Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Why I attacked Timaya in my song –Nico Gravity

Many may not know him as Paul Nnamdi Okpara as the name does not ring a bell. But as Nico Gravity, he is the musician who went off the music scene for many years and has now returned to re-establish his presence. He is also the singer who is trying to cut Timaya to size through his wave-making album, Scatter Timaya.

Here, Gravity opens up to Blockbuster on what he stands to gain by beefing Timaya. The ghetto boy also talks about his death rumour and relationship with women. Excerpts:

How it all started
I started music way back in1991 in Reggae Dub Chapel where we used to have the late Johnny Nab. It is a place where we used to gather and play instrumental on turn-table and boys used microphone to rap and to impress a very little crowd that had gathered. I used to go there everyday and at a point, I started staying there with a lot of guys like Daddy Showkey, Daddy Fresh and Marvellous Benjy.

It was like a training ground for those of us that did music in the ghetto. I started in 1991, then in 1993, I did a duet with Daddy Fresh in a song entitled, Clean Up, then in 1995 I also did a duet with him, Fakafikifaka. In 1996, I released my debut album, Story Teller under Felin Records and two years later, I did another song, This is Lagos. I have done other songs such as I Go Mortuary in 2000 but when it was about to be released, I left Lagos and got a job with the BBC as a Sound Engineer. I worked for three years and was away from Lagos for four years and when I came back I released Scatter Timaya.

Inspiration
Before I went into music, I was learning spare parts trade in Idumota and that was when I discovered that I was always listening to music, rapping, making songs and people were always commending and encouraging me to take it up as a career. I just love music. I love to make people laugh. That time, it was not about the money. If you sing and people clap, you are very happy for a whole week. It was just the love for music that made me go into it.

I’m teetotaler
I don’t smoke marijuana. I don’t drink alcohol but I just like making songs. If am in a club listening to music and I dance for too long, I can get a musical idea. I could just be strolling and get an idea. Basically the things that I see and the things that happen to me inspire me to make songs. It is just God.

Why I scattered Timaya
I came back from Abuja and needed to re-establish my relevance, to let people know that I am back, that was just apart. The major thing is that I listened to Timaya’s music, and I want to say that it’s very interesting. I saw a lot of loopholes in his lyrical reasoning. He makes 10 songs, nine and half are about himself and the things he has acquired and the money he has made. I remember that when we were learning how to play music, the first thing you try to make is sense.

As some people would ask you, what is the meaning of this song? I discovered that music was becoming more meaningless. Yes, self praise is an internationally acknowledged and accepted pattern of writing songs but an artiste’s lyrical range doesn’t have to be narrowed down completely to self-praise and I discovered that Timaya was mostly all about himself. I also saw that Timaya was making his songs as if he is quarelling with somebody and has problems with artistes who are based in Lagos.
Timaya’s music reflected a certain kind of disrespect or let me say anger for artistes in Lagos.

The ultimate reason I attacked Timaya was because of that line where he said, I broke into their Lagos market. Note the word, their, if it had been, I broke into the Lagos market, am very sure I wouldn’t have had any problem with that. But the word their sounded so direct and so personal as if he has been beefing Lagos artistes for a long time. I know artistes from Port Harcourt who came to Lagos and made a lot of waves, Etiene T Boy did it, Daniel Wilson also did it, but I saw all of that as fun. It was interesting and I saw the opportunity of making interesting music based on that topic.

There’s need to re-establish myself
They think I hate Timaya and want him to fall. No, I saw an opportunity of making a song that has the intention of becoming interesting based on the topic of Timaya’s kind of music. I am sure most artistes in Lagos didn’t do it because they were friends of Timaya, they didn’t want to get on his bad side or somehow they did not want Timaya’s fans to dislike them but I needed to re-establish my return and entertain people. It is basically entertainment.

On Timaya’s response
I have never seen Timaya face to face in my life. I only see him on TV and am sure he only sees me on TV too that is if he has ever seen me on TV. I am sure if he passes me, he might not recognise me but funny enough, most of his people are my people. Most of the people he rose with are my friends. We have never met. If I meet him one on one, it would be like guy, how far now, don’t take it personal, I hope you understand its entertainment. I have no beef whatsoever with Timaya.

Controversy and death rumour
I want to play down on the controversy because it has caused its own ugly side even if it has exposed me. It has also brought me a lot of things like the death rumour and people harassing me. I’ve gone to shows with so much security around me. You never can tell a crazy Timaya fan who is trying to hurt you. It has brought a lot of unpleasant things

On Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is just a guy who is misunderstood and who also misunderstands himself. But he was like fighting against the album, “Scatter Timaya” at a point when it was becoming big. He was using his sound system and microphone to preach against the music and telling people not to play it. Recently, we spoke and we are doing a stuff on the computer.

Mighty Mouse is bigger than me. We are not fighting over supremacy. He is a big man in the music community in Ajegunle and he supports us a lot. I was just not happy with him but he is a man who I respect a lot and have supported in many ways. He is not the person that should be fighting me now that I am trying to break even.

Relationship with women
It’s a big problem. It is very hard to handle especially when they find out that you are not married. They all want commitment which is easy to promise but hard to deliver. My New Year resolution is to be very prayerful. I am praying to God to give me the wisdom to be able to juggle girls properly and eventually come to the one that I will settle down with. You can’t marry non-tested. If you want to buy a car, you have to test it to observe the engine noise and other things. I am just like test running, if things go well, I would get married before this year runs out.

HOUSE CRISIS: PDP summons Bankole, Nafada, Melaye, others •No going back on move to remove Bankole –Melaye’s group

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wedne-sday, berated the House of Representatives for allowing its sitting on Tuesday to degenerate into chaos,

during which members engaged in a free-for-all, as it summoned the leadership to an urgent meeting.

The move by the ruling party to wade into the crisis in the House had earlier been reported. It was exclusively reported that the leadership of the party would summon the Speaker and other principal officials to a meeting on the reason behind the breakdown of confidence among members.

While summoning the House leadership, the party also extended the invitation for an urgent meeting to members of the Progressives, led by Honourable Dino Melaye, who it described as “unruly” and who were suspended indefinitely by the House on Tuesday.

The PDP said it was saddened by the rowdy session in the House, stating that it felt more embarrassed that the incident occurred right in the full glare of school children who watched the scenes from the gallery during their excursion to the National Assembly.

The PDP took the decision at its National Working Committee (NWC) metting.

According to a statement signed by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Professor Ahmed Alkali Rufa'i, the PDP was pained that members of the party in the House of Representatives ignored its earlier admonition to them to sheathe their swords on the matter pending its intervention.

It said the display of hooliganistic tendency by certain members of the House was un-parliamentary, and condemned the act in strong terms.

The statement by the PDP spokesperson read in part: "The NWC was particularly saddened that its earlier appeal for members to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue in resolving all lingering issues went unheeded.

“The NWC, therefore, condemned the resort to violence which was carried out in the full glare of the public, including school children, who had gone to the National Assembly to experience the process of legislation first-hand.

"The outcome of the sitting of the House of Representatives on the 22nd of June, 2010 is regrettable and does not tally with the mood of the nation and the policy thrust of President Goodluck Jonathan, which encourages constructive engagement.

"This shameful act carried out by some members of the House of Representatives, some of whom are members of our party, also negates the new philosophy of discipline and decorum which the new national chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, has set out to instill in the party. The party, therefore, calls on the House of Representatives to offer apology to Nigerians for this disgraceful and avoidable conduct".

The House was into chaos the previous day when 11 members of the Progressives attempted to disrupt the House’s proceedings, when a motion seeking their suspension was being presented.

Melaye and other members of the Progressives had accused the speaker of mismanaging the sum of N9 billion being House’s capital vote since 2008 till date, calling on him to render account.

The group had earlier issued a seven-day ultimatum to the speaker to resign, failing which they threatened to expose the alleged corruption against him to the anti-graft agencies, most especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The group made good its threat, when members visited the EFCC on Monday to present a petition against the speaker.

Meanwhile, Honourable Doris Uboh, representing Ika Federal Constituency in Delta State, who was one of the lawmakers suspended after a violent confrontation on Tuesday, has vowed to press on with her fight to ensure accountability and probity in the House, noting that the issues at stake bordered on “criminality.”

She said at a press briefing in her residence, on Wednesday, in Abuja that contrary to what the leadership of the House was claiming, she was not fighting because of committee’s position as she remained a deputy chairman of a House committee.

Honourable Uboh, who is nursing a dislocated shoulder following her battering in Tuesday’s scuffle in the House, said she was not deterred by her experience on the floor of the House.

She said that she was only trying to point out that the procedure of the House had been breached by the member who moved a motion for the suspension of the Progressives but was hardly allowed to do that before she was physically attacked.

The lawmaker, who confirmed that she was not a member of the Progressives, blamed anti-female sentiments among the male legislators for the attack she suffered, saying it was for the same reason that former Speaker of the House, Honourable Patricia Etteh, was removed from office.

According to her, “everybody has seen what happened to me just because I am a woman. It breaks my heart. Not only was I treated badly, people also watched the situation degenerate into where a female member was being trampled upon and they stood there looking extremely satisfied.

“I will not allow that to happen to me without pressing charges. I will take it to the highest level that I can,” she said, adding that “what I was doing yesterday (Tuesday) was representing my people, which is my parliamentary duty.”

She condemned the directive by the House leadership that the offices of the suspended members should be sealed off, saying that the House leadership had no constitutional authority to bar them from representing their constituents.

“I equally remember during Etteh’s time that she was told that she could not preside over her own case in accordance with laws of natural justice but Honourable Dimeji Bankole was made to preside, to suspend us indefinitely, to lock up our offices and to do as he damn well please,” she said.

