I must thank you all for your congrats and best wishes. And for the names too. In my family, there had always been this tradition of everybody giving a baby a name.
I can remember my Dad introducing to someone and saying something like
'She was the one who gave you the name XYZ? or 'Why do you think you are called ABC? He gave you the name!'. The child has a family name which is 'given' by the father (long story) and the Mother gives any number of names she wants. The grandparents, aunties, uncles and then friends of the family. Usually, friends give names in their own language.
One rule though: A son cannot bear the same first name as his father.
And 'Junior' is not a name.
In all, I think I had about 70 names of different origins/languages etc including Sebastian, which I dont like at all. My first son had 43 names including Abu Rafiq which was given to him by my Lebanese colleagues after the slain former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri.
And so, his names are:
Ademayowa
Adedeji
Olubukunola
Unwanaobong
Moyosooretoluwasefunmi (What? Don't look at me, thats from the Mother!)
Kwaku
Ndidiamaka
Effiong
Olaoluwakiitan (I think Jinta, 36 and Naapali share the honors here)
Onetoritsebawoete (Thats Black007)
Ademide
Olumide (I sincerely hope that my son gets to meet Auntie 36-inches someday. There would be an introduction that day!)
Ekemini
Abasiama
Ewezu
Kanu
Raheim
Rami
(*Space)
(*Space)
(*Space)
(*Space)
I cannot believe that I have been away from the Internet for a whole week. My Internet subscription at home lapsed on Thursday but I was just so occupied with the new baby that I did not renew it. Abi, na Internet the baby go chop?
I was there in the labor room and had some pictures and videos on my phone of the baby barely an hour after he was born but I just cant seem to connect the phone to the PC via cable! I have tried to use infrared, whosai? and the phone does not have blue tooth. I will put the pictures up as soon as I have them ready.
One thing though. You know in the past babies were born with their eyes closed and usually stays closed for up to a month before they open their eyes. Barely twenty minutes after he was born my son had opened his eyes! And the Doctors said it was normal. Children of nowadays.
I also think that constitutional provisions should be made for a fully paid 'paternity leave' for working fathers too. At least we were in the labor room together, we sleep in the same room with the baby abi?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Na Boy!: And His Name Shall Be Called .....
Da La Luz
For unto us a bouncing baby boy was born. Wednesday 19th March 2008 at 1100 Hours. Mother and baby are doing very well, Father has been detained by the Doctors for observation due to over excitement.
As is Yoruba custom, the isomoloruko (naming ceremony) will come up in eight days time and I usually allow all friends of the family to give names to the newborn.
So peeps, its time to start sending the names. I am collecting. Give the child a name.
Many thanx.
For unto us a bouncing baby boy was born. Wednesday 19th March 2008 at 1100 Hours. Mother and baby are doing very well, Father has been detained by the Doctors for observation due to over excitement.
As is Yoruba custom, the isomoloruko (naming ceremony) will come up in eight days time and I usually allow all friends of the family to give names to the newborn.
So peeps, its time to start sending the names. I am collecting. Give the child a name.
Many thanx.
Monday, March 17, 2008
.... That We May Have The Good Life ....
This is further to the post on GNaija's blog and my comments thereon.
Most of our (grand)parents have/had lived through two great wars - WW2 and the Civil War - and were witnesses to the attendant deprivations. They did not want their children to go through same. They were witnesses to the struggle for independence and the eventual attainment of that goal.
After independence, the challenge of our (grand)parents was to pass on a high quality of life to their children. A qualify of life most of them never had but they knew was possible. If only they could raise their children to know what the white man knew. Building this new society called for more doctors, more lawyers, more engineers.
So they struggled to give their children an education to achieve their goals. So our parents became the doctors, the lawyers, the administrators and shortly after, they too became parents.
It is not in question if our parents had artistic talents. A generation that produced Soyinka, Achebe, Fela, Onabrakpeya and Ogunde could not but have had it. But for every Soyinka there must have been at least a thousand others good writers who became engineers or doctors. For every Achebe, would have been at least a thousand businessmen with fine painting skills. And Fela could have become just another manager in UAC.
