The Nation Newspaper

Category: SOS

  • AKPAN UDOH: Nigeria’s kid King of Bnei Sakhnin

    AKPAN UDOH: Nigeria’s kid King of Bnei Sakhnin

    New kid on the block, Akpan Udoh, revels in the joy of taking his career abroad as he opens his account with Israeli side, Bnei Sakhnin FC, reports MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN. 

    Former youth international, Akpan Udoh, has followed the steps of some illustrious Nigerian goalkeepers to showcase his talent in Israel following his recent transfer to Bnei Sakhnin FC.

    In the years past, there were Vincent Enyema who starred for three Israeli sides including Bnei Yehuda, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv before leaving for French Ligue 1 to Lille OSC, and Hapoel Petah Tikva’s Austin Ejide who previously donned the shirts of Hapoel Hadera and Hapoel Be’er Sheva, as well as Dele Aiyenugba who is currently with Hapoel Ashkelon after a nine-year spell at Bnei Yehuda.

    Udoh, who helped Nigeria to win her fifth FIFA U-17 World Cup title in Chile where he narrowly missed being named goalkeeper of the tournament, believes a move to Israel would bode well for his budding career as he relishes about his new status at Bnei Sakhnin FC.

    “I’m the only African in this city of Sakhnin; I think I am the king here for now,” explained Udoh.

    “I’m feeling good here. Israel is peaceful and they love Africans players, especially Nigerians.

    “I had so many offers after we won the World Cup but they were not genuine. I love my club because the players and officials welcomed me with open hands and I don’t regret my coming to play in Sakhnin.

    “I settled for a club in Israel because it’s the best place for me to start from and I signed a three-year contract. I’m going to be with the junior team for a year. I made my debut with the club on November 4 and kept a clean slate in the goalless draw against Hapoel Beer Sheva. I felt so good (about my performance) because Hapoel Beer Sheva is a very good side and it was a tough match for us.

    “I have set so many targets for myself but I want to start gradually to get there and in next five years; I want to play in a top league,” he explained.

    The truth is that Udoh is a lad with a lion’s heart judging by the manner he made the number one goalkeeper’s jersey his own during his days with the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets. He was slightly behind in the pecking order for the goalkeepers under the very demanding trainer, Emeka Amadi, who posited that a good team is as good as the goalkeeper and he summarily  decamped  Udoh  for not measuring up to standard. Yet Udoh bounced back swiftly to stake his claim and handsomely contributed greatly to the success of the Golden Eaglets in Chile.

    “Yes, I didn’t start as the first choice goalkeeper from my first day with the Golden Eaglets and I was actually dropped during the first screening because my performance was not up to the standard expected by the coaches,” admitted Udoh who hails from Akwa Ibom but was born and bred in Ogun State.

    “I went back to my state and worked hard by doing extra training to improve myself and build up my confidence. Seriously, I don’t even know how I became the (Golden Eaglets) No. 1 because it was like a dream to me. I think it was by hard work and prayer that took me to that position.

    “It was not easy because we had other good goalkeepers in camp who were my toughest challengers; both Ebuka Nwokeocha and Chiaha Chisom were equally good.

    “Ebuka was very good and tough. He was eager to play and be the best for the team but he never made the World Cup team because he was not disciplined and so many other things I can’t explain.”

    Udoh described a good goalkeeper as a superman. He displayed uncommon agility at the FIFA World Cup Chile 2015and was one of the team’s outstanding performers.

    “A good goalkeeper must do less of mistakes,” explained Udoh, a great admirer of Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, German Manuel Nuer and David de Gea of Spain.

    “The goalkeeper is the first to be blamed but last to be credited and that is why he must be a superman.

    “My goalkeeping heroes are Buffon, Manuel Nuer and David de Gea; I love to watch these three goalkeepers because of their great qualities. They are usually calm and composed and these give their defenders and team a lot of confidence. They give good organisation and leadership too and I would want to be like them.”

    Born July 18, 1999, Udoh has grown in confidence and stature after helping the national Under-13 team to win the London  International Youth Tournament organised by The Football Association in 2010 but he admitted it was not as easy as A-B-C at the start.

    He said: ”I started my career as a goalkeeper while I was in Primary 5 but it was hard for me then because  I was very brilliant in school and my teachers wanted me to stick with my studies and they did everything to stop me from playing but no avail.

    “I joined the national U-13 team and that was when my teachers started giving me full support in school but my mum didn’t want me to play football and punished me anytime I went for training.

    “My dad loves football and he supported me. I also do other stuffs like helping people to cut grass and labour (at construction sites) to support myself because I came from a humble background.

    “Playing football is one of the things that make me happy and I always love to see my parents happy. I was very happy after we won the World Cup in Chile because they were joyful and proud of me.

    “When we came back from the World Cup, I gave them my bonuses and they took and gave me my part with which I opened an account.

    “A good child must remember where he or she came from no matter what. If it’s possible for me, I will bring them to Israel to come and live with me. I want to take care of my parents and my siblings too,” he stated.

  • UGOCHI NWAIGWE Why I quit football for basketball

    UGOCHI NWAIGWE Why I quit football for basketball

    Most Nigerian gals took to  football long before they finally settled down to pursue other sporting dreams and a member of the national women’s basketball team (D’Tigress), Ugochi Nwaigwe, has spoken about football being her first love before she was bowled to basketball.

    “Believe it or not, I was more keen to playing soccer,” 24-year-old Ugochi melts with excitement as she responded to The Nation. “I actually played it(soccer)  for 11 years and stopped when I was 17 years old; I loved soccer because my dad loved soccer and I was (still am ) a daddy’s girl…

    “But, when I was playing soccer, I still played basketball just not as heavily as soccer. I was on teams and, as I said, I always did well but soccer was my thing.”

    Her coming through with basketball was fortuitous after prompting from her teacher when she was already in the secondary school.”  It wasn’t until I was in seventh grade that I realised my potential. One of the English teachers at my school basically was like ‘yeah no more soccer…let’s focus on

    basketball.’

    “ I was very reluctant to let soccer go but I did start investing more time into basketball. I was on my high school team, PAL teams, and other teams at one time. I was attending camps and clinics and it came to a point where basketball began taking over and soccer was fading in the background.

    “My schedule was school, then seventh grade basketball practice, and then junior varsity basketball practice, and then a club basketball practice — all the while doing my homework and still getting straight As. Eventually, two years passed by and I was just getting better and better.

    “The same English teacher placed me on a AAU team and then the rest is history; I just ran with basketball ,it became my life,” remarked Ugochi  who recently was in the squad that won the Afro Basketball  Women’s  Championship in Mali.

    To say Ugochi is bold in her thoughts is perhaps stating the obvious, as she revealed so much right from the meaning of her name and other essentialities that make her stand out amongst her peers in this interview with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN. Excerpts….

    What’s in a name?

    I love that this is the first question (what is the meaning of your name?). My name, Ugochi, means “God’s Eagle”. I can see myself as an eagle. It’s a bold and definitive animal that soars its wings. Eagles are typically larger than their prey, or other birds. They stand out and wherever they go, they instantly attract attention and subconsciously demand attention. I did some research and found out that eagles don’t mix with other birds because they fly at such a high altitude. I also realised that eagles never surrender to their prey no matter how much stronger or bigger they are. It’s crazy that such a question makes me dig so deep between the commonalities between me and an eagle. My parents couldn’t have picked a better name for me. I am an eagle. I never soar low, I never settle, and I never give up. I am bold and confident — qualities that my parents instilled in my siblings and me at such a young age. I come from a strong family, so I am a strong, intelligent, and independent woman. My parents did not raise a weak girl and I know they pride themselves in never having to worry about me because I always do what is right. I am a lover, not a fighter. I hate arguing and confrontation, but please do not mistake that for easy going. I am a very simple human being, believing in and loving all the little things. I am not easily impressed. I mind my own business and focus on the things I can control. I believe in quality over quantity. I have my family, my five really close friends, and the lifelong teammates I’ve met along my basketball journey. I am super stubborn, extremely shy, super silly, and always smiling. And I love God, without him, there is no me.

