Nigeria Content Online

Former Speaker’s group gives condition for return to PDP

A group of former
Peoples Democratic Party members led by the former Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari, who recently defected to the
Congress for Progressive Change, said they will not return to the PDP
despite pressure on them to do so except serious reforms happen in the
party.

Sadiq Abubakar
Yar’Adua, who spoke for the group, said in an interview on Sunday, that
the 12-year-old PDP has abandoned the vision of its founders, noting
that it would be fruitless to return to the party where their efforts
to restore the vision would not be appreciated.

Those who decamped
to the CPC last month, apart from Mr Masari, include former Senate
Leader, Mohammed Liman; former senator Saidu Yandoma as well as some
serving federal and state legislators.

“We cannot return
because the PDP has lost focus. PDP has abandoned the vision of the
founding fathers and we have tried as much as possible to see it
reformed but this has not been appreciated,” Mr Yar’Adua said.

“Some people have
approached us but it is not about ourselves but about the people. If
PDP is willing to reform then we can think of returning.”

He alleged that governors elected on the platform of the PDP have hijacked the party.

Mr Yar’Adua, a
former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs, debunked claims in some quarters that the defectors would not
be comfortable in the CPC due to the alleged dictatorial tendencies of
the party’s leader, Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him,
the new party has internal democracy, which he says is lacking in the
PDP, while its programmes are people-oriented.

“CPC is a good
party with ideological direction and its programmes are people-based,”
he said. “We are not strange bed-fellows. There is compatibility
ideologically and the party respects the right of the people. It is not
so in the PDP.”

The former lawmaker
also said the CPC is taking shape everywhere in the northern part of
the country, stressing “very soon, it will be all over Nigeria.”

Rule by law

Meanwhile, the
national leadership of the CPC has assured that the party will rule in
accordance with the provision of the country’s constitution if Mr
Buhari is voted into power next year, spokesman of the party, Dennis
Aghanya, said in Abuja.

Mr. Aghanya said
the party has embarked on interactions with various groups and
individuals in the last few days, adding that during such interactions
some people pledged to support it in the background.

“At some of the
interactive sessions, some of the groups bared their minds on why they
remained on the fence without coming out openly to back any
presidential candidate. They said the candidature of General Buhari
remains the only available option for the country to get it right, but
that the previous elections he won were denied him,” Mr. Aghanya said.

“They expressed the
fear that their open support for him might spell doom for those of them
who are in corporate businesses as the government might chose to
witch-hunt them.”

“General Buhari made it clear to them that sitting on the fence might spell a greater doom for the entire country.

“The government of Muhammadu Buhari, if our party gives him the
ticket to run under the CPC platform, will concentrate on repositioning
the country rather than witch-hunting people based on their past
atrocities.’’

Reps want more Nigerian ownership in GSM companies

Reps want more Nigerian ownership in GSM companies

A new bill advanced
by the House of Representatives seeks to ensure a greater participation
of Nigerians in the telecommunications sector and will mandate
companies to reserve at least 30% of total shares to Nigerians.

The lawmakers said
the bill is designed to foster more local ownership and management of
the telecoms sector, which is currently dominated by foreign groups,
and an actual transfer of technical capacity that will boost indigenous
operations in the sector.

The new, bill
titled, “A bill for an Act to make provisions for Nigerians to acquire
interest in telecommunications companies carrying on GSM in Nigeria and
other matter connected therewith,” and “A bill for an Act to facilitate
electronic transactions in Nigeria and other related matters and” were
presented for public hearings last week.

While declaring the
hearing open, the speaker of the House, Dimeji Bankole, said the
Nationa Assembly intend to stimulate local participation in management
and ownership of the GSM sub-sector.

He said the
question of local content, presently obtained in the oil sector after
National Assembly passed its legislation recently, should go beyond the
mere acquisition of operational licenses.

“Without the
acquisition of appropriate technology, managerial know-how, and
enhancing the share of our peoples’ participation in the telecoms
industry, the aim of the overall policy on local content will be a mere
ritual that will not translate into local ownership of the Nigerian
economy,” Mr. Bankole advised.

