The Nation Newspaper

Tag: stage

  • Aper Aku stadium: Expatriates commences work on the final stage of the playing pitch

    Expatriates who specialise in coconut fibre are currently working on the Playing pitch of Aper Aku stadium, the home of Lobi stars in Makurdi.

    When Sportinglife visited the stadium , workers were seen laying the shock absolving system, preparatory for sand, then, coconut fibre and cock before the grassing.

    Shock absorbing system on a football pitch enhance the performance of players and keep it cooler. It’s also gives comfortability players and reduce injury. However, Sportinglife observed that the stadium contract had no provision for springer which control ball behavior.

    MR. Ebi Egbe, the contractor handling the upgrading of the Aper Aku told sporting life that ,his firm would use the period of the completion of the stadium to and the state government to installed springers in the stadium .

    Chairman of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN) Comrade Uja Emmanuel advised the Benue state government as a matter of policy to extend the contract to covering maintenance and installation new running track for a period of 10 years to for proper monitoring .

    Comrade Uja stated that from experience , government spent billions on projects but lack of maintenance led to decay of same projects .

    The SWAN chairman advised Governor Gabriel Suswam to used the National Stadium Sulurere, Lagos, as an example ,which was one of the best ,but now in decay for lack of proper maintenance and extend the contact for the upgrading of Aper Aku to cover maintenance.

    Governor Gabriel Suswam said he would give soccer loving people of Benue state a new stadium as a parting gift of his administration .

  • Stage by stage

    Life is in phases.  From conception to old age, a human being passes through so many stages.  This season of valedictory services and graduation programmes reminds us of the milestones we must achieve and then leave behind as we grow.  Many parents are usually nostalgic at such programmes, remembering when the child was born; took the first step, said the first word, and celebrated the first birthday.

    Each is important because they can influence the later stages for good or otherwise.  If the earlier stages are not well managed, the later stages are likely to be fraught with many challenges.  When parents look back, some do so with joy, others with regret.   Rather than looking back with regret someday, it is worthwhile for parents to make the relevant investment in time and resources to monitor the progress of their wards through the pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary stages of education.  It may be painstaking and time-consuming work, but when those milestones are achieved, all the tears and hard work would be well worth it.

  • Tony Gallopin wins 11th stage of Tour de France

    Tony Gallopin wins 11th stage of Tour de France

    Two days after wearing the yellow jersey, France’s Tony Gallopin claimed the 11th stage of the Tour de France thanks to late attacks in a nervous finale on Wednesday.

    German John Degenkolb was second and Italian Matteo Trentin took third place at the end of a 187.5km ride from Besancon.

    Italian Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after staying safe by the front of the bunch in the final descent.

    Gallopin, who gave France its second stage win this year after Blel Kadri prevailed last week, powered away in the last climb and after being rejoined by Michal Kwiatkowski, Peter Sagan and Michael Rogers, he counter-attacked 2.5km from the line.

    The Lotto-Belisol rider looked back several times but held off the peloton to cross the line with the bunch breathing down his neck.

    “It’s incredible, I want to thank my family because my father had told me that we should check up this stage, and it clearly helped,” said Gallopin, who wore the yellow jersey during Monday’s 10th stage.

    “I would not have imagined that but I had marked that stage after coming close in Sheffield and Nancy.”

    Nibali’s Astana team suffered a minor wobble when the Italian’s lieutenant, Michele Scarponi, fell off his bike in a climb, but he finished the stage.

    Ireland’s Nicolas Roche was voted the most aggressive rider in the stage after trying his luck several times in the finale as the Tinkoff-Saxo team turned its focus to stage wins following Alberto Contador’s exit from the race.

    Roche was reined in when Sagan, who has yet to win a stage this year despite coming very close several times, led the peloton at breakneck speed in the descent towards Oyonnax.

