Nigeria Content Online

‘Don’t rush Falconets into senior team’

Former Super Falcons goalkeeper, Ann Chiejine, has advised
against herding members of Nigeria’s U-20, the Falconets into the senior
national team.

She noted that even though the Falconets need to be celebrated,
care should be taken in pushing them into the Super Falcons as the women’s game
is a bit different from that of the men.

“Women’s football is not the same with the men’s version. In
female football, women mature much later in their football careers. I was
national goalkeeper for close to 15 years and I can say that I was the best
when I was nearing retirement. I have been to three World Cups and two
Olympics, if we graduate these players (Falconets) hastily, we will not get the
desired results. At most, five to seven of the Germany team will be promoted
and that is the truth.

Graduation to the senior
team

“Yes, they performed very well, but they cannot all graduate to
the senior team. Whoever amongst them makes the mark will definitely be given
an equal chance to fight for a shirt in camp but I am sure that not all of them
will make it.”

The Falconets were awarded scholarship gifts and observers
believe that as the U-17s go to Trinidad, they could be worried about these and
undermine their performances.

Chiejine said the gifts are acceptable and she that more will be
done for the girls.

“I know that other things will follow. When you pass an
examination, you usually get more than biscuits and soft drinks… The issue of
awarding scholarship is a very good one.

“We have more competitions coming and these girls need to be celebrated in
cash and kind. We all know how Nigeria is. If our women are supported much
more, we will achieve much more. The ultimate goal is to lift the World Cup or
get the gold medal at the Olympics but that will only be possible if we
celebrate our girls properly.”

Sports

Anelka is effectively retired

Anelka is effectively retired

The crisis that engulfed the French Football Federation (FFF)
has been settled with French striker, Nicolas Anelka, being banned from playing
at international level for 18 games after an argument at the World Cup which
led to the team going on strike.

The Chelsea striker launched a verbal tirade at former French
coach Raymond Domenech at half-time during the 2-0 defeat by Mexico in South
Africa. Domenech the sent the player, more famous for sulking than his silky
skills, home.

After Les Bleus were disgraced out of the World, the FFF set up
a committee to establish the truth behind what happend, and to learn lessons
for the future. Consequently, on Tuesday the disciplinary commission handed out
the decision which effectively brings Anelka’s international career to an end.

In a career that spanned 13 years, Anelka earned 69 caps and
scored just 14 goals. He won the 2000 European Cup and the 2001 Confederations
Cup with France.

Face saving move

It was the decision to send Nicolas Anelka home after his rant
at Domenech that led to the player’s strike, and disharmony in the squad.

Patrice Evra, as national skipper, bore the brunt of the
criticism, but the Manchester United full-back claims he did his best to keep
the calm.

Anelka said all the players were united in the action to boycott
training to protest Domenech’s apparent high-handedness.

“If there were some players who wanted to train – when the squad
went on strike, they should speak now. If I had not started it, it would have
been somebody else. The situation was explosive.”

The FFF was further infuriated as Anelka refused the pleas of
President Jean-Pierre Escalettes to apologise to Domenech.

This may however just be a saving face technique as even before
the face-off with their coach; performances on the field had proved a major
source of disappointment to fans which was not helped by the players’ off-pitch
misdemeanours.

Other players who earned penalties for their roles in the strike
received lesser punishment. Patrice Evra was banned for five matches for
leading the boycott. The FFF also banned Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery for
three games and Lyon’s Jeremy Toulalan for one.

Ribery did not appear before the commission as his club, Bayern
Munich, refused to release him. Anelka also did not show up.

The fallout from the incident saw Domenech face the French parliament
and the country’s new coach, Laurent Blanc, drop all 23 of the World Cup squad
members for last week’s friendly match with Norway.

France lost 2-1.

Eric Abidal however, escaped without sanction despite refusing to play in
Les Bleus’ last group match against hosts South Africa, which the French lost
2-1. France – winners in 1998 and finalists in 2006 – lost two games and drew
one in South Africa.

