The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Togo

  • We won’t fail in Togo – Amapakabo

    For 73 minutes last Sunday, six-time Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, Enyimba FC tried in vain to breach the backline of plucky Togolese club, Anges de Notsè in a first leg preliminary round CAF Champions League game.

    A brace by Sibi Gwar in the final seven minutes in the game and one other from Kingsley Sokari eventually sealed a memorable 3-1 win for the People’s Elephant in Aba.

    Vincent Orode had earlier put Anges in front while the anxious Enyimba supporters collectively held their breath until late heroics from their forward men averted a major upset.

    Assistant coach of Enyimba, Imama Amapakabo believes Enyimba started the first leg in uncharacteristic fashion and has promised that things will be different in the return fixture today.

    “We altered our tactics in that first leg in Aba. We only reverted to our original tactics towards the end (of the game) and the results are clear for all to see.

    “A lot of the players were too passive in the first half and that was chiefly responsible for the goal they (Anges) scored. We became aggressive in the second half and got the desired result,” Amapakabo told supersport.com.

    Amapakabo then took the time to identify the opposition players who could create problems for his charges in the second leg in Lome.

    “It will be foolish for any coach not to worry about Orode. He’s very intelligent and experienced.

    “Junior Dobatse also did very well for them. In all, we now understand their tactics. They started with a 4-4-2 and reverted to a 4-2-4 later in the game.

    “Their coach is not afraid to tweak things but that will play into our hands in the return leg because they will be bolder and that will open up the spaces that will enable us win the game,” he said.

  • 2014 FIVB WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP :Nigeria book final phase qualification ticket

    2014 FIVB WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP :Nigeria book final phase qualification ticket

    Nigeria’s national female volleyball team have clinched a ticket to the final phase of the 2014 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship after they finished in second position in Zone 3 (Pool O) of the African qualifier held at the Forum de l’Université de Cocody in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire last weekend.

    The zonal qualifiers had Nigeria playing against Ghana, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire for the two available final round tickets in Zone 3.

    Nigeria began her campaign on a losing note by falling to Ghana 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 25-12) before rallying round to beat Togo 3-0 (12-25, 10-25, 19-25) in their second match.

    The Nigerian girls then overcame Cote d’Ivoire 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-12) to improve to 2-1 (6 points) to finish second and qualify for the final phase.

    Ghana defeated Togo 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-18) for their third consecutive victory in the four nations tournament. Ghana claimed the gold medal with a win-loss ratio of 3-0 (8 points).

    Nigeria and Ghana will now join the Pool 1of the final phase along with Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, RD Congo and Egypt.

    Pool 2 will comprise Kenya, Seychelles, Uganda, Tunisia, Senegal, Mozambique and Cape Verde.

    The format of the African qualification indicates that the top two teams from zone 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will join zone 1 and 7 champions in the final phase. The 12 teams will be joined by the top two African teams in the FIVB Ranking (Kenya and Algeria) for a total of 14 teams to be divided into two final pools. The champions of each pool will secure their tickets to the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championship in Italy.

    Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Thailand as well as hosts Italy have secured their place in the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championships, thus far.