  • ‘Day I almost died on stage’

    ‘Day I almost died on stage’

    Philip Okolo is one of the oldest stage artistes in Nigeria. When he started his stage career in 1977, his dream, along with his contemporaries then was to infuse a new lease of life into live theatre. This was during the era of Dr. Bode Sowande, when street theatre was the vogue and Nigerians had the freedom of watching theatre whenever the opportunity  offered itself.

    “After a while, I joined the group of artistes with Bayo Oduneye who introduced me to the late Sam Loco Efe. I told him I wanted to be a full time actor and that theatre was in my blood. That was how I started as a full time actor.” Okolo reminisced, smiling.

    After he got to know Loco and others, they then gave him a role to play, which he did very well.  From then on, the sky became his limit, he stated. “ Then it was in1984, that I actually started professionally. There was a show in England, that was the Commonwealth Festival of Arts and Culture. They wanted to pick the role of Akaraogun in Wale Ogunyemi’s Langbodo. I was then picked against so many other big names in the industry then. Uncle Jimmy Solanke and Loco were to play that role.  But lo and behold, the role fell on me.”

    That was how it all began for him. Professor Adelugba who directed the play wanted to experiment with a younger artiste. In the process, he chose Okolo who incidentally dazzled the whole arena with his professional dexterity. “After that outing in England, when we came back home, I began to get more sensitive roles which also began to shore up my resume as a stage actor. It was during this period that I encountered other older professionals like the late St. Iyke and then Chief Fred Agbeyegbe whose plays formed part of what we were doing then.”

    Even though he has worked as a television actor, Okolo said he has not felt quite at home doing so. “I like live audience.  To me that is pure theatre.  Stage brings out total theatre and the people can easily feel it. See, if I had wanted to be in Nollywood, it would have been easy for me. What they churn out, most of the time, are below standard practice. I am not really condemning what they are doing, but for me, it is an easy way out.  On stage, you are on your own and you have to be accountable to the audience.  And that is why I love stage.” In acting out most of these roles, Okolo has discovered that one has to prove the stuff he is made. While acting in Langbodo in one of those roles that spells one out as a professional, he sustained a serious injury on stage.  “You see, in my overzealousness in one of those shows, I jumped on to the stage instead of walking in through the auditorium.  It was then that I sustained the injury. I had this costume that was very heavy and it hardily allowed me space to exercise myself.  I was feeling more like a hero and so when they heralded Akaraogun, instead of appearing the normal way, I jumped onto the stage.”

    By the time he landed on the edge of the stage, he had got a deep cut on his ankle. But like most brave professionals, he got on with it, while blood kept tricking out. “At the end of that show, when I got to back stage, I passed out; I fainted because I’d lost a lot of blood” he said. Before the acting ended, all the cast and crew were scared, for they thought the show would flop. The solution was that Okolo tore a part of the costume with which he covered the wound. But even then, the director of the play was not at ease until the show was over.

    Again, the artiste in him blossomed in the other shows that today, anytime there’s a tough role that needs serious role and stage interpretation, Okolo is usually sought after. “The role of a serious actor is to interpret his role convincingly”, he said. “I have not been out of active career since 1977. Even when I was at Saint Patrick’s College, Ibadan, I knew I’d be an actor. It was through literature that one of my teachers lured me into acting. I love story telling and of course my mum, at night would tell us plenty of stories. So, we kind of had the background, my brother Felix and I.  So when we graduated while he went for directing I went for acting. But above all, watching Sam Loco in Ibadan in those days got the better of me. Then when we were in Benin and I used to watch Hotel De Jordan in which Loco and others took part, my imagination and love for the theatre  grew.

    “I also love Bata drums,” Okolo revealed. “More so I love Yoruba acting. I love the traditional sentiments expressed in Yoruba theatre. When I listen to bata drums I feel like dancing and I really want to act and you cannot discountenance the place of Yoruba theatre in Nigeria. For me I try to spend some of my earnings to produce some plays. I work on mini festivals and it is an aspect of theatre I want to revive to bring back live theatre. We used to have open theatre at the National Theatre. Then if you had a show and people attended, and thereafter you’d share the proceed. That’s the sort of thing I want to bring out now. That will be in Delta State. I am in touch with them to that effect.”