She observed that the speaker, by presiding over Tuesday’s session, gave the impression that there were two sets of laws for the system, saying that in order to ensure justice, the House must revert to the situation that was applied in the case of Honourable Etteh to decide the issues raised by the Progressives.

She vowed that those who wanted investigation into the alleged cases of corruption in the House would continue their agitation, as she pointed out that the issues bordered on criminality, saying “you (speaker) misappropriated N9 billion and you felt that the best way to go about it was to suspend.”

Godswill Obot Akpabio: The “Follow Follow” Governor of Akwa Ibom State

For reasons best known to him, Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has never been, and is still not, a fan or a genuine admirer of President Goodluck Jonathan. While many Nigerians wanted the then Vice-President to assume the functions of the presidency when YarArdua was ill, Akpabio did everything within his power to thwart the move; he lobbied members of the Federal House of Assembly and even bribed some of them not to support the idea. After the death of President YarAdua, the last thing Governor Akpabio wanted was to see how the rest of Nigerians agreed to confirm Mr. Jonathan as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And Mr. Jonathan was aware of Akpabio’s intrigues; at one time he even confronted governor Akpabio.



Now, Governor Akpabio has been following President Jonathan around, like a little puppy, to the point where Akpabio has become a national embarrassment. The Protocol officials who work for Jonathan have tagged Akpabio the tile of the “follow follow governor,” because everywhere the president visits, Akpabio must make sure that he too is present. To Akwa Ibom people, the behavior of their governor is making them feel uncomfortable. And they just can’t understand why the governor is behaving the way he does.



Sources say Mr. Jonathan himself has confided in some of his well-placed kitchen-cabinet members that he wishes Akpabio would go away. Jonathan says he doesn’t mind meeting Akpabio in the presence of others. But, what the president loathes is the one-on-one meeting, which is what Mr. Akpabio craves for. It is not that Akpabio is posing any security, or physical risk to the presidency. No; not all. The problem is, President Jonathan does not feel comfortable around a man known by his own people as a failed leader, whose administration is associated with cultism, kidnapping, money laundering, lies, assassinations, armed robbery, murder, and other vices.



Within Nigeria, governor Akpabio has done nearly everything under his capacity for a one-on-one-audience with the President, but to no avail. It is well known how he even made several attempts to recruit the services of former President Shagari, Edwin Clark, and a Paramount Ruler in Bayelsta State (just to name a few) to help him have access to the President. Mr. Shagari flatly rejected his request and it is doubtful if others agreed to help Mr. Akpabio.



Recently, when the President of South Africa invited President Jonathan to attend the World Cup Soccer event, Akpabio quickly took a flight, invited or not, to South Africa, thinking that if he meets the president in a foreign country, as a State Governor, the protocol would be in his favor to have the audience with the president; a feat he couldn’t accomplish while in Nigeria. While in South Africa, several efforts by Mr. Akpabio to meet with the president failed.



Finally, out of desperation, Akpabio made contact with Governor Adam Oshimhole of Delta State, who was also in South Africa. Mr. Oshimhole decided to help Akpabio have access to Jonathan. Governor Oshimhole called the president in his suite and requested an audience with him. The president agreed. But Mr. Oshimhole did not tell the president that he was coming over with governor Akpabio. When the president’s aides informed the president that Mr. Oshimhole has arrived with governor Akpabio in-tow, he quickly sent a polite message, with apology, to governor Oshimhole that he could no longer honor the meeting with him (Oshimhole). Reports say President Jonathan later called Mr. Oshimhole to explain why he had to cancell the meeting; “I don’t want that man (Akpabio) around me. Please don’t ever come with him to see me.”



Last month, the same scenario occurred when the president visited Rivers State. Akpabio was there too. He also tried everything within his power for a one-on-one meeting with the President, but failed. In March or April this year, when President Jonathan was invited by President Obama for an official visit, Akpabio lied to the people of Akwa Ibom State that he had been included in the president’s entourage. He was not.



When Akpabio arrived in Washington, D.C., because he was not invited for the trip, he had to stay in a hotel different from the one the president and his team stayed. With the help of some Nigerian embassy officials, who thought it odd that a visiting governor was separated from the rest of Nigerian officials, a room was secured for Akpabio in the same hotel which the president stayed. In essence, Akpabio “crashed” into the event. Because of the help, which the embassy officials gave him, he was able to secure a photo-op with the rest of the visiting team with President Obama in the group. Today, Akpabio proudly and conspicuously hangs the picture in the Hill Top Mansion, at a must-see location. Again, Akpabio tried all he could to see President Jonathan, but failed.



People who read this may wonder why governor Akpabio is so desperate to see President Jonathan. Akpabio believes, wrong or correct, that if Jonathan does not forgive him over the efforts which he (Akpabio) campaigned to derail the emergence of Jonathan as the president, Jonathan will pay back by making sure that Akpabio does not fulfill his ambition for a second-term. Because Akpabio is so bent on continuing as a governor, the very thought that he does not stand a good chance for a second-term (which he really doesn’t), is enough to drive the man insane.



But what governor Akpabio may not know, or knows but is in self-denial, is the mountain of evidence available to president Jonathan, which the intelligence agencies, both in Nigeria and abroad, have compiled on Akpabio regarding his money laundering schemes, criminal activities in Akwa Ibom State, abuse of the rights of citizens, kidnappings and assassinations of political opponents, theft and squandering of the people’s money, and other corrupt practices, some of which Akpabio still believes are secrets.



On the other hand, maybe governor Akpabio is privy to what many of us don’t know. But, while he is busy worrying about president Jonathan as the only single man in the entire Nigeria who can thwart his dream for a second-term, he has become oblivious to his rejection by the very people he governs. What Akpabio does not know is that there is a mass movement, in Akwa Ibom State and in the Diaspora, organized to stop him from continuing as a governor. The people of Akwa Ibom State believes him to be an incompetent administrator who has squandered their resources, cause many of them to remain poor and hungry in a State in which peace and security has also been, and has remained, elusive for the past three years of Akpabio’s governance. Now the people want him to go away. They also want and are ready for a change.



The support which the people now give to former Senator Akpan Udoedehe, a gubernatorial aspirant, is a testimony to the disaffection of the people towards governor Akpabio. Anyone who visits Akpan Udoedehe’s house in Uyo, and even when he is in Abuja, will not fail to be amazed at the number of people that go in and out, all day long. They don’t go there to eat, drink, or sleep. They visit Akpan Udoedehe to confirm their support and to send a message to governor Akpabio that his days are up. The more than 300 different organizations for Positive Change, that are spread all over Akwa Ibom State in readiness for the Akpan Udoedehe’s campaign, is a clear testimony that the people are ready for a change, Unfortunately, Akpabio and especially his crumbs-from- table-eaters have refused to see the hand-writing on the wall. But no matter what, Akpabio Must Go and Akpabio Will Go; it’s just a matter of time.



By

Thompson Essien

The Fleecing of Akwa Ibom State--Part 2: The Contractors

>
>A very tiny but powerful cabal is toying with the future of Akwa Ibom State. They are led by a single powerful leader, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Together, they are stealing and milking the State dry. Any further delay in checking the deceptive practices of this cabal will leave Akwa Ibom State in a deep financial chaos after their term. The cabal is known as contractors.
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>
>In a recent press interview, Akpabio explained “that most of the projects in the state were contracted to tested contractors rather than putting them in the hands of incompetent persons who in "the past were interested in collecting mobilization funds and abandoning jobs awarded by the government." Governor Akpabio may be right. But do you know who the “tested contractors” are? Below are some of them.
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>Prince Ukpong Akpabio (the governor‘s cousin):
>Prince Akpabio owns Prill Guards, which is located at 73 Enwe Street, Uyo. His firm is responsible in providing security for government offices and secretariat. Prill investment is responsible for booking flights for Dana Air located at Monty Suites at the Airport. Prince Akpabio also handles protocol for the State Government as a term-contractor responsible for all government supplies. Another firm in the Prill conglomerate is Prill Communication, located at 293 Oron Road, Uyo, which was bought between 2007 and 2008. It owns part of Diamond Bank in Uyo. The firm also handles roofing and security for houses and was awarded the contract to renovate schools in Akwa Ibom State. Prince Ukpong owns a mansion along Etukube Street in Ikot Ekpene.
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>Emem Akpabio:
>Emem Akpabio owns Emem and Sons as a front to obtain government contracts. Emem Akpabio is responsible for direct deductions from Local Government Allocations using various projects, such as ambulance, supplying construction equipment, and fire-trucks to Local Governments
>
>Nigerpet Structures Limited:
>This company is owned by Governor Akpabio’s brothers, using a Lebanese as a front. It is run by a former Manager of Mothercat (Construction) . Contract for the recent demolition of structures in Uyo, under the guise of Urban Renewal Program, was awarded to this firm. The firm is also involved in the multi-billion naira Urban Water Reticulation Scheme. All these projects have been in Akwa Ibom State Budgets since 2008. The Company is located at G32 Plot in Ewet Housing Complex in Uyo.
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>Sylvester Okonkwo:
>Akpabio’s friend and a “419” colleague since the days of Emis Telecoms in Lagos, is the one who is awarded a contract to arrange all the various Man of the Year Award ceremonies for Governor Akpabio. More than thirty (30) percent of all Certificate of Occupancy signed by Governor Akpabio are in his name. Sylvester Okonkwo also fronts for Akpabio as the owner of a gravel quarry in Akamkpa. The rumor in Akwa Ibom State is that part of the reasons for the assasination of "Submarine" and his brother is because the family refused to sell the family-owned gravel and sand quarry to Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio, who is is said to own some landed properties next to the quarry.
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>Sinoend Construction:
>Located opposite Amity Hotel at Ewet Housing Complex is owned by the senior sister of Akpabios’ wife. The firm was awarded the contract for the construction of Enen-Nsit and Etebi-Ewang Roads. The contract for the construction of Ikot Ekpene Prison was awarded to this firm, but the company has since abandoned the project after it collected billions of naira.
>
>AEC Ltd:
>Is a firm owned by Umana Okon Umana, the Secretary to the State Government. This firm was awarded the contracts for the construction of Use Ikot Amama Road. The contract was later increased to N14 billion, despite the fact that Nung Udoe to Okoita was done by Victor Attah’s administration. This firm has also been awarded the contract for Aka-Obot Idim Road (12km Road) for N12.3 billion.
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>Donald Etim (Commissioner for Works):
>Owns ten (10) companies in one building and they are all consultancy firms. One of them is Deluxe Engineering. Another firm, Spellbound Building and Construction Limited, was awarded a N1.9 billion contract for information drive (whatever that means). Then Lukane Limited (named after Kane Etim, who is Don’s brother) was awarded a N2.7 billion contract to construct Etinan Leprosy Hospital roads and install street lights. The company is located at 41 Brooks Street in Uyo.
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>Nsentip Akpabio (the Governor’s half brother):
>Owns a warehouse at Osong Ama Street where all building materials are sold at exorbitant prices to contractors, under oath, that do business with the State. A contractor who refuses to buy supplies from the warehouse risks having his contract award immediately cancelled. Nsentip also owns Proconnect, an Internet service provider, at 25 Ikot Abasi Street in Uyo. Nsentip runs the Bureau de Change in Calabar for Governor Akpabio, as a conduit for money laundering.
>
>Etido Inyang (Special Adviser on Technology):
>Is the person who handles the over N1 billion contract for the design of the failed Tropicana. He also supervises the Alcon fraud at the Airport.
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>Third Investment Limited:
>This firm is owned by Sunny Ibanga. The firm is responsible for supplying workers for construction firms. Also provides catering services and clearing of equipment bought by Atah’s administration for Airport.
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>Diamond Engineering:
>Diamond Engineering is owned by the former disgraced PDP National Chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor. For the past three (3) years, the firm has continued to receive contract awards for rural electrification and running of underground conduit pipes. In 2008, the firm received N10 billion. In 2009, it was N7 billion. In 2010, it is N6.1 billion (please see this years’ budget).

