The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday

  • Amuneke’s joker for coaches

    Emmanuel Amuneke was the player for the big occasions. He never disappointed the coaches who used him as their joker during matches. Amuneke wasn’t the player to dribble his mates on the pitch to elicit applause from the fans, like Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha. But he was such an efficient player that he could use virtually any legitimate part of his body to score goals.

    Amuneke scored goals from diving headers, back-heeled strikes and blasts from well worked crosses. He came forward to score vital goals, such as the brace in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations against Zambia, the winning goal which fetched Nigeria the gold medal at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, not forgetting the diving header which caught the Bulgarian defenders napping, even though Nigeria won the game 3-0.

    Amuneke won’t forget Italians in a hurry as their vicious tackles literarily terminated his career following the injury he sustained in the game against Italy, whose game plan, in retrospect, was centred on injuring Amuneke and Daniel “Dabuu“ Amokachi to cripple the Eagles. And it worked, sadly, with none of those defenders being shown a yellow card.  Had Amuneke and Amokachi completed the game, perhaps Nigeria would have beaten Italy. Nigeria lost it 2-1.

    Amuneke’s grass to grace story, through football, is interesting. His decision to become a coach may be his most enduring legacy with the beautiful game, if he matches results with his tactical savvy. From a humble beginning in the dusty and undulating Maracana Stadium in Ajegunle, Amuneke’s meteoric rise in the game was anchored on his exploits in Zamalek FC of Egypt, Sporting Lisbon of Portugal and ultimately in Barcelona FC in Spain, playing alongside some of the best,including Manchester City FC of England’s manager Pep Guardiola.

    Not many people remember that Amuneke played for the defunct Julius Berger FC of Lagos (aka Adewale Bridge Boys) in 1991, where he was spotted by Zamalek  FC in 1994. He later joined MSV Duisburg and Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese league. But it was at Barcelona that Amuneke showed that he could compete with the best by commanding regular first team shirt. Barcelona were star-studded, with Luis Enrique, Luís Figo, Pep Guardiola, Ronaldo de Lima and Hristo Stoichkov.

    Injury was unkind to Amuneke, forcing him out of Barcelona to join Albacete FC in 2003 for one year and Al-Wehdat SC (Jordan), retiring from football at 34.

    Where did Amuneke develop his coaching skills? In 2008, he spent some time as an assistant coach at Saudi Premier League side Al-Hazm, but left to become a scout for Manchester United. With such a background at Manchester United, coupled with his stay in Barcelona, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he chose coaching when two of his friends, Enrique and Guardiola, are coaches today. It is on record that both men do invite Amuneke to Barcelona to watch key matches where they compare notes, preparatory to Amuneke’s two World Cup winning shots with Nigeria’s U-17 sides Golden Eaglets in 2013 and 2015. In 2013, Amuneke was the assistant coach to Manu Garba, although there were hints that the team benefited immensely from the former Africa Footballer of theYear’s tactical savvy.

    It didn’t come as a surprise when NFF elected to promote Amuneke to chief coach in 2015. Amuneke distinguished himself as the Eaglets played one of the most exciting matches en route winning the trophy. He has taken some coaching jobs that went awry, largely due to the inadequacies of his employers to provide the tools for him to work. On 23 December 2008, Amuneke took over the head coaching duties at his former team Julius Berger, after completing two years of coaching courses in Europe. For a while, he combined this position with the role for the Red Devils, but eventually quit his post in England to concentrate on his coaching career.

    Amuneke was sacked halfway through his first season after conflicts with the management, despite saving the team from relegation. The club later claimed he was sacked for “over gross insubordination”. He was hired in early November, 2009 as the coach of Ocean Boys FC. He became coach of Al Khartoum SC in November 2017 and left in March 2018.

    Amuneke’s appointment signposts a new dawn for Nigerian coaches that was blighted by the sad tale of the assistant coach of the Super Eagles Salisu Yusuff captured by undercover reporters collecting cash, which he described as a gift, since the inclusion of the players was mandatory. The players whose names were not mentioned in the undercover video were, according to Salisu, his regulars whose contributions to Nigeria’s qualification for the CHAN tournament couldn’t have been enhanced with any bribe. Put simply, the players were his best. TFF President Wallace Karia has assured the former Al Khartoum coach of the federation’s support, insisting  they had picked the right man for the job.

    “He has established himself and he has been successful both as a player and coach,” Karia said during Amuneke’s unveiling.

    Is Amuneke ready for the job? Yes, if one considers the first appointment he made into the Tanzanian side, with the recruitment of former Golden Eaglets goalkeeper trainer Emeka Amadi, himself an ex-international and a Masters degree holder in Physical and Health Education from the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka.

    Emeka Amadi replaced fumbling goalkeeper Angus Ikeji at half time in the historic Damman Miracle tie in the quarterfinals. Amadi remained in goal for the Nigeria side that lost 2-0 to Portugal which had Luis Figo in the final of the U-20 World Cup in 1989. A Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) like his boss, Amuneke, Amadi was in goal in the famous Damman Miracle.

    Will Amuneke work with a Tanzanian assistant or opt to make his technical crew a Nigerian set-up for loyalty? Does Amuneke know enough of the game in the East African country to pick one of their big stars as his assistants. Interestingly, Amuneke told the international media after his signing-in ceremony on Tuesday: “I know Tanzania very well, its football, but I won’t promise you to bring wonders as I believe with good cooperation, together we can move it to the next level.”

    “I’m ready for the challenge and will give my 100% per cent best on the job. I know they play a particular kind of football here and I won’t try to impose my own philosophy on them. I will just work with what is on ground and try to understand their football and try to bring out the best.”

    “I believe I can manage the situation to work together because the main aim of the TFF is to develop at youth level rather than winning at all cost. For our qualifiers next month, to be honest, I’m not under pressure because we have to assess what we have on ground, but I’m optimistic of a positive result.”

    Amuneke, Amadi et al have been assigned the duties of overseeing Tanzania’s age-grade team.

    ‘’We are also in charge of the youth programmes of the country, which is an added responsibility. As a coach, you must have a target for yourself without anyone giving it to you. The prime target is qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2019) and God will see us through. I’m a positive person right from my playing days. I know with hard work and commitment from the players, we can achieve our aim. I must commend the organisation at the FA of Tanzania, they are quite professional,’’ Amuneke said.

    ‘’We have started work already as we don’t have time on our side. We have an AFCON qualifier against Uganda away from home and we need to start in earnest and that is why I am not going back to Spain for now,’’ he said.

    It is good to know that Amuneke feels he could handle the Eagles in the future. He needs to use this Tanzanian platform to prove his coaching mettle. Ironically, Amuneke is at the vanguard of those who kick against the employment of foreign coaches for the Eagles. I wonder what he is at Tanzania. Coaching is universal as with the game. Amuneke didn’t get the job on a platter of gold. He beat European coaches who vied for the job too.

    All that coaches need to get jobs is to excel in such assignments to attract new suitors. Indeed, there are two types of coaches- those on the job and those waiting to replace them.

    Will Amuneke coach Eagles? Yes, if he does well with the Tanzanian job. He holds better coaching certificates than most of the foreigners we have recruited. What he needs is the working experience. He will be good for the job.

  • Leaders, chameleons and the enemy within

    In  the US,  the debate  is on to determine  the political  correctness  or  otherwise of a sitting  American  President  calling the media ‘Public  Enemy‘ after  branding them ‘Fake  News‘  with no apologies, till  today.

    In  Britain the former  Foreign Secretary  Boris Johnson  has  been  asked to apologise  for calling Muslim women wearing the veil  ‘letter  boxes ‘and ‘armed  robbers‘.  It  appears  therefore  that we are  globally  in a season of name calling,  on  very  important,  sensitive political  and socio – cultural  issues  and  I cannot  resist  the temptation to join  the fray  from  the  Nigerian  end   and  the entrance to this is not difficult  to discern.

    It  is the invasion of the National  Assembly  this week  by   armed  DSS operatives  some of whom   had  their  faces covered   and the subsequent  firing, with immediate  effect of the Director  General  of the organization,  by the acting President of Nigeria, Prof  Yemi Osinbajo. Let  me  state  clearly  that  the sack  of the DSS DG  was  the face saving   elixir  that  brought life to  a Nigerian  leadership that had sunk  to its nadir in terms  of credibility and  sincerity  in the eyes  of the Nigerian  populace. It  reminded me starkly  of   late  Murtala Muhammed, Nigeria’s head  of state in a different era, who in state  addresses announcing such issues  historically said – ‘This  administration will  not    tolerate  indiscipline, this administration  will  not condone  abuse  of  office‘  That  was  the sort  of  decisiveness  the Acting  President  displayed  on the sacking of  the  DSS  boss  last  week   and  even  though he   mentioned   the  defence  of the rule of law     for his action, he  could have added  or used  the same  words  as   the   late  Murtala Muhammed    who  was later  assassinated  by  his military  colleagues.

