The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • 2023: Saraki’s growing optimism

    2023: Saraki’s growing optimism

    Sentry 

    Sources close to former Senate President Bukola Saraki told Sentry that the Ilorin-born politician is currently happier than he has been in the recent past.

    They claim his new found happiness may not be unconnected with the 2023 general elections. “The senator is a very happy man. He is glad that his party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is finding its feet gradually and returning to winning ways,” a source said.

    It was also gathered that the former Kwara State governor is very pleased with the results of the efforts of the National Reconciliation Committee of the PDP which he chairs. Aside that, the recent victory of the opposition party in a bye election in Kaduna State has added to his optimism as the 2023 general elections draws nearer.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last weekend declared Usman Baba of the PDP winner of the bye-election for Sabon Gari Constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

    An elated Saraki wasted no time before taking to his Twitter handle to celebrate the result and assure members of the party that with its new found unity of purpose, PDP is ready to return to power come 2023.

  • Anambra: Soludo the anointed and matters arising

    Anambra: Soludo the anointed and matters arising

    Sentry 

    After many months of permutations, allegations, denials, face-offs and resolutions, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the obvious anointed candidate of incumbent Governor Willy Obiano, last Wednesday, emerged candidate of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

    Soludo scored a total of 740 votes out of 792 valid votes cast by delegates. But that is not the gist. Sentry gathered that with the emergence of Soludo, Obiano has succeeded in forcing his desire on many APGA big guns within and outside the state who had opposed his choice of the retired banker.

    What is left to be seen is how these bullied and now aggrieved party leaders will react to the alleged imposition and the effect this would have on the party’s performance at the poll.

    Already the crisis within the party has been deepened with the announcement of the suspension of Soludo from the party by a faction of APGA. A couple of party chieftains have also resolved to challenge his candidacy in court.

    But Obiano is busy congratulating Soludo for his victory and calling on genuine party faithful to support him. It appears he’s not bothered by the growing noise regarding his exploits with his anointed.

    Soludo is banking on Obiano and Dr. Victor Oye, national chairman of APGA to calm frayed nerves and bring the party together ahead of the elections. How soon they are able to do this will surely impact on the candidate’s chances in November.

  • ‘Power grab,’ pandemic and violence

    ‘Power grab,’ pandemic and violence

    By Dayo Sobowale

    A new word has entered the world of politics and that is ‘power grab’. It is a simple way of a party in power making laws that will favour it in next elections and ensure it is reelected and its present mandate is assured of renewal.

    It was used by a Republican senator in the US Senate  to condemn the move by the Biden government to expand the voters list in a way that will take power on registration of voters away  from  the states and vest it in the federal  government  headed by a Democratic president at present . But really this is not a new  thing as most  politicians, if they  have their way, will  never  willingly release  the hold  on power they  have at  the moment ,  as long  as they  can manipulate  the rules  or the constitution  to hold on to power ,  one way  or the other . That is how the word  rigging evolved at  elections but  power  grab  is  a  post- election  manipulation for  reelection according to new rules passed  with the present  and existing mandates  for victory at the polls . How  this has evolved as a new political  culture   not  only in  the US  under the new Biden Administration but globally,  especially   in business ,   and its    high   potential   and   prospect    to  escalate   violence  and insecurity   in     political  systems generally , is the kernel  of our discussion today.

    In the US, the power grab started when the  one  term Trump Administration scuttled all  the policies of the  two   term  Obama Administration before  it . Now in less than a year, the Biden Administration has demolished all the legacy of the Trump Administration before it . But  the by- product of that is insecurity in major American cities such that last week Biden had to address the nation on violence which he attributed to gun running  and easy  acquisition .  A  fact  that  his opponents ,the Republicans denied , giving  instead , statistics   to show    that  the Biden government’s  support for  defunding the police  and not punishing rioters in major cities destroying state  properties ,  lacked  deterrence against violence and is   an incentive for  rioters to get away with murder literally .

    Read Also: NPC amendment act: the corrupt mind of power

    It  is instructive that in all  these ,  there was a voice  of reason from a senator from Biden’s Democratic party who  refused to support his party and made the bill  on power grab to fail in a  50- 50  senate . His wise observation was that it is divisive for each sitting government to destroy  the legacy of its predecessor or make reelection inevitable  by changing the rules because that  will never create unity or stability in the US  or any nation for that matter. That  to me is the voice of reason that  has saved the US political system  from sliding into a cycle of retaliatory  politics and governance that  would   sooner   than later ,  escalate into more violence , insecurity and political instability .

    Let  us  now look  at  the emergence  of power grab by the big  tech  companies like YouTube  and Google especially with the control of information on the origin of the  pandemic and   its emergence from a lab  in China  and  the attendant  cover up of that  because  of business with China with  the  collusion of even the World Health Organisation .  Yet this is a pandemic that has killed millions all  over the world far  more than any  riots or political  disturbance .