Akwa Ibom: Opposition Plans Exposed

These are indeed intriguing times in the politics of Akwa Ibom State. As the 2011 gubernatorial election draws closer, the remnant of opposition in the state has become very desperate in their bid to 'snatch' power from incumbent Governor Godswill Akpabio. In their desperation, they have gone after the Governor with a tar brush with the hope that some dirt would stick, all in a bid to occupy the Hilltop Mansion. The recurring theme in their disingenuous plot is to pitch President Goodluck Jonathan against Governor Akpabio, hoping that they would become the beneficiaries in the ensuing contrived political wrangle.

Not too long ago, residents of Uyo were surprised to wake up and find the posters of Governor Akpabio adorning strategic locations in the state proclaiming that the Governor was aspiring to be President of Nigeria in 2011. Even though the Governor had not declared an intention to run for a second term then, it was enough hints at a second term ambition when he had declared in an event that his intention was not to build the new state-of-the-art, ultra modern Governor's lodge for another person to be its first occupant. He later denied that he has any interest in running for the Presidency of the country in 2011.

Subsequent investigations into the source of the posters had revealed that some opposition elements in the state, who are mostly fly-by-night politicians, were behind the plot to create doubt and confusion in the minds of Akwa Ibom people as to where the Governor's interest lies in 2011. Ordinarily, the denials by the Governor and his aides would have sufficed to put an end to these devious lies and political distractions, but not when you have an opposition whose stock-in-trade is to feed the people, not with their programmes and manifestoes, but with lies and propaganda and their favourite past time: Akpabio bashing.

As if to resuscitate the old but worn out strategy of falsehood, last week some major streets of Abuja were flooded with the posters of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, fixing the photograph of Governor Akpabio on the said poster as his running mate in 2011. It is noteworthy that President Jonathan had been a victim of such sinister campaign when he was acting President, and had ordered security agencies to probe those behind the unauthorized printing of his supposed campaign posters at a time he had declared that his major preoccupation was to solve the country's myriad problems and not 2011 electioneering. But they underrate the quantum of intelligence available to the President of the federation to think that he could be drawn into a non-existent political dispute with the Governor through unfounded fabrications.

The choice of Abuja in this desperate campaign of mischief is instructive. Firstly, the two principal characters who have constituted themselves into opposition in Akwa Ibom State are politicians that are based in the Federal Capital Territory, who have totally lost touch with developments at home. Secondly, it is not difficult to know that President Jonathan is their target audience. In their warped imagination, they think that since President Jonathan may likely contest the 2011 presidential election, proclaiming Governor Akpabio as a running mate to General Babangida would poison the mind of the President against the Governor, and probably as the leader of the party, he would deny the Governor a second term ticket and award it to their candidate.

As stated earlier, these mendacious fabricators do great injustice to the President to think that he would swallow their political spin hook, line and sinker. But it is not difficult to put a lie to their machination. Governor Akpabio has not left anyone in doubt about his aspiration in 2011. At about the same time that these mischief makers were busy pasting Governor Akpabio's posters in Abuja, specifically on Saturday June 5, the Governor was once again adopted by the youths of the former Abak Division comprising five local government areas in present day Akwa Ibom State, as their sole candidate in next year's gubernatorial election and accented to their request to sponsor him for the position.

And just on May 29 during the last Democracy Day celebration, the people along with their representatives in the national assembly had trooped out to Uyo township stadium to adopt a motion endorsing the Governor for a second term in office, thereby reaffirming their support Akpabio's return in 2011. At the occasion, Senator Effiong Bob who is the national assembly caucus leader had said, “We, on behalf of the entire people in the state and in the national assembly caucus having seen what the Governor has done for the past three years hereby move that he continues in the office in order to complete all the ongoing projects,” and through a voice vote the ayes had it. Before then the major ethnic groups in the state comprising the Ibibios, Annangs and Oros had at different colourful ceremonies adopted the Governor for a second term.

All these will leave no one in doubt, except mischievous propagandists, on where the Governor stands in his 2011 aspiration. To make it sound believable, before they had gone to print the posters, they had circulated some wild rumours in town. When the Governor of Niger state, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu turned up in the state to be awarded a honourary doctorate degree by the University of Uyo, the news spinned by those oppose to Akpabio was that he had come to discuss the issue of IBB's running mate with Akpabio and when the General showed up in the state to chair the inauguration of the board of trustees of the Initiatives, a cerebral group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives led by Hon Eseme Eyiboh, an Akwa Ibom indigene, they said it was a confirmation that Governor Akpabio had agreed to be his running mate in 2011.

Not even the explanation by Hon Eyiboh that the event was devoid of any political undertone as IBB had been contacted and agreed to chair the event about seven months prior to the event and at a time he had not nursed any political ambition and that it would have been unfair to turn him back on the basis of a recently declared presidential ambition, would suffice for these cynics. For them, IBB whom God had used to actualize the agitation of the people by creating Akwa Ibom State out of Cross River State should be treated as a leper who should not set his foot on the state nor should he be accorded any courtesy as a former head of state. They forget that even President Jonathan would treat IBB with every civility possible even with the rumour that they may contest against each other in 2011.

As noted earlier the recent smear campaign against the Governor follows a familiar pattern of the opposition praying that the Governor and the President be seen as being in conflict. But they must feel a sense of frustration that the more they insinuate of Jonathan being at loggerheads with Akpabio, the more the two leaders collaborate in the task of nation building. This is evidenced by the Governor being a part of the entourage of the President to the United States of America and on return from the trip being presented with an award of excellence during the tenth anniversary of Aso Rock chapel and most importantly, through the quiet diplomacy of the Governor, the Akwa Ibom State ministerial nominee, Chief Nduese Essien was assigned the lands and housing portfolio, arguably the best an Akwa Ibom indigene has clinched during the past eleven years of democratic rule.

But the Akwa Ibom people are discerning and no amount of campaign of calumny will sway them. If the people have decided to pitch their tent with Governor Akpabio in 2011 for what many have described as uncommon transformation of the state within three years, who can stop them? Neither propaganda nor mischievous fabrication

AKWA IBOM STATE:IBB TESTIMONY

When General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida(IBB) came toAkwa Ibom State in 1991, then as a military president, people lined the streets to welcome him; after all, he was seen as the father of the state which he created about four years earlier. That was about 17 years ago; now things have changed. About 30 per cent of the population now was not even born when the state was created 23 years ago; so they don’t really have much to do with a Babangida except as an historical figure.

Thus, when IBB visited again recently to inaugurate the advisory council of the Faculty Board of Initiatives, an agenda setting group in the House of Representatives, only a few people knew about it. So, the street was empty. But the Ibom Hall, the state’s makeshift auditorium was filled to the brim. Those who were not aware, or did not believe IBB would come in person, got to learn about his physical presence, rushed to the hall.

And there, he was sitting among the politicians. Many people did not even recognize him again. An elderly gentleman who rode to the hall on a bicycle, said, when Babangida stood up to address the audience: “Is that IBB? He doesn’t look like him again. O! owo idoho akaprawa ukpaiba (One is not a youth twice).
But when IBB started to speak, the old man said; “Yes! That is his voice.”
The voice might have reminded him of that broadcast on September 23, 1987, which resulted in what is today Akwa Ibom and Katsina states.