Culture of efficiency

On the Electronic
Transfer bill, the speaker said the intent is to provide a legal
framework to facilitate electronic financial transactions in the
country in order to institute a culture of “efficiency, transparency
and probity”.

The House chairman
on Communications, Dave Salako, whose committee is in charge of
developing the two bills, said Nigeria’s savings and investments in the
nation’s telecommunication industry will help stimulate economic growth.

The bill when passed would mandate all GSM operators to comply with
the provisions of the law within one year and six months, respectively.

Opposition parties criticise election timetable

Opposition parties criticise election timetable

The Conference of Nigeria Political
Parties (CNPP) has rejected the timetable of elections provided by the
National Assembly in the amended 2006 Electoral Act, saying it would
not allow for credible polls next year.

The group, in a statement by its
Secretary General, Willy Ezugwu in Abuja, said the harmonised version
of the amended Electoral Act adopted by the Senate and the House of
Representatives, means National Assembly elections will come up before
the presidential election as well as gubernatorial and state Houses of
Assembly elections.

The CNPP asked politicians in the
country to reject the arrangement, insisting that it is capable of
instituting one party system in the country.

“There is obvious danger in the domino
effect that will follow once the result of presidential election is
announced. The People Democratic Party has already shown those in the
opposition what it means not to be on the side of government,” the
statement said.

“Once a particular political party
(even if not the PDP) wins the Presidency, the most likely thing is for
people to immediately queue up behind that party because no one wants
to be in the opposition, especially since our federalism still runs
like a unitary government.”

The CNPP described as laughable the
reported denial by the federal lawmakers that they were not induced to
do President Goodluck Jonathan’s bidding while working on the electoral
laws.

It noted that since Mr. Jonathan is the
leader of the PDP, no member of the National Assembly elected on the
platform of the party could stand up to him during his meeting with
them on electoral matters.

“Who does not know that the President
is automatically the party leader in the PDP which presently controls
the National Assembly? How many of the lawmakers were bold enough to
challenge the President during their meeting with him and is it not
also a curious coincidence that the criminal change to the order of
elections came just after the meeting,” it said.

The group observed that the President
sounded convincing on his promise of credible elections by appointing a
radical Attahiru Jega to head INEC, but stressed “this has now shown
that the only improvement being made to the electoral process is the
seeming image of the professor.”

Doctrine of necessity

The body stated that the country is now being forced to hastily prepare for elections.

The CNPP asked the National Assembly to
invoke the doctrine of necessity to shift the elections to April next
year in order to sort out some issues inherent in the amended
constitution and Electoral Act.

“From the look of things, it is
important that the federal lawmakers must again invoke the doctrine of
necessity to shift the elections to April next year,” Mr Ezugwu said.

“This will allow enough time to sort
the mess they created through their un-coordinated amendment of the
constitution and electoral law.

“The National Assembly must also
quickly change the Electoral Act to revert to an order that will not
enslave other level of elections to the outcome of the presidential
election.

“The old trick of crippling INEC by
delaying funding is being applied by the present government again and
this should not be allowed.

“A situation where the electoral
commission has just days to secure N74 Billion for compiling the voter
register is a stark reminder that Mike Tyson, Desmond Tutu, Nelson
Mandela and the late Michael Jackson may yet be able to find their way
into the register and vote in several states of the federation.”

But spokesman of the House of
Representatives, Eseme Eyiboh, said the group is raising an unnecessary
alarm when it ought to engage in public enlightenment on the
forthcoming elections.

Mr. Eyiboh expressed surprise that the CNPP is raining the matter
even though the National Assembly gave it an opportunity to participate
in the public hearing preceding the amendment of the Electoral Act.

POLITICAL MANN: America’s border battles

POLITICAL MANN: America’s border battles

America is fighting a border war. With itself.

This week,
President Barack Obama and his attorneys won a major battle. A judge
overturned portions of a controversial new law in the southern state of
Arizona aimed at fighting illegal immigration.

“Arizonans are
already very angry at the federal government,” CNN Correspondent
Jessica Yellin said. “I suspect this will only turn up the heat on that
rage.” The law has set-off a national debate about the roughly 11
million foreigners who live in the U.S. without permission and what the
country’s 300 million lawful residents should do about them.

