The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sikiru Olatunbosun

  • Supporters angry as MFM FC drops points against Rivers Utd

    MFM FC supporters were visibly angry on Monday as their team failed to spark after the visiting Rivers United FC claimed a 1-1 draw at the Soccer Temple, Agege Stadium.

    It was reported that the supporters were not happy with the referee’s decision not to award what they claimed was clear cut penalties to MFM after infringements on their players in the first half.

    A cross section of the fans expressed disappointment with the officiating of the important match which they claimed that the referee contributed to MFM’s unfavourable result.

    Speaking to our reporter, a fan who gave his name as Sheriff claimed that MFM was clearly robbed during the match.

    “’This is a clear robbery in Lagos, the officiating was so poor, we don’t expect this type of officiating at all,’’ he said.

    Another, Tunbosun Agbaje, said that the fans were not happy when games were won or lost by the teams with the aid of the referees.

    “It is unfortunate when teams lose matches with the aid of referees, we are often discouraged when we see this type of match.

    “How do they want us to be coming to watch a pre-determined game. It’s not worth it and our league may not grow if these poor officiating continues,’’ he said.

    Reports confirmed that the Olukoya Boys seeking s redemption after the CAF Confederation Cup ouster needed to win the NPFL Match Day 18 fixture but eventually dropped the valuable points.

    A goal from last year’s BBC Goal of the Month recipient, Sikiru Olatunbosun in the 17th minute should have been added to in the first half but MFM were denied by Rivers United goalkeeper, Rotimi Sunday.

    Rotimi was able to rise to the call to save three goal bound efforts from Nojeem Akinyemi, in the 12th, Olatunbosun’s flick header, 15th and Udeh Zintel 35th minutes.

    The “Pride’’ of Rivers, Coach, Stanley Eguma, however, made a tactical change in the second half with the introduction of Malachi Ohawume to switch from 4:3:2 to 4:4:2 formation in the 63rd minute.

    The introduction of Malachi yielded positive result as Emeka Atuloma fired an outside box shot to the top corner of the net leaving MFM goalkeeper Folarin Abayomi helpless.

    Speaking after the match, Olatunbosun said that he was disappointed.

    “I am disappointed with the outcome of the match which I also share the sentiment that we are clearly robbed.

    “We tried our best to win the match, but in football, you win some and lose some. We will try harder next time,’’ he said.

    NAN

     

  • MFM win Lagos FA Cup

    MFM win Lagos FA Cup

    MFM FC on Sunday became the champions of Lagos FA Cup after they defeated Spartan FC by 3-1 at the Agege Township Stadium.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Olukoya boys successfully defended the FA Cup they won last year.

    Chukwuma Onuwa scored the first goal for the champions on the 11th minute.

    Spartan Fc responded in the 24th minute with an equaliser.

    After the two teams resumed from the first half break, MFM’s efforts were rewarded with a goal from the penalty spot by captain Stanley Okorom in the 70 minutes.

    Then MFM striker Sikiru Olatunbosun scored in the 83rd minute, t to put the game out of contention for their rivals.

    MFM coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu said he was happy his team won the cup back to back.

    He hope the team will do better than last year, in the national campaign for the FA Cup.

    “Its good we are champions but we will like to surpass our last year’s campaign in the FA Cup. That should be the target now,” he said

  • Expectations for the week

    Expectations for the week

    The Nigerian polity has continued to get heated up by displays from players in the political “industry”.  Various occurrences across the country have made tongues roll and the controversial large amount found in a private residence in Ikoyi is still making headlines across the country.

    Just last week, the presidency announced the immediate suspension of Secretary to the Federal Government, David Babachir Lawal and National Intelligence Agency boss, Amb. Ayo Oke. Their positions are still pending depending on the report of the investigative panel headed by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

    Lawal was suspended for his alleged involvement in a contract given to an organization where he was signatory to the account; the bad thing was that the contract was not properly executed. Many Nigerians have expressed happiness in this action from the President especially as it’s believed that Lawal is a top member of the “cabal”.

    Earlier, the Senate had fingered him to have been involved in the deal, but a letter from the government and his refusal to appear before the Senate when invited seemed to have ended the case.