    Likes

    My likes are God, my family, my friends, basketball, winning, working out and getting better, my room at home, reading, being by myself, The Cosby Show, Nutella, bananas and cream oatmeal, 1990s and early 2000s cartoons like Hey Arnold and The Proud Family, the colour green, water, art/music, my Naija babes (my Nigerian national teammates), the village (Mbano in Imo State), the winter, teddy bears, being natural (no artificial hair/no makeup), the beach (but laying out on the sand, not going into the water) and figuring out ways to make the world a better place.

    Dislikes

    People who are too much of themselves. People who are neither spiritual, nor religious. People who try to show off/impress all the time, fast foods, flying, long road trips, insects, egusi & ogbonno soup, the movie ‘Love & Basketball’, weaves, makeup, drama-filled people, and liars.

    My ideal partner

    I am a single as a pringle. Everyone is always shocked when I say I am single. I have had one boyfriend and it obviously didn’t work out. I am looking for someone who is simple, someone who isn’t interested in trying to impress me or their friends all the time. Someone who is God fearing and as family orientated as me. Someone who knows when to party, but also knows when to stay home. I am completely fine with staying inside and watching a movie on a Friday night with my partner.

    I am not into a lavish lifestyle. I am super simple and I am looking for someone who complements that. I am super stubborn and I do believe I am always right, so I need someone who isn’t going to let me win all the time. Someone who is going to challenge me and make me use my brain. A lot of the guys I have talked to, it’s been too boring and too easy. I get what I want too easily. I don’t want that. I need someone who is going to keep my brain active. Someone I can have an intellectual conversation with, but at the same time goof around with. I ultimately want to marry someone who is my best friend. If I can’t tell you anything and everything, and if you are not the first person I think of when something exciting or terrible happens to me, then it’s a no. I say no a lot because I have such high expectations of what I want in a partner. I have an amazing father and two incredible brothers. So when I am looking for a potential boyfriend, I am looking for someone I want to spend the rest of my life with; someone who has similar qualities as the amazing men I already have in my life. Also, my parents have such a beautiful marriage so it just sets my standards really high. Good luck to the guy that reaches it. I am not easy ooooooo.

    Growing up years

    Growing up, I look up to my  parents. They are absolutely incredible. I don’t think there are enough words to describe them. A lot of my friends remind me of how lucky and blessed I am to have such people in my life. God made my family absolutely perfect in my eyes. I have everything I want in this family. My parents disciplined us very well and because of that my siblings and I are all doing so well. We are all so different but my parents accept all our various personalities with open arms. I know if I ever needed anything, those two people will always have my back.

    Getting into  basketball

    I started around six or seven at the Catholic high school called Holy Child Jesus in Queens, New York. It was just for fun. I think there was some type of function at our school and my older brother and I attended. We were on the same team and the game just came naturally to me. I mean, I knew of the game because I watched it on television …but that’s my first memory of me playing basketball. I just followed my older brother. When my family and I moved to Long Island, New York, there were so many activities to get involved in. In school, we had gym class and sometimes we would play basketball. I was obviously naturally good at it because I was tall for my age. I think my first team was when I was in fourth grade. It was an all-year-round thing for me. Again, soccer started fading more and more. I didn’t like it as much but I kept at it because it kept me in good shape for the next season, which was basketball season. By the time I was in ninth grade, I was pretty well known throughout my county for my raw basketball skills. Schools were afraid to play us because of me, and I swear I wasn’t even that skilled. I was just talented. I was solely right handed, I was super athletic. I could run my butt off, and I actually made my free throws then. I just kept getting better and better.

    Scholarship and basketball

    The summer going into my 10th grade year, I was travelling a lot for basketball. Like every summer, there were a lot of tournaments nationwide with college coaches looking to update their rosters. After that summer, I had received hundreds of letters from schools. I was super overwhelmed.

    I had a whole box filled with college letters and questionnaires. My house phone and my cell phone would go off a couple of times a night with college phone calls. That was when my parents realised that this could be my next big thing; a whole full ride scholarship for academics and basketball. We started going on visits and started receiving offers left and right for the next two years. I cried a lot, especially in the beginning of my senior year. It was too overwhelming and I had made a lot of connections with a lot of the college coaches. I didn’t want anyone to be mad at me or not like me anymore for not choosing their programme. Nonetheless, my dad would prefer one school and my mom would prefer another. To add to that, even my teachers and coaches started to get involved offering which school they thought was best for me. I don’t think I can even describe to you how overwhelmed I felt but I ended up making a decision. It was between the ivy league school, Dartmouth University, and a mid-major school, Wagner College. They were both D1 programmes — Dartmouth was way more successful than Wagner but Wagner had a promising future. Because Dartmouth was an ivy league it basically would set me for life, whereas, Wagner could do

    the same thing but its scope isn’t as wide as Dartmouth’s. My dad was for Dartmouth and my mom was for Wagner. At the end of the day, I chose Wagner and my dad constantly reminds me that my choosing Wagner over Darmouth hurt him in ways that I will never imagine and he can never forgive me for that.

    Mixed fortunes at Wagner

    Whatever! Anyway, I loved Wagner when the coaching staff that recruited me was there. I loved my class. I actually met my best friend there and we are still best friends till this day. The summer going into my sophomore year, there was a change in coaching staff and they hired a whole new staff. The new staff seemed promising but I was not feeling the head coach. We never butted heads but we didn’t have a relationship. It wasn’t until the beginning of my senior year that I was really at odds with everything she was doing. I don’t think she was a nice person at all and I think a lot of  people can attest to that. After playing St John’s, I quit. I was five games into my senior year and I walked away from the game. I was so over the game. She killed it for me. I didn’t want to play again. Few days after I had quit, news regarding me leaving the team started surfacing and I began to receive college phone calls again. I wasn’t really feeling it because I was just so distraught from disconnecting myself from basketball. It was all I had known for so long and I didn’t know who I was without it. Anyway, I would listen to what the coaches had to say but as I said, I wasn’t really interested. I just wanted to finish school.

    Back to my roots

    Nonetheless, I went to Nigeria for that college winter break with my mom.  While in Nigeria, I had an awakening. I was playing with all my little cousins and the village kids, having a blast. I brought my basketball with me and would arrange my arms in a circular motion to make a hoop that they can shoot through. I loved it and it made me miss the game. When I returned back to the States, I decided to give basketball another try. Again, schools just kept calling but the only one that I loved was Temple University. Long story short, transferring to Temple helped me fall back in love with the game again. It was hard to get back into it because I was kind of scarred from what I went through at Wagner, but my coaches were super understanding. They were always there for me even though I was super quiet. I graduated last year and I am still so in love with that coaching staff and my teammates. When I was looking for a new school, my priority was finding a staff, more importantly a

    coach that I can form a relationship with. A year later, I can text Coach Cardoza whenever and know she’ll be happy to see my name pop up on her phone. So, basically after that, I decided I wanted to play overseas. I was at my peak basketball-wise. I didn’t see a need to just stop. So that’s where I am at now…living my ultimate dream of being a professional basketball player.

    Roadmap  to D’Tigress

    One day, I had tweeted that I would love to play for the Nigerian national team one day and Sandra Udobi, former player from St John’s, tweeted me back and basically told me it was possible. I don’t know if that’s verbatim but it is definitely something along those lines. So she gave me a contact and I contacted the guy and we kept in contact. I know I was seriously annoying him because I was eager at this opportunity. He gave me Coach Scott’s email and then I got an email from him saying that I’ve been invited for the Olympic Qualifying Training Camp. Olumide Oyedeji would call me occasionally to check in on me and to answer any questions I had. I got this email on 1/1/16, so I was like this is going to be a great year. It was. I got to camp nervous as ever. I didn’t know anyone and the girls seemed to know each other. I was super shy (surprise surprise). I had worked so hard prior to the training camp. I wanted to go there and shock them but the minute I got there and saw everyone’s credentials; what schools they had gone to and where they have played overseas, I froze. I psyched myself out and I wasn’t performing to the best of my ability because I already counted myself out. I was going up against Didi, Sanni, Uju, Elem, Aunty Chioma, etc. I was skinnier then, so they would blow on me and I would literally fly away. On top of that, the coach always talked about experience, which I lacked since I hadn’t played overseas. The last 10 days of camp I picked it up and I know had I

    trained like that the entire time I was there I would have made the team for the Olympic qualifiers. When I got cut, I promised myself that would not happen again for the next summer.

