The Nation Newspaper

Tag: over

  • The party is over

    This piece shares title with a 1960 Argentine drama film directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, which depicts the political corruption in Argentina in the 1930s, a period referred to as the “Infamous Decade”.  The decade, which began in 1930 with the coup against President Hipolito Yrigoyen by Jose Felix Uriburu, culminated in the ascension to power of Juan Peron after the military coup of 1943.

    The decade was marked by rural mass movements, worsened by the 1929 Great Depression, which had decimated rural landowners and pushed the country in the direction of import substitution industrialisation.  Another coup was executed in 1943 due to popular discontent in response to the poor economic results of the policy.

    Tagged the “Revolution of ’43″, the coup was masterminded by the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (GOU), the nationalist faction of the Armed Forces, against the acting President Ramon Castilo, hence putting an end to the “Infamous Decade”.

    Electoral fraud, persecution of political opposition leaders and government corruption characterised the period, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, which was a severe global economic depression that lasted until 1941, presenting the longest, deepest and most pervasive depression in the 20th century.

    There is, indeed, a similitude between the Argentina’s debacle under reference and Nigeria’s current experience.  Nigeria slid into recession last year.  The All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled federal government is yet unable to get the country out of it.  A national leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in March this year, advised the federal government to ease the monetary policy in order to stimulate the economy.

    In a paper to course participants at the National Defence College in Abuja, titled: “Strategic Leadership: My Personal Theory and Practice”, Tinubu explained that the monetary policy must be consistent with the environmental needs of our domestic requirements.  He had argued that too much is tied down and advised the federal government to spend itself out of this recession; and that it cannot do that by consistently starving the banks of liquidity.

    Has government heeded Tinubu’s advice?  How significantly has government intervened to push up market demand by undertaking public works?  Only N350 billion has reportedly been released for capital projects.  What is the percentage of that in the 2017 budget of N7.4 trillion?  And what is the level of performance of the N350b released vis-à-vis the implementation of the projects to which the release is tied?

    Besides, how many Nigerians have been employed or financially empowered through this intervention for capital projects development?  How many local companies which depend on locally-sourced raw materials are factored into this special intervention package? Or is it another opportunity for foreign construction companies to make easy money and repatriate the same to their home countries?

    I am not an economist.  I do not understand the plethora of economic concepts, principles and terminologies or jargons, which experts daily deploy to explain how our economy is working.  We are so easily bamboozled by statistics, especially from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).  The NBS’ verdict is that Nigeria is the largest economy on the Africa continent and the 26th in the world with its rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which, as of April 2014, stood at US$509.97 billion (N80.2 trillion).

    But my attitude towards economic development, which refers to the problems of under-developed countries, is very simple: let us see how well the masses are faring.  How has the rebased GDP transformed our economy and the various aspects of our nation, especially the lives of the individual citizens?  How has it attacked widespread absolute poverty?  How has it reduced inequalities and removed the sceptre of unemployment?  That, in spite of the “biggest economy’ status, Nigeria still slid into recession is evidence of how superficial and vulnerable the economy is to absorb shocks both at the micro and macro levels.

    Businesses are collapsing on daily basis.  Prices of goods and services are consistently going up.  Purchasing power of citizens is ebbing away.  Job losses have become daily occurrences.  The number of people earning money is decreasing.  The gap between the rich and the poor has grown much wider.  A vast majority of Nigerians are under financial pressure and unable to meet their basic needs.  There is pain on the faces of the people and anguish in their hearts.

    The scenario painted supra is symptomatic of leadership failure and economic upheaval.  In pre-1999 Nigeria, such a scenario would have provided an objective condition for leadership overthrow.  But post-1999 Nigeria is averse to that.  The democratic foundations have been laid and there is evident commitment by all to nurture the building of democratic structures in the land.