  • On road to Togo

    On road to Togo

    Just back from a recent trip to Benin and Lome,  Fakoyejo Olalekan , shared his experience on life in the two cities.
    The journey to Togo might be long, but the road experience was wonderful! My recent trip to Togo via Benin was full of memorable experiences and it sure would remain indelible for me and other schoolmates from l’ institut de Journalisme de Nigeria, (Nigerian Institute of Journalism.)
    It was an eye opener to know that Togo and Benin might not be one of the most talked about African countries, but they definitely have one of the best towns to visit in Africa.
    The road to Lome is as smooth as the life they live. Throughout our stay, I did not notice any pot holes. And the only traffic we experienced was not as compared to what we are used to back home. There is decorum for all road users – You don’t hear their en chine (okada) riders insulting motorist, and vice versa.
    They hardly talk when they are in traffic.
    Unlike Nigeria where we have traffic officers and yet some still drive against the traffic rules, it is a different scenario in Togo as people obey traffic lights without anyone forcing them to do so.
    The visit was both educative and fun.
    Below as some of the exciting places that fascinated me in both cities.
    Temple Des Pythons (zossoungbo) in Ouidah, Benin
    This is a place where snakes are worshipped. When we were told about this place at first, I could not believe that people worship statue, but not that of a live snake. But as the saying goes, seeing is believing.
    The snakes here don’t bite; they are not even born with teeth in the first place. These snakes are only prayed to for good fortune, and if you approached the snake with an evil intention about your enemies or you wished someone evil, same would happen to you.
    Point of No Return (Benin)
    According to our coordinator and the gate keeper, this is the original point of no return. I never knew another point of no return existed apart from the one in Badagry, until now. The same story we were told about that of Badagry is the same story about this one.
    Lome Beach (Togo)
    The Lome beach is home to many; both indigenes and foreigners. The blue and brown sea looks so good, even when you are broke, you will pay it all your attention.
    The beach comes alive in the night time, after watching the sea wave dance back and forth, the breeze had blown away the stress of the day, and the stars come to play, you can catch some fun at the Togo Cellulaire Center. There are varieties of games there.
    Hedranawe Market (Togo)
    This market is as big as our National stadium; in fact, I thought it was a stadium. I doubt it if there is anything you want, you won’t find there; unless what you want is out of this world.
    For those who love to shop wisely, your wallet is not heavy and you want to buy quality cloths at a reasonable price, then Hedranawe Market is the best place to shop right. In this market, things are cheap when you convert the price to Nigeria currency. A friend of mine bought an earring and pendant for 350 naira, which a friend had earlier bought in Nigeria for 1000 naira.
    Here you get biscuit, cloths, beverages, food stuff, and many more at a cheaper price, half the price you get them in Nigeria. Hedranawe is a place to shop right.
    Cafeteria (Lome)
    The way this cafeteria is built is amazing. Unlike the way our indomie joint is built in Nigeria, theirs is well built, with a television to entertain (that is if you understand French) you while you wait and eat.
    Just like the Hausas and Yorubas selling cooked indomie in Nigeria, they also do same in Lome; but their choice is spaghetti. For 500c (135 naira), you get any type of spaghetti. Either the red or white spaghetti, cooked with bama. This dish comes with assorted meat and Pain (Bread in English) which is as thick as starch.
    Life in Lome
    The capital is as cool as Abuja, but brighter when the stars come out to play. Lome is not just a place for the tourists, but also for those who seek healthy and peaceful life. With a stable light, there are so many opportunities; all they need is a creative mind, which Nigeria has in abundance, but our environment discourages the minds of our entrepreneurs.
  • Journalism students visit Togo

    Journalism students visit Togo

    Students of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) will this weekend embark on a one-week trip to Togo for a French course.

    The Togo trip is organized by the school, in partnership with the French Village in order to help the students enhance their ability in French language.

    Most of those going for the trip are National Diploma 1 students currently on industrial training. They would, however, be joined by their Higher National Diploma counterparts who could not make last year’s trip due to cancellation of the exercise.

    This trip was initially planned for last Sunday, but was postponed due to reasons best known to the school authorities.

  • WCQ: We envisaged our loss to Nigeria – Togo coach

    The Togolese National Women’s Volleyball team coach, Koffi Fikati, said he envisaged his team’s loss to its Nigerian counterpart at the Sub-Zonal World Championship Qualifier.

    The Togolese team lost 0-3 to Nigeria in three straight sets in a match played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Abuja National Stadium on Thursday.

    The three-day qualifier, which ended on Thursday, began on July 23 and was the first phase of the qualifiers for the World Championship in 2014.

    Fikati told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the match that although his team lost the match, the players performed better than he expected.

    “We knew before the match that it will be a tough one because we have seen Nigeria’s performances in this championship.

    “Today, I can say that we played in a relaxed way and a little better than I even expect of my players,’’ he said.

     

    The Togolese coach noted that his team’s major problem was poor blocking and bad defence. “The problem we have was blocking because the Nigerian players are much taller than my players. And we cannot block well, so, that is why most of the Nigerian attacks are giving them points. They had the advantage of their block and defence which is better than ours,’’ Fikati told NAN.

    He said his team would have to work more on blocking and defence in preparation for the second phase.

    “When we go back home, we will have to work on our blocks and the defence ahead of the next phase.

    “This is because we are aware that it is only two teams that will qualify from the zonal level, so we will try our best to be among the two,’’ Fikati said.

    NAN reports that both female teams from Nigeria and Togo qualified for the second phase in Group E having defeated Niger Republic in each of their first matches.

    The two teams will meet the two best teams in Group D to represent zone three in the zonal qualifiers which is the second phase.

     

     