    Quite   interestingly   the  invasion  of  the National Assembly  last week  ended on the national  media with  the’ triumphant’  entry  of the  Senate  President, Dr.  Bukola  Saraki into the  premises. To  me that was a very  pyrrhic    victory    for  the Senate  President and his supporters    after  the very  correct sacking of the DSS boss  by the acting president. But  then the whole  saga has been played  around  the inordinate  ambition  of  one  man  who  betrayed  his party in getting into  the  office of the Senate  President  and who  has since, quite recently defected  from that party   but  has  proceeded  to  hold  an office  based on legislative  majority  which  he lost  on defecting. It  is a  clear case  of eating one’s cake  and still   having it,   which  is not only illegal  but morally inexcusable.  But  then  this  leader  has been  the chameleon  of  Nigeria’s politics  for some  time.

    In  the   case  of his exploits  in the APC   he  has  been  the Trojan  horse and the enemy  within from  day  one. Or  else, how can  we explain the way  he became  the Senate President with the vote of the opposition   and  how  he has  held on against  all odds against  a party in power  before  finally    showing his hands   by declaring for the opposition and shutting the Senate to  avert  a vote to defeat  him. Really, one must give the devil  his due  and  there  is no denying the grim fact that, in or out of power,  Dr  Bukola    Saraki   has become the will – o’ the – wisp  or   Jack O ‘Lantern   of  Nigeria’s  politics today.  Surely  the  saga of his ambition  is still  unfolding   and  one cannot  help  wandering   when,  and how  his leadership    acrobatics  of clinging to power,  like a cat with  nine  lives,  will  end.

    Let  me now go  back   to  two  examples  on name calling  that  I mentioned earlier namely the  US  and  Britain  for some brief comments. First, US President Donald  Trump,  like  Shakespeare’s Macbeth  murdered sleep  and  ‘will  sleep no more ‘when  he branded  the media  against  him  – fake news  – which   is  nasty   assault  on their credibility. Which  is their  main  selling point  and major  source of revenue and sustenance as economic   and commercial   propositions. Their  reaction is bound  to be nastier  and that is what  is happening  and that explains why  they  attempted to make one of them  in the White House, the Press  Secretary  to denounce the label of   Public Enemy  that her boss  has put like an albatross on the neck of the US media.

    Of  course  the lady  did not take the bait. But  to me both the US media  and the US president  are doing their jobs except  for the vitriol  of vocabulary which  has become abusive and  utterly subjective, which  really  is the   vice  that either  party  should  learn  to    avoid  and avert. But  then  that is the nature of US politics in the very  unusual  Donald  Trump  era  and presidency.

    In  Britain   I  think  Boris  Johnson’s  description of Muslim  women as’ letter  boxes’  and’ armed  robbers ‘should  be seen  in the appropriate contexts even  though the descriptions are basically  abusive.  The  letter  box refers obviously to the slit in the veils which is functional  to  see  and move about. The armed  robbery  is to depict the fact  that armed  robbers  are hooded  to cover  their identity  as they break  the law. The  abuse does  not detract  from the fact that women in veil  in an open society  like Britain  have missed  the bus of cultural integration in a multicultural  society  and need to brace up  or ship out. That  is what  the former  Mayor of  London  was hinting at and the humor  was lost on those accusing  him of  Islamophobia   and  perhaps  misogyny   which  are the fashionable  vocabulary  against  men in the ‘Women  At    Arms‘  environment  that  Western  civilization  has become in recent  times. Once again long  live  the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • Politics, Structure and Security

    Politics,  powered by elections is the nature of democracies. In recent times however, the quality , timing and conduct  of elections have come under  scrutiny  globally  because  of the results  they produce  and their rejection or acceptance by the electorate . Such  is the nature and grim situation in  some nations we shall  look  at today.   From  Pakistan  to  Zimbabwe where we had recent elections programmed in  terms of expectation  to change  the political  status quo,  to  Nigeria  where the 2019 elections is already creating  partirees  alignments, disruptions and defections, to the US where the echoes of the last 2016 presidential  elections are  mercilessly  threatening the legitimacy of the winner , there is no doubt  that the politics , structure and security of the  political  systems in these  nations are  under  immense stress if not outright provocations .We  examine  the issues involved  today  to see why it  seems elections are  losing integrity  faster than  expected   which   surely  poses serious  challenges to political  stability and security  if results  are not transparent enough to reflect  what  people voted for at the ballot box , making  their  results  products  of violent protest  as in Zimbabwe  this week .

    In  Pakistan  as we noted last week it   was   the army  calling the shots  hitherto  from the  background  but now  more openly . The  army  cannot stick the guts of Nawaz  Sharif , the last PM so  it handpicked Imran Khan, Oxford educated cricket star  and legitimized  this with election  won by its protégé  and guaranteed the conduct  and results with  the  force of arms .  That  at best  is guided democracy but it is not a free  and fair election . Pakistan  is   a parliamentary  democracy but  the army  is the guardian  angel  of its  democracy and  has been  able to have its way  even  against  brave   Pakistani  leaders and democrats like Nawaz  Sharif  who was jailed for corruption  while abroad  but has returned home and to  prison  because he said his trial was a political  intimidation by  the military . So  how  does Pakistan marry  its parliamentary system with a meddlesome army  to  have free  elections and a transparent  democracy  immune from military intervention   based on security  blackmail ? That  is the million  dollar question  that will  determine  the future of democracy  and political stability in that Asian  nation with a    past  of violent  Islamic    militancy  and  political  assassinations .

    The  situation in Zimbabwe is  not very  different from  that of   Pakistan  except  perhaps that of Zimbabwe  is evolving , post  Mugabe  ,  but that of Pakistan  is recurrent . Zimbabweans  obviously   want  a change  after almost  40  years of  Mugabe  and have voted  massively  for  Nelson  Chamisa the 40  year old challenger to Mugabe’s successor President  Emmerson Mnangagwa ,  who  was helped  by the army  to make Mugabe relinquish  power  ,  albeit  in a very  face saving  ,  rickety  hand over.  Now  the army is beating people off the streets  in  Harare  and asking them to go home and close shops till the elections results  are  announced .  But  the  protesters  are  unyielding saying that their  votes  have been stolen . Also  the army which  has been Mugabe’s party Patriotic Front weapon of oppression since  Independence got  by  war  is not prepared  to hand over power to any party or candidate save that of the Patriotic Front  which  has been it benefactor and patron ever  since . Even  though  Mugabe  supported the youthful  challenger by saying that  his successor was brought in by a military  coup  there is no denying that the Patriotic Front  cannot see itself  and its  army  under  the command of  a winner in any election other than one  from its ranks like  the president that seem  to have lost  this last  election . It  would   seem  therefore  that Zimbabwe’s  diarchy  that  was so powerful under Mugabe’s  long rule is about  to dissemble  at  the first  post Mugabe  election . Except  the army  stands  its ground  and proclaims the present president victorious  and uses  force     again  to ensure  political  stability  . Which  will  really not be strange as Mugabe did it before when  he lost  an election unexpectedly . Will  his successors  get away  with it without him in power ? That  is the bold risk  the Zimbabwe military  is about  to take in the hope it  will  use  security  and stability  as excuse  to continue  the status quo  ante . But  it is  a foolish  excuse that will  not command the respect of the Zimbabwean  electorate   and will   tax crucially  on violent tenterhooks the legitimacy  of such  election  results in a post Mugabe Zimbabwe .

    In  Nigeria  we  are in a season  of political  defections of legislators and some governors  from  the ruling  party  and it’s a very interesting and educative development on the nature of our political  values  and a reflection of the structure   and security  apparatus  we have in place to  preserve political  stability . For starters    we   know   we  have a presidential system powered  by the principle of separation of   powers. .  That  principle  is at the chore of the present defections  , aside  from the inability and indifference of the executive  to respond to security and multi -ethnicity   demands  and issues we have pointed out before .

    Somehow  ,  in   running our own presidential  system the legislators seem  to  have seen only the red flag  of separation  of power s and taking that to mean  institutional  independence which  is a wrong interpretation of the constitution .  They  have  always    been  blind to the white  flag    of   power  collaboration   which    is the    essence    of    political   stability .  In  a presidential  system  the three  centres of power are intertwined  and interwoven in the service of the state  and not the other way  round . In  addition  ,the National  Assembly  is not a state within a state and must work  in harmony   with the executive and judiciary  and not at  odds  on all  occasions  as we  have seen with  budget  approvals and other  matters that led to  defections or rebellions against  the party  in power  from  our legislature .

