The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Observations on the Kano-Maradi railway project

    Observations on the Kano-Maradi railway project

    Sir: Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’idu Alkali, has affirmed that the Kano-Daura-Maradi railway project which took-off during the APC-led administration of past president, Muhammadu Buhari is going on smoothly.  This is pleasing.

    The minister reportedly drove along the cleared path for the rail tracks from Dawanau to Kazaure emirate. The project monitoring trip appropriately ended at the University of Transportation, Daura.

    The $1.95 billion project was awarded in 2021. Physical work started late 2022. The minister was happy that earthwork and bush clearance have reached 80 percent completion. The contractor has delivered numerous heavy-duty equipment to a huge project marshalling area in Kazaure, Jigawa State.

    The minister said that because the earth work has reached 80 percent completion, the assurance given by the contractor that the project would be timely completed in 2025 is credible.  This affirms that this legacy project of the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is on course.

    The scope of work on the project involves a new railway line of 1435mm (standard) gauge on which passenger and good trains can run on a maximum speed of 150 kilometres per hour. The length of the tracks is 400 kilometres.  The project design, if it remains unmodified,   includes 20 railway stations, five maintenance workshops and yards; a total 52 railway bridges; 75 road overpasses and six road underpasses.

    Read Also: Expectations, tasks before Transportation Minister Alkali

    The immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, told Nigerians that, the  Kano-Maradi railway project has a branch component linking Kano to Dutse Gadawur, the  capital of Jigawa state. One of the observations on the project is that so far, there is no visible physical work on the Dutse branch.

    Another observation is that the minister did not comment on its start-date during his project monitoring visit. Is the Dutse branch is still on the cards? 

    Members of the National Assembly from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, all ministers from the three states, the governors of the three states and the national chairman of the APC may need to jointly work to ensure that the Kano-Dutse branch is not dropped from the Kano-Maradi railway project.

    Work on the Dutse segment is not the only aspect of the project that is still on paper. It is observed that   not a single aspect of the 52 bridges and the 81 under and overpasses was seen along the earthwork and cleared track path. 

    It was observed that none of the five maintenance workshops and yards is on ground.  The location for the station in Dambatta,  one of 20 in the project,  is still unknown to the residents who  welcomed the railway to their door step.

    The Kano-Maradi rail project is part of our country’s ambitious Railway Modernisation and Expansion Master Plan, in which  all state capitals and other principal cities in the country would be linked  by railway.

    The plan envisaged linking all sea ports, major international airports and the main economic centres of the country by rail.  The planners believed this can make Nigeria the hub of an intermodal transportation network for the West African sub region. It is because of the desire to achieve that regional-hub status that, the Railways Master Plan includes linking appropriate border towns in Cameroon, Niger and the Republic of Benin by rail.

    The project will make impact on the wellbeing of Nigerians by facilitating domestic trade, encouraging tourism, boosting countless economic activities and strengthening social interactions among the citizens. Indeed, the citizens have registered an   association which is keenly monitoring the progress of the Kano-Maradi railway project.

    • Salisu Na’inna Dambatta, Dambatta, Kano State.
  • Imo and the ugly face of insecurity

    Imo and the ugly face of insecurity

    Sir: The brutal ambush and killing of eight security personnel soldiers in Umualumaku, Ehime Mbano Imo State served to remind the country of the boiling pot that the Southeast is, and the limitless savagery of those who stoke the fires there.

    When soldiers die as they have in the attack in Umualumaku, it is easier for communities to deny responsibility for harbouring terrorists, and for the authorities to say they will fight back than for any real results to be wrung out of hastily conducted operations that are more about rage than sage strategies.

    Usually, following such gruesome events, the security storm around Nigeria quietens only to rage again at an appropriate and opportune moment.

    How can Nigeria stop the indiscriminate and frankly heart breaking killing of its security personnel? It is by confronting headlong the monster of insecurity, which is itself a brainchild of terrorism. This confrontation must be at once honest and wholehearted. This means that all those who sponsor insecurity in Nigeria, and all those who profit therefrom, must be exposed and prosecuted.