    We shall also see the situation in Nigeria where banditry, kidnapping and herdsmen versus farmers in the nation has created such violence and mayhem. Yet  in the midst  of all that an Islamic Cleric accused some agents in the security apparatus of colluding and giving arms  to bandits, a charge that the Nigerian Army  quickly  rebutted .  But in the same nation the major  tribes are clamouring  for a break  up and  the tribe  of the  party in  power insists  it will  not support any  break  up .  Which is another potent way of  saying it will never give up on the power it has grabbed   and    firmly   in  its grip , even  if the heavens fall . We  shall  come back to that   later .

    We  go back to the technology power play in preventing  the spread of information that the virus came from China . It was US President  former  Trump who first  said this and he was silenced on this and his reelection   bid  by Twitter and the big tech companies like Amazon and Google . Information is now emerging that the US health authorities funded research on the virus at the same Wuhan Lab  in  China that Trump  mentioned but that  fact was suppressed  during the 2020  election to deny Trump any credibility that can accrue   as  electoral advantage . The  anti-Trump media led by the CNN  blocked out this information until Trump  had lost the election . But since there is no smoke without fire, the issue has resurfaced  and even a victorious Biden  has launched fresh investigation on the origin of the virus from a Chinese lab  as Trump  claimed before. Now  it is apparent that big tech  companies can  not only   change political power , they     can   grab it and literally give it to parties or  politicians  that favor their business interests . They  can also use the power of information to cover up for nations like China that have the largest market and population  for mouthwatering tech  deals. Just   as  they  have done    so   powerfully   till   now in promoting the lie that the violent pandemic that devastated  the world at large did not come from a lab  in Communist  China , the darling of the tech  world  for investments  and fantastic business development and  deals . Really  God  should swiftly   judge  these  tech  giants for their malfeasance  in  playing with human lives for  their  greedy  ends and bloody  profits.

    We  end up with Nigeria and the charge  that our security  forces are colluding with  bandits as alleged by Sheikh Ahmad Gumi . The army has reacted that the charge is an attempt to  demoralize  and disgrace the military, which as a Nigerian I agree with . But Gumi and the army are no strangers to each other as he has been with them in some forests to negotiate with the bandits. The  army  should defend its  reputation if it is not afraid  of  Gumi  who  has grabbed the power from the government in dealing with bandits , terrorists and kidnappers . If  any cleric that is a non- Northerner and is a Christian  had  said this he would  be detained or vilified by  now .

    The  Buhari  government was given a mandate for two  terms  but it has resulted in unmitigated violence and it needs to  arrest  that . Gumi  spoke of herdsmen being killed all  over the south . He is partisan as a Northerner and a Muslim . Myetti Allah  has waxed  strong under this administration. It  is necessary for the government to call Myetti Allah  to order . Otherwise it could  be accused  of making a power  grab  for the North and Northerners with the approach of the 2023 elections .That  would not be right and is a  wrong signal  that some Nigerians like Gumi or Myetti Allah  are  above the law. Such notions are the genesis of the clamour  for a break up by other non- Northern tribes. Government  should create a level  playing field for  all competing tribes in the race for 2023 .

    A false  start and power grab at the behest  of those in control  now will  be an invitation to  political  resentment  that  could  be violent  and disturbing for all of us .

    Once  again – From the fury of this raging pandemic Good Lord deliver Nigeria.

  • Before the Mexico whiplash

    Before the Mexico whiplash

    By Ade Ojeikere

    NIGERIA’S soccer has a date with destiny on July 4 in Los Angeles, the United States of America (USA) when the country’s senior team, Super Eagles faces better-ranked Mexicans who are 11th in the world compared to the Nigerians who are 32nd in the last FIFA ranking in an international friendly meant to keep the Mexicans busy. The country’s opponents are preparing for the South American version of the Nations Cup meaning they would be confronting the Nigerians with their armada of stars. Many have written off the Nigerians based on how poorly managed the domestic game has been in the last decade.

    Conversely, the South Americans would be playing against the former African champions with products from the country’s domestic game who have been in limbo in terms of been exposed to top-flight football at the international levels. The domestic league has been lying comatose making these players and coaches unable to compete with their counterparts in the African continent despite the deluge of potentials abound in the 774 Local Government Areas in the country. Aside from the fact that those who would file out against the Mexicans are greyhounds, they would be playing together as a team for the first time, making them vulnerable for whiplash from their superior opponents. Clearly, this is an unfair challenge but football is a very cruel game when it comes to churning out results from such lopsided pairings.

    But the game must be played with players and coaches who are being owed salaries, match bonuses running into billions  of naira, no proper welfare packages, medical facilities for the players and coaches are nothing to write home about, not many can tell who the insurance firm of the league is  nor can anyone vouch for the insurance policies of the clubs in the event of death, permanent disabilities, etc to the participants just as the quality of coaching in the team being of the lowest standard. Match venues for the local game turned into battlefields with referees dragged on the turfs by urchins of the home teams with some players being made to jump over high stadium fences for their dear lives.