    Tosin Adeshina, a political analyst said: “The suspension is a good development as the actions of the former SGF has cast a blithe on the Federal Government. Even though it’s coming late, I believe it’s not too late to right the wrongs of the past.

    “The former SGF abused his office by awarding contract to his personal company which is against the Code of Conduct for public officers and he had paid a high price for it.

    “The lesson for political office holders is that public office must not be used for personal enrichment but a privilege to serve.

    “The Government is an authority for the people not an authority over them. As a result, government officials must stay away from acts that will bring disrepute to their integrity.

    “I will also like to advise President Buhari to take actions when necessary as foot dragging on important decisions is a sign of weakness on the President in particular and the Presidency in general”.

    On the other hand, Oke got his suspension for the controversy that surrounded the organization he headed that involved the found 13 billion naira in a private residence believed to be owned by a member of his family for “covert” operations.

    Now, the questions on the lips of many are – can there be any COVERT operation not known to the Commander-in-Chief?  Did Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers state and Femi Fani Kayode LIE to the general  public by getting the name of Rotimi Ameachi involved in this controversy? Is Amb. Oke standing in to cover up for some powerful politicians as claimed? Well, in some days’ time, the investigative panel should certainly have answers to this question and many others currently popping up in the minds of millions of Nigerians.

    One of the worst things to have happened to the Nigerian Professional Football League this season was announced last week, it came like a blast. Our league was no longer going to be shown on television again. Supersport, the station that used to ensure that at least one league match was beamed live to the world every weekend made it public that the League Management Company led by Shehu Dikko had broken some part of the “deal” and so they were going to stop the weekly live broadcast. For about two weeks now, the league had stopped being on television but until the clarification, it was not too clear what the problem was.

    Earlier in the season, Sikiru Olatunbosun of Mfm Fc had scored a screamer that made him win the award for CNN goal of the week. Infact, many have started tipping the goal to win the FIFA Puskas award early next year. But with this development, it’s unfortunate that people will no longer have access to seeing games again except they visit stadiums.  Obviously, a whole lot of development still needs to be brought into the Nigerian league to make it profitable and marketable to the world.

    Segun Odunayo tweets from @Segun_Odunayo

  • I want to play for Manchester United – Olatunbosun

    I want to play for Manchester United – Olatunbosun

    Twenty-one-year-old Lagos-based MFM Midfielder, Sikiru Olatunbosun, says that he dreams playing for Manchester United FC of England in the nearest future.

    The highly dependable winger told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that Manchester United was his dream club because of quality of players it possessed.

    “I love Manchester United and they are my favourites. I have had offers from other leagues and I can play anywhere.

    “I also love German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spain’s La liga. I don’t mind playing for any of those clubs.

    “For now, I want to concentrate on my playing career with MFM and help them win the league which I know is possible with the quality of players we have,’’ said the CNN Goal of the Week Award winner for Match Day 10.

    Olatunbosun, who received in the first week of March, started his playing career with MFM on their debut in the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has been in sparkling form since he broke into the first team.

    He scored a brace against Akwa-United FC in August last season to mark his 21st year birthday and finished the season with seven goals.

    Olatunbosun was also part of the selected NPFL All-star team that went on a playing tour of Spain last season.

    For the current season, Olatunbosun opened his goal account for MFM on the Match Day I fixture against Niger Tornadoes of Minna. The team eventually won the game 3-0.

    Speaking after the opening match, confident Olatunbosun said that he hoped to scoop the season’s top scorer award.

    “I hope to win the top scorer’s award to better my performance last year. This year, we want to play in the continent,’’ he said confidently.

    Matching his words with action, Olatunbosun hugged the headlines with his wonder goal during the Match Day 10 encounter against the NPFL defending champions, Rangers International Fc of Enugu.

    The spectacular 31st minute goal in the 2-1 win against Rangers drew global attention and also won him many accolades, including the most coveted CNN goal of the week.

    A brilliant Olatubosun got a pass from Stephen Odey, controlled the pass with his left leg, and made a brilliant turn to volley the ball beyond the reach of hapless Rangers’ Ghanaian goalkeeper, Nana Bonsu.

    In recognition of his ingenuity, CNN awarded him the goal of the week thereby becoming the first NPFL player ever to win the award.

    To win the award, Olatunbosun garnered astonishing 82 per cent of the 6,647 total votes cast to beat the likes of Raja Nainggolan of Roma in Italian Serie A.

