The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Unending war of Obaseki, Oshiomhole

    THE funeral was well attended. It was a roll call of who is who in the politics of Edo State. The deceased was a respected surveyor. His son-in-law Mike Itemuagbor, the renowned sports promoter and organiser of Okpekpe race, is a friend of all. He is a confidant of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as well as a pal of Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki.

    The popular expectation was that the two politicians would meet at the occasion, with questions being asked: how will the godson greet his godfather? Will they shun each other? Everybody looked eagerly forward to the ceremony.

    Oshiomhole, a former Edo State governor, came as predicted. He saw the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Hon Frank Okiye and embraced him. Okiye had cut short the aspiration of Oshiomhole’s favourite, Hon. Victor Edoror. The APC national chairman also engaged Obaseki’s deputy Phillip Shuaibu in a tête-à-tête. Shuaibu was a trusted ally of Oshiomhole, but people now believe he is solidly with Obaseki. When will the governor arrive, everyone wondered?

    The comrade ex-governor thoroughly enjoyed himself and left. But in a move that smacked of hide-and-seek, Obaseki showed up less than 10 minutes after Oshiomhole left. Did the governor wait for his predecessor to leave before he showed up? Who is avoiding whom? Is it now a case of irreconcilable differences?

    Four days later, the governor dropped eight commissioners, including Oshiomhole’s nephew, from his cabinet and replaced them with his perceived loyalists. With the way things are in the state, the governor seems to be on the offensive. All appears to be quiet in Oshiomhole’s front. But as a political observer counselled recently, Oshiomhole is one tireless fighter who cannot be written off so easily.

  • Buhari keeps all guessing

    AS the nation waits with bated breath for the announcement of the second term cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari, the minds of concerned observers are agitated with many questions.

    Who makes the cabinet’s list? Will politicians dominate the list as it was in the President’s first term? Will it be a cabinet of technocrats, considering that the President has hinted that he would work with people who will really help him to make a difference?

    Sentry has been trying to have a glimpse of what the President is putting together, and what has come to light so far is the clash of interests in many states. Some ex-this, ex-that who are determined to make the list are battling well respected technocrats being pushed forward by powerful interests.

    The ex-this and ex-that are threatening fire and brimstone should the President skip them for “people who contributed nothing to the victory of the APC.” One such technocrat being resisted is the chief executive of a parastatal with links to tertiary institutions.

  • Humble pie for Eagles

    I’m not a seer.  But, I always strive to look dispassionately at trends in our sports. My submissions most times are spot on. At other times, they go haywire;  I’m only human. Only our Creator is infallible. It is, however, easy to predict what is possible with the Super Eagles, especially when there is a needless tussle between the Sports Minister and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).. Why ministers stoop to hijack the functions of a lower-body still beats pundits hollow. I feel strongly that if the government can remove the NFF – and other sports bodies – from the ministry, football will blossom.

    Ministers sustain their meddlesomeness in football administration because we are experts in looking at problems from their effects instead of identifying the causes. These ministers hide under the obnoxious Decree 101 to ensure that our soccer totters, putting their primary assignment of developing sports generally in abeyance. Other sports are in limbo while football, which should serve as the pivot to lift others financially ,is perpetually enmeshed in crises subtly sponsored by idle ministers seeking to annex the NFF for selfish reasons.

    Appoint a minister today, next week, he visits the NFF.  An itinerary, which are to visit players in Europe, irrespective of what happens in the domestic league is drawn up. Thereafter,  the minister confronts the NFF, insisting on knowing how government’s cash is spent. Not done, he despatches letters to FIFA – with fifth columnists suggesting visits to Zurich –  to find out if the global soccer body could compel the federation to tell the government how FIFA cash should be accounted for.

    But such information is available on FIFA website at the press of the computer buttons. In the ministers’ entourage are former NFF members and those seeking to be members, having lost in the last elections. Why ministers fall into this trap remains a mystery. One of such ministers was caught on camera sitting down like a palace chief . He is watching as the Super Falcons players kneel down to count cash due to them. Is the minister saying that the ministry doesn’t have accounts department staff for this? What has happened to the bank transfer system? Is anyone, therefore, shocked that  Super Falcons have the temerity to hold the country hostage all the time?

    Ministers start their romance with the players during the qualification series, by lampooning the NFF chiefs publicly, if they err in the eyes of the minister. Did I hear you ask where the ministers and the players meet? No prize for getting it right. Our ministers are so busy that they always accompany the team to all trips no matter how inconsequential such matches are. We have witnessed instances where a minister caused a scene outside the country simply because NFF chiefs were not around to receive him. Such scenes where the ministers assert their powers, invariably, diminish the NFF men’s authority . With time, the players know where the authority lies, even as indiscipline sets in.

    What our players dare not do in their European clubs, they do with swagger here, knowing that they have a chummy relationship with the ministers, who don’t flinch in reversing decisions taken by the NFF. This minister/Eagles’ stars’ relationship got to a ridiculous level ahead of the France ’98 World Cup, where key players were junketing around the country and Europe in presidential jets, while other countries were in training.

    Things started going awry for the Eagles in France when a certain minister directed the NFA, as it was then known to sack Phillipe Troussier, even when he got us the ticket for the Mundial, with a game to spare. Troussier’s sack arose from complaints from key players of the Atlanta 96 gold winning team who lost their places in the ‘’White Witch Doctor’s’’ 3-5-2 tactical formation. For that minister, it didn’t matter if the Olympic gold medallists lost their form or were injured. All that Nigeria needed to win the World Cup was to appear in France and announce to others that they were the defending Olympic Games winners, take a bow and the referee will signal the end of the game. Really! What about the defending champions, Brazil , what would they do? They won’t just come to France.

    With Troussier out, the players chose who they wanted to such an extent that even before the first ball was kicked, we knew certain players (permit me not to mention them) won’t kick the ball. Why we left them in the squad underscores how powerless the NFA men were before the players. This indiscipline got to a head when players insisted that they be paid $15,000 up front before the round of 16 game against Denmark, which ended in a 4-1 trouncing in favour of the Danes. In France, the then minister had to return to Nigeria for funds; the dark goggled Head of State, the late Sani Abacha, died shortly before the Mundial began.

