any NFF for him to be eminently qualified to perform in FIFA’s and CAF’s technical matters.

Onigbinde sir, this is the way forward. Our coaches must emulate you by upgrading their knowledge. Our coaches must know that learning is a continuum. The only way that they can be relevant is to attend courses. We are tired of their archaic tactics.

Honourable Minister sir, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas stirred the hornet’s nest when he lampooned Nigerian coaches. He identified our coaches’ incompetence as the problem with table tennis – a sport in which Nigeria was Africa’s King Kong, but has, sadly, fallen on bad times.

He didn’t stop there. He urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to head straight to either Sweden or China to recruit ping pong coaches to rejuvenate the game. Okoya-Thomas’ therapy for table tennis is the elixir that sports needs to compete with global giants. Indeed, a Nigerian international of yore, Kasali Lasisi, led Congo to qualify for the table tennis event at 2012 London Olympic Games. Lasisi achieved this feat when his wards beat Nigeria at the Africa Championships. In recognition of his tactical savvy, the Africa Table Tennis Federation named Lasisi to lead the continent’s squad to the world tourney. Is anyone asking questions about Lasisi’s whereabout?

Yes, only the Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi. Interestingly, Abdullahi is talking about the need to involve the private sector in funding sports. Okoya-Thomas has the clout to get Nigeria three good table tennis coaches, with all the expenses paid by blue chip companies, who know his worth.

Okoya-Thomas has singlehandedly sponsored the Asoju Oba Cup for 44 years. This year’s edition is the 44th. The amiable business guru knows his onions, when it comes to ping pong. He could have kept quiet and concentrated to his competition. But he passionate about the game. Having seen the tourney through 43 years, he knows that the standard has fallen and feels strongly that it can be revived, with the good coaching of emerging stars at the grassroots.

The sore point of Nigeria’s participation at the last Olympics was the coaching. We saw how our coaches couldn’t match their foreign counterparts. We lost at crucial stages due to our coaches’ inability to read games well and provide counter strategies. It is three months since we returned from a medal-less outing, yet no action plans have been drawn up, except for the Presidential Sports Retreat held in Abuja. The talk in high places is that we are waiting for the current sports federation’s term to lapse. I ask: what are we doing with those federations whose tenures have lapsed? Should the members surrender the running of such federations? Is this not the time to remove them? Shouldn’t we show those waste pipe federations still hanging in there the new direction for our sports by replacing their members?

Let’s swallow our pride and do what others have perfected. Emerging sports nations borrowed from working templates of winning countries. They sent their coaches to learn new tricks. They also sent their administrators, technical hands and ancillary staff to countries with comparative advantage in the sports in which they chose to excel. Today, little Jamaica (in terms of population) is a world beater in a sport that was America’s birthright. The Americans taught the Jamaicans what to do after the reggae-loving country fumbled at the 1996 Olympic Games. The Jamaicans learnt well; now, the Americans are considering going to their students for tutorials on the way forward in the sprint events.

So, who are the Nigerian coaches? They are former ex-internationals and retired athletes who were not fortunate to hit the limelight. No problem with such call list, yet the disadvantage, as we have seen is that they are not equipped for the job. They have failed to appraise the finer details of their trade. It is alright that they played the game, but they must be trained in the rudiments of coaching. Coaching is an art that is dynamic. It requires that the coaches should be retrained periodically to appreciate the new trends in a particular sport.

Many will argue that countries that have clinched the World Cup did so with their nationals as coaches. It must also be said that they have thriving domestic leagues- in the case of soccer- and that they made deliberate attempts to train and retrain potential stars into coaches. They have workable templates that predate this era where coaches have emerged. They have data which they rely on in times of crises. They have established institutes to train and retrain coaches. Things work in these climes because the blue-chip firms trust the administrators. Accountability is not negotiable, simply because laws exist to punish those found guilty of financial misdeeds.

All hail Ameobi, Ideye, Ejide

Watching the Super Eagles confront Venezuela in the wee hours of Thursday (from 2am to 4 am) in Miami, United States, three things remained on my mind. The first bothered on how well the new imports would fare in the game. Shola Ameobi, Bright Dike, Onavi and Austin Ejide provided the answers with their performances.

The second poser that was answered was the fact that our best players are in Europe. There is the urgent need for Stephen Keshi to either compel some players to play in unfamiliar positions at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, if he wants to compete with the best in the continent. These players will have to function in key areas in the team’s defence, given the glut of talents in other positions, such as the midfield and attack.

The third poser answered was that some players, such as Emmanuel Emenike, Oboabona, Ejike Ezeonye and others are not needed in the evolving Eagles side.