    It  is necessary    also  to point out  that the military  during one of their many interventions bequeathed   the presidential  system  similar to that of the US to  us . It  is also  pertinent  to point out that  the leaders of both Nigeria  and   the US came to power  against  the run of play as it were   and both  have run into tempestuous storms   since  they  came to power in  2015   and   2016   respectively .In  Nigeria  the president  was elected on a reputation of integrity  , discipline  and taciturnity    to turn  the polity  round . In   the US in 2016  the president   was  elected  as an outsider , a populist   who  was  not politically   correct  and he won the election .Today  Donald  Trump  has  become the most talkative  and aggressive president in US   history  who  has tried his best  to fulfill election  promises

    Similarly    in  Nigeria   the integrity   of  the  president    is intact  but the other  virtues of discipline  and taciturnity  are   an  albatross   for   now. The  discipline virtue  flies in the face of inability  to  ensure  security of lives  and property in the nation  and the opening of investigations on corruption on those who  have defected  from the ruling  party . That  is indiscipline  . The  taciturnity virtue  could  have been  applauded   more  if the president  had  spoken  to the nation on  occasions  and sought support  instead  of statements by spokesmen that  the president  lends his support  for those  who  have not defected .That   is  contemptuous of the nature of democracy  which  is  respect   for   voters  choice and the responsibility    of leaders   to live   up   to  expectations of mandates given   at elections .   There  is therefore urgent  need  for the president  to address  issues  raised  by the defectors   as  an elected leader of  Nigeria  and nip  in the bud  ,      the  emergent  public  mood  that  like Emperor Nero  in ancient  Rome  , he has not  been   fiddling while  ‘ Rome ‘  is burning . Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria

  • The future

    Poor Carl Ikeme. The doctors have told him to quit the game and stay alive. There is life outside the beautiful game. Ikeme’s story is an open book. The only thing left in his career is a World Cup appearance which he missed in Russia. But he can look back at his career with plenty of medals and trophies, enough to show his grand kids while reminiscing on the past.

    Ikeme is a product of the current NFF’s recruitment policy, which exploits the possibilities of having Nigerians in the Diaspora participate in the country’s quest for football honours, provided they are willing to do so. And so when the dragnet caught Ikeme, he didn’t think twice. He ensured the process of making him eligible to play for Nigeria was seamless. Credit must, however go to Sunday Oliseh for believing in Ikeme’s talent.

    He joined the Super Eagles in one of the country’s qualification games held in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania. Not many trusted Ikeme to keep a clean slate for the Eagles.

    Goalkeeping had been Vincent Enyeama’s birthright, since he hit the international scene during the Korea/Japan World Cup in 2002 against star-studded England. The game ended on a barren note. Enyeama lost his mother shortly before the Tanzania game, but chose to report the sad event on his twitter page. He had his reasons. But the unfortunate incident led to all the problems associated with his uneventful exit from the Eagles. I really don’t want to write about the details, given Enyeama’s immense contributions to the Eagles, which far outweigh his flaws.

    Coach Oliseh stuck to Ikeme against the Tanzanians. And he distinguished himself on that unforgettable night when Super Eagles struggled to match the host players’ pace, zeal and determination. Thrice in each half did Ikeme pull off incredible saves.Ikeme’s heroics earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and the reassurance of his admirers. With Ikeme showing good form, it didn’t take long for Oliseh and indeed NFF chiefs to call Enyema’s bluff. Was there any need for the Enyeama face-off? No. Oliseh ought to have forgiven Enyeama. Perhaps, a surprise visit to the goalkeeper after their face-off could have humbled Enyeama to return to the team.

    What won’t ego destroy? Two legends of the game who may never be on speaking terms over nothing. The silver lining in Ikeme’s early exit from the game is the novel decision by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chieftains to make him a goalkeeper trainer. He is to comb the nooks and crannies of the country for potential star goalkeepers. Of course, NFF’s masterstroke would have impressed his European side Wolverhampton Wanderers’s eggheads, since they had offered Ikeme lifetime wages and some ambassadorial roles in the club to celebrate his exploits with the club.

    The bigger picture is that the world is watching. Nigeria-born kids will be further encouraged to play for the country, knowing that their efforts won’t be in vain. It is also a welcome development for our stars since they can transit to become coaches using the national team platforms whenever they so desire.

    Now that Ikeme’s career is over, can the NFF and its coaches look for other goalkeepers, irrespective of the fact that Francis Uzoho passed the debut test in Russia. Our problem with getting goalkeepers is that we idolise them until they age before we struggle to get their replacements.  This problem pre-dates the current era. It took a Brazilian Otto Gloria to bench the great Emmanuel Okala for the late Best Ogedegbe ahead of the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Nigeria, which we eventually won by beating Algeria 3-0 in the final game at the National Stadium, Surelere Lagos.

    Okala had been the face of the Africa Cup of Nations and our administrators cried blue-murder when the Brazilian coach settled for Ogedegbe. The coach had his say because he was a foreigner. No Nigerian coach would have had the guts to take such a decision, which helped Ogedegbe grow. Check out how long it took us to replace Peter ‘Dodo Mayana’ Rufai. How about getting a replacement for Peter ‘the cat’ Fregene? The difference now is that young goalkeepers can benefit from Ikeme’s experience unlike what we lost when Okala was sidelined to his country home  in Anambra State.

    Clemens Westerhof’s era threw up a few new goalkeepers, asides Rufai. But such new lads came by default because Westerhof couldn’t stomach Rufiai cult hero relationship with the fans. Westerhof wanted to be the Sheriff in the Eagles camp. He couldn’t condone the standing ovation which Rufai got whenever the team tried to train. He also was awed at the applause from the fans anytime Rufia made fantastic saves in training.

    For Westerhof to be the boss, Rufai had to be given good competition. First he dropped Rufai for David Ngodigha in the last game against Cameroon in Yaoundé, his first game in charge. Ngodigha left the pitch with a broken tooth after a collusion with a Cameroonian in one of the Italia ’90 Cameroonian in one of the Italia ’90 World Cup qualifiers in Yaounde. He was replaced by Alloy Agu at the end of the first half. Westerhof combed the league venues and discovered other goalkeepers. With time the goalkeeping department had stars, such as Rufai, the late Wilfred Agbonivbare,  Ngodigha, Agu and Ike Shorunmu. But Westerhof earned his stripes when he got  a professional goalkeeper trainer for the US’94 World Cup to pick his best goalkeeper. When the expert rated Rufai as the best, Westerhof swallowed his pride and used Rufai in all the matches, not forgetting that Dodo Mayana was also the regular choice at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations which Nigeria won 2-1, beating a resurgent Zambia in the final game.

    The point to be made here is that those who gave Rufai a fight for his jersey (Agu, Agbonivbare, Ngodigha et al) came from the domestic game, which credit to Westerhof, he patronised when he was in the country.

    Nigeria has several U-17 World Cup winning teams with many of the goalkeepers being adjudged the best or second best. Where are they now, despite the euphoric promises by previous governments to monitor their career growth to Europe?

    Since the Chile 2015 event Nigeria has produced 12 goalkeepers at the U-17 World Cup tournament, with Uzoho rated the third best in the Golden Eaglets squad of 2013. The 12 goalkeepers are: Akpan Udoh, Amos Benjamin, Chisom Chiaha, Dele Alampasu, Abdulazeez Abubakar, Francis Uzoho, Dami Paul, Amos Izuchukwu, John Felagha, Oladele Ajiboye, Laide Okanlawon and Uche Okafor.

    Where are they now? How many of them qualified for the Super Eagles? The world laughs at us anytime they do a comparison between De Gea and Ajiboye. In 2007, Ajiboye was rightly adjudged to be better than De Gea, who now plays regularly for Spain and Manchester United FC in England. Need I try to locate where Ajiboye is beyond the fact that he was dropped shortly after Nigeria released her 23-man squad to the Russia 2018 World Cup?

    Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Ajiboye and Daniel Akpeyi  can effectively challenge Uzoho for the shirt, but they must play regularly for their clubs, which can be made mandatory, if there is a synergy among the clubs, the NFF and the team’s coaches. Alampasu is the outside choice in Europe but the team’s manager should spend more time in the country watching our matches to pick younger players from the domestic game. No country measures its football growth by relying on over 80 per cent foreign-based players.

    Nigeria’s next assignment is the game against Seychelles in Victoria on September 7, which ought to be a stroll in the park if the Eagles play to their potential. But, in soccer, anything goes, with the underdogs aiming to create upsets to improve their ranking in FIFA monthly.