    Now, assuming, just for the purpose of argument, that coup has now become impossible in Nigeria, what is the APC-controlled federal government doing to avert the looming tsunami of people power in the 2019 general election?  The people are disenchanted.  The APC government has not been able to fulfil up to 10 percent of its campaign promises; and, instead of meaningfully engaging the people through cogent explanations, it is living in self-denial.

    I can safely vouchsafe that on the balance of probability, the Nigerian people should not expect anything spectacularly different from the current half-measure offerings before 2019, judging by the lingering lacklustre performance of the APC government.  The president, Muhammadu Buhari, is out of action due to ill-health.  The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, is on suspension due to a contract scam.  Two of the critical positions in government are, unfortunately, encumbered.

    Some cabals in the presidency, rather than support the acting President, to prudently set its priority right by focusing on “the economy, stupid” in this recession period so as to turn things round for the betterment of Nigerians, are fighting dirty to survive the cloak-and-dagger politics in furtherance of their enlightened self-interests.

    Why should the Presidency and the National Assembly, for instance, be flexing muscles on whether or not Ibrahim Magu would remain chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)?  There is no harmony between the executive and the legislative arms.  The administration is on a free course to immolation.

    It is, indeed, inopportune that the APC government has, up until now, been its own opposition.  Its elected leaders can decide to shut down their government.  That is their problem.  As far as I am concerned, the APC party is over.  And this assertion is reinforced by the July 12, Supreme Court judgment resolving the leadership tussle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction.

    I welcome resilient Nigerians to a robust and focused oppositional politics that we expect the PDP to play.  For us, the voter cards, the power to decide our destiny, are firmly in our hands. We should heed the lines of Willie Nelson’s song “The Party is over” to “Turn out the lights…” We should allow God to use us to save Nigeria-through our votes in 2019.

     

    • Ojeifo, is an Abuja-based journalist.
  • Boroffice: our challenges’ll be over soon

    Boroffice: our challenges’ll be over soon

    The senator representing Ondo North District, Prof Ajayi Boroffice, has assured the people of better days ahead.

    In his New Year message, the chairman, senate committee on science and technology appreciated the endurance of the people, despite various challenges and hardship.

    This he attributed to poor management of resources and lack of focus on the part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state.

    Boroffice, a governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged the people to approach the New Year with optimism and unshakeable faith.

    According to the lawmaker, Ondo State is richly blessed and with proper management of its resources, the state would attain greater heights.

    The Asiwaju of Akokoland sought the support of the people to mobilise for APC in the coming election, stressing that the APC is imbued with masses-oriented programmes.

    Boroffice urged Nigerians to work with President Muhammadu Buhari and support the current anti-corruption crusade.

  • Gridlocks, insecurity ‘ll soon be over, says commissioner

    Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef has assured Lagosians that the major problems confronting them would end soon.

    He described the personalities in the state executive council as people with vast knowledge and great potentials, whose impact would begin to materialise in no time.

    He urged Lagosians to be patient with the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration.

    AbdulLateef attributed the problems confronting the state to the high influx of people because of its unprecedented infrastructural development over the years.

    He said: “There is no state as attractive as Lagos, this has made the influx of people in the state at a monumental level higher than that of any other state in the country. Lagos is the only mega city in Nigeria, so if you develop infrastructure, you must expect that people will abandon those states without infrastructure for a state like Lagos, making the challenges of running the state enormous.”

    Expressing dismay at the rising crime wave in the Centre of Excellence, the commissioner said the state would embark on data gathering of all residents, institutions and organisations to ascertain those operating in the state.

    He said: “If you look at Lagos today, there are so many people coming in, even from neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger, Ghana among others and even beyond. We are not going to wait until an explosion is heard before we  address the issue of insecurity. We want to understand who and who is living in Lagos and where? That is why we want to embark on data gathering; we want to have a data of all churches and Mosques, social organisations, residents and all other institutions that operate in the state.”