Ameobi may be 31, but his contributions for the over 30 minutes that he played, after replacing Obafemi Martins, showed that he is the right replacement for fumbling Emenike. The uncanny manner in which Ameobi held off his marker before passing the ball to an unmarked Onavi, underlined the reason why he is revered at Newcastle. He was a pain in the neck for the Venezuela defenders. His imposing presence on-and-off the ball gave the defenders a nightmare. Those who tried to muscle him off the ball were light weight. He didn’t play as an upstart. He was easily one of the men of the match.

For goalkeeper Austin Ejide, his heroics ensured that Venezuela didn’t beat us. His timely saves held the game for us to seal the third goal off Ameobi’s visionary play.

I hope that Keshi saw the way in which Ideye played with ease on the left side, striking a telepathic understanding with Ameobi. As the game ran its course, I pitied Keshi as I reflected on the team’s potentials. Osaze Odemwingie, Ikechukcu Uche and Ahmed Musa must fight for shirts. Still, it will be early to say that the Eagles will lift the trophy in South Africa. What I can say is that Keshi has a date with destiny, if he picks players on merit, not on what they had done in the past. The fact that certain players got Nigeria qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations should never be the reason for picking them- if others are better. I don’t envy you, Keshi.

Here we go again. We seem to think that all football competitions must be won by Nigeria, no matter how ill-prepared we are for such tournaments. We raise the bar for our coaches, based on sentiments and a patriotic rating of our players who, unlike in the past, warm benches for their foreign clubs.

Our players’ bench-warming status affects the way the Eagles play such that we tremble, fast and do all manner of permutations to pick qualification tickets that look like a piece of cake whenever the draws for such competitions are announced before the tournaments begin.

We pile pressure on our players and coaches, forgetting that other countries learn lessons from uneventful tournaments without destroying the teams. Nigeria lost the chance to become a world soccer power when we failed to defend the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Providence brought another opportunity when we clinched the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Yet, the garrulous sports minister, who was there when the goggled one stopped us from going to Johannesburg, refused to allow the Dream Team 1 leverage on the Olympic gold victory by playing the bigger football nations. Our clock of development stopped after that kindergarten decision and we have since tottered, using discipline to witch-hunt those who we don’t like.

Playing at the finals of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations in Lagos gave us another opportunity to rebuild, but we missed it, largely because of our administrators’ mindset. Johannes Bonfrere could do nothing wrong. We celebrated the Dutch- rightly, many would say. We do this always because we like celebrating the past. Burkina Faso 2002 Africa Nations Cup afforded us another chance to build on the gains of the past, following the country’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Japan and Korea. Yet, our administrators had their perception of the Eagles. As they say, the rest is history.

The Eagles’ death knell in global football competition was toilet at the Japan/Korea World Cup when we failed to go to battle with our best. We emasculated the coach who took us. We asked him to rebuild, using devious instrument to eliminate players who we didn’t like. Yet, we humiliated the coach by dispensing with his services. That coach holds the record of taking us to the worst World Cup even though this writer knows that he would have done better, if he was allowed to do his job.

I have chosen to go down memory lane to highlight why we cannot compete with the best. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, France was the worst in terms of results, players’ conduct and the odium they brought to their country. The French have rebuilt their team, using some of the stars who misbehaved in South Africa. Today, France is rated as one of the countries to do well at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In our usual style, the administrators struck. This time, they misled President Goodluck Jonathan to announce the country’s withdrawal from big competitions. The President did a recant on his decision but the damage had been done to our football, in terms of how others relate to us in playing friendly games or doing serious football business.

This hail them today- kill-them-tomorrow syndrome in the Eagles starts with setting ambitious heights for our team, despite the rebuilding toga every new coach wears. We have since 1999 being rebuilding the Eagles. I wonder when we will complete this structure. Truth be said, our administrators don’t want this game to grow, knowing that if it does, freebies from the government will be stopped. It is only in Nigeria that football is not big business.

It is true that Nigeria, given our players’ exploits in Europe, America and the Diaspora, should always be the default winner of any soccer competition in Africa. Things don’t work that way anymore because our successes of yesteryears were not hinged on enduring plans that would produce replacements for fading stars. That is our dilemma, the old factory has dried up and the talents have been lost to age and the absence of nurseries to nurture rookies at the grassroots.

We have perpetually built the Super Eagles on discoveries from outside our shores. Playing for the senior team is guaranteed when a player plies his trade outside, no matter the quality of the league in which he features. Yet we expect bench-warmers to excel in South Africa next year. It surely doesn’t add up.

When we glittered on the African scene, our boys played regularly for the best teams. They made the headlines, scoring goals with aplomb and thrilling their audience with silky skills that left their markers kissing the turf in awe.

Our players dominated the Africa Footballer of the Year list. They won awards for excellence in Belgium, France, England, Germany etc. Not so now. We have no team. We keep changing garbs, making it impossible for European teams to scout for our players.