    Sadly, the disciplinary body for the league has churned out verdicts which leave much to be desired. In one breath the homes side are indicted for bringing the game to disrepute without commensurate application of the rules on such matters as crowd encroachment. Clubs are punished but the real hosts of the games, the States’ FAs walking away with a smile. The punishment for crowd encroachment is clear. Why the disciplinary body chose to say that a game that was goalless before the fracas ended 1-1 after the unruly acts remain laughable because video recordings of the game didn’t show any goals scored during the ill-fated match.

    What the Mexico friendly offers to home-based players if the organisers in Nigeria knew their onions is a platform to attract attention from foreign scouts without recourse to the country’s managers who are fixated on the players they have selected as if the pool of talents available for selection must come from Europe and the Diaspora. Need I waste space to mention many great Nigerian players who did well for the Super Eagles through their efforts to here before heading to Europe?

    Picking home-based players for the July 4th game wouldn’t have attracted such resentments from league followers in the country if we had organisers who did the weekly and monthly awards of the past where the best players were selected for the period by a group of renowned soccer experts. This exercise had Pepsi sponsors and the coaches, players administrators, and journalists looked forward to the verdict from the panel. Winners cherished their awards and it was easy to pick the best 16 players at any period for selection.

    The lucky 25 home-based players who would wear the country’s jerseys would be driven by their individual desire to change their fortunes by giving their best against the Mexicans. It is good to know that NFF’s Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen has been chosen to lead the team on July 4. Eguavoen isn’t a stranger to home-based players. He routinely watches the domestic game venue before he was picked as the federation’s Technical Director. Eguavoen’s choice is faultless having won the domestic league and the country’s longest soccer competition the Challenge Cup as coach of Enyimba FC of Aba.

    The home-based players should be reminded that the Mexican game won’t be points scoring, meaning that they should freely express themselves when they get the ball. Football is like biscuit, nobody knows where it would crack, according to the Sierra-Leoneans. A few have questioned the rationale behind NFF not asking Gernot Rohr to handle the team on July 4, since he is the national team’s manager. What does it matter for as long as we seize the opportunity to open a new vista for our best players and coaches through such friendly games as the Mexicans’.

    However, Rohr told the media here on Tuesday that: “That’s a team for CHAN and is good preparation for them, it will be difficult to ignore Mexico because they are a wonderful team, I have to go there and see if I can get new players for the Super Eagles.

    “I think they have a chance, I’m not the coach of the CHAN I’m only an adviser to the team, I call in Austin Eguavoen and two other coaches from Nigeria, it’s actually the technical director of the soccer federation that selected 25 players with the help of Yusuf and former coaches, club coaches and Imama who gave advice after watching a lot of games to select the best players,” he said.

    “The game against Mexico will not count for FIFA ranking, it’s not our A team, friendly in the Summer do not count for FIFA Ranking, so, for me as a coach to win isn’t vital in the friendly game but trying and testing new players, change the system and tactical style. This is what I want to do as a coach and not go there for the result, we want to progress and in this year matches is not the result that’s important.”

    Rohr is a funny man. He hates defeats. He likes to err on the side of caution by relying on foreign-based. Yet, when they are not doing well, he is first to remind us that he has average players to pick from as if he didn’t know that before he applied for the Eagles job. Rohr’s submissions on his team when things don’t go well further exposes his inabilities making it imperative to ask why he is still on the job. Not been on the bench on July 4 would affect the boys psychologically knowing that he is the main man in the Eagles. Of course, Rohr doesn’t look like one to rely on anyone’s verdict to pick his players. If he can afford to be in Los Angeles, he should sit on the bench to bark out instructions to the boys.

    The obvious question would be if Rohr is Eguavoen’s boss or not to pick the matches he should handle? Rohr said he isn’t the coach of the CHAN team making one ask the NFF who the coach of this side is? Is it also right to have the same backroom staff if the coaches are different? The game must be played while the posers remain unanswered if one is to follow how things work here.

    Indeed, Rohr told the CHAN team what he expects of them pointing out that: “What I want to see is collective football, not to do a one-man show. I’m watching out for players that would play for the team.” Yet, he isn’t the coach of the side. One isn’t shocked that questions have been raised about how the players were selected. But Eguavoen has stated that: “It was a bit difficult because the information came a bit late but even at that, it is our country.

    I have been to few league games in the NPFL, the NNL, and even the NLO and I pencilled down a whole lot of players. I had to rely on information from fellow coaches that are in the league. It wasn’t that easy because I have seen a lot of criticism in the pages of newspapers and electronic media as well.” Fair enough. I hope that Rohr can emulate Eguavoen if in the future he is asked the same questions by concerned Nigerians.