    AbdulLateef also attributed the massive gridlocks encountered by Lagosians  daily to impatience.

    He said: “The fact that we don’t want to apply extreme force on Lagosians has given rise to this. Extreme force to obey law and order should be the last thing in a civil society. Lagosians should understand that what we practice is an inclusive government. Therefore, you should not disobey traffic rules and volunteer to control traffic. By doing these, we will see the gridlocks will be a thing of the past.  The Home Affairs unit will take it on itself to engage the people and make them understand what civil culture means.”

  • Why the hubbub over Buhari’s certificate?’

    SIR: Does a degree automatically make an individual a great leader? If it does how come Winston Churchill with no academic degree and with poor results in high school but armed with a military training could mobilize his countrymen and western allies to end the second world war, better yet, he was able to rise up to become prime minister of the United Kingdom, and authored many books and even won a Nobel Laureate in literature?

    If it does, how come late Alhaji Sabo Bakin-Zuwo with barely formal education, a man who could scarcely speak the English language could defeat an incumbent governor of Kano State in the 1980s, the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi who was, well-educated and sharp?

    If it does how come Nigerians see statesmen with various graduate degrees that still find it challenging to read speeches they did not help prepare with superfluous intermittent breaks leading many a people to question the authenticity of their degrees?

    Nigeria today has gone to a most pitiful level of decadence where advisers do not properly guide statesmen to concentrate on issues based electioneering. We have quickly forgotten that the presidential system requires hard work and only people with vision are chosen as advisers.

    It appears that our country has gone out of control and we haven’t learnt anything from the civil war that should make us live forever in peace just the way great aspiring nations have done in recent history.

    If Alhaji Shehu Shagari could grant a presidential pardon to Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a sign of national reconciliation, why can’t the political class leave General Muhammadu Buhari be, get down to brass-tacks and engage in politics of issues not Jibber-Jabber to move our country forward?

    Tunde Thompson a moment ago as reported in the media has chosen to forgive the general for his detention during his reign and even advised well-meaning Nigerians to do same for peace.

    Would our degree-certified politicians and their bogeymen stop the politics of character assassination in our body politic?

    It was Winston Churchill who said and I believe it is true that, “sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required.”

    What is required for our country, to lift us out of lassitude is not diversionary campaigns by raising a certificate war-cry against the general, what is required is not to have politicians divert and pull the wool over the eyes of a trusting follower-ship, what is required is not scape-goating clowning around.

    What is required for nation building are leaders with vision, countries are as great as their leaders. Nigerians need foodstuffs and good governance and accountability and not words.

    We ask for leaders who can provide us with security, so that we all can travel across all space without fear, for Nigeria can never be great if she cannot provide internal security as well as security around her borders. Leaders who can banish ethnicity and indigene-ship, so bad that people at festive seasons in states other than that of their forebears say that they are travelling home.

    Ironically, most of these persons were born in these states, pay taxes there, that notwithstanding, the systemic discrimination prevents them from being assimilated into these states and this happens all across the country. They can vote for indigenes but cannot be voted for.

    The armies of degree qualified politicians and their lieutenants have let us down by not campaigning on issues, not seeing their opponents regardless of gender, language or religious link as one indivisible Homo sapiens and build into the Nigerian consciousness the concept of kindness and charity which is truly lacking at the present time.

    If they mean well to stamp out ill-will which has been with us since independence, then they must learn to see members of the opposing parties as people who hold different views and not enemies.

    The problem with Nigeria has always been that of a visionless political class and this explains significantly why we are not united.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State

  • The market is market

    The signs are all too clear and they point to one thing : President Goodluck Jonathan should go. Not too long ago, many of those seeking his exit today were his ardent supporters. They rallied round him when some forces wanted to sideline him in the running of the country when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua died in May 2010. Before Yar’Adua’s death, those who had custody of him prevented then Vice President Jonathan from knowing what was happening.