    So far, his intention is to have some stories by Nigerian writers into stage. “We need to adapt those stories to give theatre real life flavour. This is one of the ways to bring theatre to its fullest meaning in Nigeria. From there, we’ll go into community theatre too. This will give us fulfillment, fun, joy and then writers would get their royalties,” he said.

     

  • East-West Coastal Road takes centre stage

    East-West Coastal Road takes centre stage

    When the big wigs in the Niger Delta gathered in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, for a retreat to set the agenda for the new board and management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) recently, the big dream of seeing a road running from Calabar, the Cross River State capital to Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos, took centre stage once again. The road is known as the East-West Coastal Road.

    Members of the executive management of the NDDC were unanimous in endorsing the coastal road project. They agreed that the project was key to opening up the Niger Delta region. The NDDC top shots said it would be a catalyst for the long awaited rapid development of the oil-rich region. Things must be done differently this time to bring the required change.

    “Posterity will not forgive us if we just want to dance in the comfort zone so that we don’t offend some people.” That was how the NDDC Managing Director, Sir (Barr) Bassey Dan-Abia set the tone for the three-day retreat for members of the board and management of the commission held at the Ibom Le Meridien Hotel in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    The retreat, which held from March 12 – 14, was anchored on the theme: “Re-focusing NDDC for better service delivery.” It was, more or less, a house cleaning exercise for the interventionist agency. In the words of the Chairman of the NDDC board, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw: “I believe that it is now time to tell ourselves some home truths. It can no longer be business as usual. Substantial and immediate changes for the better must take place.”

    Indeed, it was three days of soul-searching and frank talks. All the skeletons lurking behind closets were exposed and the eerie cobwebs in the inner recesses were laid bare. At the end of the day, the board and management of the NDDC, agreed to evolve robust and innovative strategies in the drive to deliver on the mandate of the commission.

    One of the keynote speakers delved into core issue of a regional infrastructure that was bound to transform the Niger Delta. It was the lot of Mayne David-West, a design engineer, to give a presentation on the proposed East-West Coastal Highway.

    He said the East-West Coastal Road was pivotal to the rapid development of not just the Niger Delta but the entire nation. He said that by strategic design the road would be the Nigerian extension of the Trans-West African Coastal Highway segment linking Dakar-Banjul-Monrovia-Lome-Lagos.

    Engr. David-West, a lead consultant on the engineering design of the coastal road, said the design of the East-West Coastal Road had been completed and just waiting to be awarded.

    He suggested that the East-West Coastal Road should be undertaken through a multi-lateral funding arrangement. The design expert, who described himself as a “born again” Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) advocate, urged the Federal Government to seek for funding window through the PPP and concessionary loans, since the capital resources needed for the actualisation of the coastal road was huge.

    David-West stressed the importance of the 704-kilometre coastal road, which stretches from Odukpani Junction in Cross River State to Ibeju on Lekki-Epe expressway in Lagos State, traversing over 1,000 communities.

    “The unique alignment of the East-West Coastal Road, coupled with the abundant natural resources available along its corridor, easily qualifies it as natural ‘trade corridor’,” he said.

    He noted that the economic potentials of the road were bountiful as it passes through nine states, namely Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Ogun and Lagos. He said further that the road would link up major industrial facilities such as the Tinapa free Trade Zone in Calabar, the Bonny LNG, the Brass LNG, the Koko Free Trade Zone, among others.

    The NDDC Executive Director Finance and Administration, Dr. Henry Ogiri, could not agree more with the presentation of Engr. David West. He noted that the idea of the coastal road was conceived by the interventionist agency and articulated at an international conference held in Port Harcourt from December 10-12, 2001, under the aegis of the commission and the UNDP.

