Sunday 18092016

SUNDAY Vanguard, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 — 45
Iwobi’s dangerous and powerful, says Wenger
ARSENAL manager, Ar
sene Wenger said striker
Alex Iwobi is making tremendous
progress and the
Gunners are benefiting from
physical power and instincts.
Iwobi made two assists in
Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Hull
City in Saturday’s English
Premier League match.
“He has a presence in the
game now,” said Wenger.
“Going forward he’s absolutely
dangerous every single
time. He plays well through
the lines and breaks them with
the ball at his feet.
“Overall his confidence is
higher. His physical power
has a big impact too.”
And, in terms of team performances,
Wenger has insisted
his side are getting stronger
as the campaign goes on.
He added: “[Last weekend]
we won in the last minute
against Southampton. We got
a good 1-1 draw with Paris
Saint-Germain and we came
[to Hull] and won, so overall
it’s been a very positive week.
“We are at a different level
compared to a month ago and
you can see that in our game.
We knew at the start of the
season we were a bit short
physically but now we’re getting
stronger.”
FIFA U-17 WWC: NFF begs
Flamingoes to fly despite
hardship in camp
PLEDGE TO NIGERIA...Flamingoes coaches Bala
Nikyu and Ann Chiejina Agumanu
NIGERIA Under 17 play
ers rounding off preparations
for the FIFA U-17 Women
World Cup have been
urged to concentrate despite
“certain circumstances” they
are going through.
The team will fly out on September
26 to Jordan where the
tournament will hold from September
30 to October 31. Nigeria
Football Federation
deputy general secretary,
Emmanuel Ikpeme said the
team is capable of winning the
tournament and make history
as the first women team to
win a title for Nigeria at the
world level. Nigeria is drawn
in Group C with Brazil, DPR
Korea and England.
“There should be no excuses
for failure. As a champion
team, you should never allow
certain circumstances you
might be facing in camp now
deter you from achieving your
goal,” Dr. Ekpeme told the
players in Abuja.
“”It’s no big deal to qualify
for the World Cup because the
Nigeria U17 girls always
make it to the global stage. But
it will be a big deal if you go
to the World Cup and make a
statement.
“You have the responsibility
to continue to work hard, be
disciplined and you will definitely
accomplish what no other
women’s team has ever
done in Nigeria and in the
whole of Africa – winning the
World Cup”.
Rio Olympics: Nigeria Hospitality House a
success — Abdullahi
CHIEF Executive Offic
er and Project Coordinator
of Nigeria House at the
recently concluded 2016
Olympic Games, Mohammed
Abdullahi has described the
experience of the Hospitality
House in Rio as successful
despite not hitting the ground
before the commencement of
the Olympics as planned.
He said the house became
a reality in a posh area of Rio
beside the world’s famous
Copa Cabana Palace Hotel
overlooking the famous beach
from a Penthouse.
“It was a wonderful experience
and the house was located
in an area where thousands
of tourists throng daily.
The Nigeria House was the
only house from an African
WELL DONE...Wenger and Iwobi during a match situation
country within the Copa Cabana
axis of Rio. It was also the
most expensive area in Rio as
a tourist centre.”
Abdullahi said notable Nigerians
like the wife of
Olympic football bronze medal
winning coach, Samson
Siasia was a guest of the
house, while Nigeria’s most
popular artist in Brazil Olumide
also came to sing and
entertain people daily. He too
was a guest of the house with
his family throughout the period
the house lasted.
“In spite of starting midway
into the Games, we had remarkable
presence of well
meaning Nigerians like the
new president of SWAN, Honour
Sirawoo who spent a
night in the house. Top echelon
and directors of the ministry
of Youth and Sports
also visited.
The Athletics Federation
of Nigeria (AFN) president
and 1st vice president of the
Nigeria Olympic Committee
(NOC), Solomon Ogba was
also at the house, presidents
of the Afro Chamber of Commerce
and his counterpart at
the Brazil-Nigeria Chamber
of Commerce visited the
house to brainstorm and
seek collaboration on future
opportunities for business
forums beyond the Olympics.
Others included members/
delegates of the Performing
Art Association of Brazil Republic
who attended a cinema
show of Nigerian film at the
house,” Abdullahi stressed.
Wither Nigeria?
By Brig.-General (Dr.) Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia
OH Nigeria! The 2016 Rio Olympic Games has exposed our inad
equacy in sports planning, preparation and execution. Nigeria
and her well-wishers are embarrassed by the results.
Every Nigerian that has made comments so far wants Nigeria to start
preparation for 2020 Olympics in Japan early while we should select a
few games in which we can excel. For example boxing, athletics, football,
rowing, archery, wrestling and weightlifting.