IBB himself didn’t forget that history. He saw his visit as home- coming “because this visit affords me the opportunity to re-assess the judgment I took some 23 years ago by creating the state, and providing the people the opportunity to fully utilize their potentials and natural endowments. I have no doubt in my mind that going by what I have set my eyes on, from the short distance from the airport to this hall in terms of infrastructural development, if given another opportunity, I will recreate Akwa Ibom State, in a manner of speaking.

“The state brings me a sense of nostalgia in several ways. I could recall vividly the circumstances that led to the abrogation of the onshore/offshore oil dichotomy. If I may recall, perhaps, it was in this hall when the demand was made by one of your illustrious daughters and the golden voice of all times, Lady Christy Essien- Igbokwe, who pleaded with our government to drop the dichotomy issue to enable the state enjoy her natural resources. I’m proud to say that despite the criticisms against some of our initiatives, the growth and development of Akwa Ibom State is an eloquent testimony to the fact that we took the right decision for the right people at the right time, to spread development across the land and make government closer to the people of common affinity and cultural heritage.”

IBB gave a list of prominent Akwa Ibom people, dead or alive, who had made tremendous contributions to the development of the nation, but zeroed in on Gov. Godswill Akpabio thus; “With due sense of responsibility, let me say without fear or favour that Akwa Ibom is lucky to have Dr Godswill Akpabio at the helm of affairs in the state. He is truly God’s will to be at the saddle at this critical time of developing the state. And the numerous infrastructural development I have seen, or read about are indices that further strengthened my earlier argument that the people of Akwa Ibom qualified for a state. Unlike other states where lamentation of poor revenue has taken primacy, Godswill Akpabio has been able to aggregate the collective aspirations of the people with programmes and policies that bear meaning and value to the ordinary people of the state. Without equivocation, Dr Godswill Akpabio deserves our standing ovation and a big pat on the back.”

Facing the business of the day which was the inauguration of the advisory board of the Initiatives, the former president said the goals and decisive attainment of good governance aspiration of the board members could not have been more apposite than now where good governance should be seen as essential ingredient of corporate governance with attributes of transparency, accountability, responsibility, responsiveness and diligence.

“As part of your mandate as initiatives, I hasten to suggest that it is high time the government at all levels had what I would call annual performance report showing how much revenue was generated and how it was expended. This will serve as a millennium antidote to corruption and of course, in graphic terms how the government has fared in relation to budget performance.

“I strongly believe that the masses that elected leaders and government deserve this form of feedback mechanism.”
He didn’t, however, forget to remind the people of his presidential aspiration which he promised would launch Nigeria unto the “global highway of possibility and abundant opportunities. I will not behave like the ubiquitous politician who gives promises and sets unachievable deadlines. I will concern myself with those plausible issues.”

When IBB was speaking, singing the praises of the government and people of Akwa Ibom State, Gov. Akpabio was not there. He was at the stadium taking salute from kids as they celebrated the Children’s Day. It was his deputy, Obong Patrick Ekpotu, who stood in for him, and as usual, went into his didactics in socio-political developmental evolution, and concluded that the Initiatives as an offshoot of the legislature, has the responsibility of pioneering progressively realistic legislation. Were some people lost listening to him? Maybe not.

And then, the governor arrived, and the tempo changed. He stood by what the deputy said, probably not wanting to subject the people to another lecture. Akpabio just burst into songs; the kind of praise singing never heard from him to any man except God. First, he improvised a song on IBB which even caused the retired general to stand up and clap along though not understanding the wordings of the song rendered in Ibibio. He leaned over to the deputy governor, who must have given him the right interpretation.

Akpabio was not done yet; he sang IBB’s praises again and again and the crowd joined him. His gratitude first to God and then to IBB for creating the state which has now given the people the opportunity to experience unprecedented development like the construction of Nung Udoe Itak Use Ikot Amama Road, the Afaha Obon-Iwukem- Utu Etim Ekpo Road, the Etebi Enwang Road, the Enen Nsit Road and very may other roads in IKot Ekpene, Ikot Abasi, Eket and Oron or the completion of Ibom International Airport, the Ibom Power Company which the residents have been expecting to start generating the 191 megawatts of electricity and many other projects. All this could not have been possible if IBB did not create the state.

But Akpabio was careful. The euphoria did not leade him to make the mistake of endorsing IBB as the presidential candidate of the state. Maybe, being the father of the state as IBB was described at the event was more of spiritual antecedent than its temporal relevance in 2011.
To the dean of the Faculty Board of Initiatives, Mr Eseme Eyiboh, the Initiatives is a post-era and agenda-setting forum of a league of some cerebral legislators in the House of Representatives, who believe in the realization of Vision 2020, and who are passionately committed to good governance in Nigeria through proactive and people oriented legislation.

“As a group in the House of Representatives, we seek to achieve a generational shift in the country’s legislative processes. The Initiative is a selfless, non partisan project that aims to achieve good governance through informed, proactive and responsive legislation toward a better Nigeria. This is done through public consultation and mobilization strategy on the platform of the national roundtable for proactive laws and good governance.”

Eyiboh explained that the ideals of the national roundtable serves to present an effective and informed interface between the legislature and the public as well as draw the abundance of talents and resource persons outside the legislature with the aims to capture and incorporate diverse opinions in legislation against primordial considerations.
The advisory board has the former Chief Justice of Federation, Mohammadu Uwais as Chairman, former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, vice chairman, and many notable Nigerians as members.

Nigeria ask Lagerback to stay on

Nigeria Technical Adviser Lars Lagerback was on Wednesday asked to stay on at his post by the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Swede's current five-month deal runs out in July, but despite a poor World Cup performance, where the Super Eagles finished bottom of the group with just one point from nine, Nigerian football officials have asked him to stay on.

At a meeting in the team's base camp at Richards Bay, Lagerback met with top officials of the NFF where he was asked to stay on, with the offer of what sources told KickOffNigeria.com was a four-year deal up till the 2014 World Cup.

But Lagerback told the NFF that he would like to defer the decision until after a holiday and discussion with his family.

NFF Executive Committee member Taiwo Ogunjobi would not confirm the story when asked, but conceded that the Swede was within his rights to want to take a break.

"It is a normal thing for him to go home, stay with his family and then decide what he wants."

Officials told KickOffNigeria.com that a fresh deal would be under significantly reduced remuneration, with the Presidential Task Force, which picked up the tab for Lagerback's wages, now all but dissolved and the federation facing cash flow challenges.

Africans must look to local coaches

Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback has advised African countries to look the way of indigenous coaches and trust in continuity if they hope to do well at major tournaments.

All but one of Africa's six representatives at the 2010 World Cup are coached by foreigners, with Algeria the only exception. And with three already eliminated, Lagerback suggested that Africans may need to look inwards in the future and give the coaches more time.

"What is the problem for Africa in general? The only thing I can see, and I am not sure if I am right is that maybe they need a little bit more continuity.

"I have talked to Kanu a little bit about that and maybe the players that have been around and played for a long time, I hope that they could come back into the African countries and work as coaches and help to influence the development of football in their countries.

"I think a person like Kanu could be perfect for that kind of position if he wants to go into coaching himself."

Kanu agreed, but said he was looking more at going into football administration.

"When it comes to reading the game, I dont think there is anybody who can read the game better than I can. But when things are going wrong, it is always from the top, and that is where we have to start from if we want to make a difference.

"Right now, I don’t know if I want to go into coaching, but it is something I have to go back and think about."

I can’t be bought over – Jega

ABUJA—The Chairman-designate of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, yesterday, told the Senate that judging from the assurances he received from the Presidency when he was nominated for the appointment, he did not envisage any interference in the discharge of his duties.

Prof. Jega, who was grilled by the Senate for over four hours, stressed that the compilation of a credible voter’s register which, he noted, was vital to the conduct of a credible election; internal re-organisation in INEC and the actual preparations for the 2011 elections were his main challenges.
N50 million can’t sway me, says Jega

The chairman-designate, who was ushered into the Senate chambers by the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Abba Aji, at 11:16 a.m. told senators that he would not be swayed or bought over by any amount of money.


In an answer to a question as to whether he would faint at the sight of a N50million bribe, Jega said as a vice-chancellor of a federal university, ”I have seen more than N50 million.’

When asked whether he still agree with the recommendations of the Uwais committee of which he was a member, Jega said though he still believed in the report, neither he nor any member of the committee had an illusion that the report would be implemented hundred per cent.

“The fact of the matter is that members of the Uwais committee of which I am privileged to be one, were very patriotic Nigerians. They have studied all the problems and have made appropriate recommendations.

They believe that those recommendations if taken holistically will go a very long way in addressing the problems of elections in this country. I do not think any of us has any illusions.

” Our role was to recommend, but it is unlikely that everything that we recommended will be taken. No matter how strongly you feel about specific recommendations. So, as far as I am concerned, the key issue is whether the constitution is respected, the Electoral Act is complied with and there is due process in this regard. So, if I look at the Electoral Act, the constitution, I think I am satisfied with it.”

‘Presidency can’t influence me’

On whether he would succumb to pressure from the President if he ever comes under such pressure, Jega stated: ”I think frankly I do not expect that this issue will arise. I am satisfied so far about the assurances I have got from the Presidency about commitment to free and fair election.

And, in any case, my relationship with the Presidency is defined by law and the constitution and God willing, that will guide us to have a seamless relationship in dealing with issues of conflict if indeed, the need arise.”

On credible voter-register

On the centrality of a credible voter-register to the credibility of the elections, Jega said the commission under his leadership will work towards ensuring that the voter-register represents the true position of registered voters in the country

On the issue of election violence, Prof. Jega said he would collaborate with the police and other security agencies to ensure that appropriate sanctions were brought to bear on perpetrators of violence.