Arizona is the most
popular route in for the ‘illegals.’ Washington has placed guards,
fences, cameras and sensors in the desert along the border.
Nonetheless, thousands of illegals from neighboring Mexico, further
south in the Americas and even as far away as China, keep finding a way
in.

“They’re doing anything and everything they can to come across,” said Thomas Rudd of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Arizona says Washington just isn’t trying hard enough to stop them.

In frustration, it
adopted a law directing its state and local police to question people
about their immigration status during any routine interaction, if there
is reason to be suspicious. Immigrants would be required to carry their
papers at all times.

President Barack
Obama called the law a ‘misguided’ effort that will target minorities
for police attention and infringe on the national government’s
constitutional authority over immigration.

The judge agreed to some extent and overturned several key provisions. But politically, the president has reason for concern.

Arizona’s law in more popular nationwide than he is.

Our CNN/Opinion
Research Corporation pollsters found that 47 percent of the public
approves of the job he’s doing overall, but fully 55 percent support
the law he is fighting.

Obama could have let Arizona have its way; no one expects the president to approve of every measure adopted in every U.S. state.

Instead he chose to challenge the law and has won. But there will be
appeals. The court case is hardly over and the political battle has
barely begun.

INSIDE AFRICA: Africa’s mimic men

INSIDE AFRICA:
Africa’s mimic men

Africa is perhaps
the world’s most unfortunate continent because its leadership cadre is
populated by rapacious and wicked set of people who prefer to steal
their countries blind and hide the fortunes in remote banking halls of
the world. In these banks the money does not become useful to them nor
to their countries because when they die their countries go through
lots of pain and fail to get back the stolen funds with which they have
enriched the economy of the West.

Remember Mobutu
Sese Seko and back home in Nigeria Sani Abacha. The two surely are not
on the Foreign Policy magazine because they are since dead.

Hosni Mubarak who
has held Egypt under his strong thumb since he succeeded the late Anwar
Sadat has after 29 years entered his name in the hall of infamy and a
sit tight leader even in the Arab world where holding of elections may
not be a strong point. The editors of Foreign Policy describe him as “A
senile and paranoid autocrat whose sole preoccupation is
self-perpetuation in office.” He has made Egypt to become a country
where citizens have increasingly become disillusioned and fed up with
going to the polls when they know their thumbprints count for nothing.
He is openly working to turn the country into a dynasty by having his
son succeed him.

After three decades
of holding forte in Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
(what a mouthful of names) has become the state. There is actually no
visible line that separates the Mbasogo family from the state. Although
the country’s oil wealth is huge enough to make it stand shoulder to
shoulder with many countries in Europe, Mbasogo’s iron rule has ensured
that this does not happen.

Chad, this
eternally poor and impoverished country has been so unlucky that it
goes from one crisis to another. Idriss Deby its leader who was himself
once a rebel leader has turned into a full blown dictator whose words,
right or wrong, is law. He has cowed all his opponents so much that
those who cannot work for him have left the poor country and its
purblind leader. Deby after two decades in power,has become so afraid
of everything around him that he is said to be building a moat round
the capital. To protect himself from the people he is ruling?

“An eccentric
egoist infamous for his indecipherably flamboyant speeches and equally
erratic politics,” that is how the editors describe Muammar Al-Quaddafi
the Libyan leader. The Libyan leader who has held power for forty one
years has of recent mellowed down perhaps because of old age, but his
hold on power in his country has not been relaxed. Although a few who
are his admirers hold the view that he has at least done a few positive
things for his country. For instance, no one has ever accused him of
storing fabulous wealth in any of the banks of the West. He has at
least shown some level of sense of decency in this area where most of
his colleagues have failed woefully.

Melezi Zenawi of
Ethiopia has shown that he could be as barbarous and rough as Mengistu
Haille Mariam whom he fought valiantly to overthrow some twenty years
ago. Perhaps today most Ethiopians would have been wondering why they
hated Mengistu so much when Zenawi has turned out to be the same or
even worse after nineteen years in the saddle. His neighbour Isaias
Afwerki is no better.

