Nigeria

Nigeria Appoints Lars Lagerbäck As Coach of The Super Eagles

/ Adeola / 2 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Lars Lagerbäck has been appointed as the coach of the Nigeria Super Eagles. Shuaibu Amodu has been sacked from that position because of the poor performances of the Nigerian team at the Angola 2010 African Cup of Nations. The sack is also connected to the pattern of play and the unconvincing manner in which Nigeria qualified for the world cup.

This is not the first time that Amodu would qualify for the world cup. He did it before and was sacked. The reasons and the circumstances are exactly the same. In fact the administration of football and sports in general in Nigeria has gone worse under the same period of time.

By sacking Amodu the NFF is actually sweeping the dirts under the carpets. NFF did so in France 98 and Korea Japan 2002, the outcomes were disastrous. More devastating when we lost our qualifying spot to lowly rated Angola in 2006. Not that Amodu is indispensable or that he could not have done better, but the fact is that there is more to sports and football in Nigerian than the use of Amodu as a scape goat. Goodbye Amodu, I hope the day will never come when they will ask you to come and help Nigeria to qualify for the world cup again.

The baton has now been passed to Lars Lagerbäck. I have followed Swedish football since 2002. That year Sweden defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the Japan-Korea 2002 World Cups. That was after Aghahowa put Nigeria ahead with a beautiful header off Yobo’s cross. Henrik Larsson and Fredrik Ljungberg got a goal each for Sweden.

Before 2002 I knew Martin Dahlin, Henrik Larsson and Tomas Brolin. Brolin was a huge success in the Italian league and he has a famous way to celebrate his goals. I don’t have any problem per se with the appointment of Lagerbäck. I think his track records give him a good edge for that position.

Sweden has not produced several big names in recent years but Zlatan remains outstanding. Sweden failed to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. Lagerbäck was relieved of his position. Lagerbäck was not a failure but I am convinced there are a few things he would have done better as the head coach for Sweden. Sweden does not have many skilful and talented players as Nigeria.

As the coach of a Nigerian team Lagerbäck has entered into a position where non-performance will not be tolerated. There are 140m football analysts in Nigeria. His seat is even hotter than that of the president. Does he know that? Nigerians don’t care about the presidency as much as they do football-football is the number one religion in Nigeria.

Lagerbäck who has been used to organised environment and structured attitude to work has now suddenly entered into a position where he may probably be looking for jerseys on match days. Lagerbäck will be shocked to know that his salary will not be paid on the 25th of every month. He will have to get used to be living in advance as the salaries will drag and drag. He needs tolerance, endurance and perseverance to survive the 5 months that have been handed to him.

Lagerbäck will inherit players of different ratings and attitudes. Obviously he needs to get used as quickly as possible to the Nigerian football ages and get rid of tired legs as soon as possible. He will see players who think they are doing Nigeria a favour by playing in the national colours. Lagerbäck will see players who are dying for their club sides because of the money they earn and strolling on the pitch when they play for Nigeria. He will be shocked! In fact he will see players impressing in training but posing on match days.

I have suggested in a previous post that we need to work on the mentalities of our players. But the complexity of the problem is that our players are Nigerians and we cannot isolate their mentalities from the national mentalities. Most of the people in governance or administrative roles in Nigeria are doing things that will profit them and not Nigeria. We have an attitude that has robbed us of our pride and duty to nation. Nigerian players are not exceptions!

I don’t know the nature of Lagerbäck’s contract but if I could just imagine-it would be wonderful to have him bring some organisation and structure into our football. If they could employ him not just as a coach but as a “tool” to institute the organisation that is missing in our football, that would be great.

Imagine if our democracy is structured like Swedish democracy-where you can vote at a post office or at designated centres before the Election Day-and your vote will still be counted. Imagine if we could sack corrupt people and let good and knowledgeable people run our sports, our football and our government-the world will be at our feet.

I wish Lagerbäck the best of luck. I wish I could meet him and give him some solid advice and information about his new task and terrain.

