Sports and Nation Building

The development of any nation lies it the potentials and development of its human capital. The workforce of any country are the major players and catalyst in the achievement of the goals and stated objectives it embarks upon and executes. Nigeria as a country is not different with a work force of more than 50 million people it is quite evident that something is needed to keep that population busy and add to the bottomline. In a country facing Micro and Macro Economic meltdown in respect to inflation, unemployment, low per capital income, high rate of crime and other vices, there is the need to develop quickly a rapid solution to solve these pressing difficulties with their impending problems and SPORTS remains the veritable tool in achieving this. Sports has remained the only factor that has helped to unite the country over the years.Right from the grassroots level, individuals with potentials are identified and groomed and with proper training and a good transition program, they are given the opportunity to be independent. In developed countries of the world sports is used to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product of the country and that shows how serious sports is taken. Sports and Hospitality business goes hand-in-hand and no wonder countries like Brazil have turned their beaches and hotels to a tourist site for Football, Volleyball and other sports encouraging their youths to get involved. The United States,United kingdom, France Germany, Cuba and other nations have all embarked upon developmental program that gives individuals and students the opportunity to get scholarships based on sports. Individuals and Corporate organizations have sponsored and established foundation or endowment funds all geared towards raising the standard of living of their people and the community where they resides. Nigeria has failed to build a SPORTS POLICY in every facet of our youths wellbeing and the result is the rush of our young men and women to represent other countries were their potentials will be seen and well rewarded. In the same light our schools are being neglected and not inculcated to any master plan the government might have for sports development. We have many sports administrators but their impacts are not felt. The questions we need to ask is Why have we failed to make much impacts in competitions such as the Olympics, Commonwealth, All African Games and other competitions we engage in? what is the benefits for our sports men and women? Do we have any Insurance Cover or Mutual Fund policy our sports personalities could fall back on after retirement? What happen to our sports men and women that did not achieve greatness?What has happened to the few sports personalities we have achieved over the years? When was the last time sports added to our GDP and GNP? have we any master plan for sports development for our youths?Do we use sports to promote our tourist attractions scattered all over the country? Do we have the capacity to manage the few success in sports? What does the future hold for our youths ? these are some of the questions I hope solutions will be found soon as it relates to our sports development. Nigeria needs to develop and our youths remain the tonic we need to achieve this. Don't you think it is high time sports is given its proper place in the country?

Year 2015 belong to Novak Djokovic

The year 2015 will go down in Tennis history as the year the World Number One Novak Djokovic made a year of his own. He started by winning 3 out of the 4 grand slam title only losing the Rolland Garros title that has eluded him over the years. The price money he made is quite astonishing and non of his compatriots came close to challenging him as he defeated all that came his way. Novak story is one of patience as even though he played second fiddle to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he kept working on his game. even though Roger and Rafael have more grand slam title than he has, it is a matter of time before he catches them based on the form he has shown in the last three years. The likes of Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka have a lot to do to get to his level especially Stan who denied him the French Open crown. Ever since he made tennis great Boris Boom Boom Becker his coach ,there has being a tremendous change in his game.He now plays tennis for fun and with the Australian Open coming up in January, Novak remains the book makers choice. From every indication and the points gathered this year, it will be very difficult to upstage him from his current position. The result of his superlative form is that other players will end up doing catch ups.

Tyson Luke Fury and History

The much anticipated and expected boxing fight between the Champion Vladimir Klitschko and the Challenger Tyson Luke Fury comes up on the 28th of November 2015 at Dusseldorf Germany. The fight has really lived up to the hype it has enjoyed for a while now and the two fighters have been talking. Tyson fury with 24 wins of which 18 is knock out will be fighting the biggest opponent he has ever faced in his career the Big Ukrainian defending champion Vladimir Klitschko who has an impressive record of 64 fights with 53 being knock out and three losses. Tyson Fury backed by his father have said repeatedly that history will be made but everyone one knows how deadly and dominant the Klitschko brothers Vladimir and Vitali have been in the last 10 years of the heavy weight division. Who will win the fight and have the bragging right and who makes history? we cant wait for the bell to start the match.

Golden State Warriors who is the next victim

The NBA is witnessing history as the Golden State Warriors are shattering all records. Their current victim is the LA Leakers who even with Kobe Bryant could not provide any solution to the fire power of the Warriors thereby losing 77-111. The win by Golden state Warriors meant the team has gathered 16 wins in the current season thereby beating the records set by the Hakeem Olajuwon inspired Houston Rockets. Everyone is talking about the performance of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and the rest of the team. The question now is who is the next victim and for how long will the winning streak be only time will tell. Looking at the current season the play-off is gradually being made easy and every coach will be worried to play the most in form team at the moment. It seems as if the team is playing the previous season all over again and the land mark points used to win their opponent is alarming. Golden State Warriors is like a moving train and no club will want to be on its way at the moment.