    We learned no lessons from the 1998 misadventure, hence the fiasco in 2002. In fact, matters got to a head that players were ready to exchange blows with ministry officials. The coaches and players were at daggers drawn against the ministry chiefs, who insisted on dealing with the team directly and not through a ‘’corrupt’’ NFA. Had Nigeria gone to the Japan/Korea 2002 World Cup with the players we had then, we would have done well.

    The ministry tigers tore the squad apart under the guise of instilling discipline, leaving the veteran coach deployed to take charge of the team in a precarious position in Japan/Korea. Some of the banned players were our best. The Mundial in Asia threw up Osaze Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama, Femi Opabunmi and Julius Aghahowa. Nigeria would have done better, if Austin Okocha had played with some of the absentees, such as Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George et al. Taribo West, sarcastically described the Eagles squad to Asia as ‘’junk.’’ -Whatever that meant. The ministers and the ministry chiefs render NFF men otiose, hence the difficulty in  instilling discipline. If these three groups just forget their interest, football will be the best for it.

    The intrigues of 2002 dovetailed into the new NFF and remained unabated until we failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. The 2010 World Cup wasn’t any different; in fact it was worse. The coach who secured the World Cup ticket, like in 2002, wasn’t allowed to handle the team at the Mundial in South Africa. In fact, the contraption called Presidential Task Force, in like other crises times took charge. So ridiculous was it that at the Mundial in South Africa, Nigeria had two presidential committees. Laughable, isn’t it? Don’t ask me about the NFF chiefs, who were hounded to face the court. These NFF men are free today, but the trauma of that exercise, especially spending Christmas and New year in Kuje Prison, contributed largely to the death of one of them (Ma soro ju).

    Since 1994, every minister has visited FIFA’s headquarters, asking the same questions to underscore how busy they are. We wasted two World Cup appearances in 2014 (Brazil) and 2018 (Russia), bickering over leadership at the Glasshouse, leaving undone the task of assembling a good team for the future. Isn’t it striking that it is only in football that we are talking about a decree as an instrument to govern the game? Ministers who should be worried about this development and call for its change, would rather it stays for them to have unhindered intervention in how the game is governed. But for the FIFA Statutes, we would have been changing NFF personnel faster than light.

    No one is shocked by the Eagles’ refusal to attend the press conference before the game against Guinea. Our players don’t enjoy peaceful settings in camp. They enjoy rocking the boat to show their importance. Such instances when there is a crisis in camp increases the cash they take home. When they are not crying about the quality of jerseys, they are rejecting hotels or are insisting on sitting with the authorities to decide what they will earn in the latter stages of the competition.

    Rather than call their bluff, we stoop to get them to play on their terms, which most times are ridiculous, compared to what other countries pay their players in the same competition. Nigeria is the only country where the President talks to the players to boost their morale. This writer won’t blame the NFF chiefs who bend over backwards to get the President to speak with them. Such gestures lessen the tension in the camp.

    Unfortunately, this set of players overstepped their welcome with their protest, even after speaking with the President before the opening game against Burundi. The President is said to have assured them that he had signed all their requests. If the players couldn’t believe Mr President, who then can they trust?

    We should stop this show of shame by our footballers. Our players ought to apologise to the nation for their disgraceful action despite Mr. President’s assurance.

    This writer is tempted to suggest a code of conduct for the players, but won’t because they are adults. Instead, the ring leaders should be eased out. Manager Gernot Rohr should live in Nigeria, where he can watch the domestic game to pick younger players.

    Enough of this nonsense from our footballers (both sexes) playing overseas. Nigeria won’t cease to be a sovereign nation if we don’t participate in soccer competitions.

     

     

     

     

  • Rethinking the Ruga policy

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo must be chuckling to himself in quiet satisfaction. The wily Ota farmer had recently come up with the thesis of an ongoing attempt at the ‘Fulanization’ of Nigeria and ‘Islamization’ of West Africa, which many analysts had readily dismissed as mischievous and self-serving. His theory was perceived in many quarters as borne out of intense dislike for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration than his ever so often professed love for Nigeria. Obasanjo’s no holds barred criticisms had contributed significantly to the downfall or demystification of virtually all those who had ruled the country after him either as military Head of State between 1975 and 1979 or elected civilian President from 1999 to 2007.

    When about two years into Buhari’s first term, Obasanjo trained his trademark missive artillery on the austere General from Daura, the self righteous mystique of the Owu warrior failed him. Even though there was much that was disappointing and disenchanting about the Buhari presidency that had raised so much expectation of change, a not insignificant number of Nigerians felt Obasanjo had overreached himself. It was widely believed that the motive of the man who had been extraordinarily lucky to rule the country for a combined period of 12 years was not the good of Nigeria but a desire to be seen as the best leader ever in the country’s history. Thus, his attempt to rally a third force against both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a pitiable flop. His volte face and subsequent support for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s election as President in the 2019 polls failed. Buhari was reelected. The self-proclaimed watchman over the country had at last been demystified.

    It was the bitterness of this experience, many felt, that fuelled Obasanjo’s ‘Fulanization’ and ‘Islamization’ postulation just to discredit the Buhari administration. But then, Obasanjo’s flailing theory was given an unexpected shot in the arm by the announcement of the Federal Government’s Ruga settlement scheme, which generated widespread outrage until President Buhari’s wise and timely suspension of the rather bizarre enterprise. According to an assortment of Federal Government officials, the Ruga settlement scheme was conceived to create reserved communities where herders will live, grow and tend their cattle, produce milk and undertake other activities associated with the cattle business without having to move around in search of grazing land for their cows.

    This is ostensibly to find a lasting solution to the incessant clashes between nomadic herdsmen and sedentary farming communities. Yet, the policy would create legally designated communities in all states of the country for the benefit of cattle herders starting with a pilot scheme of 12 states. Since the cattle business is currently dominated by the Fulani ethnic group, those opposed to the Ruga settlement scheme naturally see it as nothing but a disguised attempt at Fulani expansionism and thus a confirmation of Obasanjo’s allegation of a ‘Fulanization’ agenda. This is, of course, far- fetched. On close examination, it appears to me that the Ruga settlement proposal does not differ fundamentally from the idea of ranching, which many argue is the way to go.