  • Kano: Shekarau’s wisdom as Ganduje’s gain

    Kano: Shekarau’s wisdom as Ganduje’s gain

    Sentry 

    Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, remember him? He was Minister of Education under former President Goodluck Jonthan as well as a two-term governor of Kano State. Mallam, as he is fondly called, was one of the candidates who aspired to become president at the 2011 Nigerian general elections.

    He was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but today a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and senator. No need to tell you that he enjoyed (some people say he still enjoys) a cult-like followership in Kano, especially among the talakawa.

    But since joining Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s APC and picking a senate seat, he appears to have been maintaining a low profile, considering his political weight and visibility before he left the PDP in September 2018.

    Expectedly, many are wondering why lawmaker representing Kano Central Senatorial district has been so reticent. Sentry can now reveal he’s merely behaving true to type.

    A close ally of his said: “His decision to maintain a low political profile is borne out of wisdom. He is a very wise and humble politician. He understands that in a state, the governor is the leader and he is giving Ganduje all the space and support he needs to act as the leader of APC in Kano. He is still very popular but as a former governor of the state, he is wise and experienced enough to yield the space for the current governor to lead.”

  • Twitter: Adamu Garba’s many troubles

    Twitter: Adamu Garba’s many troubles

    Sentry 

    It is no longer news that the much-hyped instant messaging and financial transaction app, Crowwe, belonging to young businessman and former All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, was removed from Google Playstore for alleged policy violation.

    But there appears to be more turbulence down the road for the would-be tech executive.

    Barely 48 hours after the axe fell on Crowwe, Garba suffered another blow as his handle on the Facebook-owned social networking service, Instagram, was deleted last Wednesday.

    Sentry learnt the controversial politician’s travails may not be unconnected with the many face-offs he had over the Twitter ban by the Federal Government. An unrelenting defender of the ban, Garba’s is unsparing of people who oppose the ban and has been very strong in his condemnation of those dragging President Muhammadu Buhari over the matter.

    In one of his numerous arguments on Instagram, Garba said “Twitter as an “insurrectionist tool that has long ceased to be a social media platform of freedom of expression. Twitter is not a social media app. It is aiding and abetting Nnamdi Kanu and his terrorist IPOB commanders to be able to destroy the Nigerian space.”

    While it should be noted that Garba has been unrepentant with his hard stance against Twitter, which of course attracted a lot of backlash, it was gathered that multiple users may have reported him for violations and indiscretions.

  • Security, technology and knowledge

    Security, technology and knowledge

    By Dayo Sobowale

    When a dog bites a man it is no news, but when a man bites a dog then that is news’ This is a well-known  saying in journalism  and the events that I will dwell on today will  show vividly how a man ‘bites a dog’

    In France a man slapped the president of the Republic in broad daylight and that news was shown and shown repeatedly all over the world, even days after the unusual event.

    In Nigeria, the government unbelievably suspended Twitter and created shock waves all over the world both locally and internationally. In the US, no less a person than Donald Trump  the 45th president of the USA  commended  the Nigerian president and  lamented that  he had  not done similarly while in office till  he was silenced  and dethroned  literally  and democratically  as it were by Twitter, in the last US presidential election of 2020.

    In the same US, some parents  especially mothers  are  up in arms against  the education policy of the new US government called Critical Race Theory which  seeks to correct the notion of racism against  black  people by  teaching white children to  acknowledge  and learn that white people have in the past  been unfair to blacks  since the dawn of American history and that  the gender of a human being is not his biological  gender  but his  gender identity .

    Let  me first  of all show the funny  side of these ‘man bites dog events’ before I go on  to show their  serious side as well as their security  and political  implications  now and in the future. In the case of the French president,  he   was  called by name by a crowd in the town he was visiting , and he thought   he was popular and ran to the crowd only to run into  a neat slap  and he had to be carried away like a child by a bulky body guard very  fast to safety .  From  that event Emmanuel Macron , president of France  must learn that not all  that glitters is gold even though he has said the event will  not deter him from being close with the French  people.

    With  regard  to the  ban  of Twitter  by the Nigerian  president,  those who  were shocked and whipped up the cry of violation of human rights , forgot  too conveniently  and too soon, the promise of the Nigerian government  to shock  those  fomenting trouble  and causing insecurity to be on the rise in  the nation.

    Our  president to me has simply  lived up to his ‘shock’  promise  on  insecurity, and you  may cry  or laugh on that, depending on which  side of the fence you  are on , in terms of our collective security.

    On  the issue of the former US President congratulating our president  on banning twitter,  I  believe, as a victim of Twitter power, Donald Trump really  is sincere on the commendation, although  for him it is a clear case of getting wise after the event  or closing the stable  doors after  the horses  had  bolted. On  the rebellion of some mothers  on the curriculum of education based on the Critical Race Theory ,  they  say  it is like  educating white kids against  black  ones and that is like saying my skin or colour  is better than  yours and  that  too is bound   to lead  to another foundation  or  round  of skin struggle in students who were  born biologically as boys and girls now being taught that boyish looking  girls can now share the same toilets with normal  looking girls. It is the simplest recipe for a sex and gender war and confusion, now and in the foreseeable future.