There were a lot of talents but they had to survive first. And survival meant getting a degree in medicine, engineering or whatnot. Getting a 'good' job and then working hard at providing the good life for your family.
It is true that we do not have the same challenges as they had. Our generation can afford to pursue our artistic (and otherwise) dreams because they have provided for us. They had cleared the bush for us to plant.
As I had said, we will be ungrateful if we do not recognize their sacrifices for us. They sacrificed their dreams - and happiness - that we might have the good life. That we might have the luxury of dreams. That we might nurture our talents and become all that we can be.
You know, every time I hear Tuface sing, I remember Felix Lebarty of the 'Am Your Lover Boy, Lover Boy, Boy-y-y, Am Your Boyfriend' fame. He was one of the few Nigerian acts to sell a million records and go platinum. Last I heard, he was selling cars.
Asa reminds me of Martha Ulaeto. Martha who? you'd probably ask. She was an artiste in the 80s and sang ballads back then. She actually had a song - 'African Life' back then. God knows where she's at now. (New and correct information: The song was 'Africa Rise' and there's more info on Martha here. Also, listen to the song there too. Go there people, I recommend it. Many thanx to Comb&Razor!)
And there was Prince Nico Mbarga. Remember 'Sweet Mother, I no go forget you ...'. Probably still the highest selling Nigerian act ever. Last we heard, he died on an okada in Calabar.
Most of our (grand)parents have/had lived through two great wars - WW2 and the Civil War - and were witnesses to the attendant deprivations. They did not want their children to go through same. They were witnesses to the struggle for independence and the eventual attainment of that goal.
After independence, the challenge of our (grand)parents was to pass on a high quality of life to their children. A qualify of life most of them never had but they knew was possible. If only they could raise their children to know what the white man knew. Building this new society called for more doctors, more lawyers, more engineers.
So they struggled to give their children an education to achieve their goals. So our parents became the doctors, the lawyers, the administrators and shortly after, they too became parents.
It is not in question if our parents had artistic talents. A generation that produced Soyinka, Achebe, Fela, Onabrakpeya and Ogunde could not but have had it. But for every Soyinka there must have been at least a thousand others good writers who became engineers or doctors. For every Achebe, would have been at least a thousand businessmen with fine painting skills. And Fela could have become just another manager in UAC.
There were a lot of talents but they had to survive first. And survival meant getting a degree in medicine, engineering or whatnot. Getting a 'good' job and then working hard at providing the good life for your family.
It is true that we do not have the same challenges as they had. Our generation can afford to pursue our artistic (and otherwise) dreams because they have provided for us. They had cleared the bush for us to plant.
As I had said, we will be ungrateful if we do not recognize their sacrifices for us. They sacrificed their dreams - and happiness - that we might have the good life. That we might have the luxury of dreams. That we might nurture our talents and become all that we can be.
You know, every time I hear Tuface sing, I remember Felix Lebarty of the 'Am Your Lover Boy, Lover Boy, Boy-y-y, Am Your Boyfriend' fame. He was one of the few Nigerian acts to sell a million records and go platinum. Last I heard, he was selling cars.
Asa reminds me of Martha Ulaeto. Martha who? you'd probably ask. She was an artiste in the 80s and sang ballads back then. She actually had a song - 'African Life' back then. God knows where she's at now. (New and correct information: The song was 'Africa Rise' and there's more info on Martha here. Also, listen to the song there too. Go there people, I recommend it. Many thanx to Comb&Razor!)
And there was Prince Nico Mbarga. Remember 'Sweet Mother, I no go forget you ...'. Probably still the highest selling Nigerian act ever. Last we heard, he died on an okada in Calabar.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Will There Ever Be A Black James Bond?
I can remember the following conversation (or something quite close) between my father, Perry A and the nine/ten year old Nimmo.
Perry A: .... Look, the British people take this their James Bond very seriously so they cannot allow anybody who is not one to act James Bond.
