By Adeola Aderounmu.   

Those who are hoping to hear the names of the fraudsters in the National Assembly or in the House of Reps have been fooled. In Nigerian politics, all the politicians are fraudsters. This is why I was confused when one Nuhu Aliyu threatened that he would name some 419ers in the Nigerian lawmaking assemblies.    

On what moral ground would Nuhu have been making such a disclosure when all that we know about Nigerian politics is dirtiness and insanity? The governance itself headed by Umaru remains illegitimate and questionable. Was it not 419 to swear in a president without an election? What votes were counted that resulted in the emergence of all the lawmakers from all the 36 states of the Federation?    

What a shame indeed! Nuhu is now the one apologizing to his brothers and sisters-in-crime for his act of bravado. He wrote a letter in which he referred to himself and all the fraudsters alike as members of the same family. This is the truth anyway, I can take that. Members of the same family and in fact birds of the same feather.    

Nuhu’s lawyers have now told him that he cannot accuse anyone of being a 419er unless the court of law says so. What was he thinking before he dropped the bombshell in the House last week? Did reasoning depart from him at that time? Of course not!    

What has happened is that some behind the scenes manipulations have taken place. I can only imagine that there are other people who know about his own dirty secrets and involvements in the destruction of Nigeria. Those people are also ready to reveal his shady dealings in the police to the glare of the public.    

In addition, one cannot rule out the possibility of the threat to his life by some of the 419ers and their accomplices. One can assume that this threat may have been extended to his friends and family. With a den of killers like the PDP, you don’t want to mess around in Nigeria’s arena of politics.    

With a very useless letter addressed to the persons like Umaru and David Mark, the shamefulness of the act becomes pathetic. But the mistake made here is that this letter is an attempt to end the controversy and sweep the case under the carpet. These men are all jokers. How could they have forgotten soon that the Nigerian media will not allow them to rest on this one?    

The people may be voiceless and resilient but sometimes they have been propelled by the media and certain voices of reasoning to leave clear indicators as to the limit of acceptance of mad acts. Though we are still battling with the illegal regime of Umaru, Patricia Etteh’s saga remains a victory for the masses and the media. We are aware that our fight against corruption have not yielded expected positive outcomes, but our knowledge and understanding of the unfolding revelations in recent months have helped to enlightened us on the nature of the real evil. The Supreme Court decisions, popular and unpopular, are mild approaches to the nature of the changes that may come.   

In any case, Nuhu’s outburst and shameful withdrawal are clear examples of what the politicians take us for. The people are fools, just tell them it was a slip of tongue and let’s move on with business as usual, abi na their papa or mama vote for you? No be we arrange you to come this house? We no send you here to come put sandsand for other people garri. Chop your own make you comot. Infact, clean your mouth on your way out! Hun! Na so we dey do things here. Make you no come play super ex-cop for here at all. Wey your name sake Ribadu today?   

Tomorrow, somebody will come and tell us that Nuhu Aliyu should not have made such a reckless statement in the House. They will tell us that there are due processes and the rule of law. What they will not tell us is that that is the last we shall hear of the controversy or claims. There are so many National cases and scandals that are pending or forgotten. Why? Because we always move on with our lives! Because we have extremely short memories! Because as a people we are not sincere! Because majority of Nigerians who are critics and writers are waiting for opportunities to scrape from the corridors of power from the level of the local government to Abuja.   

Nigeria remains in a serious dilemma. Other nations are making progress and building on what they have. We have refused to make progress and we continue to destroy every fragment of our society and country. If Nuhu cannot reveal the 419ers in the House, shame on him. For real, shame on the useless National House of Assembly! Shame on the House of Representatives! Shame on Umaru’s clumsy approaches! One thing cannot be overrule and that is the fact that all these people were not elected. They were selected in the notoriously evil wuruwuru dictatorial arrangements. They have not disappointed me by their actions. Afterall, it is business as usual. Carry go!  

Adeola Aderounmu.

Indeed, there are troubles in many places around the world but the pictures and footages one gets to see from Kenya are very barbaric.

Front pages of newspapers around the world and video recordings from CNN and BBC are showing scenes that are absolutely unpalatable.

Men and women with different stone-age weapons and cutlasses/matchets. Burnt cars, Burnt houses, Burnt churches and many other tasteless images.

This is the image of Africa that we are trying hard to eradicate/correct yet it is what has been brought to the front by Kenya.

The people of Kenya are just too happy to show off these useless weapons and to display violence in the full glare of foreign journalists. What positive things can be achieved through these displays of barbarism?

I am not saying that Kenyas should carry guns or SMG instead of cutlass. Either way, the unneccessary killings going on in Kenya cannot be justified.

The madness on display goes a long way to show the types of leaders that rule in Africa. The 2 leaders involved in this trouble are enjoying themselves in comfort zones while the people continue to capitalize on tribal inclinations to eliminate one another. Again, this is completely avoidable.

The fact remains that Kenyans are trapped in a conflict in which they are seeking emancipation, justice and fairness but the price of paying with innocent lives is really taking too much.

The ease with which the ugly pictures and footages are shown on western media is not unexpected. It is their thing-to show the ugliest things from Africa and always never interested in the positive things.

Already there are people raising money around the world to help displaced people in Kenya. How much of these monies eventually get to Kenya or to those who needed them? Moments like this are used by fraudsters to rip people of “sympathy funds” which has no impact on the carnage going on at another place.

One hopes that the people of Kenya (with or without the selfish leadership) will find a reason to stop the killing of brothers and sisters. To continue to do that in this age and century is the climax of barbarism.

Adeola Aderounmu.