    Unfortunately, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has through some of its actions including key appointments and its seeming lethargy for a long time to the violent excesses of herdsmen in large swathes of the country created the impression of being biased towards the Fulani. This perception has been reinforced by the fact that Buhari himself is a Fulani man. The public distrust of the government and its motives is what has rubbed off so negatively on the Ruga settlement scheme no matter what may be its indisputable merits.

    First, the term Ruga is itself a Fulani word and unsuitable for a national ranching policy. Second, the policy was conceived and its legal framework drawn up in secrecy, which further aroused suspicions of ethno-regional groups already agitated by perceived Fulani imperialist inclinations. A national dialogue giving opportunity for the input of all stakeholders before the adoption and unveiling of the policy would certainly have enabled better confidence building and understanding of the policy. Third, the Ruga policy and the intense opposition to it is partly a function of the crisis of federalism in Nigeria. There is no reason why it should be a federal government project. The state governments who legally control all the land within their jurisdiction should have been left alone to enact ranching laws if they so desire as a state like Benue has done. That way the locals in each state, which want to go into the ranching business, can easily do so without the scheme being interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as a mechanism of consolidating Fulani domination.

    The Federal Government spokespersons who explained details of the Ruga scheme before its suspension, said the settlements would be provided with schools, health facilities, water and power supply for its residents. There would also be a security outfit, the agro rangers established to protect lives and property in the cattle colonies. It certainly did not occur to those who conceptualized this idea that it would appear to many as a variant of apartheid whereby a select group of Nigerians would have a privileged existence in a settlement where all the amenities for civilized existence are provided while majority of Nigerians across the country are subject to the vagaries of poverty, hunger, homelessness, avoidable disease and pervasive insecurity.

    Yes, the government can by all means give those in the cattle business the necessary financial support to ensure the establishment, sustenance and viability of their businesses just as is being done as regards those involved in rice, cassava, yams, tomatoes and other small and medium scale businesses in the overall interest of the national economy. But this certainly does not require a nationalized ranching policy under the control of the central government in a supposed federation like Nigeria.

    The government must go back to the drawing board to engage all stakeholders nationwide in order to rethink, redesign, re-designate and refine the Ruga policy. The unnecessarily antagonistic and hostile attitude of government spokesmen like Shehu Garba to the critics of the policy is unhelpful. The point is to patiently and painstakingly explain its rationale and merits to all Nigerians, eliminate its limitations, and make it more nationally acceptable. The reformed policy must respect the tenets of federalism, constitutionalism and respect for the equal dignity and rights of all ethno-cultural groups in the country.

    As presently conceived, the Ruga policy seems to assume that herdsmen must necessarily move their goods from the north southward in search of grazing land and water given the severe desertification and other environmental challenges in the region. But this is entirely mythical. There is absolutely no reason why the Northern states cannot take advantage of the revolutionary advances in science and technology to turn the vast arid land mass of the region to lush, fertile and productive land. Rather than create the impression of being eternally and helplessly dependent on the resources of the south – oil revenue and vegetation for its cattle for instance – the North can exploit modern science and technology to become not just self-reliant in agriculture but to also make the south dependent on it in its areas of strength.

    In the same way, nothing stops states in the south from also going into the cattle business by setting up modern, model ranches in their states as eminent human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has suggested. In a recent most enlightening television interview, Mr. Falana sheds light on this issue and I will quote him at length in conclusion. His words: “Ranching is not a new development in Nigeria; it is not a new phenomenon. The first ranch in Nigeria was established in Cross River State at Obudu in 1951 by the British. It was later taken over by the Eastern Regional Government. The Awolowo regime had a ranch in Akunnu, now Ondo State. The Ahmadu Bello regime had a ranch in Mokwa, Niger State. Under the Gowon regime, the Audu Bako regime in Kano had the best ranches in the country. But what happened was that during the long years of military rule, all the ranches in the country collapsed. That was the beginning of people taking cattle from one part of the country to another. Those who say that we have been doing it from time immemorial are talking rubbish. It is not our history.”

    Mr Falana continued: “In fact in the South West, the Obafemi Awolowo regime introduced a species of cow imported from Argentina. So we must solve the problem and it can only be solved scientifically. And we must learn from what is going on in Africa – Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia – have the best ranches in the continent. In fact Botswana has a population of 1.2 million people. The cattle population is 2.8 million. That is the largest exporter of meat in Africa and the largest producer of meat. So you don’t need to take cattle round. You produce meat and distribute the meat. We must go modern. There is no sentiment about it. For example, the South- West consumes ten thousand herds of cattle every day. You need to have a ranch. One of the state governments at the very least must invest in ranching to take care of meat production”.

    PMB must be commended for suspending the Ruga scheme. It gives an opportunity to re-think the policy altogether and re-introduce it in a more popularly acceptable manner in the national interest.

  • Lead, follow or get out of the way

    AT  a  Nigerian   Army  Workshop on Transformation the Chief of Army Staff, Lt  Gen  T K  Buratai reportedly said that lack of commitment and loyalty on the part of   a few soldiers and officers at the war front in the fight against  insurgency has made the war   against  terrorism  unsuccessful and protracted. The  army  leader  asked such  non committed  soldiers  to’ lead, follow  or get out of the way ‘.  At  an earlier army workshop  the Nigerian Army  boss  had  identified  joblessness   of   youths  as a potent source of insecurity  in the nation.  At  a meeting  recently  on    National  Security  chaired  by the Vice President of Nigeria   Prof   Yemi  Osinbajo, the National  Security Adviser Maj – Gen  Babagana Monguno  announced  that the Federal  Government will  ban  the Almajiri system where they occur  in Nigeria because the presence  of unemployed youths  roaming about in many parts  of the nation is a danger to the security of the nation.  These  three issues engage our thoughts today  even as we wait  in   deep   anxiety   that  the downing    of  a  US  surveillance drone  by the  Iranians  will  not lead  to another round of violence  in the Middle East  that will escalate  into a third World  War.