I wish Nigeria goodluck in South Africa. And I sincerely hope that Amodu will find the place in his heart to forgive Nigerians, we are a bunch of _________people..!

Yar Adua should be taken to his village..!

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

By Adeola Aderounmu

You can tell who the real enemies of Nigeria are. They include individuals like Yar Adua and his so called evil kitchen cabinet.

Just when we are about to settle down to do something meaningful after over 2 years of recklessness and waste Mr Yar Adua was smuggled into Abuja amidst tight security. It makes you wonder if he is a civilian ruler or an outright dictator.

We don’t know if he came back to Nigeria on his own or if his kitchen cabinet wanted to give us a stationary dude for a fake president for the second time in 2 years. Time is the revealer of all things-hidden or secrets. But that he is resident in an ambulance speaks volume!

Time will tell if Yar Adua is bold enough to appear in public by conscious effort. When he claimed to be well, he was very ineffective, slow and very insignificant to the lives of millions of suffering Nigerians. It doesn’t matter his condition now Yar Adua is already down in history as the worst president/ruler ever in Nigeria.

Nigeria is not ready for the present dilemma which the kitchen cabinet has now orchestrated. We were just looking into the future and thinking about how to adopt electoral changes, how to conduct free and fair elections and how to enthrone genuine democracy.

We were just thinking about how we can help Mr. Jonathan with the fight against corruption in his family and nationwide. We were putting on our thinking caps about the electricity problem in Nigeria. We live in darkness and our businesses are crumbling for obvious reasons.

Suddenly, we now have to stop and think once again, not about 100m Nigerians living desperately on less than 1 dollar per day, but about Mr Yar Adua who held Katsina and Nigeria in bondage for 8 and 2 years respectively. We are back in trouble waters.

This is what I think, some idiots may probably use Yar Adua as a decoration somewhere and pretend to us that what they are doing is following the instructions from Yar Adua. They tried this several times saying that our fake president was ruling and giving orders from Saudi Arabia.

Since that ploy failed with the elevation of Goodluck Jonathan, they decided to bring Umaru home-dead or alive. It’s the same old trick.
I have written before that Yar Adua should be taken to his village if he ever returns to Nigeria. I maintain that stance. Mr Yar Adua, the illegitimate ruler of Nigeria, is not fit for the presidency. No matter the condition under which he has returned to Nigeria, he should be taken to his village.

He needs to continue to rest. If he is conscious, he needs to think about his health and family. He should never prioritize Nigeria. Nigeria and Nigerians can do without his nonsense inputs. He should just go and leave Nigeria alone.

I am waiting anxiously to see his unveiling if he thinks that he has the strength again to lead Nigeria.

A word is enough for the wise but never enough for the foolish. The dog that will get lost will never hear the hunter’s whistle. AND those whom the gods will destroy, they first make deaf. I think someone or some people are probably deaf now.

The next few days will be exciting in Nigeria. There will be no dull moments. We keep our fingers crossed..!

Nigerian Govt Sends Another Useless Delegation To Saudi Arabia

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

Adeola Aderounmu

For the umpteenth time the Nigerian government is sending another useless delegation to Saudi Arabia. This is with a view to see to the state of health of Mr. Yar Adua who left Nigeria since November 2009.

No one has seen Mr. Yar Adua since Nov 2009. Only his wife and the paid tight-lip Saudi Doctors know about the condition of Mr. Yar Adua. Every time other Nigerians or government officials try to find out about Umaru Yar Adua they met impermeable brick walls.

At one time one American TV presenter joked that Nigerian president may be secretly dead. Then we heard a voice on BBC that no one has verified to this moment. Images are very important but we haven’t seen that since November 2009.

If the Nigerian government is composed of sensible people, what is the reason for sending another useless delegation to Saudi Arabia? They have done that before and the results were negative. No one can see Yar Adua. I don’t know why but surely his wife knows.

