Golden Eaglets rule da World!...FIFA World Cup

Congratulations to Nigeria's Under-17 Soccer Squad for bringing home the 2007 FIFA World Cup, making it the third time our cadets will be winning the Gold Diadem. Bravo!

In da interest of "full disclosure", let it be known that Nigeria actually won the maiden edition in China 1985, and again in Japan 1993. Painfully, we've had a 14-year drought before last week!

Appropriately named Golden Eaglets, they won the cup without dropping a single match during the tournament. They beat every great team, from France 2-1 to Haiti 4-1, to Colombia 2-1, to Japan 3-0, to Argentina 2-0, and then capped it with a gruelling 3-0 finale against the European champions, Spain. Oh, what a nail-biting final, which ended in penalty shoot-out!

Commiserations to Spain. Better chance next time!

Our own Macaulay Chrisanthus won the Golden Boot for highest goals (seven), and was declared the Second MVP of the 2007 FIFA Fiesta. Double Bravo, son...we're proud of you! We are very proud of the whole team, and are most grateful to Coach Yemi Tella and his competent crew!

The team will continue their victory lap nationwide - deservedly so. As we celebrate, it's time to distill the lessons in this excellent achievement...for national development.

Here is my bold & ambitious short list:
a) Keep and groom these boys both as persons and as a TEAM - towards the 2010 World Cup.
b) Let's now have a Nigerian Sports University with SIX geopolitical Mega Campuses - to cater for every branch of sports (i.e. Football Academy, Track & Field Academy, Indoors College, Water Sports College, Paralympics Academy, etc) to give our sportsmen and women the best all-round education and training.
c) Strategic and generous Sports Awards, Grants, Scholarships and Fellowships & Honours for all categories of players, actors and stakeholders.
d) National catalytic annual budget of US$I bn sunk into Sports over the next 25 years, to create sound asset-infrastructure and resource base for this vital sector.
e) All "eligible" clubs to be grant-aided at between Naira 50-250m biennially, in a very very creative format that will also enable them hire sound crew, buy great players & athletes, and produce superstars.
f) We must now "internationalise" our local leagues, create our own grand prix, our own derby, and an "African Circuit" with great world class prizes. We have the space, we have the stars, we have the weather, we have the dollars, we have the population!
g) Through a Nigerian Media Special Trust, let's totally transform our multimedia offerings to fully support viewership, readership, global marketing and quality interaction in sports. Thank God for our newly launched Communications Satellite!
h) Recruit and fan out our very best as coaches and handlers, training them in the best places on earth, with a 5/20-year succession matrix.

My point is that we must invest HEAVILY, BOLDLY and CREATIVELY in sports. It is good for the citizens and profitably for the country. Here should be the magnet and market for ECOWAS Talents and Stars. Why not?

Without putting too fine a point on it, if a fraction of all the resources looted by our so-called leaders and their cohorts were this-invested, we would be a World 20 economy by now!!!

Let's use this victory as the right and perfect excuse so to do.

Happy CELEBRATIONS, Nigeria, many more go come o!

Watching This Country, NIGERIA!

After 100 Days of the new dispensation, i.e. since the April Elections/selections, we must say to ourselves that "Da World is surely Watching". And, may they WATCH!

I have a very simple comment, nay, prediction: All who made hay while the fake sun of the fake powers lasted shall be sorry where they'll land, nay, roast. We watch.

Many installed-puppets are ranging their installer-puppeteers studiously, cautiously, cleverly, and even covetously.....for da FINAL roasting! We watch.

It will be feverish, it shall be flashy, even fetish. Pray wishful or washy or windy, it shall be fatal.
The books will never be da same, again! We watch.

Hints: Read up on the states and the deadly manoeuvres aboard, and afoot.

Hints: Soak up on the National Assembly, especially the mood and motions of the senators.

Key: Contemplate the presidency, and the actions plus non-actions of da incumbent.

The next 100 Days...are ominously ominous. Da game of fame changes. Da gate of shame opens.

Mark my words!

Up Nigeria...on Youth FIFA World Cup!

Germany fell 3-1 to Nigeria this afternoon in the ongoing Under-17 FIFA World Cup, way way away in South Korea. Up Nigeria!

We narrowly missed an all-West African finals as Spain narrowly beat Ghana, our brothers, 2-1 yesterday. Up Spain!

Now, don't kid by ever doubting who I want to celebrate here on Sunday! Nigeria, of course!!

Well, as this business goes, we are also fair in our part of da world: Let the better side win!!!

Fair?

World Leaders...on Cost of Meetings

From Sydney comes the harsh reality: COST of HOSTING...World Leaders! Okay, more like World Leaders (whenever President George Bush is present)!! The Aussies are spending tons in cash, building unprecedented fences and other barriers, and deploying everything in their admirable security arsenal...for the APEC Summit, this week. Both Bush and his Iraq war are very unpopular in Australia (as where aren't they?).

It was always there: these protests started before Bush. All IMF and World Bank Meetings have been picketed in sorts. Will always be!! The G8 will not escape, either.

If the leaders ignore major issues or under-perform when needed most, they will keep getting booed, resented and harangued...wherever they assemble on the face of the Earth. The heat, like the Global Warming problem they're deflecting, will be on them! No hiding.

I was just wondering if the Americans are factoring this depressing phenomenon into the future of their worldview and global relations. America cannot go on like this!

We don't know how Mr Bush wants to be remembered. But the world seems dead set to rebuke him everywhere and anywhere! How is Secretary Rice coping with this quagmire?

No matter the cost, may World Leaders meet. May they, because of the cost however, make good things happen...from all them MEETINGS!

Pleeeeeze...

IRAQ: Messy War. Warring Mess!

This war of choice is a mess. Not new, right? Fine. Now the assessment frenzy is on. There are reports, and there will be REPORTS! Then.....the R_E_P_O_R_T!!

President Bush didn't go to Anbar Province (not Baghdad?) for nothing. Not for NOTHING!

The gates of the "messes" are creaking and squeaking open. After the much-awaited (you know whose!) REPORT, the "Warring Mess" and the splashing messes will merge.

Unfortunately, there will be no resolution as there are no good choices. Both sides of the divide, and all those in-between, must live with the MESS. Period.

As Barack Obama and many around the world keep saying, the time to ask da TOUGH questions was BEFORE da war!

The usually "diplomatic" British Generals have been speaking...splashing! Go read them....

Bashing Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki now is da same MESS: The time to set his TASKS was before he was used to replace/upstage his predecessors!

Now, someone else is warming up to takeover...in another upstage. Who? A former prime minister. Yes, a predecessor!!!

The MESS stays. Until the '08 Elections....