    Nigeria was adjudged the 25th best country at the Russia 2018 World Cup, which is nothing to cheer from a pool of 32 countries which partook in the Mundial. We need to use Seychelles as the stepping stone to glory. The boys have promised to give the Africa Cup of Nations’ series their best, having lost the first game against Bafana Bafana inside the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo. Happily, our players have started scoring goals in the European clubs, with the season set to begin next weekend. Gernot Rohr should be told that if we fail to lift the Africa Cup of Nations’ diadem, he should be prepared to lose the job. Nigerians like winners.

  • Leadership, defection, and  elections

    There is an old saying that a people or  a nation deserve  the leadership  it  has. I want to take issues with that statement today. The title of this piece already is a pointer to how I intend to proceed. In  many  nations of the world this week, leaders  have had to face protests  and outright opposition to their leadership  styles from  both  fervent    supporters  and   traditional  opponents alike. This  is more  so  in  Nigeria where lawmakers  from  the ruling party defected to the main  opposition party  for various reasons  of dissatisfaction with the ruling style of the Nigerian president. Also  in  the  US  it has become the norm in the American  media  to call  the present US President  Donald  Trump  a serial  liar  and a former Intelligence  chief  went  further  and asked  that the president be charged with  treason for daring to parley  with  Russian President Vladmir Putin. We  shall  look at these two  events and issues  in  Nigeria  along with  the intervention of the Nigerian Vice President in the traffic chaos  that literally blocked  access to Nigeria’s  major  port, the Apapa Wharf. We  then look at two  events also  in Asia  indeed, Malaysia  and Pakistan  and  see  what  we can learn  from there in the context  of today’s topic.

    Let  me first  of all make some remarks  that  I  feel  are general to all these issues even though  each  of them  is distinct in terms of its leadership style and context. Leadership to me should be responsive,  firm,  pragmatic, flexible  and decisive. It must be ready to take risks  and be ready  to apologise and  admit  obvious failures in the process of leading  its followership.   Modern   leadership  should  never  be like that of   Frederick  the Great of Prussia who  infamously    once said –‘ My  people and I have reached an understanding which satisfies us both. They  are to say what they  like and I am  to do  as I  wish.’ Of  course Frederick  led  a monarchy which is literally  extinct  or powerless nowadays except  perhaps in Britain and Thailand,   and the   governance  vogue  globally   nowadays is democracy.  But there is no denying that some elected leaders  behave like hereditary  monarchs  once they  have  taken over the apparatus  of power in elective democracies, and that is not only wrong  but pathetically so.  Unfortunately  that  seems to be the situation in Nigeria  and   the defections   from the  ruling party    are a direct  sequence of that. More  of that later.

    In  the US   there is no defection  from  the ruling Republican Party  yet because of what the opposition media led by CNN and New York  Times  have   done  in  successfully  branding the incumbent US president a liar but  there is no denying that such branding  has given a huge dent in credibility  and  respect  both at home and abroad  to  the image of both the US  and  its president   as   unserious entities      who  cannot  be taken  seriously in  the comity  of nations. In  Asia  as I said  before we look  at  the  election  in Pakistan  where  a new PM  is  coming into  office  from  the background of  an  election  so  violent that on election day   a   bomb exploded  and killed  over 30  people  at a polling booth. In  Nigeria  too an    unusual   defection  took  place from the  toothless leadership shown  so far in  controlling   the way tankers and trailers have taken over the traffic  and   bridges   in  the port  city of Lagos when the VP   came   calling  and    gave orders   that  the traffic should flow around  the  Apapa /Badagry   Expressway  and  Lagos,     within 72  hours  and that  really  happened.   Nevertheless   the main commercial  artery   of  Nigeria, the Apapa  Expresway  remains blocked by  a retinue  of trailers   and  oil  tankers  blocking  the entire length of  the three  lane gate way  to Nigeria’s major port. In  a great  way  the  Nigerian VP Prof  Yemi Osinbajo  showed  that Nigerian  leaders can    be responsive    and have empathy    for  the long suffering Nigerian  masses   when   they   want,  and on behalf  of long suffering Lagos commuters, car owners and those who  earn a living by travelling in  the   chaotic  Lagos traffic   daily,  I thank  him  for his yeoman  intervention,  concern  and execution  of the traffic movement  order  which has brought life  peace  of  mind  and  good health in a few  days to many residents of Nigeria’s commercial capital.

    Now   to   Malaysia where we have the oldest leader of  a modern   democracy,    PM  Ahmad Manathir  aged 92  and newly elected, we appraise  his pragmatic  approach  to international  relations and  regional power politics in the Pacific     from  a recent CNN interview.

    We  now go back  to the  defections  from  the APC  in  the Federal Legislature  which is a sign of a sensitive and alert  democracy  and which  the presidency  has described as inconsequential and the new APC Chairman  has waved off as  incapable of  affecting the   party’s  fortunes  at the coming  2019 presidential  elections. Maybe that was why the president called  the defections seasonal. There is no denying however  that some  of the defectors  saw  red and are ready  to leave certainty  for uncertainty because  they  saw  no solution  to their grievances. But  the governments problems known to Nigerians as untreated by the present government  include the Fulani  herdsmen killings, Insecurity, lopsided  federal  appointments  especially  of   the leadership    of our security apparatus  These  are  issues  the ruling party should  address  urgently  to avert  more  defections  as no  leadership  worth its salt  can ignore  protests  from its  fold as that will  be akin to going to sleep  while a  spark  of fire has been seen on a thatched roof.

    In  the case  of the US President Donald  Trump’s leadership  he has shown flexibility on important issues but  is being branded as unpredictable and confused  by his opponents. This week  he met the President of the European Commission and rescinded  his tariffs on steel and aluminium literally, with both sides pledging to a future of free  and fair trade, But  his detractors saw  no merit  in this since he too has called the media the No 1 Enemy  of the people.  Funny  enough Trump’s  core   supporters  have not defected or abandoned him  as even  the CNN polls   acknowledged  but  there is need  for the US president  to be more accommodating of opposing view points especially  when  offered  in good faith.

    In    Pakistan  it  is clear  that  the military  have  taken care  of both the Bhutto  and Nawaz Sharif political  dynasties  and have backed former  Cricket  star  Imran  Khan  as Pakistan ‘s new PM. We  shall  soon see  how long the romance can last.  Even  then the Bhuttos and  Sharifs  have a  long  history  of taking on the military   in  Pakistan  and either returning  to power or getting killed in the process.  Time will  tell  what  the outcome  of this last  election will be.

    On  a CNN interview  Malaysia’s  old PM  Mahathir  Mohamad   made  some  educative  comments on  China and US,  the two  major powers controlling the Pacific region where his nation is located. He said Malaysia is not as strong as China  and must  learn  to trade and make the best  of China’s  bullying on claiming ownership of   the   South  Seas  Islands  of other nations in the area. That  to me is good   diplomatic    pragmatism.  Regarding  his earlier pre – election pledge to hand over to his former pupil  and later opponent,  with  whom  he rallied to  win the last election,   he    nevertheless   promised  to  carry on,  if the people preferred  he should  continue in power,  even  though he had  been elected on a pledge  of handing power over to his   young  ally after two years on account of his old age.  That showed  a veteran  politician’s  love of  power  at  all costs  and   at  any   time.  Which  too is a  defection from  reality which  itself  breeds  ultimate  defection from power  which  seems to  be  sweeping,   in the  legislature, the rank  and file of  the ruling party in Nigeria. Once again long  live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • NSITF: No easy battle against impunity

    Nothing illustrates vividly the utter reign of impunity within the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its government at the centre than the face-off between the national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, over the long delayed inauguration of the board of the Nigeria Social Insurance of Trust Fund (NSITF).  President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the constitution of the NSITF board in September, 2017, with respected labour leader, former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and redoubtable pro-democratic activist, Comrade Frank Kokori, as chairman. Despite the vehement clamour in diverse quarters including labour unions and the House of Representatives for the inauguration of the board, Dr. Ngige has continued to stall on the issue offering all kinds of untenable excuses for his inaction.

    Signaling that his tenure will not be reminiscent of the lethargic and indifferent leadership offered the party under the chairmanship of Chief John Odigie Oyegun, Oshiomhole on assumption of office fired a memo to Ngige giving him a time frame to constitute the NSITF board. When it became obvious that the minister was bent on persisting in his intransigence, Oshiomhole threatened not only to ensure Ngige’s suspension from the party but to also prevail on the President to drop him from the Federal Executive Council (FEC).  “If the president condones disrespect to his office, I will not condone disrespect to the party’, an exasperated Oshiomhole had declared.