Must we continue this way? Do we need a seer to tell us that our FIFA ranking is a true reflection of our soccer status? Cote D’ Ivoire are the favourites for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. I know that they will lift the trophy this time. I’m drawing my belief from what happened to Nigeria at the Senegal’92 Africa Cup of Nations. We were the team to beat. We played very well against Ghana, but lost-painfully. Many still argue that our equaliser crossed the line. But that wasn’t our year. We returned to win in 1994 in Tunisia, where we lost the crown in 1990. But that is not my argument. What happened at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations was God’s act. He played a big role in Zambia’s victory, although the East Africans fought for their feat.

Cote d’ Ivoire gave the game their best, but bowed to providence. This time, is their turn to shine. Need we put pressure on our coaches and players to lift the 2013 edition? Eagles can lift the cup, but it is a long shot (more like a mirage), given the way the Ivoirens are playing in the European clubs. They remind one of the Nigerians of yore: Rashidi Yekini, Setphen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh, Austin Okocha, Emmanuel Amuneke, George Findi, Mutiu Adepoju, Daniel Amokachi, Samson Siasia, Austin Eguavoen et al. They were regulars in Europe. The Eagles bench was star-studded. The Ivoriens are in that mould now. We can return to win the trophy in 2014, after we would have evaluated our exploits in South Africa.

In South Africa, what should interest us is how Keshi blends the players. We want to see how he reads the matches. We want to see how his substitutions improve the team’s play. We want to see how our players fight. We should use the matches to know those who shouldn’t return to the team. We must be able to identify our problem areas and know who to pick as replacement.

The major plank for our 2014 World Cup qualifiers should be those who excelled at the Africa Cup of Nations. The gambling with new players should stop after the Nations Cup. Keshi should at the end of the Nations Cup be able to invite players to solve the problems with the team and not for screening. At the end of the Nations Cup, we will have less than 13 months to prepare for the Mundial in Brazil.

We are feeling the heat, but we must be very careful if we don’t want to destroy our 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. Let us see how the team evolves instead of setting benchmarks which could undo us. This Eagles side cannot lift the diadem in South Africa. That is the truth. Our target should be doing well in Brazil and South Africa 2013 is the stepping stone. If we lift the trophy, that will be fine. If we don’t, we should leave the place with great prospect, not return home to apportion blames.

It is a season of sports retreats in Nigeria.

The same people have struggled to de

fend their positions in the Foray (Abuja and Asaba in Delta State), yet they have missed out on where the problems of sports development in this polity lie.

When these pundits are not canvassing the point for early preparations, they lunge the problem on poor funding with many others unhappy with the sickening manner in which sports is administered.

Indeed, we think that with adequate fund, which sets the process of early preparations, Nigeria will be a noble beater in sports. Not true.

Successful models adopted by achieving sports such as Jamaica, United States, Britain and indeed, the Asia nations have shown that enduring structures, not necessarily high profile infrastructure, good coaching by competent, trained and tested technical hands that are passionate about achieving the set objectives, patriotism from athletes and officials and a discerning roadmap hold the key to achieving greatness.

The emphasis of these sports achieving countries is on catching athletes young. And the catchment brackets are kids between the ages of 8-11 years. The search for these kids is not a blind chase. Deliberate attempts are made to establish nurseries and equip them with basic equipment to help them learn the sports adequately. Specialised coaches are fished out to teach them the rudiments, tactics and new techniques. Icons in the sports in those countries are introduced to the kids to mentor them. Their grass-to-grace stories serve as reminders to these rookies that greatness in sports is just a step away-only if they remain focused, disciplined, dedicated and are prepared not to rest on their oars with each passing feat.

Indeed, the kids are taught the doctrine of self belief in whatever game they are engaged in.

The script before the kids is that sports and education can mix. And the kids are further shown those who have combined both and became successful. An example is Barrister Adokiye Amiesimaka. They should be exposed to sporting models like him and others to engender their interest in sports.

Central to these workable models in Europe, America and the Asian countries are regulatory bodies to set the framework for the athletes, coaches and technical officials to bond into brands that the business concerns can key into, using other products and services.

These regulatory bodies must have the bigger component at the government level which sadly too in Nigeria, is not recognised by the law. But the sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi exposed this flaw before President Goodluck Jonathan, penultimate Tuesday at the Presidential Sports Retreat in Abuja. And President Jonathan promised to re-introduce the National Sports Commission (NSC) Bill before the National Assembly as an executive bill. The president was excited that the flaw was brought to his notice, insisting that such laws that seek to unify Nigerians mobilise the masses, create employment for the people and the big public relations tool to re-shape people’s perception of our country is being sponsored on the floor of the National Assembly as a private bill.