Nimmo: But I can do anything anybody else can do. I can shoot and I can say 'My name is Bond, James Bond' in any accent they want and even you say I do it better than anyone else...
Perry A: I know you do but ...
Nimmo: ... but George Lazenby is not British now and he did James Bond.
Perry A: Understand that Lazenby is an Australian, so technically he's still British.
Nimmo: So what does he have that I dont have?
Perry A: For one, he's white and you're not!
Ouch! I cried that day ehn! You would think someone killed me.
The Spy Who Loved Me
Ever since I could watch and understand movies, I have wanted to be James Bond. Later, I read all the James Bond books by Ian Fleming in my father's library and more. I wanted to be James Bond so much that I could repeat everything James Bond said in two movies 'Goldfinger' and 'Live and Let Die' which were the first two I watched and watched so often that the VHS tapes practically faded on me.
Live And Let Die
I hounded neighbors into exchanging films with me by loading my offers. I can remember offering one guy all the cassettes we had just to have their copy of 'Thunderball'. Even if he had wanted the TV, I would have offered. And there was the girl who gave me 'The Spy Who Loved Me' -it had just come out then- and asked me to return it in two hours! I ran like a mad man that day.
The World Is Not Enough
For those who know and even for those who don't, James Bond is the bomb! Almost fifty years after the first movie, he's still selling like hot cakes and the 22nd James Bond film - Quantum of Solace- is coming out this November starring Daniel Craig. The movies are reported to have grossed about eleven billion dollars in box office takings since 1962! It was the highest selling movie series of all time - until Harry Potter.
The Man With The Golden Gun
What exactly was there to love about James Bond? Everything, I would say. He is the quintessential action hero. Someone described it thus: In an action movie, ... the hero may be shaken, but never stirred. In an action film the hero should always remain calm, collected, he does not show fear ...
And then there were the Bond Girls. Damn! Their names alone was enough to give a teenager wet dreams. I still think such names could only have come from a highly sexed, masculine mind. Haba! With names like these ...
Imagine the ones like:
Mary Goodnight, Moneypenny, Solitaire, May Day, or Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson
To the ones like:
Kissy Suzuki, Plenty O'Toole, Holly Goodhead, Penny Smallbone(r?), Molly Warmflesh (sp?), Honey Rider, Octopussy (!), and Pussy Galore (Damn!)
All Bond girls are, almost by definition, beautiful and follow a fairly well-developed pattern of beauty. They have splendid figures and make their appearances in evening wear, in bra and panties and sometimes, naked.
The delectable Halle Berry was already on my list of all time greats as far as female actors were concerned, but when she pulled off that performance as Jinx in Die Another Day, she booked her place among the legends in my estimation. Permanently.
So far only two Bond girls have been black - Berry above and Grace Jones as May Day in A view To A Kill -, but never a black James Bond. The thing dey pain me o.
(Correction: I missed out Gloria Hendry who was actually the very first Bond Girl who was black as Rosie Carver in 'Live And Let Die'. Thanks Allied and Solomonsydelle for the info.)
Safari for Spies
As with everything, the Americans have tried to come out with their own version of James Bond for a long time without much success.
Derek Flint (Our Man Flint; In Like Flint) had tried but James Corburn just didn't have the appeal or rather the movies story lines were just too phoney, too contrived to really gel with audiences. Unlike Bond who makes some stupid mistakes sometimes, Flint was just too 'perfect' for someone like me.
Nicholas J. Huntington Carter III, KillMaster, AXE Agent N3 would probably have been a hit if someone had been bold enough to put it in film. (The name Nick Carter was a pseudonym the writer Valerie Moolman got from a 19th century detective comic strip (itself modeled after Sherlock Holmes). A Nick Carter movie would probably have been rated XXX. And the guy lie lie too much.
But really, will there ever be a black James Bond?
As I grew older I lost my fascination for wanting to be James Bond and settled to being other things particularly when I discovered the Pacesetters series which had action heroes I could actually hope to 'become' like Commander Jack Ebony in 'The Mark of the Cobra' by Valentine Alily (Henri Valentino) or Agent Debomi Davies in 'Symphony of Destruction'. There was also Agent Benni Kamba 009 in 'The Equatorial Assignment' though can't remember who wrote that now.
