FIFA, Nigeria and Under-17 age cheat: Leave Amiesimaka alone

A message to FIFA

by Adeola Aderounmu.

Amiesimaka is an ex-international for the Nigerian Green Eagles. He wrote about the Nigerian under-17 team and that there are overage players in the Nigerian team. He is right! Nigeria always field players who are older than 17 and that is why many of the boys disappear into thin air after the competitions. Only a negligible percentage of them play football for 5 or 10 years more after the age competitions.

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) should leave Amiesimaka alone and stop deceiving the world. As Nigerians we cannot deceive ourselves, we know the truth. Of course there are several countries fielding over age players in these FIFA age group competitions. The only way out is for FIFA to disqualify teams/ countries that cheat. For example countries that cheat should face ban of up to 10 years. Without that FIFA is just wasting time with these age-group competitions, esp the under 17. It’s all rubbish!

Some people argue that Amiesimaka would have been mute if he was part of the LOC. That can be argued. If he was in the LOC, maybe he would have prevented over age players from being registered. Perhaps he could have used his experience to assist NFF in identifying over age players that are not detected or tested by the MRI used by FIFA. We will never know the role that Amiesimaka would have played if he was in the LOC. But it is stupidity to think or conclude that he would be a part to age-cheat. It is carelessness to think that he would encourage that.

The ball is always back to FIFA’s court. The players that Amiesimaka have pointed out should be tested by the MRI. If the players are found to have lied about their ages, Nigeria should be disqualified and sent packing. The country should be disqualified for a decade if possible. As mentioned earlier FIFA should intensity the MRI and try to detect if other countries have also cheated. To do nothing about this allegation is to further encourage corruption in football. It will be true to speculation that football is run like a mafia organisation-that host country/team for example can get away with football crimes.

For us as a country we need men and women of honour. We need people who can speak the truth and live by it. We live in a country in search of honour and integrity. We live in a time when corruption, lies, deceit, unfaithfulness and political madness have destroyed our sense of social responsibilities (including sports). Somewhere along the line (with revelations like this one from Amiesimaka) there are still signs of hope that Nigeria will rise again. This will only be possible with men and women of honour who have what it takes to lead by good examples.

Things are getting worse in Nigeria

Things are getting worse

By Adeola Aderounmu

Surely there must be a turning point for Nigeria. The pump price of gas (petrol) is about to hit the N100 (one hundred naira) official mark. In the black markets and illicit gas stations, the pump price has always been arbitrary and over the N65 mark.

Until the turning point is negotiated by a conscious will, Nigerians are in for the hardest of time now and even in the future. Nigeria is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil but some of the world’s poorest people live in Nigeria. I have written about these things several times and I have also suggested the way out of Nigeria. The only thing to do for now is to continue to remind Nigerians that unless they say no to oppression and tyranny there is still no hope.

Nigeria is battling a lingering problem of maladministration inflicted mainly by the absence of a true method of governance. Nigeria professes to be a democratic nation but democratic values or principles are missing from governance. Invariably rogues, thieves and thugs have perpetrated themselves in political offices in Nigeria.

As recent as the Ekiti re-elections and the selection of gubernatorial candidates in Anambra State we saw how democratic principles were thrown to the wind to give way to the wishes of Nigerian political gangsters. In an inexplicable manner the people turn the other way and the silly behaviours of the thugs in power continue.

Nigerians have allowed military men and the political class to ruin the country. There are almost no voices of reason in the political game in Nigeria. In Nigeria there has never been a successful mass revolt or demonstration to sack illegal or non-performing governments. Even though Nigerians are intelligent people, the politics, and our general attitudes reveal absence of sensibility.

In 2007 a new but illegal government emerged without elections and to this day the useless government has been allowed to rule. The results are obvious and have been clearly stated several times in other posts on this blog. The most useless government that I have seen in Nigeria is currently in session. Doing nothing, moving nothing but shielding corruption and protecting thieves and rogues.

Things are getting worse and Nigerians must break this silence now. Sack this useless and worthless government and make demands for positive changes. For almost 50 years we have wasted our resources and destroy the foundations of our society. It will take not less than 50 years to rebuild this country, when do we want to start?

Things are getting worse; Nigerians arise and stop this nonsense. Enough is enough.

