Nigeria

Mr. Jonathan, No, You can’t suspend Nigerian Football!

/ Adeola / 4 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Is Goodluck Jonathan A Dictator in the Making?

There are reports that Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the Nigerian Football Team from participating in future competitions for the next 2 years. According to him this will allow Nigeria to reorganise her football.

Sometimes I wonder if Nigerian politicians are from planet earth. Does Mr. Jonathan know FIFA rules concerning football? Do we have advisers in Abuja? Does Nigeria have a Ministry of Sports that Jonathan can consult for information and knowledge about football?

You cannot suspend your team from International competition. If you do, FIFA will help you by extending the suspension for another 2 or 4 years.

Nigeria does not need to suspend her national team from International competition to be able to do things the right way. Common sense shows that that is a negative approach.

There are ignorant people running football in Nigeria and we have said it many times without number: let those who know about football run our football. Let seasoned administrators and tested hands handle our sports. There are trained sports administrators in Nigeria. Look for them.

And when it concerned football look for our ex-internationals at home and abroad. They can do things right. Bring back Stephen Keshi, call on Oliseh among many others. The list is endless!

Segun Odegbami has been in this field for decades. Look for him and people like him scattered across Nigeria. Let those who know football run our football.

Mr Jonathan does not need to suspend the National Team. That is bad judgement and an indication of dictatorial tendencies. We are supposed to be under civilian rule, not tyranny or military rule. You can’t wake up from a bad dream and say the National team is dissolved.

Please get this right. There are thousands of football talents in Nigeria who can take our country to greater heights. Catch them young and play them with their real ages!

I think the most important thing is to eliminate politics from our sports. Until then, we are only chasing shadows like Mr Jonathan is doing now.

On the other hand, rather than using such a strong hand on our football, Mr. Jonathan should use his strong hand and will to bring prosperity to Nigeria. I don’t think football is our problem.

Corruption is eating Nigerian deep, ever since 1960 anyway. If you are such a principled man, please leave the footballers alone and go after your likes-politicians who are looting and carrying away our national wealth.

Over 70% of Nigerians are living below the poverty level, please divert your energy away from the footballers and think of how you can reduce the percentage of Nigerians living under acceptable conditions of human existence.

There are loads of problems facing us in Nigeria. Football is the least of them. Go to Jos and live among the people for 1 weeks, try to understand their rotten mentalities and why they continue to kill one another.

Go to Borno and see the basis for the emergence of Boko Haram.

From East to West, from North to South, please go around and see what you can do to bring better the good life of the 50s and 60s. This country is dying, leave the footballers alone and focus on how to create employment opportunities, how to build good roads, how to make water flow into our homes and our to ensure that my children get quality education.

Above all, suspend that 10 billion naira that you are about to waste on a common party! Divert the fund into procurement of cancer testing machines for Nigerian decaying hospitals. Save a life today Mr Jonathan. The children are crying!

Related Story on BBC Africa SportsNigeria facing explusion from Fifa

Nigerian delegates flocking to Super Eagles Training Camp

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

Adeola A

Nigerians will never fail to amuse you.

The team is hanging on a balance after dropping all 3 point to Argentina in its first match.

A coach was hired and he’s been paid millions of naira every month. He has a job to do and his job is tough.

But you see Nigerian delegates in South Africa at the Eagles training camp and you see a very rowdy pre-training and training session. Everybody has an idea and they don’t stop giving their suggestions on the pages of newspapers or through useless interviews in Nigeria and South Africa-they go ahead to invade the training sessions.

What do they want? I am sure some of them are posing for photographs with the players. Some of them are looking for handshake and other sorts of useless acknowledgement from the players and coach.

You don’t have to go to the training field to show your support for the Eagles. Get a Green-White-Green jersey and buy a vuvuzela to join the noise-making crowd.

Who are these delegates? What is their mission? Don’t they have any important assignment to do back in Nigeria?

There are serious problems with the Eagles. Add the problems of the delegates and what you get is a team that is on its way out on thurday evening.

Hopefully the delegate will stay behind to play the 3rd meaningless game IF that is what they want.

Give the Eagles a break and let them concentrate on the match with Greece. Too many cooks nko?

My take is simple, the better and more prepared team should always make progress while the unserious ones should pack their bags and go home.

JUNE 12 1993

/ Adeola / 8 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

It is another June 12. This is supposed to be the real democracy day in Nigeria. MKO Abiola won the freest election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria. We never had it so fair.

Ibrahim Babangida cancelled the election. 17 years later we have not recovered from the evil cancellation of the results of that election. I have continued to write about June 12 for the past 3 or 4 years and there are entries on this blog that have taken care of the discussion.

Abiola died in detention while trying in vain to actualise the prestigious mandate of June 12 1993.

June 12 2010

Nigeria will play Argentina in the World Cup championship going on in South Africa. June 12 is a special date in Nigeria.

I wish the Super Eagles the best. It’s just another game and hopefully the better team wins. Otherwise the lucky team carries the day.

Lagerbäck Drops Nigeria’s Highest Goal Scorer

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Ikechukwu Uche will not be in South Africa. I doubt if this boy will ever play for Nigeria again.

He could not have been dropped for his injury since Mikel Obi is also just back from Injury lay off period.

Well, it could have been that he was not impressive in training. Or maybe the coach didn’t want to give 2 slots to the same family, since Kalu his brother is in the team.

Some people feared that the team was selected by Nigerian government officials. From past experience/ occurence, this may also be the case. You never know.

Depending on what happens in South Africa the truth will eventually unfold-if it was Lagerbäck’s team or a team packaged for him by NFF under the influence of this-and-that Minister or Governor. Actually it is not a rumour that government officials have or used to have slots in the National team. A former member of the super Eagles told me that just 2 days ago.

Well, I wish Uche a wonderful career ahead of him. If I was the coach to be candid I would take Uche to the World Cup and leave behind one of the tired legs. The man who scored the highest numbers of goals to take us to the world cup (unless the team doctors rule him not fit) deserve to be rewarded with a slot in the World Cup.

Life does not always bring what we wished or hoped for. Uche will have to learn to leave this sadness and disappointment behind. He should support his brother and wish the team well.

I HOPE THAT he will bounce back and continue to play good football. I hope that he will achieve more greatness in his international career. If he decides to play for Nigeria again in the future, he must show the coach and Nigerians that we made a big mistake to have dropped him in this crucial tournament.

Nigeria’s Final World Cup List

/ Adeola / 29 Comments

2010 World Cup

The Nigerian Team:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva, Israel)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Marseille, France), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes, France), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Joseph Yobo (Everton, England), Daniel Shittu (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Rabiu Afolabi (SV Salzburg, Austria)

Midfielders: Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany), John Utaka (Portsmouth, England), Kalu Uche (Almeria, Spain), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham, England), John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Sani Kaita (Alaniya, Russia), Haruna Lukman (AS Monaco, France), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Strikers: Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton, England), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth, England), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, Germany), Victor Obinna Nsofor (Malaga, Spain)