Described as a
“crocodile liberator” by the editors he has turned his country into a
huge camp where media are in total shackles and citizens are subjected
to long military service to continue to fight for his sustenance in
power! Of course the one that can’t escape the list is Omar Hassan
al-Bashir of Sudan who is surely going to get his own ‘Charles Taylor’
treatment no matter how long it takes the world to get him. He has
continued to travel in countries that are friendly to him and he is
perhaps sure will not hand him over to the International Criminal Court
which has charged him for genocide and war crimes.

As of the time of
writing this piece he is on a visit to his soul mate Deby in Chad. He
is spending his twenty first year in power.

Finally, there is the emperor of Zimbabwe and the grand liberator,
Robert Mugabe. A man who, perhaps, would have today stood second in
world fame only to Nelson Mandela if he had chosen the path of honour,
has stashed the country’s fortunes abroad and sent his children to Asia
to live like lords in the universities there. After leading the country
to independence thirty years ago he has dragged it from its Olympian
heights to the lowest depth a country can sink to. Inflation now run at
an unprecedented billion percent! These men and those from last week’s
list are the ‘final men’ because they have come to regard themselves as
the state. Without them the state cannot survive. This has come to pass
in a country like Somalia where it has gone to the dogs since the death
of Siad Barre. Are these men not responsible for their countries woes?

Enyimba seek historic comeback

Enyimba seek historic comeback

Enyimba FC will try
to re-enact another ‘Miracle of Damman’ today in Aba as they face the
daunting task of reversing a 4-0 loss to Zanaco suffered two weeks ago
in Zambia. In 1989, the Flying Eagles overturned a 4-0 deficit to the
former USSR, drew the match to 4-4 and then won on penalties. A
comeback of that proportion is what the Aba Millionaires will be hoping
to enact today at their fortress, the Enyimba International Stadium.
The match is the Second leg 1/8th round match of the Orange CAF
Confederation Cup before the lucrative mini-group stage.

Two-time African
champions; Enyimba will need at least a five goal margin for an
outright win or four goals to even the score line, and for the team’s
captain, Okey Odita both options are possible.

“Nothing is
impossible in football. It’s a herculean task but also achievable. We
are definitely going to make Nigeria proud by qualifying to the
mini-league stage,” assured the defender.

Taking by surprise

Odita, who was used
as a substitute during Enyimba’s loss to the Zambian side, said in an
interview on the club’s website that the team was caught unawares in
Lusaka.

“Zanaco have had
their day. In fact, they caught us napping when we were not ourselves
but I’m very confident that if they can score four goals in the first
half, then nothing says they cannot concede five goals within the same
first half.” The central defender further reminded the Zambians and
everyone that may have written Enyimba off to note that history favours
his side to stage a comeback, having done that twice so far in the
Confederation Cup.

“With all due
respect to Zanaco, I and my colleagues are united in saying that they
will fall here in Aba. We cannot come this far only for Zanaco to shut
us out,” Odita said.

“We have our pride
and pedigree to stage a big comeback and nothing can be better than
now. Enyimba have been champions before and have the zeal. With God on
our side, we will prevail,” he concluded.

The “People’s
Elephant” as the club nicknamed have been invincible at their Aba
fortress, and Odita predicts another surprise is in the offing.

A similar situation

The recently
crowned Nigerian champions have found themselves in similarly tight
situations as these and they had to overturn a 0-3 loss to AS Vita Club
of DR Congo in the first leg of the previous phase of the competition
to march on 6-5 after penalties, this kind of feat Odita maintains is
replicable.

“Most people ruled
us out after that loss in Congo but we came back to show the stuff we
are made of. Though I am not too happy that we are back in similar
situation almost immediately, we know what is at stake and we are ready
to give our best to move on again,” he said.

Enyimba on course

On his own
admission Chairman of the club, Felix Anyansi feels his team is not new
to this type of situation and cited the 6-1 loss they suffered against
Ismaily in Egypt some years back but then went ahead to win the CAF
Champions League trophy.

He said the players were now more committed to the team than they were two weeks ago when they travelled to Zambia.

“We in Enyimba
have erased the word impossibility from our dictionary long time ago
and this philosophy has seen us through and this match against Zanaco
cannot be an exception. ‘We are the architects of this situation we
find ourselves, but I am happy that the boys have woken up from their
slumber.