He said: “In terms of the perceived roles of the police and INEC staff in rigging elections, I want to say that what we intend to do and what I will do certainly, if confirmed as chairman of INEC, is to ensure that right from the outset there is dialogue.

”There is interaction and reviews in terms of our relationship with the police and other security agencies and indeed, with all stakeholders and obviously the success of an election is predicated not only on the personality of INEC chairman but the commitment of the other members of the commission. It is a partnership. We must build it as such.

“It is a priority issue for us to engage the leadership of the Police to see how we can prepare the Police to see how we can have a free, fair and credible elections and I believe that as a commission come out with very concrete strategies of engagement of examining the cause problems and ensuring that we adopt measures and strategies in order for past mistakes are not repeated either with the Police or any other group of stakeholders.”.
On corrupt INEC officials

On the perceived corruption of members of INEC, the chairman-designate said he and his team would have zero-tolerance for corruption but promised that he would work out a system of compensation and reward for staff of the commission to insulate them from corrupt practices.

He denied media reports that he was a consultant to INEC, pointing out that, “I have never been a consultant to INEC. I know that there has been a lot of speculations in the newspapers.

”Well, as an academic, once in a while, I get invited to give paper presentations as a resource person and as somebody who has studied elections in Nigeria, I have been invited three times or so by the then INEC boss mostly before the 2007 elections to present papers.

I have made paper presentation as resource person. I am not a consultant to INEC. Most of the consultancy jobs I have done are through the Bayero University Consultancy Services,” he added.

Sacking Amodu was a mistake

In a surprise turn-around, Osaze Odemwingie has said that it was a mistake to fire Shaibu Amodu and replace him with Lars Lagerback.


Odemwingie was one of the players who spoke up against Amodu at the African Nations Cup in Angola, leading to the axing of the former BCC Lions coach.

But after a disastrous World Cup where Nigeria finished bottom of a winnable group with just one point out of nine, the Lokomotiv Moscow forward said that it was a mistake to fire Amodu.

“They should not have fired Amodu. I think that was a mistake,” he said.Odewmingie went on to say that Nigeria did not have a team good enough to challenge the best.

“To be honest, we don’t have the team that can win the World Cup. If you go down to the roots, most of us, including myself, in our clubs we are not doing great.

“We are not like the big team we used to be, having players in the big clubs and coming here with the ambition to win the Cup. But definitely we could have

done much better.” Odemwingie also criticised coach Lars Lagerback’s selection and tactics, but says if the coach can learn from his mistakes, he would do better with the Super Eagles.

“I think the World Cup experience and being with us has given him some advantage over the next candidate.
“People learn from mistakes. If he takes the positives from this one and he feels good with working with Nigerian boys then yes, I think he should stay.”

“Three games three losses. I think a few things he did were big mistakes,” Odemwingie said,
“Like telling two strikers not to participate in defending.

“I think that is a big mistake with Nigerian football when we have one defensive midfielder and one creative in front of him. All our middle was open and that was the problem we had against Greece.

“Today the instruction was that three people did not have to participate in defence. I think that also was a big mistake.”
Odemwingie was reported to have erupted in the dressing room after the Greece loss, and explained that he had good reason to.

“Yeah I said to him that there are some key players in this team that he didn’t give enough playing time. And I was one of them. I said to him we have been here for a few years and we have qualified this team for the World Cup and he was putting us aside and it’s not fair.

“Some of us like myself and Martins are leaders in this team and we have been making the difference for the country and we needed to get more playing time and more chances to play.”

Odemwingie then suggested that his tirade may have been the reason he was left out of against Korea.
“It is possible that that’s why he didn’t play me today.”

NIGERIA BEGS FIFA

The Minister of sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission, NSC, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio, yesterday, met with FIFA president, Sepp Blatter and Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, to seek the body’s assistance to reform football in Nigeria.


Bio was accompanied by the Nigerian High Commissioner in South Africa, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (rtd), NSC Director-General, Dr. Patrick Ekeji, former Super Eagles captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, as well as FIFA and CAF Executive Committee member from Nigeria, Dr. Amos Adamu to the meeting.

The meeting which was held at the FIFA headquarters Johannesburg was to discuss the way forward for Nigeria football.

Members of the FIFA Executive Committee received the minister and his team warmly and they expressed their sympathy at Nigeria’s early exit from the World Cup as he (Bio) told the FIFA members that he is not happy about the present state of Nigeria football.

Nigeria, he told FIFA, should not be where she is today in global football, positing that countries that are not endowed as Nigeria are up there, using new methods of training and management to achieve great things.

He argued that Nigeria must join the rest of the world and the only way the nation can achieve this is through the restructuring of her football. He also told Blatter that there is need for FIFA to look into the relationship between the government and the Nigeria Football Federation and assist Nigeria in setting up new academies.

FIFA assured Bio of the body’s readiness to assist Nigeria in every way to make her football more competitive and take her place among global giants and asked that all football academies be register with it so that players could be protected from greedy agents and clubs.

The world football governing body admitted that while Nigeria is doing well in age grade football same could not be said of the country’s senior team as it urged Nigeria to adopt new tactics at the senior level.

It also encouraged the government to get a good coach that will work on a longer term, blaming Nigeria and other countries like Cote d’ Ivoire’s poor run at the World Cup on lack of continuity. FIFA posited that it will be impossible for a coach to turn a team around in two months when he is just getting to know most the players.

We gave our best – Kanu

Super Eagles skipper, Nwankwo Kanu, said the team was unlucky to have crashed out of the ongoing World Cup in South Africa.

Nigeria drew 2-2 with South Korea on Tuesday in Durban in a match they needed to win by any simple margin.

Kanu said the players gave their best to make it to the second round but that they were unlucky.

He said, “We were all out for victory to move on in the competition. You saw our efforts on the field all through. The Koreans were simply luckier.

”Football is not predictable. We missed some good chances that could have given us a two-goal lead in the game.

“People are talking about the second half misses but again that is part of the game. Those who missed chances never planned to do so; they wanted to score for Nigeria.

“It is unfortunate we are out but what can we do? We just have to learn from the mistakes of this competition.”

It was the first match for Kanu in the competition and he gave a good account of himself in the encounter. He was substituted in the 56th minute

the worst miss I‘ve ever seen.”

Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu has criticised Yakubu Aiyegbeni after the Everton forward missed an open goal during their 2-2 draw with South Korea in their last World Cup group game in Durban on Tuesday.

The result helped the Asians progress to the knockout stages of the tournament in south Africa at the expense of the Eagles.

Yakubu spurned a glorious opportunity to level up with the game standing at 2-1, directing his shot wide when he was presented with an open-goal, inside the six-yard box.

“As a striker, I think that‘s the easiest one to score, so if you miss it then I don‘t know what you will do,” Kanu said of Yakubu‘s miss during a post-match press conference.

”If we didn‘t create the chances we would have complained, but in fact we made them but didn‘t take them.

”The fact is that we played South Korea, a very good team who worked very hard, and we didn‘t take our chances.”

Former England international striker Alan Shearer said on the BBC, “I reckon that‘s the worst miss I‘ve ever seen.”

South Korea gave Guus Hiddink honorary citizenship after he led them to the 2002 World Cup semifinals and Yakubu will no doubt also have a special place in Korean hearts after his gaffes in front of goal allowed them to make the last 16 this time around.

It marks the first time South Korea has advanced to the second round of World Cup finals on foreign soil.

They were helped in no small part by some woeful Nigerian finishing, including the miss of the tournament when an unmarked Yakubu somehow managed to sidefoot the ball wide from six metres out and an open goal at his mercy.

It was an astonishing miss, one of the worst of any World Cup, and will undoubtedly be replayed in Yakubu‘s mind and on ”Football‘s Funniest

I don’t want Eagles job – Kanu

Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu has denied he is interested in a role in the national team.

Kanu, whose effort could not yield Nigeria dividends as the team crashed out of the ongoing World Cup after a 2 - 2 draw with South Korea on Tuesday, had been tipped for a role in the Eagles after retirement.

The Portsmouth forward was quoted by London Evening Standard on Wednesday as saying he would not take any job with the team unless the Nigeria Football Federation was reorganised.

Kanu said, ”The organisation from above has to be right for anyone to want to take the job. I would not take that nonsense.

“Portsmouth has offered me a new contract and I have to think about that. It has been a crazy season with Portsmouth but this is worse because it is my country.”

Meanwhile, coach Lars Lagerback has admitted he does not know what the NFF plans to do with him after failing to take the Eagles beyond the group stage of the World Cup.

“I‘m the one doing the game plan and the one training the team. Maybe with a little more time it could have been a little different,” Lagerback told thelocal.se after the game against South Korea.

“I have felt privileged to be the coach of Nigeria. It‘s been a fantastic journey in many ways. As for the future, I don‘t know, the focus has been on the World Cup.”

Lagerback was hired in March to take over from coach Shaibu Amodu, who was redeployed to the home-based Eagles.

African football needs overhauling to compete with other continents’ - Okocha

Nigeria’s former star, Jay-Jay Okocha, says African football needs to "go back to the drawing board" if it is to succeed in future World Cups. The 36-year-old said that African nations were not going "that extra mile to get results".

Okocha blamed a lack of investment in local coaches and youth players, adding that the continent's big stars had not delivered on the world's biggest stage. "It's about character. Our players have not shown enough passion," he said.

"It's an African tournament - we thought we could capitalise on that. That hasn't been the story." South Africa is the first World Cup host that has not progressed past the first round despite beating France on Wednesday.

And, while Ghana also recorded a group win, the four other African nations competing - Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ivory Coast - have struggled.
"I think the players have failed to understand that they need to go that extra mile to be able to get results," added Okocha. "They are not looking for the solution on how to win games. We go back to our drawing boards and invest in youth and start planning.