    He said: “I believe that we are going to have a new Niger Delta that will be propelled by important infrastructure. I want to see a Niger Delta where Lagosians will move on Friday evening to go and enjoy fresh fish in Port Harcourt, in Yenagoa, where investors will come from all over the world,”

    He said that a good road network connecting the entire Niger Delta region of Nigeria and the rest of the country is viewed as the beginning of economic development and emancipation in the region. He noted that the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan identified the challenge of paucity of transportation infrastructure. It is hoped that the region will be greatly transformed with the successful actualization of the coastal road project.

    In a 12-point communique issued at the end of the retreat, the NDDC leadership outlined its strategy to transform the commission in order to achieve better service delivery and align with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. The resolutions, jointly signed by the Chairman of the NDDC board, the Managing Director, as well as the two executive directors in the commission, stated that the agency would actively seek the cooperation of other stakeholders to achieve the vision of the commission as captured in the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan.

    Senator Ewa-Henshaw, who flagged off the retreat, said it was very timely, coming at a critical time in the history of the NDDC. He noted that the Bureau of Public Service Reform had in 2013 “observed that the commission has a large pool of capable personnel, which is constrained by poor leadership, weak institutional systems and a culture of impunity.”

    The NDDC chairman was in no mood to pull punches as he warned members of staff of the commission that it would no longer be business as usual. He said he was hopeful that the retreat would re-orientate the minds of members of the NDDC family and re-focus their attention to address the image problem of the commission. He charged the participants to leave Uyo with a more positive attitude and a greater commitment to achieving the goals of the NDDC.

    Toeing the hard line of the chairman, the MD admitted that the commission was losing focus but quickly added that the critical question was how to get back on track. According to him, “holding this 2014 board and management retreat is our first step at getting back on track.”

    He said the priority of the current board was to re-position the commission for better service delivery which would contribute immensely to achieving the objective “to offer a lasting solution to the socio-economic difficulties of the Niger Delta region.”

    Sir Dan-Abia conceded that the quality of some of the infrastructure projects undertaken by the NDDC fell below acceptable standards and this had made the people of the region to differentiate NDDC projects from other well delivered projects. He, however, traced some of these shortcomings to inadequate funding, noting that the release of funds from contributing partners were not following the funding provisions of the NDDC Act of 2000.

    The issues raised by the NDDC leadership, were crystalised in the resolutions they signed at the end of the retreat. The document noted that some external constraints hinder the commission’s efforts to effectively discharge its duties. “Some of the constraints pertain to compliance with provisions of the NDDC Act of 2000, Public Procurement Act of 2007, funding and issues surrounding the ownership of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan.”

    The resolutions further stated that there were internal challenges “which include weaknesses in the management systems and procedures; corruption, defects in the organisational structure, disconnect between staff performance and reward system; weak interface between head office and state offices; poor corporate communication culture and in-fighting within the commission.”

    They said in-line with the recommendations of the Master Plan, NDDC would embark on medium and long-term planning beyond the annual budgeting exercise. The resolutions stated: “it is important to underline the fact that the master plan is a regional plan in which all stakeholders, including state and local governments and the NDDC are required to take ownership and play their part in the course of its implementation.”

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the SGF office, Mr. Linus Awute, charged the new board and management of the NDDC to change its strategy to fully align the activities of the commission to the roadmap set by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms.

    Anyim said Jonathan had directed that the NDDC should be “supported to develop a management structure that is fit-for-purpose, that can ensure that the board and management team of the commission work effectively and harmoniously to deliver on its mandate.”

    He said:”The signal we are getting now is that the commission has started operating with the development templates that are built on the condition for mutual accountability. To us, such stride is commendable as it is in alignment with the principles of transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, which is also in tandem with our collective national vision as articulated in our National Strategic Development Plan to address the enormous challenges facing Nigeria in the quest for economic prosperity.”