    Now  let us proceed to the nitty-gritty  of  the ‘man bite dog of today’s  topic   serially   starting again  with  the   slapping  of the French  president by a man  who  shouted the slogan  of France’s  imperial  past  under  Charlemagne . That  makes the man a product  of the Far Right  in France and French  Muslims can heave a  sigh  of relief that  it is  not one  of them this time  around . But in a France where people have   been bombed and beheaded   randomly on the streets, the French leader was careless about his own security.  He could have been dead by now. I wonder how Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will react to the slapping of the French president he   condemned some time ago with the handling of Muslims in France over Islamic terrorism. Erdogan called Macron mad then. I hope he will be more sympathetic and charitable over this slapping of his counterpart in France.

    On security then, Macron should watch his back, both left and right. Some retired and serving   military officers recently wrote a signed   letter that civil war is brewing in France over his lack of courage in tackling Islamic terrorism and the head of the French army asked those who want to play politics to quit the army or face the music of being thrown out. That is like trying to quell a mutiny or coup. Which really means that Macron was lucky with a slap, but he should be told in plain terms that a revolution or civil war is not a tea party.

    On  the Nigerian government ban of twitter, let  me say  that  I somehow  feel proud  about it, notwithstanding its implication for free speech  and the right of dissent. Twitter is awash with the vilest language on earth. Some   Nigerians avoid it   like  the plague while many Nigerians revel in  such  language and insults.

    The objective of the ban is to stop the spread of insurrection and insecurity with the spontaneity and viral nature of the twitter technology to spread   fake news , false information and unfounded  information. See the way twitter uprooted Donald Trump though it must be said twitter made him the most powerful US president in his time with  his frequent daily tweets that knocked down his many enemies and detractors on a daily  basis.Trump, in admiring our government’s ban also accused the twitter CEO of treachery in dining with him frequently at the White House before pulling the rug from under him at election time.

    Our own government  has shown that  surprise and shocks are weapons of war and technology and knowledge are strategies  of war in the modern  era . It  is those who  are waiting  for the army  or  navy  to come to their areas in the nation  ,  that will be caught pants down   by the ban ,  when they realize that they  cannot  communicate and spread false rumours and news both locally  and internationally   to  further    promote  and grow insecurity in the country . The  government said  the ban  is in the public  interest and that supersedes any anger on human rights because where human lives are being wasted on the scale we have seen in our land in recent  times then the government is right to say human rights end where  our  noses begin on insecurity .

    With  regard  to the teaching  of the Critical  Race Theory , a Chinese American mother has compared the concept  to the  execution of the Cultural Revolution in Maoist China when children betrayed their parents and teachers by reporting them for not being conformist with the tenets  of the Cultural  Revolution. The  mother was  reportedly 6 when the revolution began  and came  to the US at  age  26  and confessed her  joy  at the freedoms  she  had never   seen   before in her adopted  nation. The mother lamented that with the teaching of the CRT in  US schools, it  seemed Chinese Americans have run away  from Communism  in China only  to now face it in the US  which   they have long adopted as their country. Anyway , I  find  it unbelievable that a US government that criticizes China for indoctrinating the minority  Uyghur Muslims  with  Chinese Party  ideology by force while building camps  for such  orientation , is now indoctrinating its own children  on how to perceive colour , history and behavior in its own  schools for American  children.I hope  the protests over CRT succeeds  because it is morally wrong to substitute one suspicious and historically  unfair discrimination with another which  this time is CRT at  the expense of sheer  whiteness which is different from the reprehensible white supremacy  racist theory .

    Once again  from the fury of this raging pandemic, Good Lord deliver Nigeria .

  • New dawn for Super Falcons

    New dawn for Super Falcons

    By Ade Ojeikere

    Any time the Super Falcons are involved in either friendly games or real competitions, I create time to watch them no matter how late. The girls fascinate me with their sublime skills and their urge to play the game to excite their admirers. Even when the Falcons’ game is ugly to watch, you can’t miss out on their can-do spirit which has been the team’s secret weapon over time. For this writer, Nigerian girls are magicians when they play the round leather game. I usually wonder where they find the time to train here in Nigeria. Don’t remind me of the girl-child setting here. I love girls.

    Well, the Aisha Falode-led Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) board has done the unthinkable by making sure that they showcase the women’s game with pomp and ceremony. Falode’s board isn’t shy to take decisions when there is one to be taken. They mete out real punishments not the slap on the wrist options which the better to be forgotten NPFL adopt. One isn’t shocked that there is a seamless integration of the home-based and foreign legion in the Falcons.