Sports

Odegbami petitions Blatter over elections

Odegbami petitions Blatter over elections

As the election date into the board of the Nigeria Football
Federation draws near (three days to go), one of the contestants in the
election into the board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Segun Odegbami on
Tuesday sent a petition to FIFA President Sepp Blatter on the illegality of the
election and why it must not hold.

Odegbami wants Blatter to ask the Electoral Committee to request
for and collate evidence from all proposed voting delegates to the elections
and ensure that they are first duly elected in their states and ensure that
their tenures since their last elections have not expired.

Secondly, Odegbami is asking Blatter to prevail on the Electoral
Committee to publish the list of old delegates and that any one that voted four
years ago cannot vote again without evidence of having being re-elected or
re-appointed.

The statutes must be
followed

He is also asking that the Electoral Committee must insist that
the 2010 Statutes of the NFF must be followed.

“The 2008 decision of the Congress in Makurdi is faulty and is,
therefore, not binding on the state FAs,” he said, adding that “the dates of
elections into the various boards of the members cannot be dictated by the NFF
congress but by the congress of the different bodies and that they all are free
to go back and conduct their elections in accordance to their statutes”.

Odegbami continued his petition, saying “In consideration of the
above, that the present situation of discontent amongst those participating in
the present elections, the national elections be delayed for a short period to
allow the State FAs and other members with a similar situation, to conduct
their own elections.”

Blatter has to step in

The former Eagles captain reminded Blatter that the NFF ignored
his suggested amendments to the statutes sent for his approval.

“Once again I draw your particular attention to Articles 19, 20,
21, 22, 23 and 24 in the draft statutes. In the new statutes they have all been
correctly and completely removed from the statutes. The local football councils
are not even directly affiliated to the NFF and should not have been in the NFF
Statutes. They are members of the state FAs. The state FAs and the Leagues are
just two members out of many that constitute the NFF. All the members of the
NFF are independent bodies with their own constitutions or statutes and whose
affairs must not be interfered with by any external bodies including the NFF.

These are your words in your letter of November 2, 2009, to the
NFF: “Art 10 par 4 of the NFF Statutes interferes in the organisation of the
members of the NFF which should organise themselves without any external entity
including the NFF”.

Odegbami concluded by saying only three of the 37 members of the
present NFF have not exceeded their 4-years tenure by July 2010.

“I can specifically confirm that Ogun State, to which I belong,
conducted its election into its present board in the year 2005. Lagos State
conducted theirs in 2004. Most others are like that.

All the States would have, on their own, conducted their various elections
at the times when their tenures expired but for the NFF Congress decision taken
in the year 2008 in Makurdi that directed all States to hold their elections in
November/December 2010. This it did not have the power to do.”

Sports

‘We need an intervention’

‘We need an intervention’

Worried by the manner in which the election into the board of
the Nigeria Football Federation is being handled, a group of former
internationals under the aegis of ‘The Diaspora and Nigerian Soccer
Federation’, has written a petition to the world football governing body, FIFA,
and the Sports Minister, Isa Bio.

According to the ex-Eagles spokesperson, Paul Okoku, who is
based in America, former Nigerian internationals based in the USA like most
Nigerians are not happy with the way Nigerian football is being run.

“We have written a letter to the sports minister, which will
soon be submitted to him in Abuja. Part of our request is that a level playing
field that will allow ex-internationals get into the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) board must be created. We are not happy with the way things
are done and are determined to change it for good,” Okoku said.

Illegality and politics

Another former Eagles player, Taju Disu, confirmed that the
(Maryland) U.S.-based group had even petitioned FIFA over the way the NFF
Statutes have been tampered with.

“We are worried by the way the NFF people are conducting the
affairs of Nigerian football. So, we have written to FIFA to register our
displeasure – myself and other ex-internationals like Paul Okoku, the Olukanmi
brothers; Femi and Segun, Sam Okpodu, Ikechukwu Ofoje, Totty Okoro Totty,
Thompson Usiyen, Tony Igwe, Humphrey Edobor and others also based in the United
States of America, have resolved to return to Nigeria to present our grievances
to the minister. We have also resolved back to the candidacy of ex-captains
like Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Austin Okocha and Mutiu Adepoju. We
won’t give up until the right thing is done,” Disu said.