    On  reading that Lt  Gen  Buratai  had  asked  the few  errant  and disloyal  troops to lead  follow or get out  I tried to find  out  the source  of  the order  and I  discovered  that there is a book  by  that title   and  that the famous US General  Patton   had  told  his troops  in   fierce battles to  – ‘ lead, follow or get  the hell out of my way ‘.  So  there  was  nothing  unusual  in Nigeria’s  General  Buratai  highlighting  lack  of commitment or disloyalty  in the Nigerian  army  finding it difficult  to defeat Boko  Haram.  Indeed  I  had  watched  the video titled ‘Patton ‘in which the famous American hero  of the film  Gen  Patton   slapped a US  soldier   he   called  a coward   for  crying  on  his bed during the General’s  hospital  visit to  wounded US  soldiers.  Since   the press  was present during the visit there was an uproar at the time and the US authorities  asked   General  Patton  to  apologise  which   he  did.  But  the point had been  made that  he would  not brook unpatriotic  or disloyal  soldiers and officers under his command.

    In   the same manner Lt  Gen Buratai  should  be commended for  being frank  and brave enough to  highlight a major  weakness in our fight against bloody   insurgency.  He  cited many instances where  lack  of commitment  was the bane of the fight against  terrorism.  Some  have called for his resignation  if he too cannot lead,  but   I  beg  to differ.  If  he resigns  he would be unpatriotic  too. In  fact  he has been  brave  in owning  up to  a dangerous in- house  factor  militating against  the war  to defeat Boko  Haram. Buratai  in my mind  has stopped being politically  correct  and has  told his men like another  American  General  told  his officers  and men – ‘ We  have seen  the enemy  and the enemy  is  us ‘.  My  advice  to the   Nigerian  Army  Chief is  to put in place measures to  deter and punish  cowards  in uniform in the Nigerian  army at  the war  front  of the fight  against  Islamic terrorism  which Boko  Haram really  is.  If  he does his home work well he will  find  religion at work  in the disloyalty  and cowardice  of those  few  of his officers and men  who  have  showed  lack  of commitment   and disloyalty in the fight  against  the insurgency and terrorism  of  Boko  Haram.  He  should probe further and look  over his  shoulders as he  does  so.  For  now  his political  incorrectness and candor while   very   bold,  is  but   the tip  of the iceberg.

    Similarly, the revelation by the NSA  that the Almajiri  system  will  be banned in Nigeria  and free  education provided in the areas affected,  is a welcome  development. The  NSA  has  rightly  identified  implementation as a major  problem  by saying that  the Federal  Government  will  ensure the  implementation of the policy in the areas  where the Almajiris  exist.   That, though,   is better  said  than  done.  The  reality is that   the  Almajiri system  is a Northern  phenomenon  and is a real  wonder that it has not been  annihilated  given its threat to security and development  in the Northern  part of the  nation.  This  is in spite  of the fact that the balance  of power  and national   leadership  has  favored    the North  more than the South  in Nigeria. The  Almajiri  system   was meant  to be subdued  during the military  era  when  Basic Primary  Education  was introduced  and was never  effectively  carried out in the North. In  fact  an  Area  military  Commander in the then  North East  during military  rule  reported the State Governor for  negligence to   the Federal  Military    government in Lagos  for  not  implementing   BPE in the North East  because school  children in Maiduguri  were busy  learning  Arabic  under  dogonyaro   trees    from  Mallams  during  school  hours  when  they  should  be in  government schools  for  their    education. Later  the military  created six  states out of the former North East  where BPE  was largely  in effective. It  was  no wonder then  that  years later Boko  Haram  sprang out  of the North  East  with the slogan –  No,  to  Western  Education. In  retrospect  one should wonder if  Boko  Haram  is not a response or defiance of  BPE.  This is what the NSA  should  find  out as the nation  engages its gears to fight  and defeat  both Boko  Haram  and  Almajiris,  as  they both  feathers  of the same bird feeding terrorism and banditry  in our  political  system.

    On  the imminent  or probable war between Iran  and the US one  can  tell  both  nations to lead, fight  or  get  out of the way, so  the world at large can  have peace of mind. Indeed  I suspect  the Iranians  have  more  stomach  and anger  for  a fight  than  the  American  president  who  is looking for  a deal   and  wants the Iranians  to  call  him  for talks. But diplomacy  is different from deals  and wars are not fought by calling the media fake news  and making  20 tweets in a day on foreign  policy.  Of  course Trump  should  find out from Former US army  boss  Colin  Powell   who  before the US invaded  Iraq in the first  Gulf  War  told  a press  conference  about Saddam  Hussein  that  -‘ we are  going to encircle his army, then kill it.’  As  if  Iraq  was  some snake.  A  second  Gulf War  was fought  to subdue  Saddam  and Iraq. That  blew  up  into Al  Qada and ISIS  and   those  were fed in terms of leadership  by the remnants  of the Iraqi  army  that  America  boasted it would kill.

    Now  another US leader is threatening to go to war with Iran and thinks it business as usual. My  advice  to the US  is  to study, if not  too late,    the ideology  of Shia Islam  to  understand how  Iran is different from Iraq.  Iraq   has  majority Shias subdued  by the minority Sunnis   during   Saddam  Hussein’s   long rule.  The  American invasion of Iraq  and democratisation  gave power  to the Shias in Iraq.  Iran  on the other hand is  a  theocracy  and the Ayatollas  are  infallible.  In  addition  the concept of suicide in confrontations  is part and parcel  of their  religion. If  the Ayatollas  give the word  to fight the US   and  refuse  Trump’s bait of  a diplomatic call from Iran, then  the Iranians  will  fight to the last  man with technological  expertise  and finesse  that  the US never  expects. This  time  around  the American  president is putting his nation in the path  of  a  suicide  bomber and  unless he has a charmed life like the    proverbial  cat  with  nine  lives,  he  should  be extremely  careful  in trying to humiliate an  ancient  civilization like  Iran  either  militarily  or diplomatically.  A  word is enough for  the wise .  Once again  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • Mercenaries or Patriots?

    THE African game is on display with interesting results, drama, nail-biting misses in front of goalkeepers, intelligent goals like the one scored by Nigeria’s striker Odion Ighalo against Burundi and a lot of exciting moments. We have seen very tight matches. We have seen teams with little pedigree in the competition defend as if their lives depend on a particular game. Some of the highly defensive sides have learned the hard lesson that you don’t win any sport with a defensive mentality.