"In Africa, I don't think we plan enough. We always wait for an event and then get ourselves ready for just that event." Okocha, like all of Africa's biggest sporting names, has spent the majority of his footballing career abroad, playing for European clubs, including Bolton and Hull. He believes that if African football is to move on, coaches as well as players should look to foreign leagues to gain expertise and professionalism.

"I thought that the officials should be given the opportunity to go abroad and update themselves - but we haven't done that. We've not invested in our local coaches," Okocha commented.
"After going to Europe to prove yourself as a player, you come back to that old mentality - that old way of playing.

"Then sometimes players get caught in the middle. They try to bring you down to their level - and if you don't want to come down to that level, it's as if you're losing your culture, losing your respect."
Okocha, who retired from football in 2008, had scathing words for some of Africa's better known players, criticising their performances at the Mundial when compared to what they did for their clubs.
"I don't have to cover up those players because they haven't really performed. They've underachieved," he said.

"It's all about character. I don't think our players have shown enough passion for the game. That's the difference between the way they've played here, and the way they play in their various clubs."

Government to register unemployed Nigerians

The federal government has concluded plans to develop a database of all unemployed persons in Nigeria, the minister of labour and productivity, Chukwuemeka Wogu, has said.

The minister said registering the unemployed in the country is necessary because nobody knows the number of Nigerians that are unemployed, and planning activity has been based on extrapolation. He said when this is completed, employers will have easy access to labour while the platform will be very useful for all activities in economic planning.

“Unemployment has been a major problem in the country and has impeded on economic growth of the nation,” he said. “It is a global problem now since both emerging and established economies are battling with problems of unemployment which has been worsened by the fact of global recession which has been there for some time now. Inasmuch as we agree that there is a high incidence of unemployment; nobody has been able to have an approximate knowledge of the figure not to talk about exactitude though you cannot have the exact figure. We do not have that. It is only recently that the minister of finance said it is 19 per cent based on National Bureau of Statistics information. So because of this inaccurate data, we now went into registration of unemployed people and to have a data base on it.”

Mr. Wogu explained that an implementation committee, which comprises members from government ministries, private sector and technical experts on ICT, was set up to articulate this project and had submitted a report which indicates that the first stage of the project will involve the designing of an architectural platform that would be the basis for the data base.

“The essence of the data base is to capture at least 90 per cent of the unemployed people through various means of data capturing using facilities that are already in existence, which are state offices of the labour ministry and National Directorate of Employment,” he said.

Abuja pilot project

When the architectural platform is established, the next step will be the development and deployment of publicity modules, followed by the recruitment and training of frontline operators and monitoring officers who do the registration and also help determine the situation of the unemployed persons.

“The last issues are output and analysis of the data and issuing of reports. Tied to this is an outline of major deliverables we intend to achieve. After this is the major activity which now has a timeline,” he said.

The minister equally said that a pilot of this project will start off soon in FCT, after which other states will be covered. To avoid double registration, the ministry said it plans to introduce some biometrics in the process, even as it indicated its determination to collaborate with the National Planning Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics in this project.

An Open Letter to Akwa Ibom State Secretary to the Government, Chief Umana Okon Umana

Dear Mr. Secretary:



Today, a child in Akwa Ibom State, who may be as young as five (5) years, may not know the detail and all the intricacies of government-sponsore d assassination, which seems now to be a common prevalence in the State. Honestly, sir, the child knows one thing about assassinations; it is a criminal activity, which is always perpetuated by government agents. If a child of that age in Akwa Ibom State can be so apprehensive of such a diabolical act committed by those who profess to kill and maim for and in the name of government, just imagine what perceptions that child’s parents, friends of his parents, the neighbors that live around his parent’s house, and all the people of Akwa Ibom State harbor for such a government, which runs an administration of which you are a high ranking officials.



It may be soothing to your ego (and probably your fears) for you to imagine that there is a single person in Akwa Ibom State who truly believes that the killing of Chief Paul Inyang is not an act of your government. It is on record that Chief Paul Inyang attended a meeting of the PDP Caucus a day before he was gunned down, right in front of the door-entrance to his church. At the Caucus meeting was Obong Victor Attah, a man whom Governor Akpabio hates with a passion, because Akpabio has been known to tell anyone who cares to listen that Obong Attah is responsible for all his political woes. And the late Paul Inyang has been known to be a very strong supporter of Obong Attah’s position; to dismantle the present status of PDP structure in Akwa Ibom in order to guarantee a fair, free, and balanced up-coming election in the State.



In tune with the views of Obong Attah, as well as the views of many progressive people in Akwa Ibom State, Chief Paul Inyang was known to have confided in people that the present structure of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, where the brother of the governor is the Secretary and also where the governor’s yes-man is the Chairman, will certainly not augur well with President Jonathan’s determination to see Nigeria enjoy the fruit of fairness and equity in electing their leaders. This strongly held progressive principle was the reason Chief Paul Inyang did not hesitate to attend the Akwa Ibom State Caucus when invited by Obong Victor Attah, who was at Uyo at the time.



Your government has been known to be an organization of little or no tolerance to opposition and criticisms. Learning that Chief Paul Inyang attended a meeting in which Obong Victor Attah was present was, in the minds of you people, the last “betrayal” your Governor could stomach. How could a man who purports to support the Governor be seen among a group of people considered as “enemies of the State.” To you and your Governor, anyone caught doing such a thing has committed a crime punishable by death. And that is why Chief Paul Inyang was assassinated in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was in a church listening to a sermon delivered by his Pastor when one of your agents went inside the church, whispered to his ears that he needed to come outside (of the church) to receive a message sent by the Governor. The farthest they could allow him before he was gunned down was just to go through the doorway. He slumped and died, instantly, in front of the House of God and before all the worshippers.



This particular incident is not the first instance in which a high-profiled indigene of Akwa State was assaulted while attending a church service. It happened to General Edet Akpan. Your explanation and insinuations that your government has no hand in the death of Chief Paul Inyang is annoying to the people and they consider the content of your “Press Release” as insult to their intelligence. They believe that the reasons for your promptness to issue a disclaimer is not because you care so much for the assassinated Chief. People think, and rightly so, that you are afraid because you think a repeat of reactions that took place when General Edet Akpan was kidnapped are going to repeat themselves.



First, as soon as Chief Inyang was murdered your Commissioner for information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, was very quick to blame the crime on opposition. As if on a second thought, he announced that someone has been apprehended. Then your turn came. Sir, let me tell you what Akwa people really think of your behavior regarding this matter. They see you and Aniekan Umanah as the embodiments of the inherent fears, which are tormenting Governor Godswill Akpabio. Akpabio is scared stiff that he is losing the election to Akpan Udoedehe, a man who is actually a nightmare to Akpabio.



When General Edet Akpan was kidnapped, the public was told that a suspect had been napped and arrested. That was the end of the story. Till this day, no one hears about the arraignment of anyone who was involved in the crime. In less than 24 hours after Chief Paul Inyang was assassinated yesterday, as mentioned earlier in this letter, your Commissioner for Information quickly announced that a suspect had been napped and is in custody, a fact, which you have also confirmed. Mr. Secretary, no one believes you. No one believes your Governor. The people don’t trust you and they don’t trust your Governor. Everyone believes that you are hiding the truths from the public. Personally, I think the perceptions and views of the masses are correct; you are not forthcoming in your explanations to the people.



Mr. Secretary, let me be candid with you; the people want honesty. They want you to tell Governor Akpabio that he does not have to kill in order to remain in power as a Governor. Such a posture is not only barbaric, it is counter-productive and it becomes worse when it is accompanied with lies, such as you are spreading on behalf of the Government regarding this particular situation. I am surprised that it has not yet dawned on you and Governor Akpabio that the more he kills; the more it turns the people’s minds in favor of the opposition. Trying to put the blame of the crime on the so-called opposition is equivalent to trying to stop the spread of fire with petrol. If you think the people are going to appreciate a government known for kidnapping and killing unsuspecting people, especially in places of worship, then you must be living in the Utopia.



You and Governor Akpabio know very well that the opposition cannot match your government when it comes to committing havoc in Akwa Ibom State. The opposition has no ADUMA, but the government does. The opposition has no arsenals of weapons, but the government does. The opponent has no Police Force, but the government does. The opponent has no money, not even close to what your governor makes in one day, but your governor and your government do. In terms of the number of thugs in the street, the government surpasses opposition. What all these means is that there is no way opposition would be able to get away from the type of crimes that currently prevail in the State. That is why every time someone is kidnapped, especially high-profiled kidnappings and assassinations; the people consider it ludicrous when the Government issues public statement blaming opposition.



Nearly all the high-profiled cases of crimes committed in the State seem to have one common characteristic; vehicles with Government-Owned License Plates are always reported by eyewitnesses as the vehicle of operation. Yet, no investigation has ever been done by your Government. As a result, no one has ever been tried, let alone a conviction, in the court of law for using a Government-owned vehicle to commit a crime. This is part of the reasons the people don’t believe you every time you try to blame opposition for crimes that everyone knows are committed by agent of the government.



Another reason people don’t believe you is because they know you are well aware of those agents that commit crimes for Akpabio. Have you ever heard of a man popularly known as “Iraq?” Does the name sound familiar? You may not be comfortable with the name. But this is what the people know of him. He is a killer. He is the leader of the gang that kills for Akpabio. Sometimes ago, the police arrested and charged him with the crimes of kidnapping. But after your government spent N1.5 million to authorities, Iraq was released and his weapons were released to him too. And Iraq is still kidnapping and killing people while you, as the Secretary to the Government, Governor Akpabio, and other key members of your administration prefer to look the other way.