Rio 2016 Olympics and doping in World Atheletics

The Olympics is around the corner and the revelation the world have witnessed recently about Russia sports men and women is alarming. It is quite surprising that the out gone IAAF  Chief Mr Lamine Diack had little or nothing to say about the revelations making people to believe and feel he knew more than what he is saying. Lord Sebastian Coe the current IAAF Chief has a lot to deal with and this extents to the IOC chief Thomas Bach. The cover up in the Russian Athletics Federation should not be swept under the carpet and investigation carried out to see the extent of the nations involvement. The story is a sad one and even though Doping exist, the level it has grown in Russia is alarming. The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) under the watch of Craig Reedie should extend its searchlight to other countries that have failed to meet the basic requirements needed for its assessments. In the case of Russia, we could say there is a massive cover up by the government with more that 1000 samples of results destroyed. Africa and the rest of the world needs to learn from what is happening to Russia at the moment and take decisive action to keep themselves away from the embarrassment. When the former head of WADA Dick Pound spoke about doping in sports, people never knew the magnitude of what he meant and now Russia stands at the threshold of being banned from the olympics. Many sports athletes and their nation have threatened to boycott the olympics if Russia is represented, therefore both the IAAF and the IOC needs to take a decision quickly on the fate of Russia. The olympic movement need to be free from all the negative publicity it is currently getting and the time to act is now.

Female Football Development in Nigeria

The dwindling fortune in our female football is alarming. The once dreaded super falcons and all our national teams over the years has witnessed a drop in our performance. Countries such as South Africa, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and recently Cameroun are gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with in female football. The reason for this trend is the neglect of our local league which was the bedrock of our development. It is quite interesting that the Football house worry over the male counterparts funding to the detriment of the female teams and it is still the female teams that brings the nation the glory it deserves. The private sectors are not investing in female football and the government has failed to see the fortunes and employment opportunity it would bring to our younger generation. Sports Women like Chioma Ajunwa, Pepetual Nkwocha, Mercy Akhide, Florence Omagbemi, Maureen Madu, Eucheria Uche,Ann Echiejile just to mention a few all brought glory to this country and the football house have failed to use them as Brand Ambassadors to raise the needed funds for female football. The politics in the Female Football department of the NFF is not helping matters and corporate sponsors such as Pepsi have pulled out of sponsoring competitions. The female league is a shame and the FA cup is just a make up and the injustice meted to our female teams and players still continues. What we fail to recognize is that Nigeria still remains a sleeping giant when it comes to female football and the grassroots potentials have not being fully tapped. Our performance in the World Cup could be better and it is high time we get quality coaches and respected training facilities. I am of the opinion that if 60 percent of what is given to the male team is extended to the female side, the sky will be the limit of female football. The Female Football League need to have an independent body like the League Management Committee and professionals given the opportunity to run the league. Clubs that want to participate should be given guidelines of what is expected of them and a face given to our female football administration. We have failed to qualify for two consecutive olympics in London and Rio and that is a sign of our decline.The next world cup is around the corner and if nothing is done urgently the same result is what we will get, lets put our thinking caps on now.

Real Madrid "El Clasico" Disaster

The playing formation of Rafa Benitez the coach of Real Madrid was faulty and this was evident in the match against Barcelona. The infighting within the team was another factor as players exhibited big EGO. The result is the humiliation suffered by the team and it will take some time for Real Madrid to recover. Luis Enrique once again showed how good he was as a coach and he proved that his team was not built around Lionel Messi. Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta stole the show while the Real Madrid players did not come for the party. The six points gap between the clubs if not checked might hunt the club at the end of the season. We are waiting for the part two of the  El Clasico drama at Nou Camp hoping that the disaster witnessed by Real Madrid will not repeat itself.