Good talk Mr. President. This NSC bill will re-invent our sports framework. It will ensure that administrative personnel don’t handle tasks meant for technocrats. Little wonder most of the reports submitted to the Sports Ministry eggheads end up in the ministry shelves.

Again, the NSC bill will precipitate the need for all the 36 states and Abuja to have their sports commissions. Delta State has taken the initiative to pass the Delta State Sports Commission Bill. This writer cringed with envy when Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan told participants at the Delta State Sports Retreat at the Grand Hotel in Asaba, that the state’s vision for sports has moved beyond winning the National Sports Festival. Dr. Uduaghan showed that he understood the subject when he stated categorically there was the urgent need for the NSC to throw open the country’s biggest multi sports competition for Nigerians here and in the Diaspora to compete. Dr. Uduaghan clearly situated the need for the rookies to watch, compete and get to appreciate the values associated with being icons in their sports for our celebrated stars such as Chioma Ajunwa, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Funke Oshionaike, Gloria Alozie, et al.

Indeed, Dr. Uduaghan scored the Oscar point when he attested to the fact that such structures as the Sports Commission would provide the template to store the data of energizing stars, in a bid to checkmate the shameful acts of age cheats that have infiltrated our sports.

Yet it is important that we have sports Institute which will provide the platform to train and retrain our coaches. Such experts must come from countries that are world beaters in such sports. The bane of most of the athletes is that they are introduced to sports at the wrong age just as they are taught the wrong approach to the rudiments of the sport. Hence, we don’t get to know the potentials of our athletes here until they head to Europe.

With more than 37 Sports Commissions and Institutes, it would be easier to package brands (individual sport) through inter and intra sports competitions for the business concerns to pick the sports of their choice. In selling the brands (Sports) to the captains of industry, we must tell them that they would benefit from such an adventure. Therefore, state governors must emulate the work being done by Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi (Rivers), Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) Imoke (Cross Rivers), not forgetting Kwankwaso of Kano State.

It must be stated here that there isn’t a professional approach to sell sports to the business community. There is therefore the need for these sports commissions and institutes to have marketing arms run by professional marketers with proven records of performance or they outscore the marketing aspect of sports to experts or consultant.

Such professional approach will change the chop chop attitude of our sports administrators to that of sports achieving the objective of creating jobs, mobilize people as a medium of entertainment and recreation and above all the big public relations tool to change people’s perception of Nigeria.

A professional set up will ensure accountability and transparency since no entrepreneur will want its brand image integrity and reputation to be tarnished on the altar of sharp practices, fraud and controversies.

Government- that includes all its arms should encourage the corporate world to identify with sports. Government needs to provide tax reliefs for firms that contribute to the development of the sports industry. Government also needs to exploit the window of national Sports Lottery to drive sports to its zenith like we have seen in successful climes in Europe, America, Asia and the Diaspora.

Conclusively, one will want our leaders to learn from these quotes thrown into public domain by Jamaica’s athletics legend Bertland Cameron, which formed the bedrock of the paper he submitted at the Delta State sports Retreat in Asaba on Tuesday.

Jamaica’s track and field athletics coach Bertland Cameron said: “Coaches play integral part in our athletics. Jamaica has 300 qualified coaches and I think that you have former athletes who can do it. You should not look outside to turn things around. The talent is here. “Mary Onyali is like Merlene Ottey. Innocent Egbunike is hot and there was a time I was praying he should not come to events for me to shine. I remember the Ezinwa brothers. They were never scared. I wonder why a big country like Nigeria is not doing well. Nigeria always starts strong and finish so weak. You must ask questions. Why is it like that? Is it that you stopped nurturing athletes? What about sponsorship?

“It is not that we (Jamaica) are better naturally. It is because we have learnt from the mistakes we made in the past and have put the plans and programmes in place to harness and nurture our talent. We rotate our coaches as no one coach stays permanently on one job. There is continuity in our sports. And we never forget our heroes.

“Those who started the glory like Donald Quarry, Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, myself, Usain Bolt, Ashafa Powel. Powel is a hero and is staying back in Jamaica. He is living well, driving good cars and living in a good house. This motivates the younger ones. Everyone wants to be like him. That is our secret. At the last Olympics, we never went abroad except for Veronica Campbell who lived abroad with the husband. Her husband is a Jamaican too and a coach. We are patriotic and have the mentality and passion to win. Nigeria should not be looking up to Jamaica. We should be the ones looking up to Nigeria. Our lineage is from Nigeria,” he said.

Will our leaders lead us to the Promised Land? You tell me.

The presidential directive that the Super Eagles must lift the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations’ diadem in South Africa is clear to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Equally instructive is an NSC chieftain’s fiat to NFF chiefs to sign the performance bond in the aftermath of the presidential order to ministers in the Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

Jonathan’s message is meant to motivate the players and challenge the NFF chiefs to ensure that we present a good team at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Or was anyone expecting the president to ask the Eagles to lie down for their opponents without a fight in South Africa next year?