    Going professional

    Although I was focused for my first international professional basketball job in Gran Canaria, Spain, I was working towards making the team for Afrobasket. It’s basically all I talked about all year. So now that I have my gold medal, I can let my mind ease a little. My determination and dedication to make that team was out of this world. Practices were intense at times. Aisha and Didi made me tougher. Didi is skilled and Aisha is just strong. I know after every practice I had new scratches on my body from Aisha. As mad and annoyed as I was, I had to keep reminding myself that this is all making me a better basketball player and it did. I was tough before but I am even a tougher basketball player

    because of that.

    AfroBasket experience

    I knew we were going to win. We were the most talented, skilled, and athletic team in that tournament. The experience was definitely overwhelming. It was exciting to be able to be on the global stage representing Nigeria, but there were a lot of distractions — the food, the flies, the hotels, etc. Nonetheless, being the youngest on the team and with the least international experience, I didn’t get to play as much as I liked. That was tough for me because I was coming from a three-month contract in Argentina where I was starting and playing a lot. So, I had to take a backseat and stay ready for whenever my name was called and whenever Coach gave me the opportunity to play, I made sure I showed out. I tried to do the littlest things and I think I did it well. It was nice to see how happy my teammates got when I did something well on the floor. I literally felt like a baby…haha. But AfroBasket was amazing. The support we got from our families, friends, and fans was unbelievable. AfroBasket is only going to get better because every team is only going to get better for the next tournament. There are top teams that everyone wants to beat and to beat them you have to improve the structure of your own programme. What I noticed about AfroBasket is that all teams have the talent, it’s the skill they are lacking. If basketball can be big in other continents, it can be just as big in Africa. We are the most athletic people in the world. Just teach us the game and invest in the development of the game and imagine how magical it will all be.

    Future plans

    I am off to Turkey (Yakin Dogu BGD) for my second year overseas. I am super excited. I plan on being a beast. I’ve been working so hard all year round. I haven’t rested that much but I’ll rest when I am dead. I figure if I am going to do this basketball thing, I might as well go all the way. I think about the way Lebron James or Candace Parker trains and they are whole heartedly invested in the game. That’s me. I eat, sleep, drink, etc. basketball. For the next few years, it’s my life and no one can change that but me. I am going into Turkey with the mind-set of me being unstoppable. I am not working this hard for nothing. This is my job. This isn’t just for fun. As for the FIBA World Cup, it’s a big deal. Everyone’s like we can’t go there and embarrass ourselves. We won’t. Trust in us. Know that we are all preparing in some way for it. We need even more support for this tournament. I trust in our staff, Coach Sam, Coach Pee, Coach Ochu, Fon, and Mac. We got it. I am super confident that we will make Nigeria happy again.

  • ALIYU ABUBAKAR: I want to follow Mikel’s footsteps

    ALIYU ABUBAKAR: I want to follow Mikel’s footsteps

    Four years after helping Nigeria to clinch her fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup title in the UAE, Aliyu Abubakar believes it’s just about time that he featured for the Super Eagles with some strong showing at FC Dila Sori in Georgia.

    Built like a tank, you can’t miss out Abubakar, and his presence reminds one about the towering Uche Okechukwu – the Gentle Giant – in the heart of the Super Eagles’ defence in the 1990s.

    “One of the players I admire so much is Uche Okechukwu and I have  watched some of his tapes while he was playing for the Super Eagles with all other big boys like the late Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh, Daniel Amokachi but John Mikel Obi is my super hero and mentor,” Abubakar  told The Nation.

    “There are so many reasons I love Mikel. He’s a player with quality, great personality, fighter, winner and a leader. I have the opportunity of speaking to him and have also had the opportunity of watching him closely at the national team  and he has always been a big motivator for me.

    “One day, I hope I can follow on his footsteps in the national team . Presently, I’m really excited about the progress I’m making in Europe and I believe I’m ready anytime I’m giving opportunity to play for the Super Eagles,” he remarked.

    They say impossibility is nothing and Abubakar’s fledging career is indeed a study in perseverance after he made the cut to represent Nigeria at the youth level in 2013. He was just one of the many boys under coach Manu Garba at the start of his career in the national team, but with several key players missing out after the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Test, the bulky lad played himself into the team and fitted in like gloves in the hands of a professional boxer.

    “Though I was invited to the U-17 camp from Mutunchi Football Academy FC in Kaduna, I told myself that ‘ I’m going to push and fight my way into the World Cup squad’. And with focus, hard work and prayers, God guided me through,” Abubakar now says. “It was difficult at first because I met talented players in the camp who had already been together for some time and lived like one big family. The first player who welcomed me with open hands was Isaac success who is now with Watford in England.

    “But apart from the coaching crew, two other people that helped me maintain stability in the team were the doctor (Deji Olarinoye) and media officer (Morakinyo Abodunrin) and they really pushed me hard when my game was dropping because they kept reminding me that ‘you have the quality and you can’t afford to be lazy’ and I really appreciate the contributions of these people in my life.”

    Abubakar was such a humble kid at heart and it was there for all to see that he was willing and ready to learn but it was at the World Cup in the UAE that he virtually exploded and he played all the seven matches as the Nigerian youngsters shone like neon lights in the dark by winning the U-17 World Cup.

    “One of the best moments of my life was being part of the Golden Eaglets squad to the World Cup in 2013,” admitted Abubakar, the 21-year-old centre-back with FC Dila Sori.

    “The coaches and the backroom staff, the secretary (Tayo Egbaiyelo); kits manager (Muhammed Kafa) and coordinator (Suleiman Abubakar), as well as the doctor and media officer impacted so much on me. All these amazing people left their respective families and gave their positive energy always to me through the journey.

    “ I have also had the opportunity of playing in the national U-20 team but it was not the same experience as when I was with the U-17. But what makes me strong as a person is that I’m not afraid of facing challenges since this is what every great player has to face. The race is not to the fittest, but with prayers and endurance God has been helping my career.”

    Abubakar said humility and the will to be the best has long been his rule of life, explaining that playing in Finland en route to Georgia has prepared him for future challenges.

    “It has been a while since I moved  Europe and I’m getting better  every season,” he stated. “Up till last season, I played in Finland with Kups F.C and where I played almost 30 matches before moving to Dila FC in Georgia this season.

    “Playing at Kups helped me a lot since I had the opportunity of mixing with more experienced players. I was one of the younger ones in the team. I was always pushing to do more for the team and I was not surprised when an offer to move to Dila came.

    “Switching from Finland to Georgia was not easy. I love new challenges because it helps me to know how strong I have developed and I always want to learn new things. In fact, the coach at Dila told me ‘ I will help you to develop more and move your career to the next level’ and this has been a great motivation for me,” he remarked.

  • OLABANJI OLADAPO: Nigeria is a one-sport country

    OLABANJI OLADAPO: Nigeria is a one-sport country

    First thing that strikes you on a chance encounter with Olabanji Oladapo, current chairman of Lagos-based The Island Club, is his geniality and prevailing gentlemanliness of class and style.

    This sunny afternoon in early October, he was resplendent in light-green coloured full embroidery agbada (flowing, wide-sleeved robe) and as he walked through the doors to his there was unmistakable joy in the faces of everybody around him which showed that he’s truly the man of the people.

    But Oladapo seemed to have been tempered with the nobility of a sportsman after years of experience as a well-versed  administrator both at national andinternational levels.He served  with uncommon distinction at the Nigeria Table Tennis  Federation (NTTF ) and Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) and this propelled him  to greater height at the international level as a high-ranking official at the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) where he’s currently the Vice-President  and  at the International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF) where is a member of the Board of Directors.

    Speaking frankly about his election as the 30thchairmanof the 74-year-old Nigeria’s premier socio-cultural club, Oladapo displayed deep sportsmanship which is partly defined ‘as an activitywith proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors’.

     “There is no big deal with winning or losing election here at The Island Club, ”Oladapo, who as the  Group Brand Manager at the Cadbury in the 1990s created Bournvita Soccer Awards, said with a softened tone in an interview with The Nation at the club’s impressive chairman office. “The good thing here is that it’s not the end of the world even if you lose an election; life goes on.