    Namibians wept after the last-minute own goal they conceded against the aggressive Moroccans who watched in awe as their goal-bound moves struck their opponents bodies, the cross bar, the upright of the goalpost, without sailing into the net. Mother luck was not with the Moroccans but they persisted until the Namibians’ own goal. The other interesting game of note was the end-to-end onslaughts from the Guineans and one of the debutants, Madagascar resulting in a deserving 2-2 draw, much to the relief of Nigerians, players, officials and supporters of the Super Eagles.

    The stadia hosting the matches of the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt can compete with anyone in the world. But the fans have shown seeming apathy to matches not involving the hosts, although pundits have argued that when the chips are down at the Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, crowd pulling nations, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. These countries have their nationals who throng venues when they have games as seen in their groups.

    However, there are sad occurrences before the competition, which raised posers about some of the players, especially those who ply their trade in Europe. Many argued that if these players had grievances with their federations, they should have declined the request to play for their countries. Holding the country to ransom through football federation chiefs smacks of blackmail. The players get what they want from the government and not the administrators. In other words, the fault isn’t the administrators’ but the government’s.

    Piecemeal settlement, such as what the Cameroonian players got before heading to Egypt, isn’t the solution. The players would have sought audience with the President to set a template that would resolve the crisis.

    Indeed, the players’ complaints predate this present FECAFOOT; it is a systemic problem which shouldn’t have been blamed on those who didn’t create it. The players who refused to board the aircraft should learn from their colleagues, such as Matip of Liverpool who retired from playing for the Indomitable Lions before the Russia 2018 World Cup.

    When players behave this way, the shame is on the country, making the Matip formula the best for dissenting ones. As defending champions, the Indomitable Lions ought to have hit Egypt with pomp and ceremony. The issues in the players’ ultimatum are not different from those which forced Matip out. It follows, therefore that those who went with such anomaly to the Russia 2018 World Cup ought to have emulated the Liverpool defender, rather than making the country the laughing stock.

    The difference between the Lions and the Super Eagles is that the former’s demands are familiar. Pundits are hoping that it doesn’t reoccur. The Eagles ought to have believed the federation’s chiefs, having told Nigerians that they trusted them based on previous competitions. Most times when Nigerian teams protest, such shameful acts are orchestrated by people with destructive interests, those who think that the federation is cheating them.

    The players should be told that without Nigeria, nobody would have known them. When some of them have visa issues and work permit difficulties, they use Nigeria’s matches and letters from the NFF to enhance their chances of getting such vital documents. One good turn deserves another.

    What our players don’t consider when they protest is the relationship they have with key NFF chiefs, who bend over backwards to assist them in off-field matters. In fact, the current players have repeatedly commended this federation for improving on their welfare. They are unanimous in stating the differences in the team since the new dispensation.

    Pundits wonder how the federation’s first mistake could dovetail into a crisis, given what the players said in the past. They didn’t need to boycott a pre-match press conference. They should have known that their absence from that mandatory exercise would elicit questions from the media. Nigerians appear to be burdened by the barracks mentality, occasioned by the long jackboot era in our polity.

    The nominated player ought to have gone for the press conference, leaving the other 22 players to deliberate on their next line of action. This writer isn’t amused when the team’s chief coach and top officials give the impression that they were helpless in the situation. It puts a lie to their purported ability to instill discipline in the team. It smacks of insensitivity if the players always need the Presidency to rush cash to them at competition venues, before rejecting the administrators’ pleas for patience.

    The popular thinking is that the Presidency should consider this incident when choosing the next Sports minister, who should not be cantankerous like the immediate past holder of the seat. Followers of the sport would recall the recent brickbats between the beret man (even when he was out of office) and the federation on this matter. He predicted this protest on grounds that the NFF didn’t include the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in the ministry’s budget. Which of the budgets; 2018 or 2019? What did he do to correct the anomaly, since the buck stops on his table?

    Having not qualified for two consecutive AFCONs, the federation should have kept its gunpowder dry for this edition. Of course, the NFF would have hinged its source of entering AFCON in the emergency budget, having qualified. But the beret man should have urged the federation to provide for it and then defend it.

    Sports can’t thrive in Nigeria with fiscal budgets. We need to adopt the system used by others. We will save ourselves this needless shame if we adopt the format where the cash for every competition we want to attend is provided four or two years before the next edition.

    In 1989, Clemens Westerhof checkmated the players’ mutiny by dropping some big boys for the game against Cameroon in Yaoundé. Nigeria lost 1-0, but new players were discovered, although one of them, Alloy Agu, was stretchered off the pitch. Nigeria prosecuted the Algiers 90 Africa Cup of Nations with rookies from the domestic league. Eagles lost the opening game 5-1 to Algeria, but qualified for the final game against the same country, losing 1-0. Westerhof began the revolution that changed the face of our game, using the carrot and stick method to instil discipline, edging out unruly players.

    In 1998, a players’ revolt caused Nigeria the quarter-finals clash against Brazil as our players insisted that they be paid $15,000 upfront, which they got before the game against Denmark. The Danes whacked Nigeria 4-1 in the Round of 16 game at the France’98 World Cup.

    In 2013, our players refused to board the chartered jet provided by FIFA for countries participating in the Confederations Cup held in Brazil. Our players stayed back in Windhoek, Namibia, with the coaches and accompanying officials standing aloof. Nigeria didn’t do well in the tournament, winning only one game.

    At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, our players refused to train before the Round of 16 game against France, until they were paid all their outstanding allowances. The Nation and Sportinglife broke the story. I recall how the Editor kept asking if I was sure of the report. It sounded quite preposterous. He used the story, relying on my pedigree on the job.

    The government responded by sending $3.8 million cash to Brazil to avert the international disgrace, a day before the game. Rather than keep the cash, which was in their possession, till after the game. The players, coaches and officials chose to share the $3.8 million all through the night. The exercise ended about 8am match day. Of course, France beat Nigeria 2-0.

    What was the hurry in sharing the money? Did the players know that France would beat Nigeria? Wouldn’t they have collected more cash if they beat the French and qualify for the quarter-finals, for the first time in the country’s annals in the competition? Were the players playing the World Cup for cash or to put Nigeria at the top echelon of world soccer, like it happened in 1994 in our debut appearance at the Mundial in the US?