    This brutal attack on soldiers coming just days after Bako Angbashim, a gallant police officer, was decapitated in Rivers State by a cult group is starkly suggestive that this attack is one too many.

    Read Also: Imo guber: APGA candidate vows to rebuild trust, reposition economy

    The slow and unutterably painful deterioration of security in a region whose people have always wanted nothing more than to show their enterprise can be traced to the activities of Nnamdi Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group. While he remains stuck in indeterminate incarceration in Abuja, the fire lit by his supporters in the Southeast has is burning indiscriminately, scalding those it was supposed to keep warm.

    In Imo and Anambra States, many communities have become hideouts for criminals and their hideous activities. For Nigeria’s security forces, combatting these criminals is a forbidden task. Those of them who have fallen into their traps have met grisly deaths, for which there have always been reprisals and recriminations. These have often complicated the situation.

    The solutions will not be simple, but they are necessary. Nigeria has been battling terrorism for more than 10 years now. The succession of each year has only succeeded in bringing more blood with it – the blood of civilians and security personnel alike. For this reason, Nigeria has very much becoming a country with so much blood on its hands, and it may yet get bloodier.

    Dismantling the altar of insecurity on which security personnel continue to get gruesomely sacrificed requires holistic action, which will take enormous resources and political will. It remains to be seen if Nigeria is ready to have a go at it.

    • Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com
  • Rescuing the naira

    Rescuing the naira

    • By Mujib Dada-Kadri Esq

    Sir: Encountering the 2023 report of a reputable global investment bank, JP Morgan, detailing the fate of Naira will incite a thunderous paranoia in any concerned Nigerian or industry stakeholder irrespective of the rebuttal by Central Bank of Nigeria. The report specifically stated “We estimate that CBN’s net FX reserves were around $3.7 billion at the end of last year, from US$14.0 billion at end-2021″. The management of the apex bank in the last eight years has been marred in different controversies and the new administration is finding the storm so uneasy to manage.

     Nigeria’s monetary policy has been unstable in the last 30 years mostly conflicting with the fiscal policies but the most unfortunate season for the Naira was in the last eight years. Naira is nearly becoming an orphan by losing more than 300% of its value largely through devaluation in the last 15 years and foreign reserve regrettably sinking to its lowest in 2023.

     According to EIU country analysis, over 40% of foreign reserves held by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), about US$34bn in early August, are debt based assets according to the CBN’s audited financial statement for 2022. This is to paint the picture of the sad realities threatening Naira.

     The new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has chosen to rescue Naira through the market against the traditional fixed exchange rate policy of last administration by introducing “managed floating” exchange rate, a policy that has been tagged unavoidable. The policy which is in line with the recommendations of World Bank, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, banking elites, portfolio investors and many financial experts has emboldened the parallel market (black market) and encouraged speculation driving Naira to N900 to the dollar in the month of August and inciting fatter inflation.

    Read Also: FG sends 72 beneficiaries of BEA scholarships to Hungary

     It is not pragmatic or strategic for a developing and fragile economy to let market forces determine its exchange rate. A country that is highly import driven will be always be at the mercy of dollars especially when it has no correlating export advantage.

     Borrowing to stabilize the floating exchange market rate is indirectly practicing fixed exchange rate in a more dangerous way. It must be noted that a lot of developing countries especially oil rich Arab countries have refused to float their exchange rate in order to maintain currency stability. China with its maximized exportation policy has refused to also float its exchange rate inclusive of oil rich Norway.

     Nigeria needs minimum of $300billion worth of foreign reserve to attain extremely strong Naira and make currency speculation unviable. It can start with $100billion annual target for the next eight years. However, the solutions and answers lie in “strategic fixed exchange rate policy”.

    •Mujib Dada-Kadri Esq,

     Abuja.

  • Still on Obasanjo’s desecration of the crown

    Still on Obasanjo’s desecration of the crown

    • Prof Tunji Oyelade

    Sir: Last week, precisely on Friday, September 15, at a dual commissioning ceremony at Iseyin, a scene occurred, which practically took the shine off the ceremony. A ceremony that should be filled with joy and eulogy for the main protagonist of the occasion, the governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde turned out to be one of sadness and joy; feeling of satisfaction, dissatisfaction or disaffection and a thing of vehement discussion either of approval or disapproval on several fora, depending on individual perspective.