     

     

  • I want to die on stage—Sir Shina Peters

    I want to die on stage—Sir Shina Peters

    Afro-juju crooner, Sir Shina Peters, might have stopped releasing albums at the moment. But the aged, young-looking performer, who met with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUKANMI at his abode in Iju, revealed what he has been doing, like collaboration with upcoming artistes, reason for his residential location and other things.

     

    HOW often do you get contract to perform?

    It is when you are looking for fame that you tell people that you play every day. Mine is beyond that, because I do that every day. Can you imagine the children that I performed at their christening ceremony, telling their parents that it is me they want for their wedding? And what do they want to dance to? Afro-juju. Lots of them don’t know the names of the albums.

    So if I don’t correct them now, it will destroy a lot of things. I could remember that, there was a time during festive periods that people would produce a record. It was when I came on board that I stopped it. And said I will be doing just an album in a year. It is not going to the studio that is my problem. But my research has made me to discover that my lyrics and where I want to place music is at a very high level. I have done it before through God, because I have done it before.

    And that is why I do not joke with Him and my fasting. I can fast for 90days and nights. I will just stay indoors. That is my prayer room, my chapel; I can open it for you to see. I am from a Cherubim and Seraphim background, and that is what we believe. And with my contact with Him, He is saying I should take it easy. And when He says I should move, nothing can stop it.

    How spiritual can you be?

    I sing inspirational songs in my albums. Who are we to condemn other human beings, just because they are not as spiritual as we are? What I can tell you is that thank God for my life and where I come from. In terms of being spiritual, it is up there. I fear no one.

    Are you saying you have not been attacked spiritually before, considering your fame and type of job?

    How can? Nipa awe, ati adura, ki yio si nkankan (With prayer and fasting, there shall be no evil). You think I will just go on stage like that? There are several times that I will be fasting and playing on stage, laughing, dancing and nobody will know. That is the reason I always advise the upcoming ones, that what they are seeing is more to it. if you want to play music, you have to be battled spiritually. I don’t know any other thing than God.

    I can’t serve two gods; I don’t believe in mammon. That is the only way you can succeed in music, because it is not an ordinary profession. Music works with spirit. An example is when you are performing and sweating, and somebody from the crowd just comes up to use his handkerchief on your face. Where do you place that without the backing of God? God is what they call voice in music; so how can you excel without having a relationship with Him? Your relationship with Him must be intact.

    What we all know you for is Afro-juju; can you clarify us on this?

    Afro-juju is a brand of music. It is like another genre of music. What people refer to the Afro-juju is the album titled Ace, which is just like Shinamania, and they are both under Afro-Juju.

    Let’s talk about your age?

    It is His grace. I started at the age of 10. And I will say I am one of the musicians that didn’t go to the university but came into the industry and became a star. If God could wake me up one night and said this is my line, that I should go into the music world and not bother doing any other thing. And I left my parents, 2.00am that day till date. I have played with Ebenezar Obey, Prince Adekunle, and partnered with Segun Adewale, before finally standing on my own.

    And that was to do something on Juju, because it was dying. So you don’t toy with His feeling. The love God has for music is more than what we can see. There is no religion that doesn’t have its own kind of music – even those that worship the likes of Ogun. That is to tell you that you have to play music with the fear of God, and that is why you need a clear conscience. Because each day, no matter how late I ask myself what I have been able to do and the number of people I have been able to put smiles on their faces and tell myself I can do better tomorrow.

    With your age, you still show a lot of energy on stage, how do you do it?

    When you are in love with something, it is that love that gives you the energy or courage to cross any bridge. Because I love music, even if I want to die, I want to die on stage. At what age? I don’t know. But I always beg God, that if it is time, it should be on stage, because that is the only time I am pure.

    How do you mean?