    These protests have caught up with a junior team and the women football, making us the laughing stock. Those who blame the federation should appreciate the difficulty in funding 16 national teams, beginning with the U-15 teams, male and female, ditto U-17, U-20, U-23, CHAN Eagles, Super Falcons and Super Eagles. Perhaps, the NFF and the government should review the number of competitions which we participate in. But the problem is that these stages are interwoven.

    Beginning with the U-15 cadre till the Super Eagles for boys and Super Falcons for the girls, it is a developmental scheme.

  • As Oyegun regains his voice

    APPARENTLY spurred by the Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu’s tirades against his successor as National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, erstwhile party Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, appears to have regained his voice. In a vicious attack on Oshiomhole, Shuaibu had called for the party chieftain’s resignation accusing him of being responsible for the APC’s setbacks in states like Imo, Ogun, Zamfara, Rivers and Bauchi in the 2019 general elections. Oyegun immediately backed the call contending that Oshiomhole lacks the temperament to run a political party. In the unsparing words of Oyegun, his successor “lacks the capacity to manage the different interests and tendencies that constitutes a political party. He engages his mouth before engaging his mind”.

    Oyegun joined Shuaibu in putting the blame for the party’s loss of some states in the last election on Oshiomhole. It is, however, obvious that the majority of the party’s leadership as well as rank and file do not share the sentiments of either Shuaibu or Oyegun. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party has thrown its weight behind their Chairman. In the same vein, the State Chairmen of the APC have sided with the Chairman. Not even those former governors who have cause to be strongly disaffected with Oshiomhole have publicly chided him in the aftermath of the elections. Shuaibu and Oyegun are apparently to be severely on their own.

    Were Oyegun to have his way, he would still be sitting pretty today as National Chairman of the APC along with other members of his NWC. The argument of those who wanted tenure extension for the national officers of the party at the time was that the 2019 elections were too close at hand for the party to afford intra –party elections that could prove to be disorderly and divisive. The same logic was extended to those seeking elective offices at all levels. The plot was that they would all be granted automatic re-election tickets at non- elective party congresses and conventions. This would have laid the foundation for the consolidation of the dictatorship of the then incumbent party and elective office holders within the PDP.

    In a moment when he showed a suave and sure hand, rising up to his role as the leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari said no to the perpetration of any such illegality. He ruled that the constitution of the party must be followed strictly to the letter and intra party elections held for all party and elective state offices. When one considers what eventually happened in Zamfara and Rivers states and the colossal misfortune suffered by the APC as a result of the party not abiding by its own rules in the states, the APC is lucky that President Buhari rose to the demands of statesmanship at that critical time.

    What Chief Oyegun is obviously still enamored with is the peace of the graveyard that reigned in the APC during his tenure. He considers his leadership as mature and temperate. Many observers rightly saw it as languid, uninspiring and placid. The Edo chief betrayed the great expectations that accompanied his ascendancy to the leadership of the party. His antecedents aroused high hopes. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, he had a meteoric rise in the Federal Civil Service where he became one of the youngest and most accomplished Permanent Secretaries. He was a one- time Governor of Edo State during military President, General Ibrahim Babangida’s convoluted transition programme. But he just could not appear to muster the requisite leadership dynamism and effectiveness for a nascent political coalition in need of a firm hand as helmsman. The party under his leadership was beholden to powerful vested interests particularly the governors. The APC was in the pockets of contending fractions and factions and the Oyegun leadership seemed helpless to do anything about it.

    Under Oyegun’s watch, the party’s national executive watched helplessly as the opposition practically seized control of the National Assembly leadership; a situation that cost the APC administration dearly in terms of harmonious legislative-executive relations and governmental performance in President Buhari’s first term between 2015 and 2019. Several states were rocked by crises that compelled President Muhammadu Buhari to empanel the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to lead an intra-party reconciliation effort. As a result of the reticence and lack of proactive initiative of the party leadership, the so-called cabal moved in to exercise undue influence over the presidency and filling the vacuum created by the party particularly in policy initiation and implementation.

    To the shortsighted, the APC would have been better off not holding intra-party elective congresses and conventions and thus going into the 2019 elections with a semblance of harmony, peace and unity. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The somnolence that prevailed within the party under Oyegun was the proverbial funereal peace. It could not last and could have proved a long term and more dangerous portent for the APC. At least bottled up emotions and frustrations have been forced to the surface. Unless a wound is forced into the open and treated, it cannot heal. With Oyegun and his national executive as well as elective office holders getting non-competitive tenure extension, the APC would have hidden gangrenous wounds under misleading garbs of wholesomeness. Now, a whole lot of party members, including party leaders, know that it is futile to challenge the authority of the party. There is a greater sense of party discipline. If the party can play a more effective role in partnering the government in the areas of policy implementation within the parameters of the party manifesto, a more disciplined and focused APC can reverse its electoral reverses in subsequent polls.

    Oshiomhole may be bullish and hectoring. He may be used to what many see as a headmaster style. That is perhaps what the party needed given the state in which the Oyegun leadership left it. In any case, unlike 2015, the party now has national assembly leaders of its own choice. Oyegun blames Oshiomhole for giving state chapters the freedom to choose among having direct primaries, indirect delegates primaries or consensus arrangements to pick candidates for elective office. But if the comrade politician had insisted on foisting just one method on the party, he would have been accused of dictatorship. There is no doubt that the way to go henceforth is to have direct primaries in which all party members are given the opportunity to participate in choosing party candidates. This will weaken the hold of the fabled godfathers on the party, minimize the influence of money in a delegates’ election difficult to differentiate from an auctioneering bazaar and return the ownership of the party to the rank and file of members.

    All too often, the mistake is made that Oshiomhole’s seemingly dictatorial and hard line style is a function of his experience for decades as a labour leader. Those who reason this way forget that the labour movement in Nigeria, particularly the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) as well as Trade Union Congress (TUC) rank among the most democratic organizations in the country’s civil society. It is simple impossible for any leader sitting at the apex of these organizations to take unilateral decisions on their behalf without consulting all the necessary statutory organs and abiding by stipulated processes. Even then, it is a good sign that Oshiomhole, both in his utterances and actions, is showing greater restraint and collegiality, which demonstrates an ability to learn and mature on the job.