  • Export Promotion Council for solo exhibition in Togo

    Nigerian manufacturers have been invited by the Republic of Togo for a solo exhibition of Nigeria’s manufactured goods.
    Speaking during a press briefing in Lagos, the Director Trade Information Department of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council  (NEPC), who represented Mr. Aliyu Lawal, the Executive Director/ CEO of NEPC, David Adulugba, said the exhibition would come up in Lome, Togo’s capital city, between July 27 and August 10, 2013.
    According to him,  the invitation of Nigeria for the solo trade exhibition in Lome was facilitated by the splendid performance of the manufactured goods from Nigeria during the 10th Lome International Trade fair in December 2012 in Lome.
    “NEPC took the decision to organise the exhibition to boost the penetration and acceptance of Nigerian products in the entire ECOWAS, after her participation in the 10th Lome International Trade fair, December 2012, where the Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Amabassador Sunday Adoli, reasoned that the Republic of Togo would make a perfect trade hub for the distribution of Nigerian manufactured goods with ECOWAS countries,” Lawal said.
    The director Trade Information revealed that despite the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and the principle of free trade movement of persons among member-states,  the level of trade among member-states within the region is insignificant.
    He said that despite Nigeria’s presence in many West African countries, “It has not been able to penetrate Francophone countries because they mostly import from France. He therefore said that “the timely decision to stage the exhibition became more imperative considering the strategic location to Togo. More so, the event would assist to curb the large spate of informal trade between the two countries.”
    Lawal said the planned solo exhibition is an important window towards making non- oil a significant contributor to the Nigerian GDP.
    Speaking at the occasion, the Director-General of NACCIMA,  Dr. John Isemede, took time to explain to the would-be participants what would be required of them during the exhibition. He reiterated that the best of the Nigerian  goods would be taken to the event.
    The National Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,  Mines and Agriculture, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, took time to mobilise women for the solo exhibition, urging them to be part of the event in Lome, Togo.

  • Quote of the day

    Quote of the day

    “Nigerian women and children are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, as well as to South Africa, where they are exploited for the same purposes. Children from West African countries – primarily Benin, Ghana, and Togo – are forced to work in Nigeria, and many are subjected to hazardous labour in Nigeria’s granite mines. Nigerian women and girls – primarily from Benin City in Edo State – are subjected to forced prostitution in Italy, while Nigerian women and girls from other states are subjected to forced prostitution in Spain, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Russia”.

    The United States Department of State report on Trafficking in Persons in Nigeria. The 2013 report was released on Wednesday.

  • Togo, Burkina Faso chase history

    TODAY’S Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal clash in Nelspruit offers the chance for two of the continent’s minnows to write a new page in their respective histories.

    Burkina Faso have only once progressed beyond the group stages of the continental showpiece when they finished fourth on home soil in 1998. On seven other occasions they were eliminated in the group stages.

    Togo’s record is even less impressive the Sparrow Hawks have played in six AFCON finals, but have never made it beyond the first round.

    Togo coach, Didier Six, saw his team squeeze through to the last eight after a tension-filled 1-1 draw with Tunisia. Having already exceeded expectations, the Frenchman said on Saturday there was no reason his men could not aim higher.

    “I told the players that they had already written an important page of history for Togolese football, but there is still some room to write more and that we should play it 100 percent,” Six said.

    “All the work done in the last 15 months is starting to pay off.”

    Six also saw the tournament as an opportunity for his players to market themselves and earn moves to Europe’s bigger clubs.

  • Cote D’ Voire defeats Togo in AFCON

    Gervinho’s 87th minute strike secured three points for Ivory Coast over Togo in the first Group D game of the on-going Africa Nations Cup in South Africa, futaa.com reports.

    Africa’s footballer of the year Yaya Toure  put star-studded Ivory Coast ahead with just eight minutes into the game, but the first half  ended at 1-1.

    Adebayor was gifted with an early opportunity in the second minute after a poor pass by Kolo Toure, but goalkeeper Barry Copa rescued the situation for the Ivoirians.

    Ivory Coast gradually came alive, and in the 8th minute, Gervinho went past a defender to locate Yaya Toure, whose shot did not miss the target.

    The early lead by Ivory Coast did not affect the Togolese, who took the game to their more illustrious opponent.

    Max Gradel was booked in the 32nd minute after Togo  missed a chance to equalize.

    A minute later, Vincent Bousou was also booked for rough tackle in the centre circle.

    Togo’s persistence paid off when the team got a corner kick and Jonathan Ayite was well positioned to equalize with the last kick of the first half.

    After the break, both sides came out stronger, looking for the winner, but Alaixia Romao was cautioned for a rough tackle on Gervinho.

    Ya Koman almost gave Ivory Coast the lead in the 55th minute, but Togo’s goalkeeper parried away the ball.

    Salomon Kalou  came in for Gradel in the 58th minute to add more bite to the Ivory Coast attack.

     

  • Togo coach banking on Adebayor

    The head coach of Togo’s national team Didier Six hopes to persuade Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor to return to the squad ahead of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations.

    The 28-year is set to miss the tournament which kicks off next month after pulling out of the team due to alleged unpaid match bonuses from their friendly against Morocco last month.

    However, the Frenchman believes he can persuade the striker to review his decision and play for his country.

    “I am doing everything I can to get him to come back to us,” Six told Le Buteur.

    “He’s a world-class player and the Togo national team captain. He is very important to the group. I will put all my strength to get him to change his mind but he has the last word.

    “This is about more than just him sending a warning to ensure Togolese football moves forward.”