Japan, Nigeria, Football, World Cup and Education!

Compare this to Nigeria’s rich Savannah where almost 90 percent of it is an oasis of agricultural paradise where everything can grow! Ambassador Wanle Akinboboye continues to tell me about Japan in obvious lamentation. Japan has a population almost that of Nigeria – 130 million. Of the 26 most valuable minerals on earth Nigeria is […]

Compare this to Nigeria’s rich Savannah where almost 90 percent of it is an oasis of agricultural paradise where everything can grow! Ambassador Wanle Akinboboye continues to tell me about Japan in obvious lamentation. Japan has a population almost that of Nigeria – 130 million. Of the 26 most valuable minerals on earth Nigeria is blessed with over 20 of them in commercial quantity, including the priciest of them all – oil, where Nigeria ranks as the 6th largest producer in the world. Japan has none!

Today, the economy of Japan ranks third in the world behind only the USA and China! Compare this to Nigeria that ranks amongst the poorest in the world!

Only a few months ago tens of thousands of lives perished in multiple natural disasters that wreaked havoc on the island country – a massive Tsunami swept through parts of the Island destroying a nuclear power plant in the process and unleashing one of man’s greatest nightmares – a nuclear meltdown! The people are yet to recover from the devastation. At the same time Nigeria was going through the ‘throes and trauma’ of a political rebirth laced with some of the ugliest stories of financial brigandage in the country’s history. On top of that is an economic and social restiveness that threatens the future of the youths of the country – all self-inflicted and avoidable.

Into these two different scenarios comes along an innocent global football championship for the feminine gender. It takes place in Germany. Nigeria, Africa’s champions, get knocked out in the first round after some displays that have oscillated between poor and gutsy. In the end Nigerians do not know whether to weep or to wail. Japan on the other hand rose stoutly from the ashes of disaster, rode on the pain of the loss of lives of their citizens and demonstrated to the rest of the world the stuff that Japanese are made of. The female national team went to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, took on the rest of the world and emerged winners for the first time in their history. In a dramatic final match, aside the final victory itself, the manner of the victory speaks volumes. The Japanese put up a demonstration of how man can develop the capacity to turn adversity into prosperity. It makes me recall an ancient prayer which says:’may the moment of our greatest challenge become the moment of our greatest triumph’.

Painfully, as Wanle pointed out to me, even on the football field the story of countries can be told. The last female World Cup sums up the differing stories of Japan and Nigeria.

How does Japan do it?

The answer is found how both countries have exploited man’s greatest resource – the human capacity. Japan has developed its human capacity through high quality education for all its people. Nigeria harbours the largest concentration of the uneducated in the world. Thats why Nigeria must address the issue of education for all its youths (and of high quality) with the utmost seriousness. This education must include sports for all its attendant benefits in scholarship, health, job creation, career opportunities, youth engagement, youth empowerment, and so on and so forth!

Davidson Owumi returns through the courts!

Still talking about football administration. Have we not been told several times by members of the Nigeria Football Federation that football matters should never be taken to court? Have we not been told that when this rule in the statute books of FIFA is flouted by a country’s football federation, FIFA’s hammer comes hammering down?

So, what happened in the matter of Davidson Owumi last week? Why has there been not even a whimper from the NFF, CAF or even FIFA? Is this not a normal court case that FIFA is referring to in its books? Why hasn’t a hammer fallen on any one?

Davidson is the man whose election victory at the Nigeria Professional League (NPL) board, an independent member of the Nigeria Football Association family, elections was upturned by the Nigeria Football Federation. He took the NFF to court. Last week, by the order of a Federal High court in Abuja, Davidson Owumi was ordered to be returned to his office as Chairman of the NPL board. Early this week the young ex-international football player majestically walked back into the premises of the Nigeria Professional League in Abuja and reclaimed his mandate. The heavens did not come crashing down to earth. In fact, he was warmly welcomed by the administrative staff of the organisation.

So, Owumi is now back in charge even though the matter is still in court pending the final determination of the suit he filed late last year. In this instance, there has been no reaction from the illegal NFF board in defiance of the court order. Can this be interpreted as new respect for the laws of a country, and that some issues in football can indeed be taken to court without attracting the wrath of FIFA?

Sadiq Abdullahi International Tennis Clinic comes to Nigeria.

The campus of The International Sports Academy shall witness the first effort to start an authentic tennis revival and development program at grassroots level in Nigeria. This is the handiwork of one-time Nigerian national tennis champion, and now Adjunct Professor and tennis coach from America, Sadiq Abdullahi. He arrives from his base in Florida next weekend to kick-start a tennis program in collaboration with the Nigeria Tennis Federation. The programme will take Sadiq to a few cities in Nigeria where he would conduct seminars, workshops and clinics for children interested in playing the game of tennis to a higher level of tennis.

The main clinic will last 12 days and would be conducted in the campus of The International Sports Academy in Wasimi, Ogun State. Interested children are expected to register to be a part of the clinic. The students shall be camped for two weeks in the dormitory of the academy and are promised a time of their lives and the best learning experience in tennis.

The camp will include lots and lots of tennis coaching sessions, class room work, films, competitions, social activity, trips, and interaction with other sports personalities.

This is the first time such a programme is coming to Nigeria and everyone in the tennis family is interested to find out how this will impact of Nigerian tennis that has been on the decline for decades now. Through the effort Sadiq Abdullahi, supported by the President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Engineer Sani Ndanusa, it is hoped that a new dawn will begin for Nigerian Tennis very soon.

Anyone interested to know more about the programme can contact me by email.

Hated by the NFF?

A friend visits me in my office. He walks up to me and asks: ‘what did you do to the people in the NFA?’.

I don’t understand the question. What did I do?

He says: ‘the people in the Glass House hate you, do you know that? You must not hear what they they think or say of you’

I am perplexed. Hate me? Why would anyone hate me? I know almost everyone in the NFA. We are all on good friendly terms. Whenever we meet around the football circuit we hug, kiss and even discus issues around the game. I never see hatred on their faces. Why should there be hatred in sport? Sport’s very essence is the promotion of friendship and fair play. Thats why I advocate always that sports management should be left to genuine lovers and practitioners. We may disagree over issues, but never hate!

I think about my relationship with the present board of Nigerian football. I really have no interaction of any sort with them. The work I do never brings me in direct contact with them. So, we hardly ever meet. There is really no basis for such powerful negative emotions. The only issue I have with the NFF is the election into the board of the NFA that I have refused to accept as legal and have challenged through a petition in FIFA. That is surely not enough to attract hatred.

My friend insists. I know what I saw and heard in the conversation going on there.

Well, I have nothing more to add than to say that I ‘surrender’. In my sports world there is only love and healthy competition, and respect, and winning or losing! Hate does not exist. He looks at me and shakes his head!