    Jonathan was in the dark about the health of his boss and about everything that was going on in government. He was number two just in name and as his wife, Dame Patience, later revealed, he was reduced to reading newspapers in the office, while some of the late  Yar’Adua’s aides and his widow, the then First Lady Turai ran the country.

    But the bubble burst when Yar’Adua died. The cabal was exposed for what it was. Since the Constitution states explicitly that the vice president should take over after the president’s death, they had no choice than to allow the law take its course.

    Because of the goodwill he then enjoyed, winning the 2011 election was a piece of cake for Jonathan. But in less than two years in office, he burnt his bridges. Across the country today, the singsong is that Jonathan must go. Why is this so? What offence did he commit? Has he not fulfilled his promise to end irregular power supply? Has he not built or reconstructed roads? Do we still have unemployed graduates roaming the streets? Are our schools and hospitals not functioning well? So, why should anybody campaign against Jonathan’s  return?

    It was easy measuring whether he still enjoys the support of the people with what happened nationwide on New Year’s eve. In their New Year messages, virtually all the clerics hinted that change was in the offing. They were not campaigning against Jonathan; they were telling the people just like former President Olusegun Obasanjo did on Monday ‘’to vote wisely’’. Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) General Overseer Pastor E.A. Adeboye said being an election year, he would not  say much. ‘’But at the end of the year’’, he told his flock, ‘’many of you will say all is well that ends well’’. I leave the decoding of that to you.

    To Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) General Overseer Pastor D.K. Olukoya, Nigeria will not break up over the coming elections. But the  renowned Enugu based Catholic Priest, Rev Father Camillus Ejike Mbaka, did not mince words in giving his own message. ‘’We need change. Whatever it will be, let it be. This is my golden message to my beloved country…By the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are announcing spiritually,  change! 2015 should not be a year of any hooligan maneouvring to hijack power. This is our New Year message. Listen, when you get home, tell anybody you see that from the oracle of the Holy Spirit, we are announcing change. Can somebody help me to shout change in Jesus Holy name.

    ‘’Once upon a time, the whole country was crying for a leader who would help us to move forward with our economy, have an authentic democracy, give our unemployed youths jobs, enable our power to be steady, who would industrialise Nigeria, who would encourage mass education and agriculturise Nigeria…Then Goodluck met Yar’Adua and Yar’Adua died. Before you know it, the Goodluck met our oil and our oil had a bad luck and poured away. Before we knew it, the Goodluck met our naira, our naira had a bad luck. Where are we going? What is the fate of this country? Shall we continue like this? We need change.’’

    No matter how you look at it,  the Revered Gentleman has said it as it is. We need change. Things cannot be allowed to continue like this. If yesterday, we were shouting hossanah, we did so in ignorance because we thought Jonathan will correct societal ills. With his humble background and most importantly, considering the circumstance of his emergence, we thought he would have the people’s feelings at heart. The country has not benefited from his leadership looking at all indices of development. This is why today, the people are calling for change.

    Those reaping from the system will, of course, say otherwise, but the larger segment of the society that is at the receiving end cannot but wish for change this year. Change does not come easily, it must be worked for. So, Nigerians should be ready to, with their votes, effect a change in national leadership in next month’s elections. Enough of crying in the corners of our homes, lamenting the rot in the system. We can do something to remedy the situation and that is by casting our vote ‘’wisely’’ as  Obasanjo advised.

    You may not like Obasanjo, but you may not fault him at times when he takes his stand on certain issues. Being a former leader, he knows the workings of the economy inside out and the picture that he painted of things on Monday is not palatable at all. Hear him: ‘’Our nation is plagued with insecurity, economic downturn, increase in poverty, corruption and impunity in doing things. People do things because no man can do anything to them, but God will catch them.

    ‘’Our economy should not have been this bad. When I was leaving office about eight years ago, I left a very huge reserve after we had paid all our debts. Almost $25billion we kept in what they call Excess Crude Account. When we left in May 2007, the reserve was said to have been raised to $35billion. But today, that reserve has been depleted.