Besides, the presidential performance form was served on those appointed as government functionaries. People shouldn’t hide under such umbrella to set traps for perceived enemies in the NFF and the Eagles. The NFF board came into effect through elections, not as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters but as apolitical Nigerians.

I ask that the NSC chief who is insisting that NFF must sign the performance form, if the decision is binding on distinguished members of the National Assembly.

Are we not witnesses to the country’s worst outing at the London 2012 Olympic Games? Did anyone ask those hounding the NFF with this form to quit? Anyway, Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi warned me to discountenance any government policy not signed or/and voiced by him. I digress.

Yet, these two instructions may be the death knell on Nigeria’s quest to appear at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I don’t need to be a seer to know that the Eagles won’t lift the diadem in South Africa. We are rating the Eagles based on their talents and exploits in European clubs.

What we have failed to appreciate is that the depth of talents in these European clubs is not what we have in the Eagles. We have also not recognised the fact that the players in these European clubs have spent more time together as a team, playing matches weekly. These matches provide the platform for the players to gel and produce scintillating performances that send the fans into a frenzy.

Rebuilding a national team is not a hasty assignment. It includes identifying new talents, weeding out ageing ones through competitions and finding the right combination of players to do the job. I don’t think that the Eagles have played 14 games under Keshi. And it would be the height of unbridled patriotism for anyone to expect such a team to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

It is true that football is unpredictable. What is also true is that no ill-prepared side such as the Eagles, in terms of quality time to prepare the players for the assignment, wins big trophies.

Unfortunately, that NSC chief didn’t have the balls to explain to President Goodluck Jonathan why the Keshi-led Eagles won’t carry the day in South Africa. Is anyone surprised? Don’t ask me if he was a member of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) that wrongly advised the president to withdraw Nigeria from all football competitions.

Since those PTF foes lost face after the President’s recant in 2010, they have latched onto any opportunity to sustain their campaign with every poor outing by our football teams. The President has listening ears – from what I saw during the Presidential Sports Retreat in Abuja two months ago.

Super Eagles has the highest population of Europe-based players who warm the bench in their clubs.

This presidential fiat seems to me another way to prepare the ground for Stephen Keshi’s and the NFF’s board’s sack in the event that Nigeria doesn’t win the Africa Cup of Nations. If that happens, the hawks in high places would pounce on the confused setting. And I can take a bet that Nigeria’s flag will not be hoisted at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

If we don’t lift the Nations Cup, it would be because we wasted time in recruiting the last Eagles coach. It also should serve as a lesson because asking Keshi to step aside (God forbid), will destroy what he has painstakingly built. The ripple effect will stop us from the Brazil 2014 World Cup.

I have prayed fervently that we don’t win it. My prayer stems from the fact that we would spend precious time celebrating and end up not qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil.

We don’t need a pilgrimage of appearances at the World Cup to become the first African nation to play in the semifinals and ultimately win the trophy. That dream will be actualised if we build blocks. And that includes taking the positives from whatever happens to the Eagles next year in South Africa and build on it.

God forbid jail term for Emenike

The media was awash with the heart wrenching story Wednesday that Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike will be jailed for close to three years, having been indicted in the match-fixing case in Turkey last year.

The manner of speech of the prosecutor Ufuk Emertcan clearly indicated that they had sufficient evidence to hound Emenike to jail, if he had been in the court on Tuesday.

The prosecutor submitted that Emenike feigned injury in the landmark match-fix ing case where it was alleged that Fenerbahce officials had fixed that season’s match against Karabukspor, demanding that Karabukspor should not name Emenike in its team. The caveat to this match fixing case was for Emenike to dump Karabukspor for Fenerbahce after the game.

Ememike said in his defence that Karabukspor’s doctors asked him not to play the fixed game because he was injured. Emenike added that he called the Super Eagles coach, who asked him not to play the game with pain killers, obviously because of the repercussions.

The questions to ask this prosecutor are: Did the Karabukspor doctors dent their medical advice to Emenike? Is it Emenike’s duty to field himself in a match? Did Emenike go the hospital? If yes, has the hospital denied that he didn’t come there? Did they discover any transaction where money was transferred from an account to the Nigerian’s? Is it not laughable that a player would fix a match and yet prevent himself from featuring in the game? How then would he facilitate his team losing to the opponent? From off the pitch?

There are certainly more questions than answers. But my plea to NFF chiefs and officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC) is to immediately contact Emenike and his lawyers to get the brief of the case.

A Nigerian international as a match fixer is no palatable news. We shouldn’t fold our arms and allow an incompetent lawyer send our soccer ambassador to jail.