    Oyegun’s intervention on the Edo Assembly crisis is unhelpful. He has shown a willingness to jump into the fray and heap all the blame on Oshiomhole whom he accuses without proof of exhibiting traits of ‘godfatherism’ and distracting the governor. He is totally silent on the salient issues of the legality of inaugurating an assemblage of nine out of 24 members and picking legislative leaders from among the minority. This surely is not good for democracy.

    The man in the arena

    There is no doubt that the new Imo State governor, honourable Emeka Ihedioha, has his job cut out for him.

    There is certainly a lot of remolding and reinvention to undertake in Imo following the rather tempestuous tenure of the governor’s predecessor.

    Anyone who had observed Emeka carefully over the years would readily know that he would go far in politics. He is a Theodore Roosevelt’s fabled ‘man in the arena’ whose face is marred by blood and sweat and tears.

    Politics is Emeka’s passion. He is  man perpetually posied in the thick of action. For him, like Awo, politics is the art of selfless service to his people.

    I can remember those years back in 1991/1992 when Emeka and I would be in the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo’s hotel room at Nicon Noga Hilton till the wee hours of the morning, savouring the great man’s political wit and wisdom.

    While I was more interested in the theoretical aspects of the great Oyi’s postulations, Governor Ihedioha was more practically and pragmatically inclined.

    Ever so focused and determined to achieve any goal he sets for himself, I am confident that the governor will make a path-breaking impact in Imo. Here is wishing him best of luck.

  • Yahoo boy shocks commuters at Edo checkpoint

    IT was like a scene from a Nollywood movie for some commuters who were travelling recently from Ekpoma in Edo State to Benin, the state capital, in a vehicle owned by a popular transport company in the state. A few kilometres to Benin City, the vehicle was stopped by some policemen at a checkpoint.

    The passengers were happy because the vehicle’s driver had been driving recklessly. Then the policemen took a cursory look into the vehicle, sighted a young man in his early 30s and asked him to come down. They demanded for his phone and ordered him to unlock it. He did.

    Just when it looked like the young man’s phone was all the police would ask of him, they demanded for his laptop computer. He told the policemen that he did not have his laptop with him, but they threatened to deal with him if they searched and found the laptop. At that point, he produced the laptop and they searched through it.

    After about 10 minutes, a passenger who had become impatient approached the policemen and pleaded that they should release the boy so that they could continue their journey. But one of the policemen retorted: “Gentleman, do you know what you are asking us to do? This young man can finish all of you. He is a yahoo boy!”

    While the conversation was going on, the young man, who had been handed back his phone, called somebody on it, and in the course of their conversation, was heard saying that he did not have up to N250,000 on him.

    When the telephone conversation ended, the young man turned to the leader of the police team for negotiation. At the end of the discussion, he parted with N88,000 and was released immediately.

  • LASTMA groans under corrupt policemen’s burden

    THE leadership of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) is in a dilemma over what to do with corrupt policemen deployed at traffic control points in Lagos.

    Investigations conducted by SENTRY revealed that while LASTMA officials are trying to carry out their duty of ensuring free flow of traffic with remarkable civility, inept policemen deployed to give them protection have literally hijacked their jobs and have turned traffic control into a money-spinning venture.

    Consequently, they have devised a means by which they create traffic bottlenecks so that motorists supposedly given the green light are stuck in the middle until the yellow and red lights meet them on the wrong spot. The mischievous policemen then jump into the vehicles of the helpless motorists to harass them until they part with some money.

    At Cappa area in Oshodi, for instance, their antics are said to have become a source of embarrassment to LASTMA officials who often have to watch helplessly as the errant policemen harass innocent motorists, dragging them to LASTMA’s yard in Oshodi and forcing them to cough out sums ranging between 6,000 and 10,000 naira which, of course, end up in their private pockets.

    A LASTMA henchman told SENTRY that the agency had grown sick and tired of the antics of the errant policemen. But he said there was little that LASTMA officials could do about them, “because they are deployed at the traffic control points to give our men protection against notorious motorists and criminal elements.”

  • Fly Super Eagles Fly

    Welcome to Africa, the continent of possibilities. The continent with the largest number of footballers yearly heading to Europe, America and the Diaspora for greener pastures. On the dusty streets that litter the continent, young lads kick the ball. They model their game after their favourite stars. It’s quite a compelling sight watching Blues Angels FC kids, for instance, playing with aliases like Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Henry, Hazard et al even when such a combination don’t exist in club football or at the international level.

    Most times the kids turn out for the game in bare feet, with some wearing stuffed stockings for boots to distinguish them from the upstarts. It is the cheapest game to run here, yet it attracts the largest followership anywhere.

    In fact, the world waits with bated breath as the biggest soccer event in Africa takes the centre stage. For the next 28 days, football lovers will be glued to their television sets to see Africans who shone like a million stars with their European clubs showcase their talents with their national teams. European clubs’ scouts will be in Egypt, taking notes of new players who will accompany them back to Europe to be nurtured and exposed to the biggest stage in the game.

    The European scouts, however, will have to look at rookies from countries in the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations, such as Burundi, Madagascar, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Benin since the players in the bigger countries are stuck with long term contracts, even those whose contracts are coming to an end, already know what to expect from their clubs.

    This large collection of seeming ‘minor’ countries in Egypt is a reflection of how well the game has grown in Africa, although many pundits have ascribed the dawn of rookies to the new 24-team format. Whatever the reason, one thing is clear – there will be new talents to celebrate at dusk on July 19 when the eventual winners of the 32nd edition of the Cup of Nations emerge.

    Debutants, such as Alex Iwobi feel strongly  that Nigeria’s matches will be like wars. Iwobi is magical dribbler Austin Jay Jay Okocha’s nephew, but he insists that his dribbling skills aren’t necessarily from his uncle. He, however, acknowledges that his uncle influenced his decision to play football.

    Iwobi said that: “Everyone is always going to say that on paper that we should go through, that we should qualify with ease, but we know it’s not going to be easy. Every team is in there to try and do their best, to try and win. It’s going to be almost like a war. It’s going to be a serious battle and fight. Every game is going to be really competitive.”