“I have always
believed that we have the best legs in the continent of Africa, which
saw us win the Premier League recently and qualify for the final of
Federation Cup. “What we need is discipline and commitment from the
players.

“I want to ask our supporters to come out en-masse to support us on Sunday” he said.

The coach of the team Okey Emordi told supporters to expect a better performance from his players.

Emordi, who decided
to wield the big stick by turning back players that decided to stroll
into camp days after opening of the exercise prior to their first leg
tie says the players have turned a new leaf.

“We have no problem
in the camp now; all the players are in high spirit as they have all
resolved to make the fans happy and make it to the next stage. We want
Nigerians to pray for the team to succeed,” he said.

Enyimba have their eyes on treble, they have been crowned champions
in the NPL and have also qualified for the finals of the Federation Cup
while also hoping to add the Confederations Cup title to the trophy
cabinet.

Sports

Players to watch

Players to watch

Ebere Orji

In serious contention to be the best player at this championships, Orji has pace, trickery and power to boot. She has had a hand in all the six goals scored by her team. She has scored two and created four. If Nigeria is to win today, she must come to the party with the support of Desire Oparanozie.

Alexandra Popp

No introductions needed here for the top goal scorer of the 2010 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Popp has scored an amazing nine goals in five matches, two goals ahead of JI So Yun in second place on the goal-scorers chart. She is very reliant on a deadly left foot and she is comfortable playing alone or in tandem with Svenja Huth.

Sports

Falconets are physically superior

Falconets are physically superior

Despite being the
second youngest squad to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after Ghana,
the Falconets have been described by a member of the FIFA Technical
Study Group (TSG) as the most physically superior team to the
championships in Germany.

Now after making
the finals, the odds are definitely more than they were against the
USA, as some analysts believe that this 2010 German side is the best
ever and with the scoring prowess of Alexandra Popp, the team is
virtually unbeatable. The Falconets will beg to disagree and no one can
write off this Nigerian team as they are set to create history today.

One thing they will
have to rely on today against noticeably bigger opponents will be their
physical strength. April Heinrichs, the TSG member said on fifa.com:
“They are physically superior to any team in the tournament and they
are really sold on their roles and their commitment to that role.”

The Falconets have
also shown that they will possess the ball but the only drawback to
their excellent play in Germany has been the number of chances that
have been frittered away. In all their five matches, they have scored
just six goals and conceded four but the margin should have been higher
and that is something Coach Adat Egan must have worked on in training
ahead of today’s final. Against a ruthless German team that has amassed
an amazing 18 goals in their five matches; they have to be more
decisive in front of goal with Desire Oparanozie told to be composed
when she is in scoring positions.

The Falconets have
had the tendency to concede goals in this competition but the good part
is that they have not conceded more than one in any match so far and
stopped (with the help of the cross bar) Colombia scoring in the semi
final match on Thursday.

Long road to glory

Henrietta Ukaigwe,
journalist and founder of Female football Interest Group (FFIG), a
non-governmental organisation dedicated to the development of the
women’s game in Nigeria, believes the Falconets can triumph over
Germany.

“They have come
this far and are not likely to falter at this stage. They just need to
stay calm and not be fazed by the pedigree of the Germans. Granted that
the Europeans have been impressive in this tournament, our girls too
have not been conceding too many goals,” Ukaigwe said.

John Zaki, a former
member of the Female Football Development Committee of the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) is doubly sure that the Falconets will beat
the German side if they can only be prepared well physically. “Once the
girls are properly fit, there won’t be any problem against Germany.
They may have scored more goals but the game against Nigeria will be
very different. I know this is our chance and by God’s grace, we will
bring that Cup to Nigeria.”

Heinrichs is also
impressed at the transition of the team from being weak technically to
being more adept. “We have been extremely impressed with the speed,
agility and quickness of the players in this tournament. Overall the
physical qualities and psychological maturation is higher here than we
have seen at previous youth World Cups. So the players are making that
transition from girlhood to woman-hood much quicker and we are seeing
players here who will soon step up to the senior level.