Minister of Sports Solomon Dalong

Nigeria has a new sports minister in the person of Mr. Solomon Dalong and the siege and suspense is now over. In my view it is not just having a minister but what kind of minister is he and the legacy he hopes to leave behind in sports.The issue and question now facing the sports fraternity is will this minister be different from the previous ones? Over the years, Nigeria has witnessed the existence of "Minister of Football" and not "Minister of Sports" except in the era of late Ishaya Mark Aku. Will this trend change or continue time will tell and this opinion depends on the policies Mr Solomon Dalong will bring on board. Over the years, other sports have suffered neglect and inferiority complex with athletes potentials never explored. Quite worrisome is that our country men and women are changing nationalities just to have the platform to showcase their God giving talent and if nothing is done soon, we will have brain drain in sports. Come to think of it, Football has only one medal while sports like swimming, boxing, wrestling and weightlifting have medals attach to them. I hope the new minister will see the Economics of Sports by taking advantage of the huge employment opportunities they will provide for our youths. I expect the minister to look into upgrading sports in our school curriculum and catching them young at the grassroots level. The minister has a lot of responsibilities resting on his shoulders and I hope he gets the right hands to assist him in developing our sports industry.

The Re-building process in Super Eagles

The National team of Nigeria popularly known as the Super Eagles has witnessed different building processes over the last 20 years from different coaches such as Amodu Shuaibu, Stephen Keshi, Samson Siasia, Augustine Equaveon and recently Sunday Oliseh. From previous experiences, it is obvious that the building process is more mechanical than scientific as our performance leaves nothing to be desired and has not changed. The sad part of this process is that our local players are used as prototypes and dumped when their so called finished products are ready. It is quite clear looking at  history that Clements Westerhof and Bonfere Jo are truly the coaches that did the real building process and the result is the 1994 Super Eagles team that was ranked 5th in the world because of our brilliant performance. Even after the exit of Clemence Westerhof, Bonfere still continued the tradition and the result is the Atlanta 96 Dream Team that gave the country the second highest title in football after the world cup which is the Olympic Gold Medal. It is also on record that the coaches we just mentioned apart from Amodu Shuaibu all passed through Westerhof and Bonfere as players and the question now is, Why cant the philosophy be passed down? It is becoming a thing of shame that the once dreaded Super Eagles with the fear factor in them is now rubbing shoulders with countries like Swaziland, Cape Verde, Uganda and even Niger, I know the late Rasheed Yekini, Uche Okechukwu, Benedict Iroha, Chidi Nwanu, Michael Emenalo, Efan Ekoku, Teslim Fatusi, Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Amuneke  and many other graduates of that set will be very angry and surprised as how events have unfolded. The Glass house is not helping matters and political bottleneck is killing the football. I just hope the current coach will learn from the mistakes made by his predecessors and build a new team as even the so called"DRAWING BOARD"would have been be broken based on so much pressure. It is time the country puts his act together and move our football forward and take its place in the league of footballing nations which is where we belong. The result of our obnoxious building process has led to the fall of the team and FIFA ranking with our players not winning the African Footballer of the Year awards. We need a positive change which must be now, a word is enough for the wise.

Reasons why our success in age grade competition are not transfered to the National team

Nigeria has once again won the Under 17 FIFA world cup for a record 5 times. It is quite a feat achieved by the country and it is worth commending. The country has failed to transit these worthy champions into our senior national team and the reason is based on our lack of adequate planning. Over the years, other countries of the world have developed a youth system that has made the transition possible and these youthful players have gone to represent their countries at the national team level and won laurels. Messi, Figo, Ronaldo, Dida, Angel De Maria, Cesc Fabregas and much more are household names for their countries.The same cannot be said of our players as only few lucky ones such as Kanu Nwankwo, Nduka Ugbade, Jonathan Akpoborie, Celestine Babayaro and Emmanuel Amuneke have been able to get to the pinnacle of their career. The factors responsible for our failure to transit include---- Signing of bad contracts by the players due to lack of proper guidance, placing money far above career, playing for unknown leagues that fail to develop their carers and potentials, failure of the football house to monitor the players efficiently and effectively, poverty, politics and favoritism. If all these vices are not checked, the growth of our youthful players will remain a dream and work in progress.

Chelsea FC and Jose Mourinho

The love and respect existing between the HAPPY ONE and Chelsea is something difficult to explain as even in defeat, the club still believes in their coach. The reason for this fact cannot be overemphasized as Jose Mourinho remains the only person that can get the club out of the current position they occupy. Football followers will agree with me that Chelsea FC still remains a formidable team and with a wave of magic from the coach the club winning ways will be back. For now we just wait and see how this would be done but one thing is certain the club, players and the fans are behind their coach and that is the tonic needed to turn the team around. May 2016 is still far away and it will be to anyones detriment to right the Happy one and Chelsea off in all competitions for the season.