    Was this a mark of disrespect for the president as mischievously insinuated in some quarters?  Certainly not. Placed within its proper context, the party chairman was clearly concerned with not only restoring discipline within the ranks of the APC, but also ensuring that all party members, no matter how highly placed, respect the office of the President. Oshiomhole had earlier lamented that some ministers were taking advantage of Buhari’s patience and ‘fatherly disposition’ to abuse their offices and disregard his directives.

    Ngige retorted that he was not scared of being suspended from the party saying “How (suspension)? In a party that we formed and brought them in? The man is talking out of ignorance”. It is utterly immaterial whether or not Ngige was the sole founder of the APC. He is not superior to the party on which platform his boss, the President was elected and thus enabled to appoint him as a minister. ‘Something cannot stand on nothing’ as the lawyers would say.

    Ngige, in responding to the party chairman’s memo had stated that he was unable to constitute the board of NSITF “because of cases of financial malfeasance, which have put the agency under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)”. Specifically, the minister claims that his delay in constituting the board was to enable an Administrative Panel of Inquiry probe the alleged misappropriation of N48 billion at the Fund with N5 billion disappearing in one day without vouchers.

    This is a serious allegation most certainly. But Ngige does not explain in what way the inauguration of the new board would hinder the work of the investigative panel. Should the sins of the previous board, if proven in a court of law, be visited on innocent members of a newly constituted board? If such alleged gargantuan fraud could be perpetrated with a board in place, who knows what atrocities may be taking place right now without the existence of a board and the minister effectively functioning as sole administrator of the agency?

    Indeed, will the battle against the alleged fraud at the NSITF not be enhanced by the functioning of the board headed by a man with the moral integrity and impeccable pedigree of Frank Kokori? In any case, the United Labour Congress (ULC) has debunked claims by the minister’s spokesmen that those indicted in the fraud include nominees of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Nigeria Employment Consultative Association (NECA). In the words of General Secretary of the ULC, “This is contrary to the fact that as we speak, six former directors of NSITF have been charged to court by the EFCC including NECA representative and there is no Labour man in it. Only the minister can tell Nigerians where he got his own conclusions from”.

    The ULC also asserts most tellingly that “We are also not unmindful of the implications of setting up an administrative panel in a matter already investigated by the EFCC which to us is a clear indictment of the EFCC. Was the Minister passing a vote of no confidence?” Responding to Oshiomhole’s argument that arbitrariness in running the affairs of the Fund, including award of contracts, could be perpetrated in the absence of a board, Ngige contended that neither the minister nor the board have the authority to award contracts in the NSITF or any other federal agency.

    According to him, “For the purpose of clarity, the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) for the award of contracts in any ministry; is made up of the Permanent Secretaries as Chairman and his directors. In the parastatals, the Parastatals Tenders Board consists of Chief Executive Officer (Director-General or Managing Director) and his directors”. Surely, this is pure sophistry. In reality, no contract can be awarded in any MDA without the full knowledge and involvement of the Minister who alone sits at the FEC. Even then, is Ngige insinuating that boards of parastatals have no meaningful functions and thus should be scrapped?

    It is pertinent to note that the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) had in February called on President Buhari to stop the alleged secret recruitment of additional 350 senior managers into the NSITF by the minister in the absence of a board and despite the financial difficulties confronting the Fund. Surely, these kinds of unhealthy speculations, allegations and insinuations can be curtailed with a board in place that guarantees greater managerial scrutiny, accountability and transparency.

     

    Unremitted stamp duty: Disrespecting PMB

    The issue of the unremitted Stamp Duty amounting to over N20 trillion, which ought to have accrued to the Federation Account since 2012 through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) has been in the public domain for some time now. It has been the subject of intense media focus through news, analyses, commentary and editorials. The House of Representatives as well as the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have also intervened in the matter urging that the fund be paid into the Federation Account for distribution among the severely cash-strapped   levels of government as required by law. As holder of the intellectual property right on Stamp Duty recovery collection and remittance, the School of Banking Honours (SBH) through its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tola Adekoya, met with former President Goodluck Jonathan on the issue to no avail.

    However, in line with his legendary disdain for corruption, PMB on 12th of October, 2017, intervened decisively in the matter and directed the then Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. (Mrs.) Habiba M. Lawal to communicate the following decisions to the SBH “(i) That you are jointly mandated to recover over N20 Trillion from Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to the Federation Account in line with your patent right, now in force. (ii). That your consultancy fee is 7.5% of the total amount recovered as against 20% earlier agreed in the Master Services Agreement with the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST). (iii).That the Federal Government of Nigeria will provide you and your partner (International Investment Law & Arbitration LLC) with adequate security during the assignment. (iv). That your services, along with your partner, are now being retained as standing Consultants to vanguard stamp duty collections to the Federation Account on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

    To underscore his seriousness, PMB issued necessary directives on the matter to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele through a letter (Reference; SGF. 45/XII/71) signed by Dr. (Mrs.) Lawal stating among others “I write to inform you that Mr. President has approved the appointments of Messrs. School of Banking Honours and International Investment Law & Arbitration LLC, as Consultants to recover the sum of N20.0 trillion Stamp Duty unremitted by Banks and other Financial Institutions into Government Coffers, through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc. (NIBSS). (2). The consultants will introduce a sustainable template to meet the CBN directive of 3rd December, 2012, for Messrs. School of Banking Honours to sweep Stamp Duty accruing from banks and other financial institutions into Government coffers, as patented under the law. (3). The Consultants are to report directly to Mr. President, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Consequently, you are hereby required to direct the Management of NIBSS, Banks and other Financial Institutions to cooperate with the Consultants to access all records relevant to the success of the assignment”.

    Despite these explicit directives conveyed to the NIBSS by the CBN, the former has blatantly refused to comply. And in seeming reward for this insubordination and impunity, President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated the Managing Director of NIBSS, Mr. Folashadun Adebisi Shonubi, for the position of CBN Deputy Governor; a nomination awaiting the confirmation of the Senate. Surely, there is something seriously amiss. This column urges the National Assembly to diligently investigate this issue before confirming the nomination.

  • Thank you Buhari

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has pulled the brakes on the needless wrangling between the Sports Ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), with the sacking of the faction which occupied the Glasshouse, flaunting an ex parte motion from a Jos High Court. The President  must have rightly looked at the bigger picture: Nigeria should not become a pariah nation among 210 others who have applied themselves to FIFA’s rules and statutes without putting them to test against what operates in their Constitutions.

    Nigeria’s Constitution is supreme. However, when a country voluntarily decides to identify with any group or society, such as FIFA, such a country must abide by such body’s rules, statutes and regulations, especially if as many as 210 others are doing so. If such a country feels strongly that it can no longer belong to the group, it should quietly opt out. Unfortunately, a few unhappy people want to decide for us without concrete reasons. The President has painstakingly thought through the charade and directed that the status quo ante should remain.

    Perhaps, we need to inform the President that one of the early statements of the minister was that he was short-changed by one of the NFF boards when he accompanied the Nigerian side to an international competition. Could this be the reason for the consistent onslaught on the incumbent board? Again, there is the subtle reminder here that the minister is one of the defendants in the suit. One wonders what he would be saying in the court when the case is called. Is it not also true that a peace meeting was called by the minister? What happened to the resolutions? Did the minister not constitute an intervention panel headed by Ibrahim Galadima, which met and submitted a report on the way forward in this crisis? What happened to the report? Answers to these posers will be helpful in charting the way forward from this impasse now that the President has ruled that we should respect FIFA’s statutes while we await the final determination of the suit.

    The President’s pronouncement came via a letter from the country’s chief law officer who wrote thus:’’ I write to convey the directive of His Excellency President Muhammad  Buhari that the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports should refrain from making any further public statement in relation to this matter and let the legal process take its course. The parties are to be advised to await the final determination of the suit without, disturbing the status quo ante.  Accept the assurances of my warm regards.’’

    Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice’s letter wasn’t ambiguous. Why the interpretation caused all the hue and cry in the land underscores where the root of the problems lies. Indeed, it is the AGF’s duty to talk about legal matters concerning the country, irrespective of the qualifications other ministers have in related fields. I digress!

    President Buhari intervened in the NFF wahala to avoid international disgrace for the country,especially after the so called leadership of the factional body sat down in Abuja occupying the Glasshouse whereas their counterparts in Africa convened in Morocco to discuss why the continent disappointed at the Russia 2018 World Cup despite high hopes raised prior to the tournament.