    Watching the Falcons early Monday playing against the Portuguese, what struck me was their improved style of play when viewed against what they exhibited in their clash with Jamaica. The Falcons were ordinary against the Jamaicans. I had the sneaky feeling that we underrated the Jamaicans otherwise, the Nigerians ought to have beaten the country famous for athletics, not football. Forgive my arrogance, dear Jamaica. I looked forward to Nigeria’s next game against a football nation, Portugal.

    Bookmakers ruled out the Falcons of getting anything to celebrate in Monday morning’s game, given the Portuguese pedigree in soccer without recourse to the fact they aren’t world-beaters in female football. Well, an average Nigerian excels when his or her backs when faced with tough obstacles.  Listening to views on television and commentaries in the print media, I told a few of my colleagues that Falcons won’t be beaten twice on the trot. I hinged my faith in the team’s American coach Randy Waldrum whose technical savvy ranks him among some of the best coaches in America – permit me to say the home of female football.

    History was made in the women’s game in Nigeria when two sisters played at the same time for the Falcons in the historic 3-3 draw against Portugal. Such take away in friendly games are rare but worthy of being celebrated as the  Payne sisters, Nicole and Toni achieved this feat with their parents in the stands at the brand new Q2 Stadium, cheering them on as they did for the first two games.

    Sevilla striker Toni told ESPN: “It feels amazing to be the first sisters playing together on the same pitch for the Nigerian side. I didn’t realise until I got to the hotel that Nicole and I had accomplished something great.

    “It is very difficult to have two people from the house making the national team, especially the Nigerian national team because the program is so competitive.”

    Toni, who made her Super Falcons debut in February, told ESPN: “The fact that we are both here together in our home country playing in a really big tournament is such a big deal for us. We are both really grateful to have had this opportunity and we are looking forward to the game, soaking up every second and every minute of it.”

    According the female football guru, Colin Udoh:  ”The pair became the first set of sisters to play together for the Nigeria Women’s National Team, and only the second set of sisters, after Eberechi and Ugochi Opara, to represent the country.

    ”The Opara sisters played for Nigeria, but on different occasions and were never on the pitch at the same time, unlike the Alabama-born Payne sisters, who also shared the pitch a game later against Portugal.”

    Playing against easily one of the best women soccer nations in the world, America didn’t give the falcons any chance for an upset which looked likely, except that in friendly matches, coaches are favourably disposed towards seeing every player perform than marking the result sheets as winners. This is not to say that the Falcons didn’t give the Americans something to play for in the wee hours of Thursday.

    The Payne sisters, Nicole and Toni, having represented America from U14 through U20 levels looked forward to facing their home country in the final game of Summer Series tournament  in Austin, Texas and it didn’t come as surprise to soccer pundits when Falcons manager Randy Waldrum presented the captain’s band to Payne.

    ”I was shocked when I was handed the captain’s band,” Toni Payne revealed in a post-match interview to the international media on Thursday morning, Nigerian time.

    The act was historic for chroniclers of soccer history, especially with women’s game but a norm in coaching under the circumstances, and that decision shocked Payne, although she was excited. Ten players from the NWFL (Let’s hope that Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr reads this piece) played the Summer Series in Austin. Four of them featured so far with Bayelsa’s Joy Bokiri impressing Coach Randy Waldrum, according to reports from Nigerian officials watching the games in Austin. This takeaway is the fillip the female game needs in Nigeria, with Falode and her board members worthy of being celebrated. For this writer, Waldrum has earned his mark with the team.

    Interestingly, Nigeria’s Super Falcons were the first soccer team to train at brand-new Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, the venue of the US Summer Series four Nations Tournament. Before the USA Summer Series, Super Falcons in February in Turkey handed a 1-0 win to Uzbekistan and 9-0 wallop to their African sisters, Equatorial Guinea. The nine-time African champions had lost 0-1 to Jamaica before a surprising comeback that earned them a point in the dramatic 3-3 with Portugal.

    Friendly matches are meant to guide coaches about the strength of their players, the formations suitable for them to be at the best and most importantly to expose the team’s weaknesses. The results don’t really count although it doesn’t also mean that such games shouldn’t be won. they should because it helps to boost the players’ confidence. The USA Summer Series had a lot of positives for the Falcons. But sore thumb in the team’s matches was in the defence which should be solidified either by getting new players or changing the way the team defends for better performances, especially with their game against their rivals Black Queens of Ghana.

    Curiously, Falcons manager, Waldrum informed the international media that he was satisfied with the way the Falcons played. Wise manager. He would rather make his observations known to the girls in the dressing room than spill the bean publicly which could have dire consequences.

    Waldrum said Thursday morning in Austin USA that: I’m proud of that performance. We obviously have to defend more and we knew we would against the US. But considering where they are and their preparation – they are a few weeks away from the Olympics and they are in top form.

    ”We are a team that is just beginning and considering, the lateness of players getting here, not having a full squad here – the professionalism of our players in the entire tournament is something that I’m extremely proud of. And I thought we gave a great effort out there.