    “This has always been the great spirit within the club; and one of the reasons former President Shehu Shagari said ‘Nigeria will be better off if national elections can follow the pattern of The Island Club’, because even when you lose, you are under obligation to congratulate the winner, dance with the winner and share drinks together in clear demonstration of sportsmanship.

    “Frankly, God’s time is the best in all situations in life and my election made me to rightly believe that destiny cannot be changed. And I pray and hope that things happen to all of us at the right time,” he stressed.

    Truly, sportsmanship, according to an online encyclopaedia, can be conceptualised as ‘an enduring and relatively stable characteristic or disposition such that individuals differ in the way they are generally expected to behave in sport situ ations. It also refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control, courage, and persistence, and has been associated with interpersonal concepts of treating others and being treated fairly, maintaining self-control if dealing with others, and respect for both authority and opponents.

    Oladapo seemed to have imbibed such ethos, adding that the elite Island Club with its rich traditional values is the leading social-cultural club in Nigeria for several reasons in this interview conducted by MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.Excerpts…

    Election as Island Club chairman

    I agree with you that my election as chairman of The Island Club did not attract much fanfare because I decided to play it down. I needed to be humble. I believe it was God’s time for me to be elected after two previous failed attempts. As far as the election was concerned, it’s a truism that God’s time is the best since I made it with the least of efforts this time around. What I did was just coordination because many people were saying ‘you don’t need any introduction after contesting twice in the past.’ So, it was at the yearning of club members that I contested again, because at some point, I didn’t want to give it a shot again. Even many people who were close to me did not know I was contesting for the chairmanship again until the news was flashed in the media. Before now, the election here was always with fanfare and, incidentally, it was the second time I was contesting against the incumbent because I was not comfortable with a third term bid. Though constitutionally, there is nothing against it, I felt two terms were enough for the office and in the last 25 years, nobody has done third term as the chairman of the club.

    Lessons from two failed attempts

    Of course, I wanted to give up after losing twice and one of the lessons I learnt on those occasions is never to trust people; that it’s not over until it’s over. For instance, during my first campaign, the lady that worked with me on the morning of the election said ‘Oga (boss), there is no way you’ll lose this election because you have the support of almost everybody’, but my response to her was that ‘you’ll be shocked after the election.’ And I lost. Another lesson is that you cannot take people for granted and this is a fundamental nature of our elections here. People don’t have filial or tribal sentiments and your best friend may not even vote for you if he doesn’t believe in your cause. What we practice here is the height of democracy, but deep inside me, I knew that there were silent majority that believe in me because in the last two elections that I lost, my votes were close to each other and that means I was able to keep my loyal supporters all through, and that is unusual here. It showed that I had a base and that there are some die-hards who believe in me. These are the people that urged me on to contest again and the rest, as they say, is history.

    My pact with people

    It’s difficult to know what people see in you. Maybe it’s my ruggedness as a person, my sincerity, carriage and there are some who believe I’m a fighter that doesn’t quit easily. I have had cause to fight for various elections within and outside Nigeria. My first real election was in Nairobi (Kenya) when I contested for the secretary general of the African Table Tennis Federation and it was keenly contested. The night before the election, I was rudely woken from sleep around 3:00am and was told ‘you are going to lose this election sleeping here.’  And we started campaigning till 9:00am before the elections, and I was lucky to win by two-vote margin. The same thing when I first contested for the NOC in Bayelsa. I have always had tough elections and I don’t get things easily.

     De-facto power of Island Club Chairman

    I think it’s erroneous to equate the chairmanship position at The Island Club with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They are two far apart. This is a glamorous position with its own executive powers, but you cannot compare it with being president of a country.  The president of the country at any given time is the Grand Patron of the Club and I think we are the only club in the country that has that status which is a carry-over from the colonial days when the Governor-General was the Grand Patron of the club. If anybody, and I mean any political appointee, coming from the United Kingdom is rejected here at the Island Club, he probably won’t stay too long in the country.  That’s the larger-than-life perception about the club, but let’s face it, this club houses eminent Nigerians; anybody that is somebody in this country, both young and old, is a member of this noble club. There are very few  people who are ‘timber and calibre’ of the society that are not members of The Island Club.  It is the melting point of the ‘biggies’. The traditional value of the club is well and strictly adhered to, and one of the special things that separate The Island Club with others is that we not only celebrate with our members but we celebrate them when occasion demands.  In fact, our usual colourful presentations at ceremonies have attracted some people to join the club, but becoming a member is not as easy as that. One of the reasons I contested for the chairmanship position is to give back to the club that has given me so much opportunities. The emblem of our club is peacock and we have about six peacocks within the club’s environment. Depending   on what you have in mind, you can consider a peacock to be arrogant, beautiful, clean or a shy bird. I think there are only few people who have been presidents of this great country without stepping into The Island Club, but we don’t discriminate against anybody who wants to come irrespective of political affiliations.  It’s easy for anybody to be a member of the club. If I can put it lightly, such person must be of positive background and he must be recommended by members. There is no big deal about it; once you are a man of high repute, you can be considered as a member.  I joined the club as an employee and that was over 30 years ago. It is not sacrosanct that you must have joined the club 30 or 40 years before becoming the chairman. You can contest the chairmanship once you have spent 15 years in the club and it’s just seven years for other offices. There are no other criteria other than length of years in the club before one can contest for any position.

    The Island Club as a pressure group

    You can define The Island Club anyway but we know who we are. What we are is known to our members; and only our members can define who we are.  Of course, some people would say that most of the social contracts of this country was laid at The Island Club, and do you know it was after a colloquium here that the issue of restructuring came to the fore of national discourse?

    Some people would also tell you that once something is discussed here it would happen, but I don’t know where we got that sort of power? People appreciate what our fore feathers did in the past and that is why we organise debates, lectures from time to time for people to fashion out the way forward for our country. We do all these as often as we can, apart from the social aspects that we are known for, since we usually celebrate all the landmark festivals observed by the country. Like every other human institution, we had our period of crisis but there is peace at the club now and that was why I said ‘there is no winner, no vanquished’ when I won the election as chairman. One need to be humble to have the whole Island Club in one spirit and accord. At The Island Club, we respect our officials, especially the Chairman. We are a community. My style is being humble in any position I find myself. It’s a laid down tradition that the chairman must at all times be formal in his approach and dressing. He must be seen as the person they are following; people must feel your presence and this has nothing to do with your height or stature. The Island Club chairman must stand out and must be able to carry himself with grace and dignity.

    My agenda for the club

    My objective is to raise the banner of the club than I met it. Of course, I met the club at a certain standard but I want to raise it, and there is no way members can forget me if what I intend doing impact positively on members.  What I mean is raising the banner of networking; banner of leadership; banner of caring for each other and the banner of good and pure clubbing.

    Leadership position

    The truth is that you don’t go school to attain leadership position, rather you prepare your mind and take responsibility as they come; and people would know along the line how capable you are.  Before getting to this point, I got testimonies from different people since people I schooled and worked with are also here.  People that I have served or people that I served at some point are also members. So, one way or the other, people here would know you to become a member.  Less than one year after I joined the club, I was appointed into the constitution reviewing committee  and currently I’m also encouraging the younger ones to come up because they are the future of the club. It is a tradition that family members become members of the club, but as we speak, none of my children is yet to be a member. But they can, as soon as they are willing. Of course, we don’t have women as members of The Island Club and this has nothing to do with discrimination because this has been a long-standing policy and culture of the club. We are the foremost only men’s club in the country, and I will meet a stone wall if I try to change such policy. We allow women to come and socialize anytime we have events but they are not members of the club.