    Once any incident is likely to pour odium on the country, it is only appropriate that the President intervenes like he did with those Nigerians who were stranded in Russia. The President ordered the Foreign Affairs minister to bring them back home safely. The minister obeyed the directive and they came home aboard an Ethiopian Airline. The point made here is that the President’s intervention in the NFF crisis which had the FIFA chiefs telling us who they recognised isn’t government interference. Rather, only such orders can be obeyed without being challenged. There is relative peace in the Glasshouse, following hints that some elders want to resolve the crisis. Hmmm! Where were they all this while? Are some of these people’s views not known to us? This body can’t resolve anything. Most of the members are behind the chaos. With this new  reconciliation plan, what has happened to the Supreme Court judgment being flaunted?  I digress.

    “We must give all the credit to our President, Muhammadu Buhari, for acting to restore the leadership of the federation and saving the nation the embarrassment,” NFF President Amaju Pinnick said.

    “Even as the situation persisted, I was very positive about his patriotic commitment to the best interest of the nation and his clarity of judgment to bring order to bear. It is said that the sheep cannot be suffering the pangs of birth tied to the stake while elders are around. He has demonstrated this fatherliness in so many ways across various sectors and now football is the latest beneficiary. We thank God for his life and for giving him to us.

    “By his intervention, the nation has been saved the embarrassment, the world football community has been reassured of the high sense of responsibility of the government of Nigeria as a member of the international community and hope is brought back to thousands of Nigeria youths engaged in football as the various national teams can proceed on their various programmes without apprehension, the various leagues which were stopped under the circumstance can now get back to action while the confidence of the various sponsors, partners and investors in Nigeria football has been restored.”

    The beauty of the Moroccan parley is that football chieftains in Africa invited the five countries’ coaches to explain to them what happened and proffer solutions on how to avert such unpleasant outings in the future. For the records, Africa’s five representatives crashed out of the Mundial at the group stages. That wasn’t good enough, considering how African players rule their European clubs.

    A lot was expected from the African teams. When they failed, it didn’t come as a surprise when fans in the continent rooted for France from the Round of 16 matches until the French lifted the World Cup diadem, beating Croatia 4-2 in Moscow. The Africans took solace in the fact that most of the French players had strong African lineages, but the players would rather see themselves as Frenchmen, not Africans, even if they would admit to such links so sparingly.

    Indeed, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria will build on the suggestions made in Morocco to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Cameroon, having been in the Maghreb nation as a united front unlike Nigeria, bickering less than 50 days to the annual election into the Glasshouse.

    Interestingly, those who query the NFF chiefs for seeking to run its affairs devoid of the government’s interference point to the fact that the government funds the federation’s operations. The fact remains that when Nigeria has an international assignment, it is the country’s anthem that is sung, not NFF’s, making it imperative on the government to fulfil its social responsibility of providing the platform for its citizens to recreate, as in this instance. After all, recreation enhances people’s health.

    This NFF board, for the first time, ran its operations using FIFA’s $2 million grant to the 32 participating countries at the Russia 2018 World Cup and other sources (non government) to meet the players’, coaches’ and back room staff’s allowances and match winning bonuses. The players were given the treatment they get from their European clubs, hence when the team tottered in Russia, they owned up to their shortcomings, with a promise to excel at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations slated to hold in Cameroon.

    Nigeria’s population  is said to be close to 200 million. Football and its allied services providers, including stadium attendants, doctors, coaches, physiotherapists, grounds men, players, nurses, ambulance drivers etc, also provide means of livelihood for several unemployed Nigerians, who will become destitute, if Nigeria becomes a pariah nation in FIFA’s calendar.

    Shouldn’t the existing system be allowed to entrench the process of self – financing and accountability that saved us the shame of reading about our players boycotting training in Russia, like it happened in 2014? In the past, we bore the shame of having foreign coaches we hired drag us to the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) and FIFA, seeking payment of their entitlements. That has changed. Plans for the next competition, the Africa Cup of Nations, slated to hold in Cameroon, like it is done in other climes.

    Nigeria, having attended six World Cup competitions since her debut in 1994, must be a regular at the Mundial. This can happen only if we have people who can run the game like a business and not a platform for the boys to sit aloof and leave the critical aspect of funding to the government. Nigeria’s jersey at the last Mundial was a marketing success, having been adjudged the best in Russia. Nigerians at the Mundial cringed watching other nationals wear our jerseys on match days involving their countries. It was quite interesting seeing others struggle to have our jerseys as souvenirs.

    Mention must be made of John Mikel Obi’s courage in playing so well against Argentina in spite of the fact that he had discussed with kidnappers who took his father hostage in before the game at the Saint Petersburg Stadium in Russia. A rare show of patriotism which deserves our commendations. Cheers Mikel.

  • Defectors stir up a great political storm

    A day after potential defectors from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) met in Ilorin, Kwara State, ostensibly to condole with Kawu Baraje over the passing of his mother, but in reality to fine-tune arrangements for their defection to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), President Buhari and his party also met with roughly the same aggrieved politicians in Abuja. The politicians — defectors and loyalists alike — are likely to feel giddy from being courted by Machiavellian suitors. The meeting in Ilorin last Wednesday was as high-powered as they come, with the PDP chairman, Uche Secondus, in attendance.

    They deliberated on a number of wide-ranging issues concerning the planned defection, and the attendees all seemed to be quite at ease with one another. No one postured grandly with superior airs, and no one felt badly used. But nothing was cast in stone at the end of the meeting that involved Senate President Bukola Saraki and at least four governors. The Abuja meeting was equally high-powered, with President Muhammadu Buhari who had at first forsworn such a meeting presiding over the discussions.

    The Abuja meeting had the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, four governors, and governor-elect Kayode Fayemi in attendance. While the Ilorin meeting was clear about its objectives, to wit, how to seamlessly migrate into the opposition fold without loss of face or status, the Abuja meeting, which seemed foisted on the president by anxious party apparatchiks, kept its goals under wraps. Nevertheless, observers imagined that the Thursday meeting was probably designed to persuade the potential defectors to stay put in the APC. No one knows why the president was desperate to host the meeting. He had given the impression mid-June that he had no wish to meet with the aggrieved politicians led by an implacable surrogate of Dr Saraki.

    The president, according to unverified accounts, also added that if anyone wished to defect, such a person was free to indulge himself. Now, the defection talks have grown in frequency and intensity, and with these come palpable fear and commotion within the APC that the coalition being engineered against the ruling party could in fact balloon into a dangerous and unrelenting ogre. Having tasted the perquisites of Nigeria’s monarchical presidency, the APC seems totally loth to surrender the reins of power, or for anyone to remove their snout firmly locked in the nation’s trough. Faced with the danger of a ballooning coalition and the unthinkable possibility of losing the presidency in 2019, the resolve of the president to call the bluff of defectors has simply collapsed like a pack of cards. No one knows for sure what the outcomes of the Ilorin and Abuja meetings are. Nigerians have only a general indication of what the meetings set out to achieve. But whether those goals have been achieved or are even partially achieved, or still whether they are achievable, is hard to say.

    The potential defectors are weighing their options and will try to balance their fear of governmental terror, against which they now appear inoculated, with the allure of associating with a party capable of giving them a sense of belonging and equality. They know by instinct what the PDP represents to them: a party they are familiar with, one now so sobered by defeat as to enthrone a level playing field for its members, and one which at least for the moment does not have a monarch at its helm. And they also know that whatever they do, and regardless of the agreement reached by the APC leadership to placate them, the ruling party is always capable of surprising them and treating them, in the days of trouble, with cold and stultifying detachment. The potential defectors have congregated under the banner of the Reformed APC (R-APC), and they consist mostly of those who left the PDP in 2014 or thereabout under the banner of the new PDP (nPDP).

    The nomenclatural ingenuity of the footloose political warriors may not have advanced considerably in the past four years, but their potential to cause huge disruptions in partisan calculations has not abated at all. Whether nPDP or R-APC, the potential defectors retain enough political amperage to scald any ruling party. The APC may wish to keep their fingers crossed should the defectors make good their threat, but it is not clear they would want to find out what the consequences of that mass  defection would be for the ruling party’s chances in 2019. They would rather try everything in their power to keep the status quo, hoping that a bird in hand would always be worth more than a dozen in the bush. Such even-tempered suppositions are not misplaced at all. Why fight a war when you can make love? The desperate PDP are, however, clear what they want.

    Not only do they not have a presidential candidate they think can readily beat the APC’s President Buhari, they do not believe they even have a coalition strong, severe and nimble enough to unhorse the ruling party. If they cannot at the drop of a hat produce that supernova candidate, they at least reason that they should be able to produce an intimidating coalition that can put fright into the ruling party, confuse their calculations, and put them on tenterhooks. Moreover, they are unable to carry out the reforms and repositioning that could fetch them the respect and reverence of the electorate, while their officials appear to lack the verve and ingenuity to displace the APC with the aplomb they claimed their 16 years in office had imbued them. In the absence of these virtues, PDP leaders reasoned, and given their desperation and the temptations that assail them, a powerful coalition consisting of some of Nigeria’s political heavyweights must be their best bet to dismantle the ruling party.