Soon after the Anti-Kidnapping Bill was passed by the Ste House of Assembly, which mandated a death penalty for anyone who perpetrates the crime of kidnapping, a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel Uyo was caught by the police for kidnapping. But he was released later, after Governor Akpabio himself made a personal request to the corrupt Commissioner of Police. You know, and the people know, that Nathaniel Uyo is a cousin of Governor Akpabio. And the criminal is still roaming the street of Uyo, kidnapping and killing people at will. Meanwhile, Governor Akpabio has refused to sign the Anti-kidnapping Bill into law because he knows that it is his own people that will be convicted with the law.



Then there is another diabolical fellow by the name of Prince Ikim. He was associated with and arrested by federal agents for his role in the kidnapping of General Akpan. The people know that Governor Akpabio spent millions of naira to have him released. Today, he is in Uyo and probably is still engaged in kidnapping and political assassinations. Sir, if I know all these from thousands of miles, rest assured that there is nothing that the people in Akwa Ibom State don’t know. And don’t forget, silence is no cowardice. Now you know why erroneously blaming opposition for crimes in Akwa Ibom State does not make sense.



The people demand truths. But since truths are not forthcoming, therefore, they have decided to take matters into their own hands; have patience, lay low, wait for the right day they can vote Akpabio out office. Yes, it will happen because that is the only alternative way to bringing back sanity to Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.



Thompson Essien

Portland, Oregon.

A New Word Added To Oxford English Dictionary

KAITA: A New Word Added To Oxford English Dictionary



KAITA: A New Word Added To Oxford English Dictionary



KAITA (Kai-ta)

v. Kai*ta, Kai*tas, kai*ta'ed, kai*ta'ing



1. To single-handedly dash the hopes and aspirations of one's nation in the full glare of other nations

2. To karate-kick your way out of the greatest stage/spotlight ever known to man

3. To destroy/zap/ siphon the energies of teammates plus 140 million people through unexplainable stupidity

4. To act foolishly, unintelligently or irrationally and IMMEDIATELY regret the action by falling on your knees



(Etymology: Derived from the dreadful match between Nigeria and lowly Greece at the 2010 Soccer World Cup)



Usage:



"Please, please, do not KAITA what we have been building for 50 years o! Oloshi!"



"I don't care what people say, I will KAITA the multi-billion dollar plan!"



"That man, you know, the hopeless, useless, visionless, KAITAing guy!"



"I was KAITAing until I met Jesus!"



Synonyms:

1. Sabotage

2. Incapacitate

3. Destroy/Demobilize

4. Jeopardize

5. Impair

6. Implode

7. Shege Banza!

OTHER MEANINGS AND DERIVATIVES



KAITA (Kai-ta)

n. Kai*ta



A term that describes a temporary but kaitastrophic loss of mental competency and faculty.

See also Instant Amnesia.

(Source: davidylan)



KAITA (Kai-ta)

n. Kai*ta



Kaita is a national disaster, an epitome of embarrassment, representing failed Federal Character principle.

(Source: teskyg)



KAITA (Kai-ta)

n. Kai*ta



An act of psychosis, bordering on lunacy, manifested by fabled werewolves under a full moon. Shockingly, Rino Gattuso (the world's most notorious hard tackler) is said to be spending sleepless nights reviewing KAITA's tape!

(Source: careytommy)



KAITAISIS (Kai-ta-i-sis)

n. Kai*ta*i*sis



1. A new mental sickness recently discovered by Neurosurgeons. It affects the victim's ability to think right or make right judgement especially when it matters most.



2. Victims often confuse the game of soccer for a karate session. Its derived from the new word KAITA

(Source: tlops)



KAITARIZATION (Kai-ta-ri-za- tion)

n. Kai*ta*ri*za* shen



Kaitarization is the act of being turned into a useless mongol OR a Shaolin Temple soccer player.

(Source: chichi234 & colomb)



KAITA-KAITA (Kai-ta-kai- ta)

n. Kai*ta*kai*ta



Kaita-Kaita means unprecedented confusion and unimaginable pandemonium

Usage: "Kaita-kaita don burst!"

(Source: lizzybabe1)





KAITA (Kai-ta)

n. Kai*ta



A highly explosive bomb needed more in Iraq than in Nigeria

Usage: "Allied Forces just dropped the K-Bomb! Yes! The Kaita! Ladies and gentlemen, the war is over!!!"

(Source: Active Man)



KAITARACT (Kai-ta-ra-ct)

n. Kai*ta*ra*kt



A one-of-a-kind eye defect that makes a soccer player see another player as a Jabulani Ball to be kicked

Usage: "Pity, he suffered from a sudden chronic case of Kaitaract"

(Source: we_lycans)



KAITASTROPHY (Kai-ta-stro- phy)

n. Kai*ta*stro* fi



See Kaita-Kaita above

(Source: ~Borat~)

2011: I’ll decide after release of elections timetable – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said he would decide on whether or not to stand for election in 2011 after the release of the timetable and guidelines for the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission.


”I will not be in a position to say whether I will run or whether I will not run. It‘s too early to make a pronouncement,” Jonathan said during a media chat on the Nigerian Television Authority monitored by our correspondents.

He said, “It is better to wait for INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to announce its timetable and guidelines. If I were to contest, I would declare my ambition close to my party’s (Peoples Democratic Party) primaries after INEC must have announced its guidelines.”

Going by INEC’s two option time table, the presidential election will hold either on January 22, 2011 or April 23, 2011.

The PDP is yet to fix its convention date due to internal crisis. The party got a new chairman (Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo) on Thursday, more than a month after the resignation of its former chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor.

Our correspondents, however, learnt that it might hold on or before November.

The President, who also told a panel of journalists that ”security personnel” shielded the late President Umaru Yar’Adua from Nigerians, including top government officials during the period of his illness, said he would speak on the issue of zoning/rotational presidency at the appropriate time.

Jonathan said, “I do not want to make comments on zoning and rotational presidency. This (zoning) is an issue that has been misconstrued. The purported issue of zoning keeps coming up. At the appropriate time, whether I am contesting or not, I will tell Nigerians about zoning or no zoning.

“Anything you say about zoning will encourage some public debate, it is becoming a topical issue. Whether I run or not is immaterial in terms of election that we will conduct in 2011.

“I am committed to credible elections, and I mean it. I feel humiliated everywhere I go and people raise questions over the credibility of our electoral system. It is annoying and I will make sure no other Nigerian President ever has to go through that again.”

He also denied the existence of a cabal or kitchen cabinet in the Presidency and said that the responsibility of conducting free and fair elections rested on INEC under the control of the Federal Government.

The President said, “I am glad that the appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega as the chairman of INEC has been applauded by several Nigerians. I did not go out to look for a perfect person, it is impossible to get a perfect person.”

He assured Nigerians that the electoral body would not lack funds to make the upcoming elections hitch-free.

Jonathan said, “INEC has good budgetary provisions. It will not be limited by funds in 2011. Apart from that, the controversial elections held in the past give our leaders credibility and acceptability problems globally.

“This time, the European Union, the United States and some other bodies have shown their interest in the 2011 elections. Outside our budgetary provisions, INEC will have external sources of funding. Funding will not limit INEC’s performance.”

The President said he felt Nigerians’ pulse each time he read newspapers, adding, “We don’t want to make politically- motivated comments. We will do our best to make sure that votes count and entrench good governance.”

On the power supply, Jonathan said his government was not thinking of new major projects but would focus on fixing areas that had caused problems for the power sector.

He said, “The power sector is almost like a chain with many weak links, which must be fixed to give us the minimum that we need. Our problem as a country is that we stopped investing in the power sector until the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo came on board.

“Our plan for Nigeria to have stable power is to complete reform in the power sector and bring the private sector on board.

“We believe that distribution and generation of power must be completely privatised. Government can concentrate on transmission, which can also be contracted out at the right time. We are trying to see if we can complete ongoing transmission and generation projects.”

Asked if the late Yar‘Adua‘s wife, Turai, hid the ailing leader from public view, Jonathan said, ”It was not the first lady alone” who shielded him.”

”There were senior government functionaries; they were not political office holders. They were security personnel,” Jonathan said.

”I asked the security agencies to look into the conduct of their security officers,” he said but did not elaborate on what that.

Jonathan acknowledged that he had his own fears about trying to see Yar‘Adua before his death on May 5.

He said, ”Supposing I forced my way in and after seeing him, something happened, and they started to make insinuations I was part of the problem.”

Akwa Ibom Global Diaspora Concern on Public Safety in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.

On June 19, 2009, Akwa Ibom State Association of Nigeria, USA Inc. (AKISAN) published a press release on the state of public safety in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria (AKS). It was evident even then that AKS was under siege; the government of AKS seemed unaware of the ensuing carnage, and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) was ineffective, out-gunned and ultimately unable to protect AKS citizens.
Recent incidents of terrorism in Akwa Ibom State, specifically the assassination of Obong Paul Inyang (a PDP leader in AKS); the alarming rate of kidnappings (including that of a retired Army General Akpan); the attempted assassination of a gubernatorial candidate (Ini Udonwa) and kidnapping of his aged mother (still in captivity), has brought all citizens of Akwa Ibom State at home and in the Diaspora to the tipping point on the state of public safety in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.
While some argue that kidnapping and acts of terror are not limited to AKS, it is now abundantly clear, that these acts of terror mentioned above are derivatives of an ugly politics in AKS. These are not random acts criminality and the government of Akwa Ibom State can not be absolved of complicity in these dastardly acts of assassination and reign of terror. This is simply unacceptable in AKS, in Nigeria, in UK, in Ireland, in the U.S. or anywhere in the world were democracy exist and God fearing individuals cohabitate.

