A Peep into Year 2012

 “If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.”-  Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian Philosopher

BOLT: Man to watch in 2012

In years to come, 2011 would be remembered as the year that almost about everything went wrong with sports in Nigeria particularly with the beautiful game of football.

The year that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) best efforts were not matched with success on the pitch.  The year Nigerian footballers missed out of the annual Footballer of the Year Award. The year of Twitter rant by Super Eagles’ striker, Osaze Odemwingie. The year the Super Falcons won a record six African Women Championship but failed to qualify for the Olympics. The year Nigerian football was played   most in the court rooms with different forces struggling for the leadership of the NFF and the Nigeria Premier League (NPL). The year Nigeria played the second fiddle at the All Africa Games in Mozambique. The year Nigerian clubs failed to conquer the continent. The year Port Harcourt hosted the National Sports Farce than Festival: grandiose facilities but average in unearthing of fresh talents. The year the revolving door of the National Sports Commission (NSC) hummed with ministers coming and going with little or nothing to show in terms of success. The year Nigeria’s Basketball teams failed to break their duck on the continent.  And not forgetting, 2011 as the year of Boko Haram!

While Nigerians bemoaned their fate, the attention of the continent is shifted firmly to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon as the crème de la crème of African football gather for the 28th edition of the continent’s foremost tournament,    African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The 2012 AFCON would be the most open in recent years without the traditional super powers like Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria and there is the likelihood that a new winner could even emerge by the time the Final Match of the tournament is played at the newly constructed The Amitie stadium in Libreville, Gabon.

 When I made similar exercise of projecting into the future on the eve of 2008, I reckoned that ‘nothing is as easy as predicting the winner of a championship as tough as the Nations Cup with the usual suspects like Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Egypt and Cameroon in attendance’ but by some strange coincidence, only the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire and Black Stars of Ghana are returning to compete for Africa’s most-sought after football prize.

Incidentally, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire still have a score to settle given the manner the Black Stars saw off Didier Drogba and co at the 2010 AFCON in Angola. The Black Stars today could well be regarded as the continent’s best team over the last two year with their super performance in Angola as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa when they nearly crossed the Rubicon as Africa’s first team to reach the semi-final stages but for that Luis Suarez’s offending handball incident an d the resultant painful penalty kick miss by Asamoah Gyan!

 “Winning this award feels great, but this is just personal rewards. I’d be happier if we could win the African Cup of Nations 2012,” said Africa’s latest celeb, Yaya Toure after been crowned as 2011 African Footballer of the Year, “I cannot wait to follow the African Cup of 2012. We want to play and win but we are going to be very careful.”

But looking at the field, I think Guinea and Senegal, Mali are most likely to give both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire a run for their money at this tournament. These teams could be said to be occupying the second-tier of African football but their rejuvenation over the course of qualifiers for the tournament means they have a solid reputation to compete for the top honour.

With the 2012 AFCON over, attention again would be focussed on the Super Eagles and the qualifiers of the 2013 AFCON in South Africa as well as the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Stephen Keshi on coming on board last November, promised to revamp the team he inherited from Coach Samson Siasia and what he has done in the last few months would be subjected to proper scrutiny.

2012 is loaded with flurry of activities. The  national Under- 17, the Golden Eaglets of which I’m the media officer , would  be fighting  for a ticket for both the  2013 African Youth Championship  in Morocco and 2013 FIFA under-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates.

I have been asked time and again how  I’m going to deal  with the perennial  allegations of  older players  featuring in cadet competition? I believe this a question for all stakeholders of Nigerian football given our experiences in recent years. The time has come when players with the right age are fielded for the sake of Nigerian football. Under-aged competitions should no longer be the end of Nigerian football but a means to an end. I would love to see a team populated with gifted players that could form the bedrock of the senior national team in the nearest future. We should no longer be satisfied with winning at-all cost particularly age-grade competitions  rather, we should be contented in discovering real gems for the good of the game in the final analysis.

Between July 27 and August 12, 2012 the attention of the world would be on London, host of The 2012 Summer Olympic Games (officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad) and Nigerians would expect Team Nigeria to do well against all odds.

It is a shame that the well conceptualised Team Nigeria which was launched with fanfare inside Aso Rock chamber by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006 has turned to what can best be described as an abandoned project. Team Nigeria Trust Fund was to be the baby of Corporate Nigeria but the project lost steam after the exit of its first CEO, Suleiman Baba Ali.