    ”We gave up a goal in the 46th minute and a goal late in the 94th minute. We played a very competitive game against a top team in the world, so I’m extremely pleased with them.”

    ”It was a difficult game to attack because they had so much possession and pin you in. So, we are defending for most of the time. It was difficult to counter efficiently. Having said that, we had a couple of opportunities in the game. Asisat’s pass to Payne which came off the crossbar then Asisat had one chance herself. Understanding that we weren’t going to have too many chances, I think they got about the best we could with the way the game went and with the team we had tonight.”

    Indeed, Waldrum didn’t lose sight of top performers in the team such as the goalkeeper, who he said: ”She was very good. There was one shot that they hit from range and it was driven hard but she held it. She came up big on a couple of balls and played through an injury. So, absolutely she was fantastic.”

    Waldrum also had very kind words for Alozie stressing: ”She did a good job. I thought, for the most part, she held them in check there. She is a good young player. Her first national team experience. She is certainly a player that will help us in the future, so we look forward to working with her more.

  • PMB and the perception question

    PMB and the perception question

    By Segun Ayobolu

    In commemoration of the first anniversary of the second term of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration on May 29, the President’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr Femi Adesina, published a detailed report on the accomplishments of the administration in the last six years. Perusing the list, it would be the height of intellectual dishonesty to deny that the administration has indeed made impressive and impactful strides in critical areas of our national life particularly infrastructure renewal and modernization, revitalization of agriculture, poverty alleviation and to some extent the war against corruption.

    Unfortunately, the achievements highlighted by the presidential spokesman went hardly unheralded in the media as the headlines continue to be dominated, understandably, by the deteriorating security situation in the country with bandits, kidnappers and criminal herdsmen on the rampage in the North West, North Central, South West and South East even though the Boko Haram insurgency is being effectively checkmated in the North East. As many commentators have noted, you must first be alive before you can enjoy infrastructure or benefit from poverty alleviation measures.

    Even though the gap between the promise of change that ushered in the Buhari administration in 2015 and the actual delivery on its electoral promises has led to considerable disenchantment even among some of the most ardent ‘Buharists’, Nigerians surely did not make a mistake in ousting the preceding Dr Goodluck  Jonathan administration with their votes. It is so easy now to forget the sheer ineptness and venality of that government, which was part of the largely squandered 16 years of the locusts that was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) era between 1999 and 2015.

    Whatever may be its limitations as well as its inexplicable several unforced errors, the All Progressives Congress (APC) government at the centre has been able to achieve more in terms of delivery of critical infrastructure projects, diversification of the economy away from oil dependency and massive injection of funds into its Social Investment Programmes to ameliorate poverty in the last six years than the PDP did in 16 years even though it had access to far more resources.

    The performance of the Buhari administration so far relative to its predecessors must also be evaluated within the context of the unanticipated COVID-19 pandemic that dealt a decisive blow on the economies of rich and poor nations alike. This week, the President was in Lagos to inaugurate two critical and strategic projects. One is the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) popularly known as the Deep Blue Project. This massive undertaking is designed to enhance the country’s maritime security by more effectively tackling piracy and other forms of maritime criminality in her waterways with salutary implications for the national economy. The second is the Lagos-Ibadan rail line, which will accelerate smooth flow of goods and services in the corridor as well as facilitate smooth movement of goods and services from the ports complexes in Lagos to a depot based inland in Ibadan for onward distribution to other destinations across the country. These are huge projects for which the government deserves commendation.

    Prior to this, the Buhari administration had completed and commissioned three key rail projects inherited from preceding administrations namely the Abuja Metro Rail, Abuja-Kaduna Rail and the 327km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Rail started in 1987 and completed in 2020. The story is no less impressive on roads construction and rehabilitation with the accelerated pace of work on several critical road projects across the country including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge, projects on which negligible progress was made during the 16 preceding years of the PDP in power.

    Why in spite of these landmark completed and ongoing accomplishments does the Buhari administration not rate higher in the minds of many who not only see but are benefitting from its infrastructure renewal and poverty alleviation initiatives? One reason, which I have mentioned, is the pervasive insecurity with rampant kidnappings, assassinations, armed robberies, rape, arson and herdsmen criminality claiming lives on a daily basis across the country. Another is the negative impact of insecurity on agriculture thereby negating the administration’s massive investment and creative initiatives in this sector to boost food production. With farmers unable to access their farms for fear of being kidnapped or killed in large swathes of the country’s food producing belt, food prices have risen astronomically and hungry people cannot appreciate infrastructural projects.

    Again, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow on the country’s revenue earnings from oil, and hit commerce, manufacturing and industry badly thus worsening the problem of unemployment. Indeed, many state governments are unable to pay the national minimum wage, many are defaulting on monthly salary payments while others have either started to lay off workers or are planning to do so. These can certainly not endear the government in power to a not insubstantial number of its citizenry even if some of the causal factors are beyond its control. Even then, it would appear that a major problem with the Buhari administration is that it has not taken the perception question as seriously as it should. In the presidential system of government, the person and office of the President constitute the centre of gravity, the pivot around which governance largely revolves. This necessitates ceaseless communication between the President and his administration and the citizenry.