    “Our reserve after we had paid off this debt was about $45billion. I heard that the reserve increased to almost $67billion before the end of that year. Our reserve now, I learnt, is left with around only $30billion. That is why the naira has been falling against the dollar…’’

    The Southeast which Jonathan considers home seems also to be up in arms against him. In an upcoming interview in The Sun, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme hinted that “Jonathan  may not have maximum support from the Southeast”. This statement is pregnant with meaning. The handwriting is clear on the wall. The chances of Jonathan being rejected at the poll are high. But his loyalists see his chances as bright and are goading him on with such  statement as “in 2015, it is either good luck or bad luck”

    Of course, it will be our good luck if he loses and otherwise if he wins. Well, you do  not tell a blind man that the market is over. He will return home when he no longer hears the noise of the market place.

  • APC: PDP is paranoid over opinion poll

    APC: PDP is paranoid over opinion poll

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a victim of self-inflicted paranoia following its panic reaction to a yet-to-be conducted opinion poll, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday.

    APC’s National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said this in a statement in Abuja, added that the PDP had only succeeded in committing an unforced error by its alleged frenzied reaction.

    The statement, however, noted that the PDP’s reaction was understandable, “considering the fact that the party is being pounded from all sides by both seen and unseen forces.”

    “The PDP”, according to the statement, “is behaving like a punch-drunk boxer, who started flailing at everything and everyone, but his opponent, having been disoriented by a staccato of body blows.”

    “Had it not been so, a party that is urging a focus on serious campaign issues would not have picked on the imaginary outcome of a public opinion poll,” the party added.

    APC said the PDP was not in a position to advise anyone on the conduct of opinion polls, when all it engaged in over the years had been doctored and incestuous opinion polls.

    The statement also reads: “It is said that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands. It is apparent that this dictum is lost on the petrified PDP. This is a party that has been celebrating the outcome of the regular polls by the NOI Polls, when it is glaring that the brain behind this poll is a key minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. NOI stands for the initials of this minister, and discerning Nigerians are aware of this.

    ‘’Because the NOI polls have been doctored to achieve a pre-determined end, the PDP made itself to believe it was doing well all along; when indeed it was leading Nigeria to a dark alley of economic and infrastructural collapse, massive unemployment as well as pervasive and unprecedented insecurity.

    ‘’Now that the die is cast and even the most ardent supporters of the PDP have realised that the game is up and are jumping off its sinking ship, the party has come to realise its folly. How then can such a party advise another party on how to conduct a public opinion poll?

    “Even without any poll, Nigerians have come to realise that the presidential candidate of the APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, stands head and shoulders above his PDP counterpart. Not only physically, but in terms of integrity, capability, vision, achievements and antecedents. Since these are the issues that will count during the forthcoming polls, the PDP can as well start learning how to be in opposition.”

    It flayed the PDP for casting aspersions on the integrity of the media by saying the APC is “intensifying efforts to compromise some section of the media.”

    “The PDP has consistently shown nothing, but disdain for the media, which was at the forefront of the fight for the democracy that the do-nothing folks at the PDP are now enjoying, undeservedly. If the media was so easy to compromise, it would have been compromised a long time ago and perhaps Nigeria would not have benefited from its selfless battle against military dictatorship.

    “This lesson is lost on the trifling PDP; hence it has continued to hold the media in disdain – the latest instance of which is the unnecessary accusation of its being compromised. Our honest advice to those who did nothing when the epic battle to install this democracy was going on, but are now pretending to be its custodians, is that they should not crash it on the altar of careless, inciting and offensive statements,” APC said.

  • APC cries out over arrest of its leaders

    •’AIG’s advert unacceptable’

    •Party queries suspects’ release

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alerted the public to alleged plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government to arrest its leaders in Osun State.