    Bane of sport development in Nigeria

    Though I’m still actively involved, I have slowed down a bit in my activities on sport.  A time will come when we shall all tell ourselves that we are tired of our present situation and fashion out ways to move forward.  If we don’t do that, we would just be oscillating on one spot.  We have defined ourselves as a one-sport country like so many other African countries  because, here, it’s only football and nothing else but football.  The government does not recognize other sports except football. Whereas government would splash monetary and other rewards when the Super Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations Cup, nothing most of the times are done to an for others. How many times has Table Tennis won all the medals at international competitions and nothing was done for the athletes? They were not even met by the minister or even sport directors and not to talk about giving them anything.  Aruna Quadri recently won the 2017 Polish Open that no other African player had done and there was nothing for him from government.  We talk about giving out awards and rewards in sport but it’s only football that is usually considered.  How many times has Table Tennis won all the medals at the All Africa Games and nothing was done; ditto for other sports?  That is why I consider football as the opposition party to all other sports in Nigeria.  If I have the opportunity, I would change things but such opportunity has not come my way.  Of course, if I have the opportunity of talking to the president, I would express my views, but this problem has nothing to do with the president but the administrators. Of course, we can blame government for not appointing the right people, but what about the administrators who should know better about incentives to give athletes? It’s what you present to the president that he will do, but people rush things when it comes to football in order to gain popularity.  We only start preparations few days to multi-medal competition such as the Olympics. People who want to win medals at Tokyo 2020 have started preparation but we have not.

    The next Commonwealth Games is around the corner, have we thought about it? Have we thought about preparation as well as other logistics about participation? I have gone through this and I know how difficult it is to get us do the needful. But when we did the right thing we were able to win the All Africa Games in 2003.

    That was the best time we had training for our athletes but they couldn’t do much at the next Olympic Games in 2004 because they trained but didn’t compete before going to Athens.  How many administrators in this country do we have serving in continental and international federations?  They can be in committees but not at the executive levels and that says something about the state of our sport.

    It would be difficult to beat Egypt at the All Africa Games because they have their people almost everywhere. Sport has its own fraternity but it’s unfortunate that others have left us behind.

    Super Eagles and Russia 2018

    We must be happy over the Super Eagles qualification for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia but I hope we have learnt from the previous editions. This is October, but I expect they should have a programme in place by December; if not, it would be another case of unfulfilled expectation. Qualification for the World Cup should not be something big for us if a small country like Panama can qualify; we should be interested in doing very well.

  • RABIU ALI: Marriage has been good to me

    RABIU ALI: Marriage has been good to me

    As one of the longest serving players of Kano Pillars, Rabiu Ali is a household name in Kano.

    ‘Pele’, as he is fondly called by teeming fans of the club, has spent the greater part of his career in Kano and scored a load.

    “Kano Pillars is one of the best organised clubs in Nigeria. Since I was a little boy, I have dreamt of playing for Kano Pillars like every kid in my neighbourhood,” he stated. “I can’t remember all the goals I have scored for Pillars but I am popular in the city because there is no place that I go that I won’t hear the young and old calling ‘Pele’, my nickname on the field.”

    With three league titles (back to back) under his belt in 2012, 2013, and 2014, the lanky player relishes his over one decade experience in Pillars: “We are well treated by the club management and fans. We are also appreciated on the field because our home matches are usually sold out and when you play well, the young and old often appreciate us in cash and kind. Often they would come to me to tell me about wonderful goals that I have scored, even some that I have even forgotten.”

    At 37, Ali says he’s not slowing down and would continue to net valuable goals for club and country. He was a member of the Nigerian team to the last West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations in Ghana. Ali scored the only goal as Nigeria advanced to the final of the tournament after a 1-0 victory over 10-man Benin.

    Ali, who celebrated his 37th birthday on 27 September, expertly finished off a superb counter-attacking move by Nigeria on 11 minutes to score what turned out to be the only goal of the game.

    “That goal is one that I will not forget in a long time. It came against the run of play and we just took our chance when it came. That is football for you. It is good that we took that chance because, though, we had other opportunities, we did not score again.”

    Recalling the final game that Nigeria lost 4-1 to host country Ghana, Ali said it was one of the saddest days of his football career

    “We wanted to win that game to prove a point. That we also have quality players on the Nigerian league, but we lost concentration and the goals overwhelmed us,” he explained.

    Another goal that he would dream about for a while is the goal against Abubakar Bukola Saraki FC in a 1-1 draw away. The goal was adjudged VAT Wonder Goal for Match Day 26. Ali beat off competition from Tchato Giscard of MFM FC and Abia Warriors Yakub Hammed.

    “I won’t forget that goal too. For one, we were able to get a point at Ilorin. Two, it was considered the best goal that weekend.”

    Lastly, he noted that the goal fetched him a cash award which was presented to him few days after his wedding with his long time heartthrob Maryam.

    A day after he completed marriage rites with Maryam at a colourful wedding ceremony, Ali was presented his VAT Wonder Goal Award before an impressive turn out of fans at the Sani Abacha Stadium.

    The event held before mammoth fans of Kano during the rivalry fixture between Kano Pillars and Rangers International. He described the award as a perfect wedding gift which will serve as motivating factor to achieving greater things in his career.

    “I was overwhelmed with happiness when I learnt that I would be receiving the award a day after my wedding. I considered it as a perfect wedding gift. Kano Pillars fans came out in there thousands to wish me well and I am proud of them too.”

    Marriage life, he ventured, has been good too. ” Marriage is calming and good for a footballer. My wife used to come to see my matches and she is the type that is capable of taking care of the home front when I am away. We dated for some time before we decided to take it to the next level. I am happy to be with her because she is kind and understandable.”

    On the standard of the league, Ali, who has played at home for more than a decade, believes that the league is improving. “My visit to the kids at the Nasarawa Orphanage run by the Kano State government was an eye opener for me. I spoke with many of them and I was made to understand that we have many kids who are looking up to us in the league.

    ”This is a clear indication that the NPFL has a whole lot to offer to the younger generation; so, it is important to set up a standard that will accommodate these young ones in the future.

    “If these young ones are looking up to us as their mentor, then we must set good examples at all times too, so the kids would see good models to emulate and to be the best,” he noted.

  • India 2017 : A fantastic tournament

    India 2017 : A fantastic tournament

    With the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 concluded on Saturday in Kolkata, the media gathered at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium for a closing press conference on Thursday.

    Jaime Yarza, Head of FIFA Tournaments, reflected on a “fantastic tournament”, while the Chairman of the India 2017 Local Organising Committee (LOC) and President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Praful Patel, spoke of his delight at the way his country has embraced the competition.

    Javier Ceppi, Director of the India 2017 LOC, stressed the important role all stakeholders in India played in making the tournament a success.

    Jaime Yarza, Head of FIFA Tournaments, declared: “It’s been a fantastic tournament until now, with an overwhelming response of everybody involved. First and foremost, the fans have filled the stadiums in all the matches, showing fair play and respect, cheering on all the teams, and really loving the football they have seen.

    “The figures speak for themselves: more than 1.2 million fans attended games at the stadiums. By the final matchday, we’re probably going to break the [attendance] record of all the other U-17 World Cups and we might even break the record for the U-20 World Cup, which is an amazing achievement. It really shows that India is a footballing nation in every sense. The hard work put in place during so many years has received a great response from everybody. It has been a very proud moment for all of us.”

    Praful Patel, Chairman of the India 2017 LOC and President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), added: “I am extremely delighted, happy and satisfied that our dream project to bring the first-ever World Cup to India, the first-ever FIFA tournament to India, has been an astounding success in terms of organisation, infrastructure, and the conduct of the games. It shows that India has arrived on the world football scene and we are able to host the finest tournaments. If we can host the FIFA U-17 World Cup, I’m sure India is ready for any of the big games in the future.

    “We have invested heavily in our grassroots development projects, and the principle reason why we hosted this edition of the World Cup was to continue to keep our focus on the grassroots development and attract younger kids of all age groups to the game. The younger we catch them, the better for the game in the future. This tournament especially has been absolutely fantastic in attracting the youngsters to the stadiums.

    “We have bid for the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be hosted in 2019. I will certainly say that I will use all the goodwill at India’s command to good use for that bid. We will continue this onward march of Indian football.”

    For Javier Ceppi, Director of the India 2017 LOC, “That culture [here in India] of getting things done at the last minute was not going to work. We got a buy-in from all the stakeholders and that was the single most important thing. Like any other World Cup, this tournament has had its challenges, but the amount of goodwill, the amount of energy, and the amount of importance that the different stakeholders have applied to this World Cup has been fantastic. That has been what has allowed us to deliver the event so far.