We need to fortify Emenike’s legal team. He must not be left alone. The time to intervene is now. It could start with an appeal. Emenike must not go to jail, except he is found guilty after a transparent trial. Over to you Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi. We must save our son from this show of shame. Emenike gives his best during Super Eagles matches. We need to show concern in this matter, please sir.

Good night Dr. Anthonia Onouha

Last week, I refused to disclose the ailment of Nedum Onouha’s mum, Dr. Anthonia Onouha, even though she told me. She didn’t ask me to re-broadcast it.

But I was shocked to the marrow on Wednesday night while reading through my e-mails. A message from one Davis broke the sad news that Dr. Anthonia Onouha had died on November 8. She may be buried this weekend in Manchester in the United Kingdom. My heart sank.

I never met her. But from our telephone discussion, she was quite a homely person. It still hurts to know that she has passed on. My prayer is for God to grant her soul eternal rest and give Nedum the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

I just hope that chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and indeed, Super Eagles Chief Coach Stephen Keshi will remember to call Nedum to express their condolences. That is the way forward. Nedum may embrace us, you never can tell. Sleep well Anthonia.

I dislike flying on the domestic route. I always have this sneaky feeling about the maintenance culture of our airlines. So, I decline invitations to sporting events around the country, except it is extremely important.

One of such expedient sporting events was the late invitation to attend Monday’s Presidential Sport Retreat at the State House in Abuja. My first thought when I got the late invitation was to pretend that I didn’t see the e-mail. But, my dad had pleaded with me not to decline any presidential invitation. And I had to respect his order. Dad’s directive is law. Getting a ticket at the Lagos airport was a challenge. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by the attention I got from the ticket office. I stood, hands akimbo, wondering where to go. In this transfixed state, someone walked up to me, asking for my travel details.

I hesitated, but he knew so much about me that I accepted his assistance. When he returned my ticket, I was ushered through the congested entrance like a king. I was stunned, but on reflection inside the aircraft, I appreciated the impact of working for a renowned newspaper, such as The Nation, and the power of the television (appearances on Silverbird, among others).

I thought that people would have protested as I strolled past. What I heard were complementary remarks that bowled me over. Inside the aircraft on Sunday, I prayed for a smooth flight to Abuja. When the aircraft landed, my plan was to sleep off till the next day. I achieved this objective because I kept my phones inside my bag.

On Monday, with an open mind, I attended the retreat. What struck me was the presence of senior government officials, captains of industry, the financial institutions, governors, National Assembly members, the Vice-President and President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was a mixed grill of the serious issues and the hilarious revelations from the presidents of the Paralympics and Wrestling Federations.

The Paralympics Federation boss rocked the hall with laughter when he informed President Jonathan that the Federal Government’s resolve to eradicate polio by 2015 is the death knell for Nigeria at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio d’ Jameiro, Brazil.

Dr. Frank Thrope told everyone that till date, Nigeria has won 51 medals; 49 of them were won by paralympians with polio cases. He was the only serious looking person. Will you blame him? But he did say that there were areas in the physically-challenged sports for impaired persons, amputees, etc. For several minutes, the hall, the President inclusive rocked with laughter. But, Jonathan, in his closing remarks, stuck to his wipe-out-polio mandate, with a promise to the federation chief that money will be released on time in subsequent sporting competitions.

Indeed, when the Wrestling Federation President informed his audience that everyone partook in wrestling daily, even at homes, it took close to three minutes to stop the laughter. In fact, the President broke from a smile to serious laughter, after listening to what the Adamawa State governor whispered into his ears.

Trust Nigerian men with their pranks as they visualised wrestling from another prism, forgetting that the wrestling the federation boss referred to is an Olympic sport, which is displayed in the open and watched by all; not involving two opposite sexes in pitch darkness.

President Jonathan again showed his humorous side when, in his closing remarks, he told the audience that the Adamawa governor confided in him that the wrestling in the homes was won overwhelmingly by the women. Everyone laughed. Mr. President, was telling the truth, they must have felt.

So much for the rib crackers. The first lesson from the retreat is the political will to make sports a big business, which inevitably will create the platforms for employment.

The second lesson is the need to cultivate business concerns to embrace sports, but with a caveat -transparency and accountability. It was quite commendable listening to the President pour cold water on Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s assertion that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is the most corrupt organisation in Nigeria.

In another remark, Jonathan said: “I don’t think the essence of what we are doing is to apportion blames. What I can see is that our penchant for releasing funds close to competitions provides people with the conduit to ‘chop the money!” My President, you bowled this writer over when you acknowledged that sport is the biggest mobiliser of people. You admitted that the only time when Nigerians forget creed, religion, political divide and the infamous federal character is during sports competitions, especially soccer.