    The attraction was the commissioning of LAUTECH Campus, and a 34 klm Oyo-Iseyin Road, both at Iseyin. The distraction was the military commandeering of Obas present by the former president, Matthew Okikiola Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo. The social media has been awash with the slogan “e dide, e joko”, meaning stand up, sit down. Emojis have also emerged as comic reliefs of the scenario.

    This episode reminded me of my days in primary/secondary schools when we served out punishments in line with this now famous rendition or in sports, when we put ourselves to such voluntary exercises. Both ways, we exert energy. In one, it is a form of humiliation and in the other, a form of ecstasy and as lawyers would say, a matter of volenti non fit injuria.

    What happened on that day and administered on our revered kings was  reminiscent of punishment and of course, very humiliating.

    Read Also: Tribunal: Labour Party vows to appeal judgement on Governor Mbah

    Now, let us examine the two principal actors in the scenario, the Obas and President Obasanjo. The position of a king in Yoruba land is highly revered and hallowed. A king in those days was very powerful and chosen by the Ifa oracle with the attendant rituals involved before the king can ascend the throne of his forebears, and so no individual born of a woman can flout the commands of a king. In those days, the king could do no wrong.

    Fast forward to modern times. The manner of choosing a king now is more political than strictly traditional. This is however, not to say, our kings are without honour. We still revere them and hold them in high esteem in Yoruba land.

    Let us examine former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and his views about the Yoruba culture. President Obasanjo is a man that respects culture, especially the Yoruba culture so much. He is a chief of many towns in Yoruba land and also a kingmaker in Owu Kingdom, Egbaland. I have seen a lot of pictures and short clips of where Obasanjo prostrated for kings, not minding their ages.

    People have come up with all manner of reasons like he was trying to hit at a particular king who granted an interview. I actually saw that interview and it was not befitting of a king to be so much involved in politics, to the extent of such vituperation.

    Yours sincerely will not pitch tent with any of those reasons. I would rather stand on the defence of culture that the crown should not be desecrated publicly as Chief Obasanjo has done. In the traditional spiritual realm, one understands that some individuals could rank higher than kings and they defer to each other according to hierarchy, but I dare say that such deference will not include a public show of ignominy as we saw last week.

    The English have a saying that two wrongs do not make a right. Yoruba has similar aphorisms. I would have preferred a situation where the former president would exercise more caution being the eldest and the most experienced and then look for a more auspicious time to deal with the Obas in a more communal or familial manner. I am sure, if he did that, the kings would learn and appreciate him more and then apologise. The public display left much to be desired.

    •Prof Tunji Oyelade,

    Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

  • The world of remote work

    The world of remote work

    • By Ovigho Richard Okojevoh

    Sir: With the increase in fuel prices in the past three months, lots of offices and organizations are considering fewer working days for their personnel. For example, the Colleges of Education lecturers’ union directed its members to work only two days a week over rising fuel prices.

    Remote work is now not just a trend but an alternative work life. Remote work has become increasingly popular, especially in recent years. While remote work offers numerous benefits, including increased flexibility and reduced commute time, it can also have an impact on health.

    Remote work often involves sitting for long periods, which can lead to a sedentary lifestyle. Lack of physical activity can contribute to weight gain, muscle loss, and an increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. To combat this, it is critical to incorporate regular exercise into daily routine. Take breaks to stretch, go for a walk, or engage in home workouts.

    Working from home may mean using makeshift workstations that are not ergonomically designed. Improper posture and uncomfortable setups can lead to back, neck, and shoulder pain. To minimize the risk, invest in an ergonomic chair, use a standing desk if possible, and ensure that your screen is at eye level.

    Remote work can be isolating, especially if you live alone or have limited social interactions. Lack of social connection can hurt mental health, leading to feelings of loneliness and depression. Make an effort to stay connected with colleagues and friends through video calls, online communities, or social activities outside of work hours.

     When working from home, it can be challenging to establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. This can lead to longer working hours, increased stress, and difficulty separating work-related worries from personal time. Create a designated workspace, set specific working hours, and establish a routine to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

    Remote work environments can be filled with distractions, such as household chores, family members, or pets. These distractions can hinder productivity and increase stress levels.