Facilities available today in the country are enough to prepare boxers,
track and field athletes, footballers and with small investment to
include rowing, archery, wrestling, weightlifting etc., for the Games.
Some years ago, in 1987, I led a Nigerian contingent to Nairobi,
Kenya for the (4th) All Africa Games. On arrival, all the leaders of each
country met and inspected the facilities available for the Games and at
the end of the inspection, they rejected facilities for tennis, hockey, tracks
and boxing on the ground that they were substandard.
We requested and met the President, His Excellency Daniel arap Moi.
I spoke on behalf of others that the facilities were substandard and they
should improve on them. In his reply. He asked us how many of our
countries have won more medals at the Olympics than Kenya. Of course
there was none, Kenya remained the leader. He dismissed us by saying
the Kenyans won their gold medals through practice on those facilities.
It is known and proved that practice makes an athlete perfect.
The military introduced rehearsal to whatever they do so that on the
D-Day, they can perform beautifully well. In 1988, I was also Chef de
Mission of the Nigerian team to the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.
I met many Nigerian athletes who represented other countries such as
Britain, Canada, etc. In particular, in one of the races, 400m men, the
announcer said “Lane 1, Akagbusi, Great Britain, Lane 2, Suleiman,
France, Lane 3, Ezeani, Canada and Lane 4, Innocent Egbunike of
Nigeria. It was clear that Lanes 1-4 were occupied by Nigerian-born
athletes. That race was won by Ezeani of Canada. At the end of the race,
I invited Ezeani and asked him where he came from, he told me his
father said they came from Imo state in Nigeria. Why are you competing
for Canada, I asked him? He told me he was a Canadian, that all
efforts made for them to return to Nigeria was foiled by the Nigeria
Civil Service Commission which could not offer his father an appointment
even though he had a Masters Degree. When his father waited in
Nigeria for some time and there was no news from the employment
agency, he returned to Canada to take up citizenship. Nine months or
thereabout after going back to Canada and taking up citizenship, he
got a letter from the Nigerian employment agency asking the father to
send 10 copies of the original application back to the agency. His
father looked at the paper and the cost of posting, he laughed and said
the cost of posting could have been used to make more than 100
copies in Nigeria. So since then they have not returned to Nigeria.
I am aware that Great Britain was represented recently by an athlete
called Osagie in 800m and Adeoye in another other events, Jimoh
and some other girls represented the USA while (Francis) Obikwelu
represented Portugal and was the European champion for a
number of years.
Where do we go from here you ask? My answer to that question is
that we should accept the principle that the behaviour and competence
of a society or group is a reflection of the quality of leadership it
gets, that means whoever is in charge of sports must have a temperament
for victory.
There are a lot that can be done if we practice hard, we would
always win. A swimmer told me in Munich in 1972 that he has to
swim over 30,000 kilometres of water in preparation for his 100metres
freestyle competition at the Olympic Games. In other words, there
is no miracle in sports, but practice and practice and practice!
(Nduka) Odizor was trained to play tennis in Nigeria and for a long
time, he played in the circuit as a professional tennis player and I
remember that he represented Nigeria in a number of competitions.
We must plan, prepare and go in for competitions.
Every athlete should be trained by a competent and fit coach. As
Chairman of the National Sports Commission, I decided and took
170 coaches to Bauchi to test their fitness and only four made it. So
how do you expect an unfit coach to coach someone to be fit.
The sports authorities should first have somebody who is fit, appoint
people, regardless of where they come from, that are competent
to train Nigerians for international competitions. Recently, President
Buhari said “change begins with me”. So the need for change is of
paramount importance. We must start our preparation tomorrow.
The above was put down by Brig.-General (Dr.) Samuel Osaigbovo
Ogbemudia, two-time governor of former Midwest/Bendel state and
former Chairman of the defunct National Sports Commission. He
turned 84 yesterday and yours truly visited him at his Benin city home
two days earlier, not for the birthday celebration but on the way out of
the present state of our sports. Because I told him I was coming, he
prepared this piece that he discussed with me.
He also went outside this written piece to reveal so many things about
himself and what prompted him to promote sports in the then Midwest/
Bendel that has made it the standard to judge not only Edo and Delta
which made up the old state he governed but the entire country as it
were today. His success, he said is attributable to the his military discipline
and passion for sports coupled by the fact that he also trained as
a coach. Even as he celebrated his 84th birthday joyfully with family
and friends, part of him remained sore, that he is seeing his legacy go
down the drain. “I built the Afuze training camp to develop our sports
men and women but today they have conspired to destroy that place.
The football pitch has been turned into a cassava farm”, he told me. At
this stage I felt pity for him and shame for our country.
C
M
Y
K