When I saw a link on Unnaked's post about ablackjamesbond, I was curious. I clicked the link and went to read. The first think that caught my attention was the picture header. Cool dude in agbada sandwiched between two ladies, one carrying a sakabula (dane gun)and the other a pashan (whip) (?).
My own interpretation of the picture, whats yours?
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Really, Does This Prove Anything?
Dan found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with.
So, one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.
"I may look like just an ordinary man," he said as he walked up to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."
Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and three days later, she became his stepmother.
Women are so much smarter than men. Really.
Saw this and just had to share.
So, one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.
"I may look like just an ordinary man," he said as he walked up to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."
Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and three days later, she became his stepmother.
Women are so much smarter than men. Really.
Saw this and just had to share.
Friday, February 29, 2008
And The Doctor Says .....
.... EDD is in about 30 days (24 days more like).
I was in the hospital yesterday with Wifey for ante-natal. They did all the tests and said everything was OK. At the scan session, they wouldn't tell me the sex of the child.
Why do Doctors in Nigeria do that?
They are just being careful someone told me. My friend Aristo was told after a scan that his wife was gonna have a girl but surprise, surprise, she had a baby boy a month later. He wanted to sue the hospital as they had gone shopping for girlie stuff. Probably had even started calculating how much he will be charging as bride-price when he launches an 'IPO' in about 18 to 20 years. Baby girl na big investment.
The wife claimed a miracle but the medical explanation was that due to the position of the baby at the time of the scan, it was impossible to see the penis so the Cuban Doctor declared the foetus a girl.
'See. No prick!'.
Its still a joke here.
I wished for a girl as my first child (for all the right reasons including the investment one) but after one very long discussion with my father-law, who had four daughters, no sons, I changed my plea to GOD.
And GOD agreed.
'Na Boy!' was the text I sent out to everybody on my phone that day.
The man converted his whole house into a nursery for his grandson. If he had his way, Mak would live with him. He was happy. And I was happy he was happy.
GOD knows I have tried.
I was in the hospital yesterday with Wifey for ante-natal. They did all the tests and said everything was OK. At the scan session, they wouldn't tell me the sex of the child.
Why do Doctors in Nigeria do that?
They are just being careful someone told me. My friend Aristo was told after a scan that his wife was gonna have a girl but surprise, surprise, she had a baby boy a month later. He wanted to sue the hospital as they had gone shopping for girlie stuff. Probably had even started calculating how much he will be charging as bride-price when he launches an 'IPO' in about 18 to 20 years. Baby girl na big investment.
The wife claimed a miracle but the medical explanation was that due to the position of the baby at the time of the scan, it was impossible to see the penis so the Cuban Doctor declared the foetus a girl.
'See. No prick!'.
Its still a joke here.
I wished for a girl as my first child (for all the right reasons including the investment one) but after one very long discussion with my father-law, who had four daughters, no sons, I changed my plea to GOD.
And GOD agreed.
'Na Boy!' was the text I sent out to everybody on my phone that day.
The man converted his whole house into a nursery for his grandson. If he had his way, Mak would live with him. He was happy. And I was happy he was happy.
GOD knows I have tried.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The House That Iwu Built.....
.... is crumbling like a pack of cards.
On Saturday, it was (Senate President) David Mark, then (Governor) Theodore Orji. There had been several before them.
Is (President) UMYA next?
Today is 'Super Tuesday' in Nigeria, when the Tribunal will speak on the Presidential Elections.
I know Solomonsydelle will have something to say about this. Let me go read.
On Saturday, it was (Senate President) David Mark, then (Governor) Theodore Orji. There had been several before them.
Is (President) UMYA next?
Today is 'Super Tuesday' in Nigeria, when the Tribunal will speak on the Presidential Elections.
I know Solomonsydelle will have something to say about this. Let me go read.