    The 23-year old, when asked of Eagles chances in the competition, said: “We haven’t really discussed that as a team and we haven’t really put or point what we want to achieve, we all have this idea that we want to win and bring back the trophy. We are confident and working hard hopefully, we can do not just our self proud but the nation as well.”

    “Even though it’s their first, they will come with a lot to prove, to show everyone why they had the chance to get into the Africa Cup of Nations,” he said.

    The Super Eagles reached Alexandria on Monday ahead of the tournament which, began on Friday, 21 June. They will begin their campaign on June 22 against Burundi.

    When the Super Eagles media team asked Alex Iwobi of his ‘’nutmeg skills’’, he replied: I’ll like to take ownership for this one. Okocha, my uncle, has got the skills but nutmeg, I’ll say this is my own ownership.

    ‘’It is something that just comes along. I don’t go into games thinking I am going to nutmeg someone; it just happens instinctively. Sometimes the easiest way for me to get past an opponent. I have been given the title, I

    can’t let my people down.”

    Great things on Iwobi’s mind for Nigeria, which would invariably rub off on the Super Eagles. Nigeria’s first game on June 22 is against Burundi amidst talk of virus invading the camp leaving in its wake many of our top stars nursing various ailments. But, words from the camp on Wednesday poured cold water on the illness claim alleging that what struck the camp was a flu which left both players and officials blowing their nostrils. Such rebuttals are often taking with the pinch of salt.

    It may be difficult to pinpoint one big player in Burundi, but they could become a banana peel if our players underrate them. With a transfer value of our players put at N78 billion, it will amount to one of the socks of the competition on June 22, if Burundi beats Nigeria in Group B’s opening game.

    At the qualifiers, Eagles’ greatest weapons were strikers, with Odion Ighalo being the highest goal scorer. However, the team’s attacking onslaught has been questionable. perhaps due to Ighalo’s injury, although there are promising young strikers such as Chukwueze, Osimhen, Onwuachu and Henry Onyekuru. Eagles’ last four matches saw the striker scoring just a goal, which isn’t commendable. Ironically, the defence, which was suspect at the qualifiers is rock-solid, although with some slips which will be corrected now that the defensive pairings have been playing together. This has enhanced the understanding between the defenders.

    No team wins matches without goals. Gernot Rohr should know that Ighalo, Chukwueze and Onyekuru will be marked. Rohr should play the strikers that are fit. He should not field those who shone in the past or because they are the highest goal scorer(s) in the qualifiers. Chukwueze, Onyekuru, Osimhen and Onwuachu did well with their clubs. They should be considered head of Ighalo, given the superiority of the European leagues over the Chinese, with due respect to the country’s league and Ighalo’s pedigree. Any team pitched against Nigeria will quiver a bit, if they see Ighalo on the bench. Eagles could exploit Ighalo’s experience if he mandates him to watch the game and see the loophole before introducing him in the course of matches.

    Pundits will only believe Rohr’s mantra of parading a younger Nigerian side in Egypt by fielding the boys, not relying on experienced stars. John Mikel Obi’s return to the team will propel the Eagles’ attacking onslaughts since he knows what to do with the ball.

    Mikel’s strength lies in his ability to win balls and spray defence-splitting passes. Our strikers should endeavour to free themselves from their markers to get the ball. That is the only way the passes from the midfield can get to them. Hiding behind defenders isn’t the hallmark of great strikers, such as Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Rohr’s formations of 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 are quite commendable as they help our players with pace to outrun their markers when the passes are provided. It appears the strikers should be told to take scoring chances, which will not come in torrents.

    Our players should be selfless during games. Balls should be given to the freest player to score goals. What counts are goals by teams, not missed chances or how well losing teams play. A midfield quartet of Mikel, Oghenekaro Etebo, Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi, if fit, would be a handful for teams to contend with.

    Ahmed Musa, and two other strikers should convert the chances they create in today’s game against Burundi. Beating Burundi with as many goals as possible would send jitters round the other match venues that the Nigerians are in Egypt not for fun. Personal achievements don’t win trophies, but collective play efforts and understanding among the players do.

    Nigeria’s fixtures are the best any team could wish for. The opening game against Burundi and the last against Madagascar, given the teams’ pedigree against the Eagles, should give Rohr the leverage to parade his strongest side against Guinea, knowing that two victories over Burundi and Guinea will fetch Nigeria the Group B qualification ticket. If this happens, the Madagascar tie will just be the icing on the cake and a platform for other players to have a feel of the competition.

    Rohr will be happy he has fixed the team’s defence. But he will have no problem with the central defence, if Leon Balogun is fit. Rohr prefers the defensive pair of Balogun and Troost Ekong. He appears uncomfortable with pairing Kenneth Omeruo with either Balogun or Ekong.

    It is good to know that Daniel Akpeyi is the first choice goalkeeper. What gives pundits hope is that Francis Uzoho can easily replace Akpeyi if he falters like he normally does under pressure. Uzoho kept the goal for Nigeria at the 2018 Russia 2018 World Cup, where he gained confidence with every game. Ikechukwu Ezenwa could also fit the bill, making pundits a little bit relaxed ahead of today’s game, unlike before the world Cup opener against Croatia, which we lost 2-0.

    It is unfair for our players to think that Nigeria will be ranked underdogs in Africa. Most of our players have distinguished themselves with big European clubs, culminating in a net total value of N78 billion.

    “If anybody says the tournament will be easy, it is a lie because it is going to be tough; it is going to be hot but I believe in the team we have; we have all it takes to do well at the AFCON,” Ighalo told the NFF media.

    “Nigeria has a good team that can play in the semi-final and the final. As I said, we will not get carried away.

    “We have a team that can even win the trophy if we work hard and if we give everything we have on the pitch, not saying had I known later. We have all it takes to win it but let’s just start with the first game, to the quarter-finals, semis, then we will see how it goes.”

    “Anything I do in life, I like people to take me as an underdog because I like to surprise people and I like to take people unaware; that’s for me as a person,” he added.

    “If they are taking us [underdog], it is very good because it won’t give the team more pressure. When the team has more pressure of winning this and that, that’s when you will start thinking of the final when you have not even played the first game.”