Disu has taken the NFF to court over the upcoming election and
the court will decide tomorrow whether the election will hold or not. Disu is
seeking an injunction over the illegality of the election and is asking the
court to stop the NFF election so that the state elections will hold first
before that into the executive committee of the football body.

“The tenure of the current state football associations’ board members has
expired and therefore they are not eligible to vote. If the election holds as
planned then most credible candidates like Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu,
Austin Okocha and Mutiu Adepoju have no chance of winning. This was the reason
I decided against contesting the election. There are too many illegalities and
a lot of politics involved and I do not want to be part of it,” he said.

Sports

Music festival gives back to society

Click to read more Entertainment news

Music festival gives back to society

Audiences

Who would not normally have an opportunity to experience top
musical events like the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, are in for a treat
this year. Organisers of the jazz-travaganza, which opens in the Newtown
Precinct, Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 26, have laid on two free
concerts for music lovers.

The initiative is part of plans to contribute to the festival’s
on-going audience development drives. The free shows, devised as community
outreach projects featuring South African acts on the brink of commercial
success, will give wider audiences a taste of the festival.

Community

The programme involves two tailor-made shows taking place at the
Sci-Bono, a venue located in the Old Electric Workshop in Newtown, the cultural
precinct in the heart of the Johannesburg. The People’s Concert which takes
place at noon on Tuesday, August 24, is for adults from various community
organisations; and showcases acts like The Soil, Thulee and Nkulee Dube .

The Magnet Schools Concert, scheduled for Wednesday, August 25,
features Dineo Pule, Zonke and Vuyo Tyolo. This show is specifically for
learners who are part of the Magnet Schools programme, which provides music
training to talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

One of those appearing of August 24, Nkulee Dube, is none other
than the daughter of the late South African musician, Lucky Dube. Nkulee has
overcome the tragedy of her father’s murder and is now making waves on the
music scene in her own right, by fusing ethno-soul and jazz with Ragga. Others
on the line-up, Vuyo Tyolo and Zonke, both recently returned to South Africa
from a successful tour of Holland.

Workshops

In-between concerts and other appearances during the festival,
some of the world’s leading jazz musicians will also make time to run free
workshops, teaching youngsters and aspiring musicians the intricacies of the
craft.

Among those who have volunteered their services are: R’n’B and
jazz musician, Lalah Hathaway; clarinet virtuoso, Anat Cohen; Grammy nominated
saxophonist, Ravi Coltrane; and saxman and composer, Kim Waters. Jazz violinist
Michael Ward and percussionist Poncho Sanchez will also assist with the
workshops, to help inspire a creative spirit in South African youth.

Women

There is also a women’s angle to the festival, in celebration of
Women’s Month and the legacy of women journalists in South Africa’s popular
media. The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will, as in previous years, be offering a
five-day practical workshop for women arts writers. The Lady Porcupine Arts
Journalism Workshop is now an established part of the festival’s educational
programme.

Scheduled to take place from August 23 to 27 in Newtown, the
women’s arts writers’ workshop will be run by Gwen Ansell, a music/jazz writer
and journalism trainer. The workshop title honours Johanna Pahlane, who wrote
for Bantu World under the pen-name ‘Lady Porcupine’ in the 1930s while also
directing the Merry Makers vaudeville troupe.

The course, which has Jazz-writing and critiquing as its content
focus, is targeted at Johannesburg-based women over the age 20 who are journalists
or media students, cadets or interns. Also targeted for the workshop, are
female musicians or music students with interest in the publicity, NGO or
artistic, culture and heritage sectors.

The 2010 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will take place at six venues
in the city’s Newtown Precinct. Other venues include The Market Theatre and The
Bassline, Sophia Town and Nikki’s Oasis. It is held in the 3rd week of August
every year.