    If that coalition eludes them, and if the reforms and regeneration needed to reposition them in the hearts of the electorate do not take place, the PDP could suffer irreparable damage. Indeed, it is hard to see the coalition being put together by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP amounting to anything significant if Dr Saraki and his fellow R-APC discontents are not part of the equation. So far, given the back and forth between the R-APC and the PDP on the one hand, and the R-APC and President Buhari and the APC on the other hand, no one knows where the pendulum will swing in the next few weeks. The potential defectors, some of whom like Benue governor Samuel Ortom have become emotionally dizzy from considering too many options, will have to damn the consequences, close their eyes, and throw the dice. If they are unable eventually to rationally make up their minds, they may approach the issue of defection with the casual guesswork conversant with Nigerian politicians. The APC is, however, not throwing up its hands in resignation.

    They will keep up the pressure on the potential defectors until they change their minds. Party leaders have even managed to persuade the president to smile at the aggrieved politicians, hold peace meeting with them, and probably offer them some assurances. There are no immediate indications they will succeed in reining in the R-APC. If they succeed, the 2019 elections will become much harder for the PDP coalition to crack. But if they fail, unfortunately for them, there is little left by way of harassment they can inflict on the defectors. Having unsheathed their swords against those they hate far too early in the titanic race, and having made little impact on the economy and also failed to promise the societal re-engineering and restructuring most Nigerians demand, the departure of the R-APC could constitute a major danger for their hold on power. In short, despite their smugness and bravado, both the PDP and the APC cannot really afford to treat the R-APC with levity. The aspiring defectors are the beautiful bride; they will be courted with the assiduity the president finds discomfiting and the PDP finds enervating. But courted they must be. Yet, if the defectors take perverse delight in foot-dragging for much longer than is desirable for their own self-preservation, they may end up losing on both ends. They are however unlikely to keep both sides of the political divide guessing for too long. They will cut the Gordian knot and hope that enough of the rope would remain in their grip to climb to safety.

  • The final whistle

    It is all over. A winner has emerged. The winning country is bursting with celebrations from soccer-crazy citizens who spent over 33 days following matches of the Russia 2018 World Cup across the 11 hosting cities. What a showpiece the Russians made out of the biggest sports fiesta in the world. Some level of consolation for the losers, with many of the players happy to have achieved their career dream- playing at the senior World Cup.

    For the winners, a new dawn beckons. It was worth everyone’s patience, especially those countries where soccer faithful woke up late to watch the matches. The stress is gone, but there is fulfilment by those who stayed up late to see those spectacular goals that would be talked about for decades.

    For Russia, hosting the Mundial without any serious crisis is a bonus. Getting Russians to key into the dynamics of hosting such a big sporting competition underscores why there weren’t too many untoward acts during the events held in 11 cities, every one of them having a historical story to tell about the polity.

    Russia can boast of over 14 state-of-the-art stadia which should provide fresh initiatives that will improve their game. Russians can now dream of bigger things at the next Mundial in Qatar. They surprised themselves with a nail-biting shoot-out loss to Croatia which gives them the foundation for growth to become a soccer powerhouse by the 22nd century.

    Beginning with their new ranking when FIFA releases it in August, the Russians can dream of becoming a Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, who both exited the competition in the Round of 16 with Argentina and Portugal.

    Ronaldo’s and Messi’s exits raised the debate of who the best player of the Mundial will be, although a few pundits feel that Ronaldo has done enough to win the Ballon D’or award, despite Portugal’s early exit. In four matches, Ronaldo scored four goals, a hat-trick, the competition’s first, in their opening game against Spain. Need I name Ronaldo’s feats with UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid, for the third consecutive year this past season?

    Ronaldo, Messi and the legion of stars who exited the competition early watched the six-goal thriller, whose result was decided when the French scored the fourth goal, with the result on the scoreboard reading 4-1. France’s goalkeeper and captain gifted Manduzikic with a goal to appease for the own goal diverted into Croatia’s net by the lanky striker. It was France’s first goal. The joy it brought did not last for too long as Perisic blasted home the equaliser at 1-1. Fans all over the world sat up with one thought – game on 1-1; we have a game on our hands.

    Sadly, the game didn’t go that way because the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) ruled a headed ball onto a Croatian defender’s hand for a penalty kick which Griezmann converted to take the score to 2-1 till the end of the second half.

    How different was the penalty offence awarded to the French from  what Argentina’s defender Rojo did against Nigeria in the last group D game in Saint Petersburg? The Turkish referee Cakir in the Nigeria game against Argentina was a kill-joy and a respecter of bigger football nations instead of applying the rules to the letter. No story when the ball touches anyone of the defending side’s players on his hand is a stone-wall penalty, irrespective of what the VAR lens are trying to interpret. I digress!

    Two classical goals scored by Pogba and Mbappe, the competition’s revelation, handed the trophy to the French in the second half, making the gifted goal the anti-climax of the final where the Croatians had 61 per cent ball possession while their opponents etched 31 per cent. In boxing, such details count. Not so for soccer since the game winner is that team which has utilised the goal-scoring chances it created. Last Sunday in Moscow, the French were the hungrier of the two sides, largely because they had better players with enough experience in club football. This rubbed off on how they outmuscled the Croatians on their way to lifting the trophy.

    The biggest casualties at the Mundial were the Germans but their shocking display was typical of previous World Cup champions. The Mundial is a leveller and a platform for fairytale teams, such as the Croatians. A country of over four million people cherished the fact that their soccer team helped change people’s mindset about their polity. There could not have been a better podium for the Croatians to showcase their president, who showed clearly that what men can do, women can do better.

    Croatia’s president defied the rain and the pain of defeat to celebrate the historic final game, which was symbolic with the heavens opening up to water the field after the titanic clash of countries who know how to develop the game without rancour. It was a rare show watching presidents, FIFA chieftains and world leaders being drenched in their designer clothing for the sake of football. Isn’t it true that sports, albeit football, is the biggest public relations tool nations can use to reshape people’s perception of their existence?

    Besides, the torrential rains that washed off the pain of defeat and usher in a new belief that hosting big sporting events, such as the World Cup, should be a commercial success.

    There were several talking points at the Mundial, but the biggest and perhaps the most controversial was the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which the match arbiters relied on to decide incidents eyes couldn’t capture. Some countries will rue the introduction of the VAR just as many on the balance of scale want the machine to continue with its verdicts, believing that referees’ interpretation will get better when they are retrained on how to operate the system.

    Manchester United FC of England’s manager Jose Mourinho revealed on Sunday night that the penalty kick decision awarded against the Croatians by the VAR machine and interpreted ‘wrongly’ by the centre referee from Argentina ruined the loser’s composure for the rest of the second half.

    Mourinho felt sorry for the Croatians, stressing that all the 23 players and their coach must have felt very disappointed with the result. He wasn’t quarrelling with the VAR but its interpretation in this case.

    Mourinho argued that until the Argentine referee gave France the penalty kick which Griezmann converted, the Croatians were the better of the two teams in the first half.

    Interestingly, Mourinho wished the first half had ended at 1-1, pointing out that it would have brought out the best of the Croatians who he said were a beauty to watch with their fighting spirit, good coordination going forward and dominance of the game ,which was captured by statisticians as 61 per cent for the Croats as against the French’s 31 per cent.

    Mourinho didn’t think the offence was a penalty kick, insisting that such situations happen during goalmouth melee – a position also held by another Manchester United FC’s great and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who argued that the referee spent so much time watching the incident on the VAR. This, to him, showed that he was indeed uncertain until he took the wrong decision.

    However, Mourinho moaned that what counted in football was the team that won, which in this case was the French, who he congratulated for taking their chances in the game.

    Asked what he thought were the high points of the Russia 2018 World Cup, Mourinho revealed that the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the other big names in other countries at the crucial stages of the Mundial showed that the game had grown in leaps and bounds.

    The Special One was happy with the avalanche of younger players who emerged during the competition, although he refused to mention their names, preferring rather to pour plaudits on the Croatians, who he hoped would have learned a lot of lessons from playing at the final on Sunday in Moscow.