    “The country knew that there was only one ‘first time’ and this was the first time that India has hosted a FIFA tournament. Hopefully, India will get to host many other FIFA tournaments, but there is only one ‘first time’, so that was the sense of drive that we all had.”

  • ADETILEWA ADEBAJO: Challenge Cup, my dad’s joyous moment

    ADETILEWA ADEBAJO: Challenge Cup, my dad’s joyous moment

    *Memories of my father

    A new chapter in the history of Nigerian football will be opened today at the Agege Stadium, popularly known as the Soccer Temple, when Akwa United tackle Niger Tornadoes in the final of the Aiteo Cup – a replacement for what used to be at different times the Governor’s Cup, Challenge Cup or Federation Cup.

    One big moment in the history of the national oldest competition was the double victory achieved by Stationery Stores in 1967 and 1968 barely a decade after the Lagos darling club was founded in 1959 by the late chief Israel Adebajo; he passed on in 1969.

    One of the children of the late founder of Stores, Adetilewa Adebajo, who now presides over the affairs of the club, has recalled with nostalgia the good old days when the club ruled the waves, as well as some unforgettable memories of his father.

    “Without doubt, his (dad) most joyous football moments were the Challenge Cup victories,”explained Adebajo. “The victory parties with players and well-wishers at his residence were a lot of fun. In retrospect, it took him about eight years after acquiring the club to achieve that first success. The 3-3 draw between Nigeria and Brazil at the Mexico Olympics must have also pleased him as nine of his players were in the Nigeria starting eleven in the first major international outing.

    “In the good old days, he and his mates in the NFA took responsibility for funding the NFA from personal and corporate contributions, without government involvement. He also served as treasurer for the NFA.”

     Speaking further, Adetilewa confessed he was too young when his father died to be able to speak volume about his love for the game but will never forget his lack of enthusiasm for watching his club’s live matches.

    “No, I was too young (to tell why he wasn’t comfortable watching live matches),” he stated.

    “I just knew we went to meet him at Island Club after the matches. It was Egbon (uncle) Jimi Awosika who explained and told me that while my dad’s mates sat at a location called Barakas Corner in Onikan Stadium, he was either driving round or following from Island Club next door.”

    But you can’t take away the fact that Adetilewa was born into the game and has lived all his life following the beautiful game in this interview with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.

     

    Though you come from a rich football background, how did your romance with the game start?

    For as long as I remember, I have always had a complete football kit with boots and real leather balls, not “felele” kicking around the garden.

    At a very young age, I was going to Onikan Stadium, especially for both Challenge Cup victories for Stores in late sixties, and meeting Pele got me hooked on football. The Nigeria/Brazil 3-3 draw at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and the 1970 Mexico World Cup with the giants of Brazil were my first memorable games. I can still name the starting eleven of the 1970 Brazilian World Cup-winning team. In my humble opinion, the greatest football team ever assembled.

    Your late father was the proprietor of Stationery Stores, how did he sow the spirit of the club in you and your siblings?

    We were all always at the big games, although he did not have the nerve to always stay at the stadium. Besides, we had free access to the players in camp at one of his properties in Apapa reserved for housing the players, and the players themselves were always around his residence, also in Apapa. The team was an integral part of the family and he treated his players like family. Uncle Muyiwa Oshode has been like a big brother and uncle to me since I was three years old and I am still close to him today.

    Stationery Stores in years back was the spirit of Lagos, what are you doing to revive the enthusiasm amongst the club supporters at large?

    Stationery Stores is a legacy brand that generates a lot of emotions, passion and nostalgia. The one individual that encapsulates this, and can articulate this the best is my Egbon, Jimi Awosika, Vice Chairman at Insight Communications. We have to put in place a sustainable corporate governance structure for the football club that will see it through generations. We also have to ensure the football club is seen as an institution, preferable a PLC, to secure financial stability. The supporters have already been registered as a trust and licensed as a multipurpose cooperative by the Lagos State Government. This was done with the support and affiliation with Sandlanders, an international supporter’s cooperative sponsored by UEFA and top European Clubs. With this structure, our supporters worldwide can be properly registered, interact and contribute through a global web portal platform that UEFA is implementing for us as part of its CSR.

    Most Nigerian football enthusiasts always have their favourite European clubs, which do you support and what informed your choice?

    From a young age, I subscribed to a football magazine along with all my comics called SHOOT. This was the international football bible especially during the World Cup. We also got from the magazine league table, fixtures, and pull out posters of our football heroes and clubs that we pasted on our bedroom walls. We did not have Internet streaming and Google searches and you had to read up to develop your knowledge, archives and we depended on radio and TV for updates. Baba Ijebu of today then had Face to Face “the Million dollar pools”. He sponsored Star Soccer every Saturday evenings on TV which featured the highlights of the previous week matches from the English league and the match of the day. It was only The FA Cup Final, World Cup and Muhammad Ali fights that we watched live. This was how I developed my interest and exposure to international and especially English football. My aunty who went to specialise in Liverpool as a paediatric nurse started kitting me out in complete LFC jersey from age 6. Since then, I have never walked alone. Today, pools is out, sports betting is in and all the action is live and in real time via multiple channels, devices, gadgets and platforms. Unfortunately, we now have a generation that has grown up with football on TV with foreign clubs and have never been to a Nigerian stadium.

    From your antecedent of deep knowledge of economics and business, why is difficult for survival of clubs in Nigeria without patronage of government; and how can this be redressed?

    Fortunately, you have hit on the reason why Stores is not playing in the NPFL. The league is not structured in a manner where TV rights, sponsorship, merchandising and gate takings can sustain the expenditure and finances of a football club. On average, it costs about 350 million naira a season to run a NPFL campaign. The money you get in return from LMC is at best 30million. For government clubs that dominate the league, they use and spend tax payers’ money and are not concerned about profitability. For us in the private sector, we use our private money, if you have deep pockets or look for a sponsor who sees value in the league.

    Unfortunately, most corporate sponsors don’t yet see the value in the league. Nigerian corporates are currently spending over US$50million a year, to use foreign football brands to sell their products in Nigeria. Our challenge and objective is to convince these corporates to see value in our brand, the NPFL and commit to SSFC just US$1 million or 2% of the US$50 million a year currently being spent on foreign football brands. With this sustained sponsorship support in place, SSFC will be back on top, home and dry. The LMC under Shehu Dikko has just concluded one of the best seasons with crowds returning to the stadiums. If the LMC can sustain the momentum and negotiate optimal TV rights and better sponsorship deals, then we can make football profitable for clubs. What we have in place now, are state governments that subsidise the NPLF with tax payers’ money. Last year, each EPL team got £100 million from TV rights alone; Nigerian DSTV subscription was part of this money. Secondly, football needs to be privatised and the current act which stems from decree 101 should be repealed. Nigeria’s GDP has the capacity to sustain a profitable football league once you remove government involvement.

    Besides football, what other things are you passionate about and why?

    Besides football and sports, my main passion is Economic Development Policy Formulation and Agribusiness. I enjoy the escape and connection with nature with farming and food processing. With policy formulation, there is so much we are not getting right and it need not be so. I have advised three Nigerian presidents and six state governors in an effort to shape positive economic policy for the growth and development of the Nigerian economy. Despite or in-spite of all the problems and lack of committed and sustained economic leadership, Nigeria remains the leading economy in Africa and G23, globally. If we had round pegs in round holes and can generate just 10,000MW of electricity, we can easily be a G10 economy.

    What’s your level of involvement in agricultural business in concrete terms?

    Cropping and processing 300 hectares of soybeans and corn, commodity trading and meat processing.

    Tell us about your immediate family. Did you meet your wife at a football game; any chance your kid or relatives are going to ever play for Stationery Stores?

    My dad died on 25 July, 1969. I was very young then. I grew up and raised by mum who is now a retired judge. My siblings now live outside the country. My wife is a football convert. It will be good to see a next generation play for the club, but these days high tech is king for the millennial generation.

    What was the feeling like meeting Pele as a youngster, how come you didn’t progress to play football as a profession?

    Pele’s visit was a combination of a pop star and presidential visit. When he played, he played one half for his team and the other half for the opposing team. Some privileged Nigerian footballers played both with and against Pele. Today, it’s like JayZ, Beyoncé and Obama landing in Lagos at the same time. I was very young then and Pele was what every aspiring player wanted to be, so meeting him was like any kid today meeting Messi or Ronaldo. It was a memorable experience that I can’t forget, which further endeared me to the 1970 Brazilian World Cup winning team.