Power Failure at Kano Venue of U-17 Football in Nigeria

By Adeola Aderounmu

In my last but one post about this U-17 championship I wrote “Let us hope that the power supply to the stadia will be fully opertional or that the generators will be loaded with diesel. Any form of darkness at the game venues will spread panic and possibly hypertension. I don’t want to imagine a game at 8pm and blackout at the stadium. FIFA will regret this one decision to give the game to a country lacking in social infrastructure, a country where electricity is almost entirely absent”.

But that was a hopeless hope as Power Failure occured at Kano during the game between Spain and USA on monday. 14 minutes added time was given to compensate for the embarrassing moment.

FIFA be warned! It will probably happen again. This is my country and the government is a total failure when it comes to provuiding electricity. FIFA, it may interest you to know that the power supply at these various stadia are basically on generators running on diesels. It may also interest you that power supply is only to the hotels and stadia where these games are taking place.

In other places in Nigeria, the corrupt and illegal government have failed to provide power to the people.

Please don’t bring these games to Nigeria again until we have achieved 100% power supply to everyone in Nigeria. Thank you!

2009 U-17 Kicks Off In Nigeria

by Adeola Aderounmu

Nigeria plays Germany in the opening game today Oct 24 2009.

24 Teams in 6 groups will be aiming for the trophy. I wish the organizing committee all the best as they now try to showcase Nigeria to the world in a perspective that is of course far from the reality.

So for 2 or 3 weeks, we will lay aside our national problems and try to please the world. Pray no shame, disaster or calamity brings the competition to an abrupt end.

Security is a big problem in Nigeria esp with the spate of kidnapping and unsolved assasinations latest being the assasination of Bayo Ohu of the Nigerian Guardian Newspaper. I hope that the LOC will be able to protest the footballers and the foreign contigents generally.

Let us hope that the power supply to the stadia will be fully opertional or that the generators will be loaded with diesel. Any form of darkness at the game venues will spread panic and possibly hypertension. I don’t want to imagine a game at 8pm and blackout at the stadium. FIFA will regret this one decision to give the game to a country lacking in social infrastructure, a country where electricity is almost entirely absent.

Don’t get me wrong, I love that this game is hosted by Nigeria. I am just sad that more than 70% of Nigerians live in absolute poverty and are deprived of the basic things of life by an illegal government swimming in corruption and evil desires.

Good luck Fifa, good luck Nigeria. Now let the games begin!

The Bad Luck and Evil in Nigeria Today

By Adeola Aderounmu

Nigerians are resilient, no doubt about that.

The current illegal regime in Nigeria is full of bad luck and evil. Nothing good has happened in Nigeria since May 2007 when Yar Adua was illegally installed as the ruler of Nigeria. I curse the day I will call him a president! He will never be one!

Nigerian sports has now died completely. Education is extinct. Health care is rubbish in the public health institutions. In private hospitals, health care is as expensive as gold-

Roads and other infrastructure are near collapse. The cost of living is out through the roof. Employment is record high and crime rate is extraordinary.

Purchasing power of the naira is in the ebb and the cost of transportation has skyrocketed over and over again.

Summarily, the state of security is zero as anyone can be killed or kidnapped at anytime.

Yar Adua is full of bad luck and it is surprising that the people of Nigeria cannot kick this evil man out of the way. He is illegal and non-performing. His reign has brought tears and harm to our daily lives and he is still be pampered like an egg. He is using our money to treat himself in Saudi Arabia while 5 000 children die weekly immediately after or during birth.

This is so silly, as in what is going on in Nigeria. It is worse than horror movie.

If Nigerians don’t know, they should read it from me that as long as illegality and evil government persist in Nigeria, things will get worse and worse.

Life will never get better under the reign of illegality and evil. Millions of Nigerians will not experience the good life until they make a decision to steer the course of the National democracy and the respect for the rights of all and sundry.

Until this mafiac reign of illegality, corruption and evil machinations are crushed, the bad luck, poverty and all the attributes of a failed state will persist in Nigeria.

The first thing to do is to get Yar Adua and other forms of illegality out of the way. A revolution of minds and attitudes will present the way forward for Nigeria. The status quo is the way of perdition and ruin.

I feel so sorry Nigeria, the ant of Africa