Under the grip of the NSC, Team Nigeria is under-funded with resultant effect that athletes are not exposed to the kind of training needed to compete with the rest of the world. Even more scandalous is the fact that the NSC which should have been the hub of sports development is now regarded as the cog in the wheel of progress.

 During the week, Amaju Pinnick, Chairman Delta State Football Association, stirred the hornet’s nest when he reiterated the fact that the NSC is killing rather than developing sports.

“I think the sports ministry is a chunk of the problem associated with Nigerian sports, instead of getting themselves busy to develop sports in Nigeria to international standard they are  compounding the problem, ” Pinnick who was once an ally to Dr. Patrick Ekeji, the Director General of the NSC.

Pinnick said he could not comprehend the fact that it was the DG that endorsed the banning of athletes schooling abroad from National Sports Festival, adding that Delta State-born athletes to the London 2012 are already fortified following the N25 million doled out by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan through the State Sports Council. So with or without the NSC, we can look forward to London 2012 with the hope that some Nigerian athletes would mount the podium.

Still on London 2012, all eyes would be on the incomparable Usain Bolt after he was disqualified from the 100 metre final Finals at the last at World Athletics Championships in Daegu last August.

"He's human, isn't he? I always knew he was human," said his coach, Glen Mills, "he will pick himself up. He's a champion."

Would Bolt’s thunder strike twice at London 2012? Can he repeat the magic of Beijing 2008 when he grabbed three sprint gold medals and as many world records? We can’t wait.

 In 2012, we wait to see if Barcelona, the Spanish team that has left the whole world enthralled with their brand of football, would continue to dominate the space. Complete with some of the best players of this generation including Argentine Lionel Messi, Barcelona is now regarded as the best team in the world and the Catalan giants’ legendary status would once come the fore come 2012.

 Elsewhere, attention would also be on England. That the English Premiership has become a sort of religion here in Nigeria is perhaps stating the obvious and it would be interesting see if the blue half of Manchester (Manchester City) would be able to annex the title from their highly successful neighbours, Manchester United.

Come back home, how would Nigerian teams fare on the continent in 2012 after cheerless performance in 2011? What about the league, can the traditional teams like Rangers International of Enugu, Shooting Stars of Ibadan return to winning ways after a dismal showing in 2011?

Plenty of things to look out for.  But given the fact that 2011 is regarded as a monumental failure of Nigerian sports, it would be wise to drink from the wisdom of Jim Rohm, a motivational speaker: “To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?”

These three essentials, I think, would help Nigerian sports to move forward in 2012.

Kudos, Abebe!

Dr. Abebe

 “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, and to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well,” stated Ralph Waldo Emerson-American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist.

Emerson’s can be applicable to Dr. John Abebe with the establishment of the AAA (Triple A) Foundation to help indigent cricket players enjoy the benefit of education scholarship. Not less than 13 players have benefited from the scheme to the delight of everyone.

Abebe said he was compelled to establish the foundation as his own contribution to the game he passionately loved.

Endurance Ofem, National Cricket Team Captain, a final year student of his History and International Relations at the Lagos State University, was quoted as saying that the AAA Foundation scholarship has enhanced his status as a cricketer: “I started playing cricket at a very young age but I later realised that you are not a complete sports man if you are a good cricket player without education. That is why we are all grateful to Dr. Abebe for investing in our personal development.”

Abebe has truly put his money where his heart is and need gracious commendation. Well done, sir.

REACTIONS

NFF: Results confusing the realities

*My dear Moraks, I Share your view on need to put a solid NFF structure in place for an assured future for our football. – Otunba Jide Adebayo

*So far we continue  using the so-called federal  character as seen with d pseudo zoning arrangement witnessed in d last NFF’s election .We won't get d best of administrators to run our football. Even at that, the Glass House still does not have a substantive second general secretary purportedly zoned to d southwest and nobody is talking. - Hakeem Akintunde, Sports Presenter, OGTV.

Don’t Cry For Super Eagles

*Good piece and food for thought for Nigerian players and football administrators. Moraks keep the flag flying. - Dr.Rasak Olajide, Lecturer University of Ibadan.

Lessons from Morocco

* I must inform that you are spot on in your report today but I must inform that all of us have parts of the blame as well (I mean players, fans, parents etc). I remember an incident that happened years back, one of my brother’s friends that passed out of secondary school in 1993 only for this same guy to participate in the 2000 edition of the Shell Cup for a secondary School from Abeokuta- Adekunle Michael, Port Harcourt

Abdullahi, Your Chance to Make a Difference

*Your column made a good reading. Just to Point out that the last NSC boss is from Sokoto State. I reckon time has come when outsiders other than politicians appointed as sports minister. – Emma Ohiaeri, Ahoda, River State.