    Read Also: Experts advocate remote work conditions

    Remote work can pose unique mental health challenges. The lack of face-to-face interactions, increased pressure to perform, and feelings of isolation can contribute to stress, anxiety, and burnout. Prioritize self-care activities, practice stress management techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises, and seek support from friends, family, or professional resources when needed.

    It’s important to be mindful of these potential health effects and take proactive steps to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working remotely. Remember to prioritize self-care, establish a routine, and find a balance between work and private life to ensure your well-being.

    Many workers believe that remote work flexibility will provide a better work-life balance as well as benefits such as improved health and happiness. Remote work can be more productive, lucrative, and good for your mental health. It can also be more cost-effective.

    At the end of the day, remote work is here to stay, at least for some professions and at least in some hybrids. What we can do is find a way to improve it over time for some provisions, especially for the laptop middle class. Coming to work five days a week is no longer necessary for those not in manufacturing, and those in banking might not be so lucky.

     In an age of remote work, prioritizing physical activity can be increasingly difficult. There are health benefits to maintaining physical activity, and it can positively impact your work performance.

    The good news is that with a little planning and discipline, you can regain control of your life, restore balance, and reap the benefits of remote work.

    •Ovigho Richard Okojevoh,

    Lagos.

  • AFCON 2023: Nigerian referees, lost in the shuffle

    AFCON 2023: Nigerian referees, lost in the shuffle

    Sir: Recently, Confederation of African Football, CAF, the governing body of African football released a list of 85 officials for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, 69 of these officials are listed as referees; 32 for the centre role, 33 as assistants and four as Video Assistant Referees (VAR). Surprisingly and shockingly, no Nigerian official was considered in any category whilst Sao Tome and Principe has a representative.

    Countries like Comoros, Burundi, Djibouti, Lesotho, Mauritius and Mauritania that are considered to be far behind Nigeria in football has refereeing representation in the coming tournament which will be holding early next year while the mighty Nigeria wasn’t found credible to produce any.

    Two countries of Arabian descent – Egypt and Algeria have the highest number of selected officials, three each. Morocco, Mauritania and Mauritius have two each. Officials were also selected from Ghana, Congo, Somalia, Gabon and a host of others.

    Read Also: AFCON 2023: Finidi fancies Super Eagles for fourth title

    Looking back, the last time a Nigerian referee officiated at the centre in Africa’s biggest tournament was 17 years ago; the 2006 edition.

    In the wake of this latest disappointment, there should be a critical review of this anomaly and disproportion. This is a football distress, a slap on the face of the nation’s football federation and a calamity to the referees association. Could it be poor performance, lack of credibility, lack of fitness, poor record, injustice, football politics or CAF is just acting according to type? The Nigerian Football Federation must come above board and unravel this mystery. This should be a challenge for the Ibrahim Gusau administration. 

    Our referees must come out of the woods of underachievers and should be able to officiate at regional and global tournaments. Nigeria is a football rich nation; we should be served our three squares in full.

    • Jubril Hammed, A football enthusiast.
  • Obasanjo, Alaafin Adeyemi epic – lessons therein!

    Obasanjo, Alaafin Adeyemi epic – lessons therein!

    Sir: History has a unique way of repeating itself, thereby lending a historic credence to the ongoing hullabaloo, over former president, Olusegun Obasanjo’s controversial statement/order by fiat, on some Yoruba Obas to stand up, at the Oyo State road inauguration, in Iseyin town, recently.

    History has it that, the then Oyo District Council chairman, Chief Bode Thomas, in a similar version of Obasanjo recent outburst, equally shouted at the then Alaafin of Oyo town, Oba Adeniran Adeyemi 11, the father of the last Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi 111, for not standing up for him, on his arrival for a council meeting, at Oyo.

    According to some accounts, Oba Adeyemi 11 was reported to have mystically ordered him to continue barking like a dog, and Bode Thomas, eventually barked to death, days after!

    The real question, now, is- Is there no more such a command traditional powers, like that of Alaafin Adeniran Adeyemi 11, again?