Friday, February 22, 2008
I'm Loving This Girl Right Now
She looks like Tracy Chapman. Sounds like Alicia Keys/Corrine Bailey Rae with full amala flavour. (Probably on paraga or some other Yoruba concoction.)
I don't know why it took me so long to 'discover' her music given that I actually met her about two years ago but by then she was a novelty sort of, an unknown quantity then. Now I read some very good reviews about her on Youtube and all, the girl done done good. I even have her song on my phone as ring tone.
It was funny reading how she came by the name 'Asa' . Yoruba being a tonal language, the same word Asa (Asha) could mean several things depending on the tonal stress in pronunciation such as:
Asa (d:m:) - Hawk; Falcon
Asa (r:r:) - Vagabond, Rebel
Asa (r:m:) - Barren, overused
Asa (d:d:) - Habit, custom
She uses the first one, meaning Hawk.
It is very rare to buy a CD and actually like all the songs on it but I am gbaduning this girl so much right now its unbelievable. All her songs just do me one way or the other but none like 'Bibanke'. And you can't but smile at the satire in Awe - a song about Waidi, son of Sekina, who impregnates a woman old enough to be his mother. Its been some time since we had an artiste who sings and the audience so connects.
Some critics and reviewers have translated the Yoruba word Bibanke (misspelled deliberately, I believe) to mean 'When I cry' but rather it means 'If i cry'. The Yoruba word 'Bi' as an adverb denotes choice while the adverb 'Ti' (as in Ni igba ti) denotes time. Thus 'When I cry' would have been 'Ti m'ba n'ke' and 'Bi m'ba n'ke' is 'If I cry'.
Q: Nimmo.
A: Ehn?
Q: Who send you all these Yorubanalysis you are doing now?
A: Abeg, no mind me jare. Na so e dey do me sometimes. Asa, joo gbe'lu soke! (Asa, raise the beat)
Biiibanke-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e [If I cry]
B'ójo ba n'ro [And the tears fall as rain]
Fi mi si'le [Leave me alone]
Baby Please One More Time...
I must ask your forgiveness for taking so long to update and particularly to Afrobabe, QoMC,DL, RDiva, TDiva, Indy and others who had asked me to update but not write about football.
Well, I am updating but its a football update. The original title of this post was to be 'Fare gut, Herr Vogts' (Farewell, Herr Vogts), but I couldn't resist the above. So please Baby, just one more time .....
Just in case you don't know yet, Bertie Vogts is no longer the Coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles and thats official. There are conflicting reports whether he resigned or was asked to resign or was fired. Any which way, he's out.
When I wrote about this after our loss to Ghana, I didn't know it would turn out to be rather prophetic, I was just writing out of my own disappointment and I know Nigerians don't like being disappointed.
While some say he did his best with the team and all that, the basic truth is just that Vogts was not the right man for the job. There was no fit. Someone summarized it thus in the Guardian of today:
'Vogts is a typical German. He was able to instill some discipline in team but did not properly understand the mentality of the African player and how to bring out the best in him...'. Just like I said.
Vogts failed. End of story.
Next.
Well, I am updating but its a football update. The original title of this post was to be 'Fare gut, Herr Vogts' (Farewell, Herr Vogts), but I couldn't resist the above. So please Baby, just one more time .....
Just in case you don't know yet, Bertie Vogts is no longer the Coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles and thats official. There are conflicting reports whether he resigned or was asked to resign or was fired. Any which way, he's out.
When I wrote about this after our loss to Ghana, I didn't know it would turn out to be rather prophetic, I was just writing out of my own disappointment and I know Nigerians don't like being disappointed.
While some say he did his best with the team and all that, the basic truth is just that Vogts was not the right man for the job. There was no fit. Someone summarized it thus in the Guardian of today:
'Vogts is a typical German. He was able to instill some discipline in team but did not properly understand the mentality of the African player and how to bring out the best in him...'. Just like I said.
Vogts failed. End of story.
Next.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Where Eagles Dare
Its no longer news that Nigeria has crashed out of the 26th ACN in Ghana and to Ghana's Black Stars.