This article (and readers’ comments) is also available at this link:
Before we crucify the Super Eagles

It is now more difficult than ever before to separete the undesirable socio-political situation in Nigeria with what has finally caught up with the ultimate passion of a typical Nigerian, our ever unifying football. The performances of the super eagles so far in Ghana 2008 can be summarized in one word: dismal. When Cameroun lost 2-4 to Egypt, they played with zeal until the last blast of the whistle. When Benin were thrashed 1-4 by Ivory Coast, the Beninoise where still goal hungry until the final seconds. Omotoyosi celebrated his last minute goal like it was the opener of the day.

Nigerian footballers have caused many Nigerians heartache, headache and hypertension. In 1994, a number of people died from hypertension when Nigeria lost to Argentina at the Mundial-US 94. Since we are not a statistics-loving people, we don’t really care how certain things affect our lives and the implications for public health especially.

As Nigeria draws Mali in Ghana 2008, my friends were having headaches, fever and all kinds of patriotic illnesses. I’d warned two of them before the tournaments to just watch the games and enjoy the moment rather than get hooked on their super eagles that are usually lackadaisical in major tournaments. It is hard not to be patriotic though.

Simply, the eagles played like there was nothing at stake while the other countries sweat things out. There was lack of motivation generally. The players remain individuals on the field and it was difficult to realize that they were supposed to play as a team. The incohesiveness was obvious. There was complete lack of team formation and the coaching crew was clueless at to what to do with the type of substitutions made. I can’t say the eagles lack strength or stamina because I watch many of them playing at their individual club sides. So, we need to know why they lost motivation and played so carefreely.

Crashing out after the preliminary round would not be a bad idea. It will allow Nigeria to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out why we have to struggle at the Nations’ Cup despite the abundance of talents that are flooding Nigerian streets.  Crashing out now will allow us to ask questions and seek answers. It will also enable us to know if we can learn from silly and unnecessary mistakes.

  Football is not easy and every country and every team wants to win. Every nation small and big is making progress and developing their games. Yet, with what I know about Nigerian football and with my very little experience as a street footballer, I know that what I have seen in GHANA 2008 is unacceptable and that kind of display does not symbolize Nigerian football. Such a display will NEVER earn a 2010 world up ticket. Therefore it is imperative that something urgent and drastic is done.

I am an advocate of a Nigerian coach for our national teams. Give the eagles a national coach and give him the same respect and tools that you give to a foreign coach. I am optimistic that Nigerian coaches in the caliber of late Yemi Tella exist somewhere. I hope Nigeria can find a Nigerian coach who is not sentimental about tribes and one that does not seek “favour for favour” when fielding a player. Merit will take Nigerian football to the pinnacle of world football.

There are many other ways to diagnose the ongoing dilemma facing the Nigerian super eagles and the webs and newspapers will be flooded in the months ahead regardless of where the eagles land at the end of GHANA 2008.

In the end, one can easily see how the nonchalant attitudes in public service have gradually eroded the values in Nigeria and how it has taken its toll on many frontiers of our lives. I am sure the players would have their own versions of the stories and we will hear them in the days ahead. I know a player who has played both matches (against Ivory Coast and against Mali) who is very unhappy with Berti Vogt. Indeed, he described Berti Vogt as “not good enough” for our national team. What I don’t know is if this is the opinion of the rest of the squad. In that case, their performances which we all know (is much better when they play club football) might be a reflection of their non-acceptance of Vogt and a way to get him sacked as quickly as possible. Afterall the Nations Cup is played every 2 years and before you know it, they are back in 2010 to prove a point depending on how the present dilemma is managed/played out.

Irrespective of where the eagles finally land, I hope the administration of football in Nigeria will finally end up in the right hands after this undesirable situation going on in Ghana.

UPDATED: 29th January 2008.

Nigeria makes it to Quarter Final.

The Super Eagles have the Ivorians to thank for advancing to the Quater finals of Ghana 2008. The Ivorians thrashed the Malians by 3 unreplied goals. Nigeria failed to find the back of the net when they played Mali.

Nigeria beat Benin by 2 goals to nothing and will now face the host nation Ghana in the quater final match on Sunday Feb 3rd.

Adeola Aderounmu.

Football was at its best in Kumasi Ghana as the defending African champion Egypt sent Cameroun to the drycleaners. Cameroun played a fantastic game and they showed great determination but give it to the Egyptian strikers who knew when and how to strike.

4 goals to 2 was a deserved scoreline for the Egyptians who showed how good football should be played-purpose and tactics.

Surely, Ghana 2008 will bring more moments of exciting football.

May the best team win the tournament! 

Adeola Aderounmu.

The Eagles have refused to fly!!!

Ivory Coast beat Nigeria by one wonderful goal to nothing. Kalou was given a glorious moment as he scored a classic goal against Nigeria.

The Nigerian team though made up of stars upon stars refused to show any serious approach to the game. It’s as if nothing was at stake.

I thought there was honour/glory attached to winning a game of this nature.

The tactical deficiency of the Nigerian coach was too obvious to ignore. While his counterpart brought in Keita who more or less won the game for Cote d’ivore, the substitutions on the Nigerian part left more holes in the pattern of the Nigerian style of play. 

Football is not an easy game and we cannot expect Nigeria to win always but the display put up by the Nigerian team was below expectation.

They have an uphill task ahead of them if they want to go beyond the group stage(s) of this tournament.

A more tactical and more purposeful pattern of play is compulsory for any team that wants to go far in major tournaments. One hopes that the Nigerian technical team will go back to the drawing board before their next “make or mar” game. 

I wish the super eagles and Nigerians success.

All the best.

Adeola