The Standard Joy of Jazz Festival opens in Newton Precinct, Johannesburg,
South Africa, on August 26 and closes on August 28.

entertainment

Music festival gives back to society

Click to read more Entertainment news

Music festival gives back to society

Audiences

Community

Workshops

Women

The Standard Joy of Jazz Festival opens in Newton Precinct, Johannesburg,
South Africa, on August 26 and closes on August 28.

entertainment

A special edition Art Expo

Click to read more Entertainment news

A special edition Art Expo

The third edition
of the International Art Expo will hold at the National Museum, Onikan,
Lagos, from August 21 to 26. Organised jointly since 2008 by the
National Gallery of Art (NGA) and the Art Galleries Association of
Nigeria (AGAN), the exhibition will, as usual, feature artworks from
Nigerian galleries and participants from outside the country.

Activities for this
year’s show were unfolded at a press conference held at the Aina
Onabolu Complex, National Theatre, Lagos, on August 14. Acting Director
General of the NGA, Abdullahi Muku; AGAN president, Frank Okonta; NGA’s
acting director of research education, Simon Ikpakronyi; chair, AGAN
publicity committee, Oliver Enwonwu and curator of the NGA, Ekene
Okorooma, were among art aficionados at the briefing.

Enwonwu, who spoke
first, recalled the history of the expo and the goals of this year’s
show. “The maiden event in 2008 showcased over 400 artworks from 34
galleries. Building on this success, the fair was renamed International
Art Expo Nigeria in 2009, with over 50 galleries from Nigeria and five
galleries from neighbouring African countries, including the Republic
of Benin, Cameroun, Togo and Ghana participating.”

The chair, Lagos
State chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), added that
“this year’s event promises to be even bigger and will feature
seminars, talks and the presentation of papers by renowned art scholars
on issues concerning the visual arts in Nigeria.”

Enwonwu also
touched on the collaboration between the NGA and AGAN, noting that the
partnership arose from the federal government’s Public/Private
partnership (PPP) initiative.

Speaking on
arrangements for the Expo, Ikpakronyi disclosed that this year’s Expo
is tagged ‘Special Edition’ because each of the 30 participating
galleries will be allowed to choose their own theme. He also disclosed
that the number of booths for galleries was reduced to 30 to allow
exhibiting galleries show more works.

The acting director
of research education further noted that the Expo is tagged ‘Special’
to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary. “The emphasis for the art
expo is art promotion and patronage in Nigeria to assess how much has
been achieved in patronage and promotion since independence” he said.
Ikpakronyi also talked about the content of the brochure and mentioned
that the names of contributors to include respected names like Peju
Layiwola and Krydz Ikwuemesi. “We promise to give the best in the third
edition,” he reiterated.

Okonta thanked
members of the organising committee for their commitment and disclosed
that publisher of THISDAY Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, will chair the
Expo’s opening event.

Muku told the
audience what the NGA hopes the Expo will achieve. “Art Expo is
intended to be an art market for visual artists and the art community
in Nigeria. The intention of the NGA is to create a platform for
cultural exchange between Nigeria and the rest of the world,” he said.
The Acting DG also highlighted the relevance of seminars scheduled to
hold during the Expo. He said one will be for the media, including Arts
critics, reporters and writers. There will also be discussions on the
role of the banking sector in the development of the visual arts
sector, Muku added.

The sustainability of the expo, poor publicity, challenges faced by
organizers and their yardstick for progress, were discussed during the
question and answer session that followed. Moving the Expo to another
city was also raised, but Okonta said, “You have Art Expo Berlin, you
have Art Expo NewYork, so this is Art Expo Lagos.”

entertainment

World Bank pledges $900 million aid to Pakistan

World Bank pledges $900 million aid to Pakistan

The World Bank will release $900 million (574 million pounds) to
help fund relief efforts for Pakistan’s flood disaster as international
agencies warned millions of people were at risk from disease.

The United Nations has warned that up to 3.5 million children
could be in danger of contracting deadly diseases carried through contaminated
water and insects in a crisis that has disrupted the lives of at least a 10th
of Pakistan’s 170 million people.