Jegede abandons team

The leader of the
Nigerian delegation to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Bola Jegede, it
has been revealed may have abandoned the team in Germany to take care
of matters that are closer to her heart-remaining in the new board of
the Nigeria Football Federation. A long time supporter of women’s
football in Nigeria and also a female club proprietor called Jegede
Babes, the bulky administrator did not quite believe that the Falconets
will stay a long time in Germany.

This is reflected
in the fact that she missed the first two group matches of the team and
perhaps not believing the Falconets will stay long in the tournament,
returned home on Monday after Nigeria’s elimination of defending
champions, United States in the quarter-final to woo female football
club owners to give her the group’s sole ticket on the NFF board when
elections take place later this month.

After Nigeria edged
Colombia in the semi-final on Thursday to book a final ticket, Jegede
scrambled to return to Germany on Friday night. Her action has rankled
football faithful back home.

Macbeth Esesobor,
proprietor of Macbeth Queens, Lagos believes it was the wrong step to
take. “Though I did not see her, it was confirmed that she came back to
solidify her electoral position into the new board of the NFF. It was
wrong for her to have done that as she is looked upon as the mother of
the team. Her presence though will not have been sorely missed as the
First Lady, Patience Jonathan, is with the team in Germany.”

The Falconets can step up

She believes that most of the players in the Nigerian set-up can become players for the senior national team, the Falcons.

“Nigeria has three
to five players, if not more, who are as good as their full national
team players. As the game develops the players are older and older at
this level and more mature at this level. Teams are not picking a 16 or
17-year-old because they don’t have any 20-year-olds but because the 16
or 17-year-olds are good enough.”

The TSG also noted
that the Nigerian team play a passing game that can be used to
frustrate the Germans, if they are denied the ball over long periods
and they will also not be able to hurt the Falconets.

“Nigeria can also
be direct but with dynamism. The reliance on possession reflects the
psychological maturity and also indicates the preparation the teams
have gone through before they arrive at the tournament and in that
regard we are pleased because we are seeing some pretty fine football
here. And the players have been rewarded for their excellent football.”

The question will be whether the team’s pretty approach to playing can hurt the host, Germany today in Bielefeld.

What can be surmised from the tournament so far is that this
Nigerian team is better than the previous ones because they are more
technically aware than their predecessors. The TSG agrees, “Nigeria is
the best team I have seen from that country in ten years of watching
them at world events. They have all the classic qualities of Nigerian
teams: great tackling and physical presence and unbelievable speed but
they are more disciplined as well.”

Sports

Goalline technology feted as cheaper solution

Goalline technology feted as cheaper solution

Introducing goalline technology at
soccer stadiums would prove a cheaper, as reliable aid to referees than
UEFA’s method of two additional assistants, according to manufacturers.

UEFA will expanded the use of five
referees to some Champions League matches and European Championship
qualifiers this season after a successful trial in the Europa League,
but German company Cairos Technologies feel their solution should be
used.

“You need to pay a referee each time
for each match and two more referees, that is more expensive than
having goalline technology,” Cairos sales director Mario Hanus told
Reuters on the sidelines of the Soccerex Asian forum in Singapore this
week.

UEFA officials were not immediately available for comment.

Following Frank Lampard’s disallowed
effort for England in their World Cup second round defeat by Germany in
South Africa last month there has been much talk at the forum, and in
the sport, about using technology.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter apologised
to England after the match and the Swiss said the topic of goalline
technology would be discussed by soccer law-makers the International
Football Association Board (IFAB).

However, last week IFAB, which consists
of one representative from each of the four British associations and
four from FIFA, left the topic off their agenda which Hanus said was
frustrating.

“It was a little surprising for us (the
rejection) as we have had so many voices around asking for the
technology, players referees some of the club managers etc.

“The Bundesliga, I believe,

would be ready to introduce it.
Referees all around the globe say ‘please we are the ones who are
blamed if we take the wrong decision’,” Hanus said.

Technology is working

The next
opportunity for IFAB to discuss the matter of goalline technology will
be at their business meeting in October, with law-changing unable to
happen until after their annual meeting in March.