    For winning the World Cup, the French went home with the trophy and $38 million. Runners-up Croatia smiled to the bank with $28 million and third place finishers Belgium were happy with the $24 million. No tears for England which placed fourth because they came to the Mundial with about the youngest crop of players, like Nigeria, thinking about the future. Will you blame the English FA for such plans? Certainly not, having designed templates which ensured England won the World Cup at the U-17, U-19 and U-20 levels. The English got $22 million for their efforts in Russia.

    However, the argument by a few purists that Russia 2018 World Cup, which cost the hosts $14 billion, was too expensive holds no water. Comparing the Mundial to the one held in South Africa, which cost $3 billion in 2010, is laughable, given the kind of facilities in Russia. There was a display of the latest technology. Besides, costs of the facilities in 2010 are not the same with what we have now. In fact, what we saw in Russia was the latest form of technology. The South Africans would cringe at what the government did to host easily one of the best World Cups.

    The government must be commended for hosting a near flawless competition.

    As we await the new FIFA ranking for August, it is instructive to appeal to the Muhammadu Buhari administration to call the sports minister to order so that we can build on the gains of participating at the Mundial in Russia.  For the first time, Nigeria prosecuted the event without tales of the unexpected nor did the players pour odium on the country due to unpaid match bonuses and allowances like in the past.

    The Amaju Pinnick- led NFF board raised $2.8 million, a greater part of which came from FIFA’s financial assistance to all the participating countries unlike in the past where the Nigerian government provided funds for things which FIFA had paid for.

    Over 210 countries, including England, France, Germany, USA, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Croatia etc, are abiding by FIFA’s rules and statutes without recourse to what their countries’ constitutions represent. Being in FIFA isn’t compulsory, except that such a country becomes a pariah in the soccer world.

    Nigerians are holding key offices in FIFA, CAF and WAFU. But the beauty of  some of these offices is that those elected by the Congress won’t be affected by any ban on Nigeria.

  • Not yet his finest hour

    From his native Isan-Ekiti to Ado-Ekiti, capital of the ‘state of the virtuous’ the eruptions of joy and celebration that greeted the electoral victory of Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State was reminiscent of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the height of his earthly acclaim. Of course, it is no surprise that the losing and sulking incumbent governor, Ayodele Fayose, claims that there was no celebration after the declaration of Fayemi’s victory wondering why this should be so if the latter had indeed won the votes of the majority of the electorate as claimed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It is only natural that the understandable gloom and mourning of his defeated and deflated supporters would blind Fayose to the ecstatic jubilations of the winning side.

    Only four years ago, Fayemi had suffered a most humiliating electoral crucifixion on the painful Golgotha of the hardy and rugged hills of Ekiti’s political terrain. A highly acclaimed performing incumbent had lost to his often exuberant, uncoordinated and unfocussed challenger in all 16 Local Government Areas of the state. It was thus not surprising that many had begun to sing the ‘Nunc Dimitis’ of Fayemi’s political career.  One of the formidable nails used to secure Fayemi’s 2014 electoral crucifixion was the massive deployment of security agencies by the PDP-controlled Federal Government to intimidate, disorient, demoralize and disorganize the opposition. Another was the disbursement of billions of Naira to induce the electorate while preventing Fayemi’s ACN from deploying its own resources.

    All of these were critical factors in Fayemi’s 2014 loss. But no less contributory to his electoral crucifixion, were Fayemi’s self-inflicted nails of political aloofness, complacency, exclusion and perceived intellectual haughtiness that alienated his government not only from the general populace but also from critical segments of his own party in Ekiti. And this was despite his undisputed admirable performance in the sphere of governance, which impacted the state positively in diverse areas including roads and infrastructure, education, social welfare, health, tourism and industrialization to name a few. This is why there was not the least whimper or protest at Fayemi’s incredible loss or the PDP’s electoral atrocities anywhere in Ekiti State at the calamity that had befallen the ACN in 2014.

    Last Saturday in the Ekiti election, Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) executed what was the political equivalent of Christ’s resurrection from the dead.  The huge stone blocking the entrance of Fayemi’s perceived political grave was rolled away. A triumphant Fayemi rose from the political dead and is set to be sworn in as the elected governor of the state for the second time. It sounds like a fairy tale. But it is all too true. Yet, the cerebral, industrious and dignified candidate of a party that proclaims its moral Puritanism from the hilltops had no choice but to claw his way back to power using the same depraved and perverse ethical tactics and methods of the much despised PDP.

    It is perhaps not the APC’s fault that, while it hates the faeces of corruption with all its might, it had no choice but to feast on the maggots of security intimidation and abuse as well as alleged massive vote buying in what the inimitable Tunde Odesola of The Punch describes as ‘Ekiti’s political stock market’. Of course, this column does not engage in starry eyed political idealism. Even President Muhammadu Buhari recently lamented the humongous amounts of stolen money available to the opposition to buy votes in contemporary Nigeria. Only a ruling party intent on losing power to an amoral opposition would seek to play the saint during elections and demonstrate an aversion to vote buying in an underdeveloped political culture like ours worsened by pervasive and dehumanizing poverty.

    The danger, however, is that the APC is not unlikely to have to resort to these odious tactics reminiscent of the PDP to retain power at the centre in the 2019 elections. If he gets a second term in office as is highly probable, PMB will thus most likely spend eight years in office with his much admired personal integrity hardly making a dent on the country’s perverse and decadent social and political values that formed the core of the APC’s change mantra.

    If the federal government spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is to be believed, Fayemi’s victory in the Ekiti governorship election was a referendum on the performance of the Buhari administration. For Lai Mohammed, the election is an indication that “Nigerians have spoken about their perception and acceptance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration”. This kind of simplistic mono-causal explanation of the outcome of the Ekiti elections is as superficial as Fayose’s  claim before the polls that the contest was between PMB and himself. It was nothing but delusionary.

    Going by Lai Mohammed’s postulation, Fayose and the PDP certainly have every cause to congratulate and pat themselves on the back for their performance in Ekiti last Saturday. For, it means that the APC despite the celebrated integrity and credibility of its President, the intensity of its chest-beating on its anti-corruption war,  the party’s self-assessed admirable performance and the humonguous funds it allegedly expended only managed to defeat a morally damaged PDP and a glaringly non-performing Fayose with a margin of less than 5% of the votes.

    What if Fayose had been a more credible and competent incumbent or if he had given the PDP candidate, the more cerebral, credible and restrained Professor Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, the chance to be his own man and campaign on his own merit ? The story may well have been different. APC certainly has serious cause for worry and much redemptive soul-searching.

    However, one of the spokesmen of the presidency, Mallam Shehu Garba, thankfully offered a more nuanced and well considered appraisal of the pertinent factors in the APC victory in Ekiti. These include Buhari’s steadfast support, Fayemi’s own inclusive, measured and mature campaign; the unanimous support of APC South-West leaders inspired and energized by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as the fidelity of Fayemi’s co-aspirants at the primaries to their pledge accept the outcome of a free and fair intra-party process and remain loyal to the party and its candidate.

    On its part, the PDP has attributed the APC’s victory in the election to massive rigging of the vote and outright announcement by INEC of fake results. It remains for the PDP to prove its claims through the judicial process as it has the constitutional and democratic right to do. But it is doubtful if it will make much headway. Fayemi’s victory with the APC winning in 12 of 16 Local Government Areas including Fayose’s local government appears more credible than PDP’s 16-0 victory in 2014.

    PDP’s claims of rigging sound as preposterous as the chimera of the ‘photocromic’ rigging mechanism dreamed up by the leaders of the defunct ACN to explain the party’s trouncing by Fayose in 2014. Rather, the PDP should look to Fayose’s insufferable arrogance, his utter indifference to the number of leading members of the PDP that left the party in droves largely due to his perceived high handedness, his government’s inability to showcase any meaningful performance and his childish, uncouth utterances and theatrics that negatively affected the chances of an otherwise brilliant, modest and likeable PDP candidate.

    Last Saturday’s outing was undoubtedly a fine hour for Dr. Kayode Fayemi. His swearing in come October will be an even finer hour for the scholar, politician and statesman. But the challenges ahead of the governor-elect are daunting. He ran an inclusive campaign. It will be an even more gargantuan challenge running an inclusive administration that carries not only his party but even the opposition along. Yet, that will be crucial to the success of his second coming. He has already whetted the appetites of the people of Ekiti by his post-election statements that not only evince maturity and a conciliatory spirit but are also redolent of preparedness, sure footedness and a readiness to pursue the ‘greatest happiness of the greatest number of the people.’

    Fayemi’s finest hour will come when he has been able, through the requisite maturity, wisdom, political tact and sagacity, generousity of spirit and large heartedness, return Ekiti to the pathways of peace, progress and prosperity thus enabling his party, at the end of his tenure, to produce a successor to build on the foundation he lays. I wish him luck and God’s guidance.