Just imagine this simple scenario: rather than send another useless delegation to Saudi Arabia, why not give that money (believe me, this single trip costs millions of naira) to one or two poor people in Nigeria to start a new business that will transform their lives forever.

Like I have always argued, I will never understand the madness in our government. Why do we need a delegation to travel to Saudi Arabia in this world dominated by media and communication power? Even a web cam of 10 dollars can solve the problem.

Yes a webcam that cost 10 dollars or less can solve the problem that the Nigerian government is now spending millions of naira on. No amount of argument on the side of the government now headed by Mr Jonathan can justify the extension of the madness into his administration.

Is this what Mr Goodluck Jonathan has in stock for Nigerians? Merry go-rounding? Dancing and beating about the bush? Is this the level of intellectualism in the Nigerian house of assembly-to continue to loot and waste millions of naira daily when ordinary Nigerian are looking for hope and daily bread?

I am compelled to repeat that a webcam connection between Aso rock and Saudi Arabia would have saved this millions of naira that is about to be wasted. If Aso rock cannot make the connection by cam or video conference, then it simply means that Umaru is not worth seeing and his government should be totally terminated. This should have even been done the moment he left without following the due process.

Is Goodluck going to sit down and do something or is he going to spend the whole time he has begging and pacifying sycophants in Nigeria. He has to make a choice either to serve Nigerians or trying to appease evil minded people. If he chose the later, that makes him one of them and our fears are duly confirmed.

AS GOODLUCK JONATHAN BECOMES NIGERIA’S NEW PRESIDENT

/ Adeola / 10 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Nigerian lawmakers finally gave their backing to the ascension of Mr Jonathan to the position of acting president. There are already arguments that the procedures are illegal and unconstitutional.

What I consider positive under the present circumstances is that at least there is a chance to move the nation forward. It is a different story entirely to dissect the person and nature of Mr. Jonathan.

I am more interested on what will become of our politics and the effect on the Nigerian people in the coming days. How are we going to tackle poverty, crime, unemployment and many other vices plaguing us?

We have just seen elections in Anambra State. Obviously several commentators have drawn positive conclusions from the process. However, the flaws are too numerous to ignore. It carried the usual elements of scandal with it. I can’t stop asking: when are we going to start doing things right? And I am tired of the excuses, how much time do we need?

The process of selection that brought in Yar Adua and Jonathan in 2007 is something that we have overflogged. We should never even talk about them again. We must however learn from those kinds of processes by ensuring that we improve on our electoral processes.

We must learn to count in Nigeria. We must learn to write voters’ names on the registration list and in digital form as well. We must learn to write names of people and not ghosts. Nigerian politicians must learn how to play fair and without bitterness.

We still know the reasons why our politics is a matter of life and death. It is for the simple reason that almost every politician is a potential thief. It is very pertinent that we get it right with the fight against corruption. This is one of the ways to reduce the tension on the political scene. If we bundle say like 500 politicians into prison tomorrow, those who are contenders in the forth coming election will reduce drastically because many of them have the intention to steal and loot.

Anyway back to Jonathan. I guess the anticipation is that he will serve-out the remaining term of his master-Yar Adua. If anybody thinks Yar Adua is coming back, please let them wake up. A vibrant mind can be weakened by the smallest of leadership position. A mind as dull and weak as Yar Adua should rest and seek personal peace. I hope he finds that if he ever gets discharged.

In 2004 I spent 1 month in a hospital. So believe me, I know what that man is looking forward to IF he gets discharged. You want to be with your family, you want to see the people you love and those who care about you. The last thing you longed for are obligations that will take your soul apart.

What will Nigeria become under Mr. Goodluck Jonathan? I will never place my hopes or any form of high expectations on him. He is a lucky man, no doubts! I wonder what he is thinking about at this moment. His job is a little bit similar to that of Obama. He is inheriting burdens and loads of problems. The difference is that Obama got his legitimately while he is probably blooming in illegality since 2007.

