Adeola Aderounmu.

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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

Adeola Aderounmu.

Africa is not alone in the menace of violence and barbarism but as Africans, some of us are obliged to focus on Africa. That is where our shoe pinches. The ongoing military brutality in Kenya in the hands of a senseless civilian is simply a case of spreading sorrow, tears and blood (an expression made popular by Fela). Kenya may have been a stable country until the notorious Iwu-like election that was conducted by the shameless Obasanjo-like Kibaki, but like Nigeria, Kenya has always been and remains a very corrupt country. Also, in a similar manner to Nigeria, Kenya is also the proud home to some of the poorest people on earth.   

It is hard to reckon that Africa is the acclaimed cradle of civilization. Leadership in most parts of Africa since the departure of the forced colonialism is a very big scandal. Some authors and commentators are always quick to retrace the woes of Africa back to the doorsteps of France, Britain, the US and other powers that have besieged Africa in the past and the present. It will not be surprising in the days ahead as the clouds gets thicker or clearer in Kenya that we will be told how some external powers have been involved in the bloodletting going on in Kenya. On whose permission would that have been if it turned out so?   

Beyond the placement of blame and unnecessary distractions of expectations of foreign involvement in the resolving of the mass murder playing out in Kenya is the general situation of things in Africa. Africa remains the most corrupt continent on the surface of the earth. Poverty is like an eternal plague foisted on Africa soil. There is a possibility that the poorest people on earth are living in Africa. It is so unbelievable that some of these people who survive on less than 1 dollar per day are found in Nigeria and Kenya.  

It is also disheartening to see how the instrument of governance in Africa has been misused over and over again. African leaders are selfish and merciless. They not only steal and loot, they are also reputable for their willingness to use military might to crush the voices and actions of the innocent. Images emerging from Kenya are very very unpalatable. A lot of theories are emerging on the nature of the violence and the possible expansive dimension of things to come. Yet, it remains unjustifiable how a civilian government can unleash military terror in the name of self-preservation/ perpetuation in power. Some African countries are doomed! Infact, they are cursed!  

Reprieve is not near at all in many countries in Africa. Where the leadership is unrepentantly blinded by greed, senselessness, inhumanity, evil, worthless self-preservation and uncontrollable ethnic consciousness, disaster is the end result. This is what has confined Nigeria to an everlasting destination of zero progress and this is what seemed to have caught up with Kenya. Regardless of the nature or origin of the problems, the consequences of mis-governance in Africa have common denominators. There is widespread corruption. Poverty is escalating. On top of these two popular disasters are several physically-felt dehumanizing agonies. There is serious sorrow in Africa. The people are crying as a result of lack of food and social comfort. The crime against humanity in Africa is so bad that blood is spilled at anytime and anywhere like water. Sadly, millions do not even have access to clean water. Many land and water are polluted to make sure that the dream of clean water will remain a mirage for several rural and urban dwellers alike.  

In the midst of all these however, it must be pointed out that some people are still lucky. Somehow, through hard work and through some strokes of luck, a handful of people have escaped poverty and are carrying on with decent lives. But these few people cannot cast our minds away from the greater majority whose daily plights continue to symbolize the ugly image of Africa. In Africa, the leadership has failed the common followership. In many places there is absolute ignorance that has made it easy for dictatorships to hold sway permanently. In some places the followership is simply tamed. Still some are feebly resilient. And when the followerships decide someday to show some resistance and demand for their rights, they are brutally crushed! Africa as a continent is a dilemma on its own.  

This is where I have refused to wholly subscribe to the attribution of Africa’s present woes to western influence. The bulk of Africa’s problems are traceable to madness of the leaders. The leaders have refused to see beyond their noses and some of them continue to sow the seeds of ethnic discord among several other discordant tunes to take undue advantage of political situations. In the process, they have brought ridicule and shame to Africa in addition to the spread of poverty, penury and impoverishment.  

The sorrow, tears and bloodletting on the African continent will continue for some time but the outcomes from the Kenya crises will serve as a benchmark for the future regarding the limits of madness at the helm of political affairs. Indeed the outcome unlike the resiliency that characterized Nigeria will serve as an eye opener for possible eventual emancipation of the African continent and the future application of the understanding of the principles of justice and fairness.  

 By Adeola Aderounmu.    

I am finding it difficult to comprehend the nature of things to come in Kenya. My fears are that things could get out of hand, out of control. In that worst scenario, thousands or millions of people could be killed.

I am also forced to deviate to Nigeria at a point like this. If Nigeria had been the good model of Africa as everyone expected, it would have been very easy to mediate in Kenya at a time like this. One could have been quick to say, didn’t you see how Nigeria is…bla blab bla. Unfortunately, Nigeria as the sleeping giant of Africa is headed by an illegal government since May 2007.  Imagine the ridicule if Yar Adua goes to Kenya to mediate in the crisis.  Or imagine Nigeria’s Maurice Iwu going to Kenya to lecture the electoral commission! What a shame!

Kenya’s Kibaki definitely has a strong point to hold on to in leading the people of Kenya even if it is against the popular wish. It’s like this: Illegality works in Nigeria (and perhaps many other countries in Africa), why should it not work in Kenya?

The problem though is still the relative differences in the levels of resiliency and the tolerance of evil. It seems that Kenyans are ready to lay down their lives for the enthronement of sanity, accountability and proper governance. In the end, if the people win, it will be the turning point that would shape the future of Kenya forever.  

It is unfortunate that hundreds of people have died and that the madness prevails. It appears to be a part of the sacrifice needed to build a formidable country devoid of injustice. However with the level of global advancement and awareness, the sacrifice involving the loss of human lives is quite unnecessary.  

Greed and corruption are the backbones to this type of a senseless scenario. It is very disheartening to see the waste of human lives and valuable time, two key parameters that can never be regained once they are lost.  

I look forward to Kenyans being able to resolve the issues at stake. Power, resource control, tribal conflicts, or whatever the rest of the injustice/egocentrism are all about. Africans deserve more than what the pitiable leadership have provided to date and the search for true statesmanship and genuine leadership irrefutably remain parts of the essential ingredient needed to take Africa out of the doldrums!