    Read Also: Obasanjo’s embarassing acts

    Traditional stool is not an arena for charlatans or politico-religious bigotry- but for those who are inherently and naturally endowed to uphold the tenets/rituals involved, and are equally genuinely interested in following/fulfilling divine traditional practices, like abstaining from certain unguarded habits, outbursts, conducts, and Cretan public social interactions, by becoming the adherents of truth, justice, fairness, divinity, holiness, utmost culture of dignity, glamour, and candour!

    Traditionally, Obas don’t physically see dead human bodies or corpses….but, nowadays, Obas’ dead bodies/corpses, are being exposed to the non-initiated, and lay on bare floors for their subjects to see, before religious interment….what an abomination with the dire consequences?

    Religion and politics divide homes and nations- making once bosom friends become sworn enemies….but culture and traditions are unifying….which many modern day Yoruba Obas have abandoned, as the custodians, and turned their palaces into the divisive arena of politics and religion, instead of natural unifying centres for all their subjects.

    • Oladipo Oluwole, Soka, Ibadan. Oyo State.
  • Abducted NYSC members and a captive country

    Abducted NYSC members and a captive country

    Sir: Nigeria’s scandalous state of insecurity took a turn for the worse when eight corps members traveling from Uyo to Sokoto State  for the mandatory one-year National Youth Service were abducted on August 19, on a highway in Zamfara  State.

    About a month later, they are yet to be released as concerns grow about their safety and well-being.

    Every day in Nigeria somehow manages to bring fresh security challenges. Nigeria’s rural communities have borne the brunt of this insecurity. Tucked into unfavourable terrains and far removed from serious security operations, many of them have been forced to navigate the chilling squeeze of poverty and insecurity.

    But who is to blame?

    For years now, as insecurity has gained traction in Nigeria, blame has become the name of the game. Security personnel have hardly hesitated to blame vulnerable Nigerians for attacks on them, whenever convenient. It has quickly played out in this situation too. When the father of one of the abducted corps members complained that the scheme was not doing enough, the NYSC quickly reacted by blaming the corps members for travelling at night and getting abducted.

    While the distraught father and the hard-pressed scheme may each have had a point to make, the roots of the problem which have turned the young graduates into victims run deeper.

    Why can’t Nigerians travel at any time of the day without fear? Why are the roads so patently unsafe?

    Night travel always comes with a measure of risk because under the cover of darkness, the worst version of men usually manages to somehow emerge.

    Read Also: NYSC certificate: Musawa urges public to avoid unverified information

    In Nigeria, night travel has somehow become akin to signing one’s death warrant. With ruthless criminals crawling all over the country, Nigerian roads have, in addition to being deathtraps no, thanks to their yawning potholes, also become lairs for terrorists.

    But to blame the young graduates for their plight is to divert attention away from the fact that there is hardly anywhere that is safe in the country.

    No matter the gravity of the rather unfortunate attempts to deflect attention from the situation, the truth remains that Nigerians need security. It is as simple as that.

    Sources have said that there have been ransom demands made on the families of the corps members. One source put the ransom demand at N4 million.

    In Nigeria’s current crunch economic climate, it is anyone’s guess how the families of the corps members are expected to raise money to meet the extortionate demand of the kidnappers.

    The law In Nigeria also criminalises the payment of ransom to kidnappers. When the legislation was passed last year, many Nigerians could not help but laugh at the irony of it all. Many were at pains to point out that unless kidnappers were forced out of business, such a legislation was not only impracticable but unfair.

    Many months later, Nigerians are still kidnapped at will and forced to cough out millions of Naira in ransom.

    Nigerians need to feel safe, wherever they are within the country. To achieve this state of security, security agencies need to step up their game. The government in Abuja and in every state must accord security the highest priority.

    When people are picked up at random by criminals and held for days with enfeebled security personnel doing nothing to rescue them, the message sent is that the state is weak. Surely, a country battling insecurity on all fronts cannot afford to be perceived as weak.

    Then, the criminal justice system of the country must be seen to be at its absolute best. From detention, investigation, prosecution and incarceration, there is a bounden duty on the government to ensure that the criminal justice system works optimally.