I wonder what he can do about corruption in Nigeria when he has been a part of the whole mess for a long time. Even his wife was caught with millions of foreign currency and we never had of the case any more. What will he do about NEPA? We almost have no electricity in Nigeria. Who are we going to turn to, to solve our unemployment problems? Water, housing, roads, education and so on.

Will Goodluck stick to the useless and pointless evil 7 points agenda? OR will he pick just one item, make it good and achieve at least one positive thing in the limited time he has. Considering that he has followed a master who has no plan since 2007, has he made any plan since November that will show that he is ready for this new post? Will he give Nigeria a New Year package by just sacking that useless Attorney General for a start? The attorney General of Nigeria is a scandal to the black race.

What is going on in Jonathan’s mind? Will he be timid because of the shadows and skeletons in his cupboard? We don’t need any more rulers in Nigeria. We have waited for 50 years to get a leader. How does this man wants to be remembered when he’s done under his short dispensation? History is always waiting to be written.

Long live Nigeria..!

A Nation In Custody and the Prophecy of Naiwu Osahon

/ Adeola / 5 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

I’d written elsewhere on the blogosphere about how my father bought me a book titled A NATION IN CUSTODY. It was way back (late 80s or sometime in the 90s). The author is Naiwu Osahon.

I still don’t know why my father bought me that book when I was just a little boy.

Now a grown man with my own family I see clearly now. Nigeria is still in custody.

Some people write comments on my blog challenging my thoughts and opinions about Nigeria. I don’t care what they think or how they feel. I believe that I am entitled to my opinion about Nigeria.

Nigeria is the most ridiculous country on earth. I won’t give it to the Somalis. In close to 2 decades the Somalis have no government. So we know where they stand-failed in totality.

Nigeria continues to pride herself as the African giant. Absolute fallacy. We claim to have democracy-complete bull shit!

Nigeria is not a democratic country and we are not close. In my opinion Nigeria is a geograpical area captured by some opportunists to their own gains. As far as I am concerned Nigeria is a region where a few people have enslaved several million others. I don’t care what other people think, this is how I think.

I cannot comprehend that since May 2007 Nigeria has no legitimate president. And since dec 2009 Nigeria does not even have an illegitimate president. And they say it’s democracy. Nonsense.

Those who own and run Nigeria don’t care about the millions living in poverty and desperation. If they do and if there was democracy, the House of Assembly would by now have done their obligations-which is to move the country forward in the absence of the fake president whose status remains secretive and unknown since DEC 2009.

But since we don’t have democracy in Nigeria and since those who run Nigeria do not give account to anyone, the rest of us can remain in coma with the runaway fake president. Welcome to Nigeria, a country ruled by mad politicians and gangters called godfathers.

They are sharing money, bribing themselves back and forth and everything is so uncertain.

We the ordinary people bark, write and complain but since we have deemed ourselves powerless, the nonentities at the helm of affairs continue to do what they like.

They fluorish in illegalities and randomness.

This nation as far as I am concern is in custody. It was in custody when Osahon wrote several years ago. It remains in custody as I write.

The House of Rep and the Senate members because they were all bundled in illegally in 2007, do not have the morality to act on our behalf. Therefore they continue to accept millions of dollars in bribe from the presidency. The VP is so impotent and insignificant he is almost unheard. There is nothing to fight for when everyone has a skeleton in his/ her cupboard.

SERIOUSLY I will never never never understand why we are always in this ridiculous situation. It makes nonsense of our collective intelligence. It’s so amazing and according to one of my friends: HOW DO WE THINK OR HOW ARE WE THINKING?

I mean, we know what to do but we continue to allow this reign of terror, lies, deceits, tyranny and illegitimacy.

I’ve tried to change my discussions in the past few weeks but this madness in Nigeria keeps irritating me. I tried to write about sports, I even wrote about family values but NO the madness of those keeping the rest of us as slaves keeps catching up with me.

I’m short of words. Nigeria is a completely FAILED COUNTRY!