Up to 1,600 people have been killed and two million made
homeless in Pakistan’s worst floods in decades.

Hundreds of villages across Pakistan, one of the poorest
countries in Asia, have been marooned, highways have been cut in half and
thousands of homeless people have been forced to set up tarpaulin tents along
the side of roads.

The World Bank funds will come through the reprogramming of
planned projects and reallocation of undisbursed funds, but it did not say how
it would be utilised to aid flood victims.

“We are reprioritising to make the funds immediately available,”
said Mariam Altaf, a spokesman for the World Bank.

Public anger

Public anger has grown in two weeks of floods, highlighting
potential political troubles for an unpopular government as aid failed to keep
pace with the rising river waters.

On Monday, some Pakistani flood victims blocked a highway to
demand government help as aid agencies warned relief was too slow to arrive for
millions without clean water, food and homes.

The damage caused by the floods and the cost of recovery could
bring long-term economic pain to Pakistan and shave more than one percentage
point off economic growth, analysts say.

Pakistani stocks ended down 2.9 per cent on Monday on fears the
impact may be more damaging than first estimated.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan,
told Reuters the cost of rebuilding could be more than $10 (6.38 pounds) to $15
billion (9 billion pounds).

He appealed to the international community to provide funds for
relief and reconstruction for a country fighting Islamist militants, or risk
potentially destabilising the whole region.

The government has been under fire for its perceived inadequate
response. Islamic charities, some linked to militant groups, have stepped in to
provide aid to flood victims, possibly gaining supporters at the expense of the
state.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi expressed
concerns over Pakistan’s stability, saying it was dangerous to let the
Islamists fill the vacuum.

“If a person is hungry, if a person is thirsty and you provide
water, he’ll not ask whether you are a moderate or an extremist,” Qureshi told
the British Broadcasting Corporation.

“He’ll grab water from you and save himself and his children who
were starved. So you have to be aware of this challenge.” Only a quarter of the
$459 million (292 million pounds) aid needed for initial relief has arrived, according
to the United Nations. That contrasts with the United States giving at least $1
billion (638 million pounds) in military aid last year to its regional ally to
battle militants.

The U.N. has reported the first case of cholera. In a statement
issued in New York, it said the greatest threat was from acute watery diarrhoea
and dysentery, but that hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever were also
significant risks.

Victims are relying mostly on the military, the most powerful
institution in Pakistan, and foreign aid agencies for help.

Nevertheless, a military coup is considered unlikely. The army’s priority is
fighting Taliban insurgents, and seizing power during a disaster would make no
sense, analysts say.

newstoday

Bird sanctuary adds to Tinapa bouquet

Bird sanctuary adds to Tinapa bouquet

A bird sanctuary is the latest addition to the tourism bouquet
of Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State.

Tinapa, located on the fringe of the Calabar River, is home to
various species of birds that perch all year round on the branches of trees in
the environment.

“Tinapa ecosystem offers a variety of birds and nature tourism
opportunities, hence it’s a route chosen by a high diversity of birds. By
visiting the Tinapa bird route, you will not only see amazing biodiversity, but
also help to maintain the ecological integrity of one of the world’s most
biologically diverse places,” Bassey Edem, the Managing Director of Tinapa,
said.

Unique habitat

Conservation experts say Tinapa is one of the few remaining
habitat for pelicans, herons, swallows, thrushes, woodpeckers, humming birds,
cuckoos owls and hawks in our country. Quite a good number of migratory birds
also fly through the area twice a year enroute the Abu’evam hills in Boki Local
Government Area of Cross River State, where they spend some time before going
back to Europe and America.

“This bird sanctuary indeed shows how rural host communities can become
active bird habitats defenders while tangibly benefiting from biodiversity, a
true challenge for many bird areas around the world,” Mr Edem said, adding that
the expansion of leisure at the resort to include bird-watching “involves
training local people to be able to deliver high value and low impact birding
tourism. The Adiabo people will tell you about those birds in a cultural
context.”

newstoday

Ondo’s new University may take off at temporary site, says Mimiko