* Another bull’s eye today with your column. The only goof is ex-sports minister, Suleiman’s state of origin. He‘s from Sokoto not Kano. -Otunba Jide Adebayo

* A mix up can always occurred which attest (to the fact) that you are human and not immune to error. Alhaji Yusuf is from Sokoto not Kano; try to be current as a journalist. - Arole, Ilesha

A PEEP INTO YEAR 2012

In years to come, 2011 would be remembered as the year that almost about everything went wrong with sports in Nigeria particularly with the beautiful game of football. What are the things to look out for in 2012 as well as the three essentials needed to turn things around for Nigerian sports  in 2012? 

Keep a date  with Inside Soccer Extra in National LIFE on Saturday 

NSC: Abdullahi, your chance to make a difference

One of the common expressions in sports’ parlance and indeed in life is: ‘You can never say never.’

It is on this premise that I’m back on my specialism: Working memorandum for new sports minister who also doubles as the chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC).

In fact, I’d thought this my peculiar exercise would  not come too soon following the  appointment   of Alhaji  Yusuf Suleiman into the  President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s cabinet last July. The revolving exit of the NSC has been humming since the dawn of democratic rule in 1999 with as many as eight ministers coming and going yet with little or nothing done to salvage one of the country’s most troubled sectors-the ministry of sports.

With Suleiman, I thought we were guaranteed at least four year of an interrupted service but like some characters that have passed this way; he abandoned the job midstream to pursue his failed bid for the governorship ticket of the People Democratic Party in Sokoto  State. Suleiman’s loss could ultimately be the gains of the NSC with the appointment of Minister for Youth Development, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi as   acting sports minister ‘to oversee the country’s preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games ‘ amongst others.

Abdullahi brought into these job years of meritorious service in journalism as well as public service.  A former editor at the influential ThisDay Newspapers, he was appointed as the Special Assistant, Communication and Strategy to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Dr Bukola Saraki in 2003 and two years later, he was appointed Special Adviser on Policy and Strategy to the Governor. Between April 2007 and May 2011, he served as the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology.

It is on record that Abdullahi discharged his responsibilities with an uncommon approach to the delight of everyone. He was duly appointed Minister of State of Youth Development by President Goodluck last June but his elevation as the head of the sports ministry( though in acting capacity) would be his biggest challenge with the peculiar mess associated with this important but neglected sector since the beginning of democratic rule.

 “There is still a long way to go for sports to grow and developed like it is elsewhere,” former Lagos State Governorship aspirant, Mr. Jimi Agbaje told me sometimes in 2009. “We are not getting it right and that is the sad aspect of it. If you look at the developed countries, you would agree with me that a lot still has to be done for sports in Nigeria. Sport is big business everywhere but we can’t say the same about sports in Nigeria.”

 Such has been the persistent reservations about those charges with the administration of sports generally and this I believe, would task the ingenuity of Abdullahi as well as unblemished record both as a journalist as well as administrator.

As I repeated here, t is really not out of place to question the seeming abnormality in the running of sports in Nigeria: Could Nigeria‘s strange untidiness be a consequence of putting a square peg in a round hole? Could it be a product of general decadence in every sector of the economy and the society in general? What is that awful thing commonly called the Nigerian factor that has stifled the development of sports? Why is it difficult for the National Sports Commission to churn out athletes as it were in the 1980s? Why the   overbearing attitude of successive chairman of the NSC on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) without due diligence to the rule of law?  How come  Corporate Nigeria are less enthusiastic about ploughing their huge  profit to sports  development ?Why is the NSC preoccupied with only football without implementing  its so-called SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Treats of Nigerian Sports) project outlined by Dr. Patrick Ekeji, Director General  of the NSC? Why is the sports ministry profoundly corrupt?

These are some of the issues at the root of the problem but time and time again, successive ministers just gloss over them consequently the total collapse of the once thriving sports industry.

The 1970s and early 1980s is unarguably the best years in term of physical and human development under the late Pa Isaac Akioye.  He was regarded as the doyen of sports in Nigeria because his focus was not limited to football but sports in general but the same cannot be said of the successive administrators.

“Nobody is a super human,” Akioye who died at 82 on February 4, 2007, once told me.

 “I think tribalism and nepotism introduced into the running of sports in the 1980s turned everything upside down. What has happened to the selection procedure? What is the quality of Nigerian coaches? No country can rise beyond its coaches; the better educated our coaches, the best for our sports.