    Other contenders include Youri Tielemans of Anderlecht in Belgium and Joey Jones of Woking FC of England.

    Commenting on the award, an elated Olatunbosun dedicated the award to the proprietor of the club and the General Overseer of Mountain of Fire Ministry (MFM), Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya.

    “I dedicate this award to the General Overseer of the church for the opportunity to be part of the MFM team.

    “I also want to give thanks to God for the award; my coaches, teammates, officials, the director of the team and to all my fans all over the world who voted for me,’’ he said.

    On MFM chances of winning the league, Olatunbosun minced no words in confirming their chances of winning the NPFL.

    “We can win the league because we are ripe enough. We have faced tough oppositions in the league without defeat, so we are capable of winning it.

    “The crop of players in MFM now is experienced enough to make something out of the league and if we are unable to win the league, I think top three finish is within the reach.

    “Playing in the continent cannot be a problem though clubs from Nigeria are not doing well for now, but that does not mean we cannot make our mark in the continent.

    “We needed a chance to prove what we can do in the continent and I hope we will perform better,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that MFM now tops the NPFL table with 33 points from 18 matches; they recorded 10 wins, three draws and lost five of their matches.

     

  • Expectations for the week

    Finally, the Big Brother Naija show came to an exciting end yesterday after reaching its peak; Efe Ejeba, a graduate of Economics who hails from Delta state emerged victorious after securing 57% of the total number of votes casted by fans.

    To give you a quick recap, earlier in the program yesterday, Marvis, DebbieRise and Tboss were evicted making Bisola and Efe as the last two standing housemates; eventually, Efe was announced winner. The implication of his meteoric rise to fame means that he gets a cash prize of 25,000,000 naira and an SUV.

    The breakdown of the votes are: Efe (2,502,494), Bisola (704,072), DebbieRise (109,659), while Marvis and Tboss got 57,341 and 683,802 respectively.

    With these numbers of votes, the housemates won’t be the only ones smiling to the bank, the organizers too must be making so much ‘mazuma’ and wishing they can put this up twice in a year.

    After performing many tasks and taking part in this entertaining show, people are hopeful that these individuals will go ahead to blossom in their chosen careers like former Big Brother housemates, Karen Igho, Ebuka Uchendu and Tayo Faniran after now.

    The health crisis ravaging the country seems to be on the increase, over 420 Nigerians have been reported dead as a result of Meningitis. However, the glimmer of light for us all is that a solution is underway.

    In a hilarious slant, the Zamfara State governor added comic spice to the already tense situation when he declared that God was “punishing” his people with the disease.

    Many Nigerians including the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi urged the state governor not to bring God into the picture but rather look for pragmatic solutions to assuage the health crisis that has overtaken his state. In a reprisal response, Yari reiterated his earlier comment, stating that his people have stopped living the life pleasing to God and He was using this medium to punish the people.

    Hopefully, natural solutions and “spiritual” ones too will be gotten quickly so that this very deadly disease will become a thing of the past.  Already, the federal government has commenced vaccination in Zamfara which happens to be the most affected state after recording over 200 deaths to this scourge.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has discovered monies whose owners haven’t showed up to claim them in recent times. They have also been able to get suspects arrested but they have not been able to properly prosecute their cases in court. Judging from very recent examples, the anti-graft agency needs to beef-up its prosecution process to ensure that they are not labeled ‘toothless dog’ by the public.

    President Buhari has equally called upon them to properly dig deeper into issues before dragging suspects to court.

    Mfm fc of Agege has moved back to the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League after trouncing El-Kanemi warriors of Maduguri 3-0 in Lagos at the weekend. With goals from wonderboy Sikiru Olatunbosun, goal king Stephen Odey and Austine Ogunye, the “Olukoya boys” now go top of the log with 33 points followed closely by Plateau United who have a game in hand.

    In an ugly incident over the weekend in the league, fans of Kano Pillars attacked the Akwa United team after losing the home game. Hopefully, proper punishment will be meted out to the club to serve as deterrent to others by the organizers of the league. Also, the organizing body has to ensure they bring the league back on television after two weeks of non-availability of league football live for all to see.

    Segun Odunayo tweets from @Segun_Odunayo