    It is the only time I am pure, because that is the time I’m in contact with God; the lyrics that will come out for people to like, what I will say for people to shout, what I will do to carry my audience along.

    Do you have any of your kids toeing your foot step?

    Yes. Though they are not performers like me, they are into the music industry. I am yet to see one that will say I want to be like daddy. The only thing I hear them say is daddy, you are over working yourself. So instead of me to be like an inspiration to them, they are scared. I am not the type that tells his children what to do. Do what you like, I will bless you and God will bless you too.

    Being a man with a lot of kids, how do you care for and communicate with them?

    You see I don’t want to go to that area; the reason is because it will take a lot of wisdom before one can understand that area. I am a man that does not believe in being the biological father of a child. If you were here with your child, instantly, that child has become mine, because it is what I will do for Clinton that I will do for him/her too. By doing that, I have a lot of blessing and I’m happy. I have trained more than 25 children that are not mine, but bear my name home and abroad. But they are my children, because he who trains a child, owns the child.

    And the only way it can work is to tell me before hand if you have something to do and I will check my schedule. If it is at a good time, I will do what you want. But if it is the wrong time, you have to wait. But some may not have that patience to wait, and will go out to say Shina can’t take care of his child. How can I not take care of my own child; when I have taken care of several that are not mine that have become doctors, lawyers, home and abroad? They will not say, they were not patient, or that it was his mum that taught him to leave.

    They will now say Shina did not take care of his kids. And I cannot be finding you, when I still have those that need me more. If you are my biological child, then you have to be patient. Because those that are not mine might be afraid that I might not cater for them again. That is why I said it takes a lot of wisdom. I am a man with a very large heart and that is what I am enjoying today.

    How do you relate with the people in this community?

    You see, if there is anything that makes me happy every day, it is because of this community. If I was not staying here, how would I know or understand what is happening to people in the rural area? I have houses too in other reserved areas, but here, if anything happens even in the middle of the night, it is my house that they will first come to. Which include women in labour. If I was not here, who will do it? That goes for transformer too; when it blows off, it is my house they will come to. I will have to pick my phone to call my friend in PHCN. If I was not here, who will be doing all this?

    But what are you doing concerning the bad road?

    We are working on that. But the challenge we have is the big water pipe that was passed underground. If we say we should start reconstructing the road now, some digging would have to be done, which might get to the pipe and get busted. But Fashola is doing something now, that they will just gravel the surface and make it presentable. We can’t do a proper road because of the pipe.

    How do you find time to relax?

    The only time I relax is when I am praying and reading my bible. At that moment I am off the world; I prefer there than here. That is when I enjoy myself. And I swim a lot too, but we have to drain the water out because we are in the rainy season, and you can see the home is too peaceful. I have peace.

    Having not attended a university, how did you brush yourself up?

    You mean, how did I ‘tosh’ myself? How can you be moving with people like Aliko Dangote, Femi Odetola, Lanre Tejuosho, Segun Awolowo, without being ‘tosh’? That is why I say I am a self-made man. Native wisdom, you don’t read it in the school, it comes from God.

    People have said to me several times, that I was just looking for sympathy and that is the reason I lied that I didn’t attend school. Why would I do that? Yes, I try my best to belong. And that is why there is a saying that says, show me you friend, and I will tell who you are. It is the kind of friends that I have, that their influence has ‘toshed’ me up and God gave me the rest.

    What is Sir Shina Peters doing at the moment?

    (Sighs) You know what? I don’t like to remember my schedule because it is scary. But, there are a lot of things.

    Currently, do you have any work in progress?

    Let me be honest with people for a change, I discover a lot about my music. People are still requesting and asking for the Ace, Shinamania, Experience, albums. People still call me for the four evergreen albums. After the four evergreen albums, I have done so many others, up to 16 or 20. But I discovered that what killed the ones I have done after my first four is that people do not have enough time to enjoy one before another one is released.