“Government too has not seen sports as an industry. It is sad and unfortunate that Nigeria is neither here or there in terms of sports development. It is difficult to project into the future because nothing is being done by government and the multi-national companies to aid sports development,” added the late sage.

Let’s hear Agbaje again:” Sometimes I find it funny and ridiculous when people argue that you need only sports people to administer sports but administration of sports in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. Sport cannot achieve much in isolation, we need to bring so much inter play of forces in sports administration. Look at football for instance, I don’t think that it is only former footballers that we need in administration of the game.

“You need different professional to drive such vision from one stage to the other and that is what I think we need in order to effectively manage our sports. Unfortunately again, a minister does not last one or two years before he’s removed. A sports minister is picked out of political exigencies and seldom based on competence. It’s seen as compensation in return for a political favour. That way, we cannot move our sports forward.”

What else do I need to add? Agbaje practically lifted things from my heart and I concur that you don’t need a man with distinction in physical education or sports psychology to run sports successfully. What is needed to overturn the misfortune of the past is a man that has the passion for excellence and that is why the appointment of Abdullahi calls for some celebration.

 “He (Abdullahi) has a passion and there’s no minister more competent than he is,” noted a senior Editor at ThisDay Newspapers.

Passion? What is passion? Is passion not tied to performance? Of what use is passion at the NSC now?

 “People pursuing their passion have a clear sense of performance metrics,” noted by

John Hagel in Edge Perceptive.  “These are not externally defined and imposed metrics, but individually adopted metrics that help passionate people to keep track of their own performance on a continuing basis and identify performance gaps.”

People who are passionate about excellence he said ‘have a deep sense of integrity about their quest and they have demanding expectations about themselves in terms of performance.’

In his previous assignments, Abdullahi reportedly adopted scientific approach to management – the theory propounded by Frederick Winslow Taylor ‘to improve labour productivity by analyzing and establishing workflow processes.’

Often referred to as Taylorism, scientific approach is more than a cursory look at issues. It would be interesting to see how Abdullahi would deploy this approach in bringing about the desired changes.

His immediate task  is to ensure a successful outing at the  London 2012 Olympics and the cry in the land is that  there are no funds to even prepare athletes for an even that is just months away.

When Nigeria failed woefully at the Athens 2004 Olympics, Dr. Ekeji said that Team Nigeria would henceforth field only athletes where they have comparative advantage. He said that attention would be given to athletics, table tennis, combat sports like weightlifting, wrestling, judo and of course, football. "I'm not too surprised about the performances of Team Nigeria at this Olympics though we set a 10-Gold medal target. For the first time in our history, we prepared well but you would agree with me that two-three months of preparations are not even enough to compete well at the Olympics. We must now look at our strong points in future international assignments. In fact, there should be systemic plans to ensure that our performances in future international competitions turn out well."

But nothing has changed. All over the land, the cry is that the NSC has become an albatross to the development of sports in Nigeria and it would need a valiant approach for Abdullahi to effect changes-positive ones for that matter.

The Sympathetic Sultan

A great leader, according to an African proverb, is an ordinary person with extraordinary wisdom.

This much was displayed by His Royal Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar when a delegation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) paid him a courtesy call during the week.

 “It is good that your Board has realized the shortcomings and the pitfalls of the outgoing year. The first step to solving a problem is to accept that there is a problem, and from there, you move to tackle it. Now, it is time for your Board to come up to solutions that will propel our football even to heights that it had never been before,” The Sultan of Sokoto was quoted as saying.

Yet some mischief makers were of the view that such counsel was not in the right direction rather, they want the hammer on the NFF at all cost.

It is unfortunate that results have not been favourable to the NFF despite given their best and such clarion call to duty by The Sultan of Sokoto is in the right direction. The NFF is left with no choice than to bend backward for a better new season come 2012 and beyond.

Softly, softly Big Boss

Nigerian coaches are indeed a special breed and current Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi (Big Boss) is already proving that he is indeed an enigma!

Think he is schooled enough to know that you don’t run the national team on the pages of newspaper or on the FM radio stations. One of the reasons many were rooting for the employment of Keshi was the perception that he is matured than some of contemporaries but we are certainly seeing a new Keshi with his penchant to have his say even on mundane issues in the media. Agreed, the media has the right to probe and seek for those exclusive stories; it is left for Keshi to know when to talk and when not to talk. What Nigerian football need today is a silent revolution; Keshi should not bore us with how he wants to do the job. He should just put his heart to the job before the same media would jest him as the ‘loquacious Keshi!’