    It said the ploy was to destabilise the APC and intimidate its members and supporters ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll.

    In a statement yesterday, APC National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the arrests were earlier scheduled to start tomorrow, but began yesterday following the success of the party’s rally in Osogbo.

    The APC said: “The mammoth crowd that turned out for the rally today (yesterday) destabilised the PDP and the Federal Government and they fast tracked the arrest of our leaders in all local government areas.

    “Already, a special team from Abuja has arrived in Osogbo solely for this purpose and, at least, one of our leaders, Hon. Oke, has been arrested. The arrest and intimidation of opposition members put a question mark on President Goodluck Jonathan’s assurance to the international community that the Osun election will be free and fair.

    “As we have always said, election is a process. Rigging is not restricted to the voting day alone. Arrest and intimidation of the opposition ahead of voting constitute rigging. Therefore, by engaging in the mass arrest of our leaders in Osun and deploying highly-partisan security agencies in the state, the Federal Government has kick-started the process of rigging Saturday’s election.

    “We are alerting election observers, the international community and all Nigerians to the evil machinations of the PDP and the Federal Government for the Osun election. We urge all men and women of conscience to prevail on those who are bent on fomenting anarchy in Osun State to give peace a chance. We ask for nothing more than a level playing field for all candidates in the election. We want the election to be a celebration of democracy rather than a trigger for chaos.”

    The APC, in a statement by its Osun State Publicity Director, Kunle Oyatomi, has demanded the withdrawal of an advert running on the National Television Authority (NTA), Osogbo, placed by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11, David Omojola, saying it amounted to “an official threat of assassination from the AIG’s office”.

    NTA-Osogbo has been running an advert in Ijesha dialect, warning one SOJI not to put his life on the line in the process of fighting against electoral fraud.

    According to the APC, the “obvious reference” in that advert was Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, whose middle name is ADESOJI.

    In a letter dated August 4 to the AIG, the APC demanded that in the alternative to withdrawing the advert, the AIG should publicly clarify that the governor was not the object of the advert.

    It said Aregbesola would never surrender to intimidation, fraud or threat of assassination in his fight against evil and injustice.

    The APC alleged that four suspects, who were caught thumbprinting ballot papers in Akoda, Ede, had been released by the military.

    The suspects were apprehended by members of a vigilance group and handed over to the military.

    According to the APC, it was discovered yesterday that the suspects had been released.

    The party said some suspected PDP thugs, who were arrested last Saturday in possession of guns, had been released by the police.

    It said: “During the PDP’s rally in Osogbo last Saturday, the police were reported to have arrested some PDP thugs caught with guns and other ammunition in their possession. But as you read this, the thugs have also been released.

    “The big question is why should the military and the police release suspects caught in illegal acts, who are supposed to be in custody, preparatory for court charges.

    “Secondly, in the case of Akoda, the question is who gave the suspects ballot papers, if not the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that is supposed to be in exclusive possession of ballot papers?

    “There appears to be a synergy among the military, police, PDP and INEC to rig Saturday’s election. The APC, therefore, demands explanations on why the suspects arrested in Akoda and Osogbo were released by security agencies to continue their criminality.

    “INEC must provide Nigerians with an answer on how the criminals broke into its storehouse and stole the ballot papers they were thumb printing?

    Nigerians and the world should not be deceived. There is a criminal conspiracy of the highest pedestal of the security agencies, the PDP, INEC and the government in Abuja to criminally bastardise democracy and destroy the electoral process through coordinated fraud.

    “No matter what the combination of these forces do, APC will prevail and win the election on Saturday with the people’s mandate.”

  • Joel Obi shines in Inter win over Madrid

    Joel Obi shines in Inter win over Madrid

    Nigeria International Joel Chukwuma Obi started for Inter Milan as they beat Real Madrid 3-2 on penalties after extra-time ended 1-1.