Equally, important is the President’s acceptance that there was the need to create enabling environment for business concerns to key into sport patronage, first to change the way it is run in Nigeria and then to get Nigerians to know that sports help increase the country’s GDP as seen in other climes.

The exhaustive evaluation of what models in achieving climes such as the US, Asia, Britain etc, exposed the essence of getting government less involved in sports in Nigeria. Interestingly, the retreat underlined the essence of sports as a viable socio-economic tool for youth development, nation building and instilling the core value of social justice.

The President disclosed his resolve for Nigeria to rule the sports world based on hard work, greater sense of purpose and dedication, adding that: “If we must achieve excellence and meet the objective requirement for the rapid development of our sport industry, then we must broaden the finance base of the industry and create the right conditions for private sector funding and investment in sports.”

What then is the trouble with sports? Participants identified poor management, much to the consternation of the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. And Mr. President buttressed the voting pattern when he said: “Adequate funding of sport is very crucial to this endeavour but efficient and transparent management of resources is key.”

Is sport all about funding and administration? Not exactly. Without the athletes and the coaches, no sports events can hold. Athletes and coaches form the fulcrum on which sports thrive. It was very pleasing to this writer’s ears hearing the participants pass a vote of no confidence on Nigerian coaches for lacking the technical savvy to propel our athletes to attain their zenith. Although it was agreed that they would be trained and retrained, the general consensus was that we need to bring foreign coaches to train our talents at the grassroots.

Participants agreed that our athletes have the wrong approach to details of their sport at the early stages. They submitted that governors pay sufficient attention to sports development at the grassroots. Much as the Rivers State governor identified with this grassroots sports development, he hastened to add sports takes the backstage in state governments’ quest to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate.

Of course, many frowned at the levity with which we handle maintenance of facilities. It was also agreed that there was the need to concession edifices to the private sector to take care of them.

It must be said that much as the participants nursed hopes that a new dawn beckoned after the retreat, yet when the question was put to them, shortly before Jonathan’s closing remarks, the conveners of the retreat were shocked to see the biggest percentage of votes read: “Doubtful but hopeful.”

Will you blame the participants for their damning verdict? Not with the avalanche of such retreat reports on the dusty shelves at the National Sports Commission (NSC).

The biggest fillip for sports development in Nigeria, in my opinion, arose when Jonathan promised to give executive seal to the NSC Bill, which, when passed into law, will make the body to be run by professionals and technocrats and not administrative staff, Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi told President Jonathan this accounted for the NSC’s workforce.

NSC’s bill will ensure that those who formulate policies don’t execute them. That way, we will be able to identify who to hold responsible if things go awry.

There would be a board that will churn out policies, which the NSC eggheads will implement. The present Jack-of-all-trades scenario at the NSC makes it impossible for new suggestions outside those of its hierarchy that the present order, has forced on us.

Today, not a few Nigerians would wish that they had better things to do. For those who have societal engagements to attend, they would prefer that their destinations are places where they won’t monitor the Super Eagles game against the Lone Star of Liberia at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar. Others will opt to watch corresponding European qualifiers than raise their blood pressure watching players who feel that they are doing Nigerians a favour by playing in the Eagles.

Going to watch the Eagles in the past was akin to attending a bazaar in church. The massive crowd moving towards the stadium, armed with food packs, games sets- ludo, scrabble, cards, draught and chess boards, umbrellas etc – all meant to kill boredom while waiting for the game to start. The camaraderie in and around the stadium and the brisk business from the market setting of wares made it a place to be on match days.

What about the drum beats from the fans? Those who cannot afford the gate fees watching the game from roof tops, not to talk of those holding their radio sets inside and outside the stadium to follow the commentaries. Such was the craze surrounding the Eagles that everything came to a halt when the team played anywhere in the country.

Nigerians deserve to boycott the uninspiring Eagles. When our players are not complaining of bad pitches, they grumble over allowances owed them. The big ones choose the matches they want to play.

Indeed, the Eagles’ attitude to our matches has left much to be desired. Discipline is a problem, with many players being caught importing girls into their hotels. The show of shame in Tunisia 2004, where some Eagles stars were expelled from the camp is still fresh in our minds. Or is it the case of one Eagles star who would have been shot by security operatives at the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations while he was jumping the hotel fence to another hotel in town? The security operative said he spared the player because he had seen him pass earlier that night. He recognised his dress and dreadlocks, hence he spared him. Well, we can say that Keshi and, indeed, the NFF have curtailed that untoward act by keeping them in hotels where they are the only residents.