The responsibility for a safe and peaceful AKS is that of the State Government. In fact, the Government of AKS will unequivocally fail in all other responsibilities if it cannot protect its citizens. The safety of citizens is at the core of good governance, the primary and most basic expectation from the leaders in Akwa Ibom State Government.

 We in the Akwa Ibom Diaspora hold the government of Akwa Ibom State accountable for the state of siege in AKS;

 We hold the government accountable for citizens living in fear;
 We hold the government accountable for the spate of assassinations, kidnappings and extortions;
 We hold the government accountable for bloodshed and lives lost;
 We hold the government accountable for the mindless attempt to assassinate or kidnap the gubernatorial candidate from the Diaspora (Engr. Ini Udonwa); the government is accountable for the life of Madame Udonwa still in captivity.
 We hold the government accountable for the prevailing acts of terrorism in AKS, which in turn threatens to negate all the developmental accomplishments of Your Excellency's tenure. The buck stops here!
Terrorism in AKS impacts the global economy and renders AKS unsafe, unlivable, unattractive to visitors, and unattractive for tourism.

Terrorism in AKS will stifle private investments.
Terrorism in AKS will hamper all efforts at economic development.
AKS will be left with roads to no where; further exacerbation of joblessness; more chaos, fear and misery.
Make no mistake, right now, Akwa Ibom is not OK. The global leadership of Akwa Ibom citizens in the Diaspora therefore requests a meeting with you, Your Excellency, to listen to strategies and efforts in progress toward ending the grip of terror on Akwa Ibom State.
Aside from the primary objective of this communication, which is the end of this scourge of political assassinations, kidnappings and political intimidations, we seek to positively engage and assist Akwa Ibom State government through development and implementation of the following recommendations (some of which we recognize may be already in implementation, but none the less, may be adjusted in light of the lack of impact on the state of public safety thus far):

1. Establishment of a cabinet level department of public safety and emergency management (focused on preventive and proactive tactics for a safe Akwa Ibom State)
2. Community vigilance & surveillance (neighborhood Watch organizations)
3. Properties surveillance (including churches; cameras link to security watch & dispatch center; distributed and central command)
4. Public space Surveillance (cameras link to security dispatch center)
5. Active and rolling stop and search (Joint Police and Public safety officers patrols (24/7)
6. Profiling and preventive arrests with cause
7. Curfew and lock down of state during designated periods
8. Counter terror intelligence gathering
9. Transparency in the prosecution of those arrested
10. Enforcement of laws on the books against gun ownership, armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism.
11. Offensive against those that cannot show source of their wealth.
12. Phone and vehicle traceability (legislation, policies, and mandates)
13. Disincentive ransom policy (no negotiation with terrorists and kidnappers)
14. Controlled movement in & out of AKS (stop & search all).
15. Money movement (through banks) laws and mandates (financial crimes watch; money laundering by criminals)
16. Enhanced and integrated Emergency response system (911 equivalent, with communications backbone)
17. Engagement of Community leaders & traditional rulers.
18. Reduction of the unemployment rate in the state; through revitalization of shuttered industries and creation of employment opportunities for youths.
19. Strategic location of speed bumps to retard escaping criminals

His Excellency, you can understand the importance of these concerns to the citizens of Akwa Ibom State at home and especially those in the Diaspora, and our intention to engage in the process of ending this state of terror. We hope you will find it valuable to keep us engaged in the process as a matter of urgency.
Akwa Ibom State has already garnered the ignominy of being listed by the US State Department as a no-go area. We cannot credibly engage the US State department (for de-listing) without demonstrable actions and improvement in public safety status of Akwa Ibom State.

Given the impact, including the value of AKS to the world economy, we will strategically engage the Nigerian government, the US government, and the UK government, if we find Akwa Ibom leadership without the urgency and right energy behind actions to end this scourge of terror, political assassinations, kidnappings, and political intimidations.

Frankly, to the extent that the government of Akwa Ibom State can not be absolved of complicity in recent assassination, attempted assassination, and kidnappings, this may be the right time to seek an independent and special prosecutor to investigate the assassination of Obong Paul Inyang, the attempted assassination of gubernatorial candidate Ini Udonwa, and the kidnapping of General Akpan. It is in the government's best interest to be seen to practice peace and justice by seeking Federal and/or International help in rooting out the source of these political assassinations. The Nigerian Police Force has been ineffective thus far. The Government of Akwa Ibom State has not done much beyond rhetoric. The Governor of Akwa Ibom State has not stepped forward, owned, and provided any public leadership towards ending prevailing state of terror in Akwa Ibom State.

It is time for the Federal government to declare a State of Emergency in Akwa Ibom State.
With the mandate of Akwa Ibom citizens in the Diaspora, I, and/or credited delegates from the Diaspora are available to meet with you at a time and place of mutual convenience, preferably here in the US during one of your visits.

We are of course willing to meet with you in the UK or some safe location outside Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.

We look forward to your response by June 30, 2010.

Sincerely,
Obong E. Umana
National President,
Akwa Ibom State Association of Nigeria,
USA. INC.
C.C.
Secretary to AKS government Umana Umana
Commissioner for information Aniekan Umanah
President of Nigeria,Goodluck Jonathan
Senate President, Hon Senator David Mark
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole
Hon. Senators Effiong Bob, Aloysious Etuk, Eme Ekaette from AKS
Chairman Police Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande
Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State
Hon. Speaker, AKS House of Assembly
Paramount Rulers in AKS
US State Department (Africa Desk, US Ambassador in Nigeria, Special Representative on Electoral Reform)
The Media

Eagles divided over Lagerback

Several members of the Super Eagles are divided over the Nigeria Football Federation’s plan to retain Sweden-born Coach Lars Lagerback following the team’s early exit from the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa.

Peoples Daily Sports learnt that some top players had soon after the 2-2 draw with South Korea which ended Nigeria’s World Cup approached the leadership of the football federation to plead for Lagerback’s retention.

But some opposed the idea and canvassed for an indigenous coaching crew to lead the Super Eagles. According to sources, among those that would like to see local coaches at the helms of affair was Peter Osaze Odemwingie.

But the trio of English Premier League stars, skipper Kanu Nwankwo, assistant skipper Joseph Yobo and Yakubu Ayegbeni want his retention.
The Everton defender Joseph Yobo urged the federation to retain Lagerback if the federation wants the team to emerge stronger from its ashes.

Yobo along with Sani Kaita and Yusuf Ayinla were said to have been involved in the campaign for Lagerback, while Osaze Odemwingie and some of the younger players are on the opposing side.

Osaze attacks Lagerback

Nigeria forward Osaze Odemwingie on Tuesday rounded on Coach Lars Lagerback, saying the Swede ‘made mistakes’ and claimed a sense of injustice at not being given enough playing time at the World Cup.

Odemwingie also suggested that he was left out of the final game against Greece because of what he said.

“Three games two losses. I think a few things he did were big mistakes, like telling two strikers not to participate in defending,” Odemwingie told KickOffNigeria.com.
“I think that is a big mistake with Nigerian football when we have one defensive midfielder and one creative midfielder in front of him. All our middle was open and that was the problem we had against Greece.

“In our match against South Korea the instruction was that three people did not have to participate in defence. I think that also was a big mistake,” the Russian based forward added.
Odemwingie was reported to have erupted in the dressing room after the Greece loss, and explained that he had good reason to.
“Yeah I said to him that there are some key players in this team that he didn’t give enough playing time. And I was one of them. I said to him we have been here for a few years and we have qualified this team for the World Cup and he was putting us aside and it’s not fair.

“Some of us like myself and Martins are leaders in this team and we have been making the difference for the country and we needed to get more playing time and more chances to play,” he stressed.

Odemwingie then suggested that his tirade may have been the reason he was left out of against Korea. “It is possible that that’s why he didn’t play me today.”

Government to disband Eagles

The Super Eagles squad that crashed out of the ongoing World Cup in South Africa will be disbanded any moment from now.

Nigeria lost 1-0 to Argentina in their opening game of Group B on June 12, followed by another 2-1 defeat to Greece. On Tuesday the team drew 2-2 with South Korea and eventually crashed of the tournament.

Authoritative sources close to the National Sports Commission told our correspondent in Johannesburg on Wednesday that the NSC had concluded arrangements to disband the squad. According to our sources, some of the big names will be sent packing while only the young and dedicated ones will be retained.

It was learnt that the body would meet with the chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation on the development.

Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama is being tipped to lead the new-look Eagles that will comprise home-based players and players from the national age-limit teams.

The government is not happy with the performance of the national team at the first World Cup to be hosted in Africa and has decided to act.

Our correspondent learnt that the NSC would encourage the NFF to retain coach Lars Lagerback to enable the country to build a formidable team.

NFF apologises to Nigerians

The Nigeria Football Federation has apologised to Nigerians for the Super Eagles’ dismal performance at the World Cup.

The NFF President, Sani Lulu, said on Wednesday that the body was disappointed that the team could not progress beyond the group stage of the tournament.

He said, “It is sad because we all worked hard through the qualifying phase and the period of preparation for this championship. More importantly, President Goodluck Jonathan did everything to gear up the team for the competition, including visiting the players twice in three weeks, and giving them kind words and financial pledges.

“We have to come to terms with this early ouster, despite our hopes, our dreams and our desires. But we must acknowledge that the boys went down fighting. We apologise for this early exit from Africa‘s first FIFA World Cup.

“We have learnt very painful lessons and we must prepare ourselves for the collective task of rebuilding our football.

“The Federal Government gave the NFF and the team the needed support. But the expected progress did not happen and we just have to look forward. Looking forward means sitting down and thinking hard and taking some critical decisions in the days and weeks to come. Despite what has happened, we are happy that our country competed well and our players gave their all as sportsmen, with courage and ambition.”