“(A few years ago)
they (IFAB) asked us to change a few things and we did that and it
worked and then the decision was against (it) although we had done
those changes.

“We were not expecting it to be introduced worldwide in all stadia but at least in a first league or something.

“There is actually nothing we think that needs to be done but if there was, we are here, we are open to talk.”

Hanus also rejected
concerns about the chip-in-ball technology failing at key moments
perhaps due to a power outage, saying it was as reliable as any referee.

“If there is no
power in the stadium there will be no floodlights and there will be no
match so I would say that is not scaring us.

“The two additional referees can be stuck with an airplane that
cannot fly because of volcano ash, there is no 100 percent guarantee in
life,” Hanus said, referring to the Icelandic ash cloud that downed
much of Europe’s airspace in April.

Sports

Letting the Falconets down

Letting the Falconets down

Nigeria’s U-20 women’s team, the Falconets today play Germany in the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Theirs has been a
fairy tale; the story of the rejected stone becoming the chief
cornerstone. Not many Nigerians knew when the ladies left Nigeria for
the tournament. It was near total blackout even in the media. For the
few Nigerians that were aware of their departure, they couldn’t be
bothered whether they were going to Mars of Jupiter.

But as things have
turned out, the young ladies have made good. Against all expectation
even among some women’s football coaches, they have made it to the
final of the tournament.

Whatever happens
today in Germany Captain Joy Jegede and her team mates have etched
their names in the record books as the first Nigerian women’s team to
qualify for the final of a FIFA World Cup.

As is always the
case, success has many fathers in Nigeria. The Nigerian government has
sent an official delegation to Germany to “cheer” the girls to victory.
I was apprehensive when, before the semi-final match against Colombia,
I heard that a “high-powered” delegation had stormed the World Cup.

The normal scenario
of overdressed government officials lecturing the ladies on the finer
points of patriotism came flooding my mind and I feared the Falconets
will be put under intense pressure by their presence. Thankfully, God
intervened and we eked out a 1-0 victory to fly into today’s final.

The selfishness of Bola Jegede

It is sad to note
though that while the ladies were sweating it out on the field, their
‘mother’, Bola Jegede, a member of the board of the NFF, decided to
abandon them at a critical moment of their participation in the
tournament. Jegede, who missed their first two games because she was in
Nigeria perfecting strategies for success in the forthcoming NFF
elections, left Germany on Monday, the day after our Falconets beat the
United States of America in the quarter-final. She probably felt that
having surpassed their previous performance, of a quarter-final placing
at the last three editions of the tournament, the girls had reached the
end of the road.

And so, to Nigeria
she came – to host members of the Female Football Club Owners
Association in Lagos. After the Falconets booked a place in the final
she made frantic efforts to return to Germany.

Jegede’s behaviour encapsulates the problem with football administration in Nigeria.

It is a story of
selfishness and insensitivity to the plight of women’s footballers.
Jegede has been associated with the women’s game for a long time being
herself at one time owner of one of the most outstanding women’s clubs
(Jegede Babes) of its era. While it may be right to say she has
contributed in a way to moving the game to a certain level, the point
must be made that in the last few years particularly during her time on
this present board of the federation, she has been unable to properly
represent the interests of women’s football on the board.

It is instructive
to note that it is with Jegede’s acquiescence that the NFF has treated
female footballers as second class citizens. I stand to be corrected
but I do not think it is anywhere on record that she has cried out
against this injustice.

Again, since 2002
when Pepsi, sponsors of the women’s football league pulled out, the
women’s game at all levels has been without sponsorship. One of the
reasons an individual gets on the board of any sports federation is to
influence the development of that sport. If after four years on the
board and there is nothing tangible to show for it then it is pointless
attempting to get back on it.

I ask the question, what precisely is Jegede hoping to accomplish on
the board this time around that she couldn’t do in the last four years?
If she cannot care for the well being of the players whose interest she
is supposed to protecting then why bother? The answer it seems to me is
that like practically every member of the NFF board under the deposed
Sani Lulu, her overriding interest is personal. A place on the board is
licence to travel around the global for competitions and rub shoulders
with those who matter in world football. That footballers play under
the most appalling conditions is an issue for which Jegede and her ilk
care nothing for.