Nigerians haven’t forgotten how they stormed the National Stadium in Abuja, last year to watch the Eagles clinch the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification ticket against Guinea. Many have not recovered from the shock resulting from the Eagles’ dismal 2-2 draw against Guinea. Their angst stems from the fact that neither the players nor the coaches knew what could guarantee them victory. This shocking post- match revelation put a lie to the fact that they are professionals, especially when they started blaming NFF eggheads for failing to interpret the rules to them. Such is the commitment of our players to Nigeria’s matches that no one will blame the fans, if they shun the stadium today for better things. However, it could be a redemption day for the Eagles and it is about time.

In past years, many fans would be in a party mood, predicting who would score the goals. You won’t blame them because watching Eagles then could reduce one’s blood pressure. Fans stormed the stadium in smart kits to join the celebrations. Many of them lost their voices. Work stopped the following week, with everyone talking about the highpoints of the game. In fact, the week preceding the game, the discussion would centre on how fans could save money to watch their idols, where friends could gather to watch the game on big screens, especially those outside the city where the match was played and where fan would spend the evening savouring the sweetness of victory. Not anymore. Now, the fan’s heart is broken- always.

Years past, players played with their hearts. They knew what it meant to disappoint the fans because they lived with them and would not want to be asked the question: what happened? Since these players of yore lived with the fans, they gave their best. They knew that disappointed fans could take the laws into their hands. They had also seen how those who failed in the past were treated.

Not anymore. Now, there is a new generation of Eagles who play in Europe. They leave the fans gnashing their teeth and raining curses on them. In their absence, the fans vent their spleen on the NFF as if the ones before them were any better. Don’t remind me of incidents such as that in which the Eagles cut their tracksuits into shorts to play a game. Or is it the incident where we forgot players’ passports at home? What stood Eagles’ players out was their fighting spirit, laced with the non-stop support from the world acclaimed Nigeria Supporters Club. Many have asked what happened to this fighting spirit.

But today, the Eagles must confront the Liberians as if their lives depend on the match. As they walk onto the pitch, they may find half-field seats. Rather than allow this setting to dampen their minds, they should see it as the challenge to win the fans back. And only a resounding victory can lure heart-broken Nigerians to watch them.

Our coaches must pick our best 11 players. They must pay attention to the trends in the game. They must be prepared to take early decisions than wait for the crucial moments. We must start to score goals with the first three opportunities. Early goals anchored on sustained pressure that will force the opponents into committing more errors.

Asking the wingers to fall into the midfield is obsolete; it must be discarded. What this system has caused Nigerians is panic, high blood pressure and disappointment. Samson Siasia adopted this pattern and failed.

Tasking the wingers with additional responsibilities of dropping into the midfield burns their energy. Little wonder, the Eagles trek on the pitch in the closing stages of games and are unable to defend slim goal margins.

One may not be a coach, but the language of football is the same. Eagles have natural midfielders who can win the balls back from the opposition and pass it to fellow midfielders, who will supply the sublime passes to the strikers to rip the net open.

One won’t join the league of critics chastising goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. Stephen Keshi’s preference for two holding midfielders creates a void in the midfield, which the opposition exploits. Again, Eagles don’t pay attention to such details as man-marking the opponent’s danger men.

Enyeama should still be in goal, but one must plead with the coaches to parade overlapping wing backs to increase the supply line of crosses from the flanks for the two strikers to bang in the goals. One doesn’t know what the Eagles’ tacticians see in Emmanuel Emenike. He falls easily, making it difficult for referees to support him, given his physique. One would opt for a two-man attack of Brown Ideye and Ike Uche.

Eagles coaches have watched how Chelsea’s manager Roberto D’ Matteo plays John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses in their recent league matches. Moses is given a free role to operate at Chelsea; because he is fast, he commits his markers into making hasty tackles in critical areas where free kicks can be converted into goals. Besides, he passes and shoots the ball well. One will opt for Joel Obi and Onazi Oguenyi for a water tight four-man midfield. I know that Keshi will pick Obiora Nwankwo ahead of Onazi and one won’t quarrel with him. Nosa Igiebor was confused in Monrovia and lacked the initiative to co-ordinate the midfield even though he scored the first goal. Who won’t score that as a professional, anyway? This idea of asking Ahmed Musa and Uzoenyi to fall back is cumbersome and has not yielded any dividend.

Defenders Azubuike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona, Umar Zango, Efe Ambrose and Elderson Echiejile have been the Eagles’ albatross in matches. They are so uncoordinated that one pass beats them hollow, leaving Enyeama exposed for slaughter. Only Egwuekwe plays well with unmatchable his aerial prowess.

All said, one doesn’t need to worry if the opposition is Liberia, given the two countries’ pedigree in football. Therefore, Keshi and his men must crush Liberia at dusk. We don’t want to hear that there are no minnows in football. Liberia is a minnow to us just as we would be in the eye of pundits, if Nigeria is pitched against Spain at the 2014 World Cup. Good luck great ambassadors. This is your best chance to redeem your image.