    Joel Obi was Inter Milan’s top battler in a physical contest that saw four yellow cards and feisty confrontations from players of both teams.

    It was the Nigerian midfielder’s third consecutive preseason game for Inter-Milan since re-joining the team after a loan spell at Parma last season.

    In the encounter Gareth Bale scored for Real Madrid in the 10th minute, unleashing a strike into the top left corner of the net from about 25 yards out.

    Mauro Icardi converted a penalty kick in the 68th minute to equalise after Referee Ricardo Salazar awarded the penalty kick for a foul by Sobrino on Inter newcomer Nemanja Vidic.

    The game remained locked at 1-1 forcing both teams to go into penalty kicks.

    Mauro Icardi drove the winner past diving goalkeeper Jesus Fdez in the fifth round of penalty kicks to lift Inter Milan past Real Madrid.

    The pre-season game is one among the series of games to be played at the International Champions Cup match.

    Obi will be hoping to be in the team on Tuesday when Inter-Milan battle Manchester United.

  • ENYIMBA 2-0 SHARKS: Ayansi, Ogunbote disagree over ref’s performance

    REFEREE Ben Odeh was in the spotlight yesterday as Enyimba International Football Club of Aba overpowered a hard-fighting Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt 2-0 to sail through to the semi-finals of the Federation Cup.

    The Gbenga Odubote-tutored Sharks bowed 2-0 to the superior fireworks of Enyimba at the Goal Project Centre of the Abuja National Stadium, as Sokari Kingsley and Raphael Boumsong scored in the 24th and 35th minutes of the game to seal the semi-final slot for the Aba-based side.

    Referee Ben Odeh gave Emeka Nwana his marching orders in the 72nd minute for foul charge on a Sharks player but that was not enough to stop Enyimba from cruising to the last four of the competition.

    The Sharks bench was clearly unhappy with the performance of referee Odeh and the club’s General Manger Okeh Kpalukwu reacted angrily against the referee after the match. Sharks’ Technical Adviser Gbenga Ogunbote also did not hide his annoyance.

    “It is unfortunate that we lost the game and we all saw what happened during the match. I don’t know what to say than that we lost under pains.

    “I don’t discuss officiating but I dare you  people to write what you have watched here today.

    “It is unfortunate that we lost because we had some careless moments during the course of the game and we paid dearly for it.

    “But I am sure that we wouldn’t have lost this way if things were normal. That is just the truth”, Ogunbote told SportingLife shortly after the match.

    But Enyimba International FC boss Felix Anyansi-Agu strongly disagreed with Ogunbote and asked him and his club to take the result of the match in good faith and in the spirit of sportsmanship.

    “The good thing about the club is that Enyimba will always be Enyimba and in Federation Cup competition there are bound to be surprises.

    “As regards the outcome of this match, the match has been won and lost. It is high time we learnt how to accept result of matches in the spirit of good sportsmanship.

    “So I don’t want to comment on whether the two goals we (Enyimba) scored were good or not.

    “People watched this match and the match has been won and lost. That is just it”, Anyansi also told SportingLife.

  • Women battle Handball Federation over ‘sexist’ rule

    Women battle Handball Federation over ‘sexist’ rule

    Women handball players in Spain are up in arms over a ‘sexist’ rule that stipulates that their midriffs must be exposed while playing on sand.

    European Handball Federation regulations also insist that bikini tops and bottoms should have a maximum width of 10 centimetres.

    The rules for male players are far less rigorous, with players allowed to wear clothing that is ‘loose and long’.

    The Basque Handball Association has made an official complaint to the European Commission about the regulations, according to The Local.

    The Basque Women’s Institute told the Spanish edition of Huffington Post that the rule seemed to be in place ‘so that girls’ bodies lure people to the sport’.

    The row flared up after the Spanish Handball Federation was told last weekend that 21 of 22 women’s teams playing in a tournament in Cantabria were wearing team kits that covered up the body too much, according to The Leader.