    In our time, growing up we had to read book and graduate with a degree. I played football for my school and county in England and in the United States my university and company team. At best, I trained with the Stores team when home on holidays. Perhaps if my dad was alive, I might have been encouraged playing football at higher levels. My mom did not entertain any football ideas beyond a hobby and going to the stadium. Today kids are in formal academies from the age of seven and by age 14, you can determine who is going professional.

    Apart from Uncle Oshode, who are the other players that made huge impression on you?

    Peter Anieke, Baba Ali, Willy Andrews, Segun Olumodeji, Ofokwu Mazeli, Haruna Ilerika, Yakubu Mambo, Sani Mohanmed, Muda Lawal, Yomi Peters, Peter Fregene, Peter Rufai, Wakilu Oyenuga. The 1992 league-winning squad.

    What has been your best football moment and why?

    The style, play and manner Stores won the 1992 Nigerian Football League which was very competitive at the time. We relived the glory days of the sixties; the Atlanta Olympics soccer gold medal won by Nigeria as the first African country to do so; Brazil versus Italy 1970 World Cup Final, after meeting Pele.

    How much of your father’s attributes do you have?

    I was very young when my dad died and cannot claim to know his adult attributes. I know him more as a strict disciplinarian, and a loving and caring father. So you probably have to ask Uncle Muyiwa Oshode or Egbon Jimi Awosika or any older person who knew my dad well. I am just told stories by people who knew him and shared their encounter experiences. We thank God for the goodwill and legacy he left behind. That really is what we need to uphold and protect.

    What are your favourite colours and why?

    Colours are mood based; Colours for me are mood-driven.

    What makes you happy or sad?

    Our country, Nigeria.

    What are your thoughts over the Super Eagles’ qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup?

    We are all very elated the Eagles qualified at the expense of some very strong teams from the group. The target should be to get through to the next round first, then we take each game as it comes. Preparation is key as this team still needs to be moulded into a cohesive unit. The Eagles team currently lacks depth and in the time remaining, we need to reinforce the squad.

  • DEHINDE AKINLOTAN: Football is a way of life for me

    DEHINDE AKINLOTAN: Football is a way of life for me

    When United States-based ex-international Dehinde Akinlotan left the shores of Nigeria in the late 80s, he had made it into the big league of Nigerian footballers. He played for Nigeria in the 1983 U-21 FIFA World Cup in Mexico and the 1984/85 Olympic qualifiers. In the U.S, he played professionally for Boston Bolts, 1988-1990, in the American Professional Soccer League All-Star. He did not depart the field as he went on to study Physical Education at Brooklyn College, and is today a youth coach in Texas. Given his history and perception, Akinlotan has tipped Nigeria to do well at the next World Cup in Russia. He speaks with Taiwo Alimi.

    Growing up

    I grew up in Ebute Metta, Lagos, and at age of six, I was always roaming about the street playing football and in organised street soccer tournament. I met Yisa Sofoluwe, Akin PankiPanki, and a host of other players that come around to play such tournaments. My parents did not want me to play football. As a matter of fact, I get the beating of my life every time I go out to play football. It got to a point that I moved out and visited occasionally to tell them how things were going.

    After my primary education, I went on to secondary school at Agunbiade Victory High School in Abeokuta.  There I represented Ogun State in All-School Sports both for my school and the state. I played for clubs like Wema Bank, Savannah Bank, Ogun Rockets, National Bank, and later moved to Abiola Babes where I was called to the Junior Eagles, as it was called back then.

    National teams

    Football is a way of life for me and probably every youngster back then and getting to play for a top team in Nigeria then was very difficult because the coaches and managers were always looking for good, disciplined and dedicated players. I always play the game to enjoy myself and every team I played for both in Lagos and Abeokuta knew that I was a dedicated player. One day, I got an invitation letter to join the Junior National team (Junior Eagles) with some other footballers from all over Nigeria. On getting there, I met players like Paul Okoku, Segun Olukanni, Femi Olukanni, Dahiru Sadi, the late Ali Jeje, Samson Siasia, Manu Garba (the now flying Eagles coach), the late Christopher Anigala, Muyiwa Motajo, Raymond King, Chibuzor Ehilegbu, Oti Amaechi, etc, It was a camp of skilled and talented footballers from all over the nation and you had to always prove yourself worthy of the competitions ahead and also cope with both the positive and negative sides of the game. I managed to go through the rough edges of the camp given that I was one of the shortest strikers in the camp, and each and every day I had to work my butts off to belong in the last count.

    Life at the Green Eagles camp then wasn’t easy. In the camp then, you had players like the late Muda Lawal, Steven Keshi, Henry Nwosu, Demola Adeshina, Sunday Eboigbe, Bright Omokharo, Clement Temile, Benji Nzeakor (Workshop) Ikechuckwu Ofoje, Patrick Okala (RIP), Ayo Ogunlana, Fatai Amao, Paul Okoku, Humphrey Edobor, Tarilla Okorowanta, and Sunny Ikuagwu.

    Football and education

    At first, combining football with education wasn’t easy but with determination I was able to do so. When I gained admission into college/university here in the States, It was like hell putting two most important things of my life together at the same time; that is attending classes and being able to play football. And you cannot skip football practice or classes because you got the scholarship for both, but it all became a success with the help of the Athletic Director of the school who put me through rigorous tutoring classes.

    Career high and low points

    The high point in my career was playing in the World Cup and meeting star players like Van Basten, Dunga and Bebeto.  Also, fulfilling my dreams of going to the university and succeeding in getting a scholarship to study at Boston College in the US. The low point in my career was the turning down of an apprenticeship with the Crystal Palace football Club in England, who at the time wanted me to stay and work with the team but I was misled to reject the offer.

    Life after football 

    I am still very active in football, only this time around I am on the other side as a certified coach with the United States Soccer Federation and also working as a coach/trainer at Houston Express Soccer Club in Texas. I have taken groups of boys U-16 and U-17 boys on a football tournament to England, Germany, and Spain.

    World Cup qualification

    I keenly follow Nigerian matches and sometimes we gather together to see the games. I see some level of confidence in our game and in the boys, which is exactly what we need to do well at the World Cup. The team is infused with the young and the old and that is good for us. Going to the World Cup, I expect the Nigerian FA to be on top of their act. The FA must put up friendly matches that will get the team ready. There are few FIFA free-windows between this period and the World Cup in June 2018 which gives the team less time to prepare adequately for the tournament. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should organise quality friendly matches for the team and also ensure that the current squad executes the last qualifier against Algeria for enhanced blending. I expect them to do well.

  • ANDRE GRAY My tattoo story

    ANDRE GRAY My tattoo story

    Watford striker Andre Gray read his first book about African-American civil rights movement only three years ago at the age of 23, and the Wolverhampton born was so impressed that he looked for other books and watched all the movies linked to it.

    “The civil rights movement is something I’ve looked into a lot,” said Gray. “When I was about 23, I started reading up on it all and watching TV programmes. You find you read about one person and then you find there is a documentary you can watch about them and then it usually leads on to something else.”

    He took it further when he put his body under the needle and got Muhammad Ali, Bob Marley,  Rosa Parks, Marcus Garvey, the Black Panthers and Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who famously protested at the Mexico Olympics tattoo all over.

    Asked to pick out one of the figures who has become of particular interest to him, Gray replied: “Marcus Garvey. He was the first person to really start trying to fight back and fight for equal rights. Most interesting for me, he created a ship, which is on the tattoo as well, to take African Americans back to Africa from other countries.

    “He was the one a lot of other famous civil rights activists looked up to and he had Jamaican heritage as well, like me, so it was really interesting for me. Then you start watching videos on YouTube and all these other people pop up and you learn more and more.”

    Other than reading up and watching videos on civil rights, Gray also took time out during his summer holiday to try to educate himself further before making an £18.5 million move from Burnley to Watford.