    That is why if you ask me to play Afro-juju, you are referring to Ace. But if I sing Make una dance o, and you say that is it, it is not the same, because you are referring to the album Experience. But people can’t differentiate between the albums. There is no studio I want to go to now, because it is those other first four that people are still enjoying. People have refused to connect with the other ones I have done, because they always refer me back to the first four, which are the evergreen.

    And if I don’t want to kill the rest… well that is why all my master tapes are intact, so that I can be remixing them. Maybe now I can be remixing them with my brothers and sons in the hip-hop world, so that people can enjoy the collaboration. But now, it is not the right time for me to do anything.

    Are you working on any collaboration now?

    We are working on You are the one for me. We are doing a video, but I am still not okay with it. I am a kind of person that doesn’t like rushing things. There are times that you just lose it and won’t be able to think right. I don’t force nature, so I just tell God, whenever you want me to continue, just let me know.

  • Osaze to stage Eagles comeback

    Osaze to stage Eagles comeback

    Osaze Odemwingie is set for a sensational Super Eagles return only weeks after it seemed he will never play for Nigeria again.

    MTNFootball.com has again scooped that Osaze, who has been at war with his English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion, will be handed a lifeline by his country’s team even after a recent tirade by the player against coach Stephen Keshi and the Eagles.

    “Osaze will return to the Eagles. Besides the fact that he deserves to be in the team, it would also be a big boost for Osaze after his troubles with his club,” a top official specially disclosed to MTNFootball.com.

    The outspoken Osaze resorted to social network platform Twitter to vent his frustrations after he was sensationally axed from the Eagles squad to last month’s Africa Cup of Nations.

    The striker accused Keshi of not being professional in the manner he was dropped from the national team, while he also took a dig at skipper Joseph Yobo, saying the Super Eagles have lacked a true leader.

    He also suggested he was through with the national team. Keshi has since said Osaze was dropped because of “character problems” which would have disrupted team spirit at the AFCON.

    ‘Big Boss’ has already sent out words of encouragement to Osaze following his travails at West Brom.

    The former Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow star last featured for Nigeria in a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier in Rwanda in February 2011. Other top stars lined up for a return to the team are Obinna Nsofor and Kalu Uche.

    Uche, for one, has been on fire in Turkey with Istanbul outfit Kasimpasa, where he has so far netted 15 goals in the league. He last played for Nigeria in a November 2011 friendly against Zambia in Kaduna, where he scored the opening goal and his younger brother Ikechukwu was also on target in a 2-0 win in Keshi’s second game in charge of the team.

  • Mama Awero Marks 50 years on stage

    Mama Awero Marks 50 years on stage

    BORN on the 3rd of October 1950, Lanre Hassan Adesina went into acting in 1963 as a pioneer member of Young Star Concert Party which was later changed to Ojo Ladipo Group in 1969 under the leadership of Ojo Ladipo (Baba Mero).

    Since then, regarded an embodiment of the Arts, she has gained recognition through many national and international awards. Her experience on stage, television, and films has seen her bestride the entertainment world as a colossus; as costumier with an eye for details, as an actor with a depth of perceptive interpretation and as producer of award-winning productions in the fast emerging movie industry, all in a career spanning 50 years.

    Come June 2nd the stage icon will be celebrating her golden jubilee on stage in an event that will bring together Arts practitioners with a view to encouraging networking and partnerships among artistes, art patrons, the private sector and government for the continued development of Nigerian arts and culture.

    The event will hold at Blueroof Hall of LTV, Agidingbi, Lagos. Partners in the project include City People Magazine, Wallex Entertainment, FIIBAN, PINEX PICTURES, LTV and other theatre icons and veterans who have consented to grace the event with their acts – Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, The Afromedia, the duo of Afeez Oyetoro and Gbenga Windapo who are comedians, Funke Akindele and Doyin Kukoyi will anchor the event.