    Perhaps as a matter of style, President Buhari has chosen to communicate with the people largely through press statements and interviews by his media aides and spokesmen thus relapsing into prolonged silence from him even in the face of pressing national emergencies. This style breeds alienation between the government and the governed creating the impression that the former is deaf and insensitive to the voice of the people, which is anomalous in a democracy. Unfortunately, under pressure most of the time, the president’s spokesmen tend to be hubristic, impatient and short tempered in their public communications thus doing further damage to the image and perception of their principal and his administration.

    This is why it is a welcome development that in his two interviews with Arise Television and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), last week, President Muhammadu Buhari spoke for himself. You may not agree with his views but he spoke his mind sincerely and without guile. More importantly, knowing where he stands on burning national issues and the reasons for his position, it is possible for citizens with differing views to offer the President alternative perceptions that may enrich the decision making process of his administration.

    For instance, the President expressed the view that governors should not run to him for assistance against herdsmen attacks on farming communities. Rather, he argued, they should take charge of the security of their states and safeguard the lives and properties of their people. But then, the President is the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and has constitutional control over the police and all other security agencies. When the governors of the South-West established the Amotekun Corp in response to herdsmen’ murderous atrocities in the region, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, denounced the initiative as illegal and unconstitutional. The Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, has said that he will immediately arm the Amotekun Corp in his state with AK47 machine guns if the Federal Government issues his government with the requisite license. The question is how can local hunters and Amotekun Corp members armed with Dane and double barrel guns effectively confront and contain herdsmen armed with sophisticated assault weapons?

    Again, it is commendable that the President respects and is committed to abiding by the advice of his Attorney General on legal issues. That is as it should be. But he also has a responsibility to ensure that the legal advice he receives from the chief law officer is correct and on sound constitutional footing. Many knowledgeable and respected senior legal practitioners have said that the first republic gazette on grazing routes, which the President talked about reviving, does not apply to the whole country even if it exists at all. Furthermore, they argue that the Land Use Act, incorporated in the 1999 Constitution vests control of all land except in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the state governors thereby precluding the possibility of carving out grazing routes in states without the consent of governors.

    In a democracy, it should surely matter to the President that the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), Southern Governors Forum (SGF), Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and diverse ethnno-cultural groups transcending all geo-political zones have all supported the introduction of modern cattle ranching to replace the current disruptive and destructive practice of open grazing that breeds murderous conflicts between cattle herdsmen and farming communities across the country.

    Dismissing the widespread condemnation of the concentration of appointments into the leadership of virtually all military, para military and security agencies from a particular part of the country by his administration, President Buhari said such appointments are based on merit and qualified candidates must meet the requisite length of service in the agencies. Surely, it cannot logically be that only officers from one part of the country meet the stipulated criteria for such appointments.

    Both on his official visits to Lagos and then Borno state, President Buhari personally and forcefully directed security agents to shoot at sight unauthorized persons carrying AK-47 and other assault weapons as well as calling for an all out offensive against banditry, kidnaping and all forms of criminality. Consequently, in recent weeks, bandits, for instance, have reportedly been under heavy aerial bombardment in their forest redoubts in the North Central and North West. If this is sustained and President Buhari begins to show that he is a President for all and not for a select groups, the perception problem that occludes the otherwise notable achievements of his administration would be largely dispelled.

    Happily, the two interviews show that Buhari is reasonably mentally alert and in charge of his administration contrary to prevalent popular perception engendered by his excessive reticence hitherto.

  • Executive Order 10: Governors teeth still on edge

    Executive Order 10: Governors teeth still on edge

    UnderTow

    Since President Muhammadu Buhari issued Executive Order 10 last May, governors of the country have been all over the place, murmuring about implementation and modalities. The executive order, which stirred the hornets’ nest, granted financial autonomy to the legislative and judicial arms of government. This is a trite principle of democracy and democratic consolidation. It should have been a non-negotiable, static constitutional provision from independence which would have played its part in consolidating the country’s sickly democracy. Not only is it democratic, it is also native good judgement that when a body is created to perform oversight functions on another body, then the overseeing body must, of a necessity, not be dependent on the body it oversees for subsistence.

    But, governors have been restive since the order was given. First they went in their numbers to make clarifications on what exactly was going on. After dallying for the better part of a year since the order, they would say last month that the presidency was ill advised on the national order. The All Progressives Congress governors, in a move that seemed more political than democratic, agreed this week to implement the order. It should never have taken them so long to come to that conclusion. If the devil is not in the detail, then it does not matter much; no point looking a gift horse in the mouth, is there? In Nigeria, the right thing has now become a gift.