    “I went to Zanzibar on holiday and there was a lot there about civil rights and there was a museum, where there are old slave chambers,” he said. “It was horrible to go to and they’ve still got the chains there. It opens your eyes a lot. To go to Africa and see some of those things was pretty difficult, but it makes you think.”

    Thinking and learning are two things Gray has done a lot of during his rise from non-League football and gang culture that he is sure would have resulted in him going to prison if he had not moved away from Wolverhampton.

    He was stabbed in the face during a night out in 2011 and last season served a ban after homophobic tweets he posted in 2012 came to light just after the striker had scored his first Premier League goal against Liverpool.

    “I had changed a long time before the tweets were exposed,” said Gray. “I couldn’t even imagine I would have written them because they don’t represent the person I am now. I didn’t know they were there, I thought they were fake.”

    Gray, who joined Luton Town from Hinckley United in March 2012, added: “The best thing that happened to me was going to Luton and being able to get away from it all and not be in the position to be dragged back into anything in terms of getting into trouble with the police.

    “I try not to think about where I would be now if I had stayed in Wolverhampton. Jail. That’s the way I would have seen it. It was just part and parcel of where I grew up and the lifestyle I was in. I’ve got one friend that hasn’t been to jail – it was just normal and it’s not seen as a massive thing. It’s part of life where I’m from.”

    Gray has been the recipient of racist abuse during his career and admitted that his first instinct used to be to fight. But reading the stories of Smith and Carlos, who silently protested while collecting their gold and bronze medals in the Mexico Olympics, has taught him there are other ways to react.

    “Yeah 100 per cent and that is why the picture of the Olympians was a big piece that I really wanted to get on the tattoo,” said Gray. “There was also the Australian guy [Peter Norman] who stood with them and supported them, and that was a massive moment. He got a lot of stick and hate for it, but it showed somebody in the limelight could stand up and help change things. It’s something you have to do when you are in that position.”

  • OGENYI ONAZI My tough footballing moments

    OGENYI ONAZI My tough footballing moments

    It would be exactly 15 months tomorrow, that Super Eagles assistant captain, Ogenyi Eddy Onazi, tied the knot with his wife, Sandra.

    He has described his marriage as blessed.

    Speaking in Uyo after the 4-0 drubbing of the Indomitable Lions of Uyo, the Trabzonspor of Turkey player restated his devotion to his wife and newly born daughter despite his hectic schedule as a footballer.

    The couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary on June 18 and welcomed their baby, Makayia, on August 1.

    The defensive midfielder, a social media crooner, had marked the day with a shot from the wedding a year ago. He was also the first to splash photos of his baby on his Twitter handle about a month ago.

    Onazi said he had experienced career and financial uplift since he got married.

    He said: “I have been thanking God for the kind of blessing that I’ve experienced since last year when I married my own Sandra; it’s been a blessed one year and three months for me and I thank the gracious Father for lifting my game too.”

    Onazi, who found the net last weekend for his club, had enjoyed a great 2016/17 season for club and country. He had told Sport & Style in a file interview how his path and that of Sandra crossed.

    He explained: “I have been with her for four years before we got married; she is so special and that should tell you why we  got married. She is a woman with a good heart, loving and caring. I decided to quit bachelorhood because I wanted to get married on time; when you remember you have a family, it will help you to be serious.

    “No one on earth is above temptation but we have to try as much as possible to resist as well. As a family man, you know you are responsible to your family and I always ask for God’s guidance and pray to be faithful to her.”

    Onazi, who came off the bench to score for Trabzonspor in the 3-1 win over Genclerbirligi dedicated the goal to his daughter. He made his 42nd appearance for the Super Eagles in the reverse Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup against Cameroon in Yaounde. He said he was happy to be back in the colours of the Super Eagles and to win again.

    “It’s always a delight to be in Eagles colours. I’m proud of all the players because we played as a team. We played for each other and that is how to attain victory in every endeavour,” stated Onazi, who doubles as the team’s vice captain.

     In this interview with TAIWO ALIMI.

    Tough times

    That would be at the World Cup where I was injured, it was very serious. It was a scary moment and it denied me the opportunity of going to the English Premier League when Liverpool came for me. That moment was trying because I was also shut out of the national team, as I was not playing. Those are the times that you know who is with you and you can appreciate good people who stand by you. It gives one a better understanding of life and it has helped me to move on in life. The experience will last me forever.

    The injury kept me out of the national team for some time because coming out of injury it took a while to recuperate and the national coach already had his team and he was not willing to change it like that. It was a gradual process for me and I am happy that I am back and hope to keep my head low and do the job.

    I have also lost important games, and that are tough times too. For example, not being able to qualify for major tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. I have lost important matches at club level too but it is important to rise again each time we slump. It is a lesson all footballers must learn.

    Playing under four Super Eagles’ coaches

    It is a privileged to play under so many coaches. Even at clubs, I’ve enjoyed playing under a lot of them and I have never had any problems with any; only one of the coaches I would say maybe he was having issues with me for no reason but I really enjoyed and appreciate all of them. Of recent, I played under Sunday Oliseh and his removal came as a surprise to me. But under current manager Rohr, I have also enjoyed very cordial relationship and that has helped us all. They are all professionals and good in their own way. We are professionals too, and that works fine for all of us.

    Favourite position

    I have always been a midfielder but I am comfortable in the defensive. It is my favourite. It is a position that attracts a lot of physical play because you are the one doing the marking and the blocking. More or less the engine room, and it can attract a lot of offensive tackle too. So far, I’ve done well to keep my position and job at club and national levels and will continue to do my utmost best. If goals come I would be happy, but winning as a team is what I thrive to achieve. To play as a team and win as one is the overall goal.

    Living  in Turkey

    Turkey football is tough and I am not joking. It’s like home to Nigerians and Africans because a lot of us are there, same for other nationalities. I am enjoying myself there and the environment is good for my family. My wife loves it there too and the fans are supportive of all players. I’m very much happy with Trabzonspor. In addition, talking about moving, I would love to play in England but that is subject to good offer, otherwise Turkey is great.

    2018 World Cup

    After today’s game (against Cameroon in Uyo), I can conveniently say that we are as good as landing in Russia. However, there are other games to go and we have to keep a cool head and take them well, beginning with the return leg in Cameroon. (The interview was conducted before Yaoundé leg). The manager (Gernot Rohr) is doing a great job. The mix of experienced and new breed is good and that is the result that you have seen in the 4-0 defeat of Cameroon. We have been doing a lot of talking, coach and players; and he (Rohr) comes out as one who is focused. He makes us to understand that we will not live by the past. That we need to forget about what we have done in the past.

    High moments

    Well, so many games I have played from day one are great games but since you asked for one, I would say the game against Ivory Coast because I played against the best in the middle with Yaya Touré and the rest. The game against Cameroon was also good because it is not easy to score four goals against a team like that. But we did it.

    How do you unwind?

    I am always around my family; my wife and daughter. That has reduced the attention that I give to other things like music. But whenever I can I still indulge myself in it. I can play the drum and other musical instruments. I learn it right from when I was young, just like football. Music is like playing football to me. I also do charity work, which I learnt from my daddy, TB Joshua; that is part of his teachings. I learnt  a lot from him and I can never write three words about my life without him.

    Super Eagles’ camp atmosphere

    The atmosphere in Nigeria camp is good, especially coming into the game against Cameroon. Rohr made us to know that we can do it and we proved too that we could do it. It is a great feeling, even coming into the game. We are confident that we can beat any team in the world and the relationship between the young and old is cordial. We have a goal to win and the approach is to harbour a common goal.

    Trabzonspor

    It has been great in my club and the confidence that you see me display for the national team is because of what I have been experiencing at club. The fans are great and compassionate. They have a lot of love to give and since the coming of my daughter, Makayia, they have been especially kind to me. My wife is also fond of my club. They make us feel at home.

    Memories of Italy

    I learnt to be tough in Lazio and I am happy I passed through there. Leaving Lazio was a difficult decision to make because they wanted me to stay, but Trabzonspor came with a great offer. Many have said I shouldn’t have left but like I always say, it is for the best of my career. I spent four seasons in Lazio and  gave my best. Italy is also a wonderful place to live and I enjoyed every moment of it. This is my second season in Turkey and already I feel as if I’ve been here all my life. They are warm people and they have a way of making you feel special.