    The hapless corps members who have spent about a month in the lair of criminals deserve justice as does every other victim of the catastrophic insecurity crippling Nigeria.

    Without this, life in Nigeria will remain nasty, brutish, and short.

    • Ike Willie-Nwobu, Ikewilly9@gmail.com
  • Today is World Peace Day

    Today is World Peace Day

    Sir: Every September 21 was declared by the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate peace by the Resolution 55/282 in September 2002. It is devoted to strengthen the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples, and thus urges member states to ensure its observance. Nigeria is joining other countries to mark the day.  

    This year’s theme is Action for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals.  It is a call to action that our individual and collective efforts to foster peace should be accelerated to realize global goals including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also a push for us to recognize how our individual and collective actions can affect and foster global peace.

    But while we are celebrating peace and reminding ourselves of the need to promote peace in places where conflict and violence are common, it is important to underscore the fact that there is no way there will not be conflict or dispute in our world. Putting it succinctly, conflict must exist in our everyday lives. Brad Pitt aptly describes it as, “happiness is overrated. There has to be conflict in life.”

    Read Also: World Peace Day: Aisha Buhari canvasses justice, equity

    It is a common saying that conflict is natural. Without conflict, there will be no development. Unfortunately, Nigeria has grappled with the ugly side of conflict. Individuals, groups and communities have resorted to violence because of competition over scarce resources, or seeming irreconcilable differences. Their use of force has destroyed millions of lives, livelihoods and property over matters that should have been prevented, managed or resolved amicably. The escalation of violence has made Nigeria infamous from terrorism; communal, ethnic and religious conflict; secessionism and cultism. 

    Therefore, as we celebrate this year’s International Day of Peace, let us eschew violence as we experience conflict in our day-to-day activities. Conflict is inevitable even in the best of relationships and work environments. Rather than giving up and make things worse, we can adopt a set of skills that produce better outcome for every party involved in the conflict.

    Nigerians should be sensitive to others’ position and perspective. Let us use today to remember that since there is no way there will not be conflict, it is our humanity’s obligation to promote peaceful resolution to conflict.  One can say peace is a well-managed social conflict. 

    The legitimate needs and interests of all would be responded to if we give peace a chance. The citizens and non-citizens alike will be better for it. 

    • Dr. Olalekan A. Babatunde Abuja.
  • AFCON 2023: Nigerian referees, lost in the shuffle

    AFCON 2023: Nigerian referees, lost in the shuffle

    • By Jubril Hammed

    Sir: Recently, Confederation of African Football, CAF, the governing body of African football released a list of 85 officials for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, 69 of these officials are listed as referees; 32 for the centre role, 33 as assistants and four as Video Assistant Referees (VAR). Surprisingly and shockingly, no Nigerian official was considered in any category whilst Sao Tome and Principe has a representative.

    Countries like Comoros, Burundi, Djibouti, Lesotho, Mauritius and Mauritania that are considered to be far behind Nigeria in football has refereeing representation in the coming tournament which will be holding early next year while the mighty Nigeria wasn’t found credible to produce any.

    Two countries of Arabian descent – Egypt and Algeria have the highest number of selected officials, three each. Morocco, Mauritania and Mauritius have two each. Officials were also selected from Ghana, Congo, Somalia, Gabon and a host of others.

    Read Also: UNGA 78: Biden rejects coups in Africa, backs AU, ECOWAS

    Looking back, the last time a Nigerian referee officiated at the centre in Africa’s biggest tournament was 17 years ago; the 2006 edition.

    In the wake of this latest disappointment, there should be a critical review of this anomaly and disproportion. This is a football distress, a slap on the face of the nation’s football federation and a calamity to the referees association. Could it be poor performance, lack of credibility, lack of fitness, poor record, injustice, football politics or CAF is just acting according to type? The Nigerian Football Federation must come above board and unravel this mystery. This should be a challenge for the Ibrahim Gusau administration. 

    Our referees must come out of the woods of underachievers and should be able to officiate at regional and global tournaments. Nigeria is a football rich nation; we should be served our three squares in full.

    •Jubril Hammed, 

    A football enthusiast.