  • ‘Pillars ‘ll qualify for group stage of CAF CL’

    ‘Pillars ‘ll qualify for group stage of CAF CL’

    Baba Ganaru, Head Coach of Kano Pillars FC, has said that his team would qualify for the group stage of the ongoing CAF Champions League, following their brilliant start.

    Ganaru told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos, that the 5-1 victory over Olympique Real de Bangui showed that the team was poised to go places.

    NAN reports that Kano Pillars had defeated their Central Africa Republic opponents 5-1 in the first leg of the 2013 Orange CAF Champions League in Kano.

    “I am very optimistic that we are going to qualify for the group stage of the competition. We started on a brilliant note by beating them 5-1 and it is a good way to start the qualifying stages,” Ganaru said.

    The coach told NAN that the team would not get carried away with the result from the first leg, but would work harder to secure the ticket for the group stage.

    “Our main goal is to clinch the ticket for the lucrative group stage of the CAF Champions League and we won’t relent until we achieve our objective. We are already preparing for the return leg match and it will be better than the first leg,” he said.

    Ganiyu commended his players for the hard work they had put into the encounter and their adherence to the tactical plan for the match.

    “The players played according to my instructions; and if they continue like this, they will go far in the competition,” he said.

    NAN reports that the return leg would be played in Bangui on Feb. 28. Coach says players for West African Table Tennis tourney will perform

    Nasiru Bello, Head Coach, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), said on Wednesday that he was hopeful that the Nigerian team to the West African Cadet Table Tennis Championships would not disappoint.

    The Nigerian team comprising nine players will depart Lagos for Cote d’Ivoire today by road for the championships, holding between Feb. 21 and Feb. 24.

    Bello told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that most of the players were selected because of their exceptional performance at the recent National Schools Sports Festival in Port Harcourt.

    “Majority of the players were discovered from the school sports festival in Port Harcourt and there is no better way to test them than exposing them to international tournaments,” he said.

    Bello said the exposure would give them the needed experience to develop. He said the nine players had been training for a month to prepare them for the regional championships.

    “I made sure that the players started preparation immediately after the school sports festival and with what I have seen, they will not disappoint. They may not be exceptionally good now, but with time and

    experience, they will improve,’’ he said.

    Bello named the players for the U-18 male category as Jide Omotayo and Kehinde Awobajo.

    For the male U-15 category is Michael Obayomi, while Ahmed Osibanjo and Martins Abass will feature in the male U-13. In the female U-15 are Ifiok Udoh and Mary Mbah, while Tosin Oribamise and Blessing Eniola will feature in the U-13.

    The officials are Segun Oguntade, who is the Chef de Mission, while Nasiru Bello and Ajayi Olubode are coach and assistant coach, respectively.

  • Young Pioneers take centre stage

    Young Pioneers take centre stage

    TO the admiration of those present last week Friday at the Club Royale, Oba Akran, Ikeja, K Dawg, 11; Young Chizy and Wendu Awurum, both 13, gave guests a dose of their ability and talent. Known as The Young Pioneers, the trio performed three songs titled Celebrate, We Are All The Same, and Some Have Food from their eight-track promo album.

    Recounting the journey so far, Young Chizy said, “music started for us when I and K Dawg made beats with phone. This was what caught our dad’s attention and he saw that we have love for music. So he got us to go to the studio, where they made the beats out with the studio equipment.”

    He went further to explain that they decided to sing as a group because they discovered that they could achieve a lot by doing it together, stating that music does not clash with their academics.

    “Our Mondays to Fridays are all for school work. We are not allowed to do anything that has to do with music during the school days. But our weekends and holidays are mainly for music,” he added.

    Young Chizy, an SS1 student has been described as a direct look alike of the late rap sage, Notorious B.I.G, not just facially but also in his dress sense and rap style. Wendu also in SS1 is a shy young girl while K Dawg is a JSS 1 student who loves football and table tennis.