The Fourteen Years Theory was beginning to look good after Nigeria was able to qualify from the Group stages due to a fluke. Several commentators had gone to town with all sorts of permutations both logical and illogical- and trust us Nigerians, we love to make up good stories.
One particularly good one was about 'Injured Skippers' that goes thus: It somehow was revealed that at the 1980 ACN Skipper Christian Chukwu was actually nursing an injury but because of his enormous influence on the players - most of who were from his Rangers International FC, Coach Otto Gloria had to keep him on the team and he played all the matches in the ACN that year when Nigeria won.
In 1994, Skipper Stephen Keshi was injured even before the ACN in Tunisia but because of his charisma, the Coach Clemens Westerhof put him in the team and actually dressed him for all the matches even though he never got to kick the ball. He was always in track bottoms until the last match when he took them off and collected the Captain's band from the substantive captain Austin Eguavoen in order to receive the trophy.
In 2008, Skipper Nwankwo Kanu was injured in the very first match against Ivory Coast and he was not likely to recover anytime soon. Presto! That was all that the Fourteen Year Theorists needed. Notice that Kanu was actually dressed for that match against Ghana even though we all knew he could not play. Probably as a psychological tonic for the boys.
But alas! The Fourteen Year Theory failed. Nigeria crashed out for the first time at the quarter-finals of an ACN.
The match itself lived up to its billing. It had been tagged The Fiftieth World War (WW50) by the press. It is the fiftieth time Nigeria and Ghana would be meeting in a football match both competitive and otherwise. And every time the two sides meet, it is war! There is nothing like a 'friendly' match between Nigeria and Ghana. The rivalry is so intense that many Nigerians are actually relieved that we lost to Ghana and not any other team in the competition. 'Our time will come' is the consolation. As it stands now Ghana has won 18; Nigeria won 17 with 15 drawn games. It was 17-17-15 as at kickoff. I sincerely don't know where they got these stats but it was repeated several times during commentaries.
I'm pretty sure Herr Berti Vogts did not know what he was getting himself into when he took this job but now he should have an idea. One could notice some changes in the pattern of play particularly after the Mali misadventure when Nigeria fielded a whole 5 (five!) attackers while Mali fielded five midfielders and none of them could find the goals! It was laughable!
I had never thought I would live to see the day that Nigerians would rejoice over defeating their Beninois neighbors by a mere two goals to nothing but saw it I did. Nigerians actually popped champagne because of that. I mean, just when did we come to this? Its a scandal!
If I was impressed by the little improvement in the team after they reverted back to Wingplay, it was shortlived because of the horrendous changes made by Herr Vogts.
It was a delight watching Osaze Odemwingie running on the flanks in the match against Ghana. The Ghanaians had a tough time keeping up with him and he switched from the right to the left so often that he frustrated the Ghanaian captain John Mensah into committing a red carded foul. The new boy, Uche Ikechukwu was also a sensation. Thank God the Spaniards did not get him to play for them. It would have been a great loss to Nigeria.
Danny Shittu was very mobile even with his bulk and he was very good at checking the Ghanaian attackers. One would have loved to see him more in a libero role but he had to fall back too often to cover up for Taye Taiwo. And the bros in the middle that was supposed to do the finishing was absent most of the time except when Uche presented him with a penalty kick to score from. Yakubu Ayegbeni was a disappointment.
What we need is someone in the mould of a Rashidi Yekini, a finisher par excellence or even a Victor Agali. Someone with a nose for goals. Ayegbeni seems only to perform against slow defenders and Martins was just not effective in Vogts 4-3-3 pattern. Mikel Obi was very effective in the middle and Dickson Etuhu was also very effective as his silent assistant though we didn't notice that until when Etuhu was injured.
Against a formidable midfield with Michael Essien, Sulleyman Muntari and Gyang, it was not a mean feat for the young men to cope and contain the Ghanaians but when Etuhu had to go out,(the game was at a 1-1 draw and we obviously needed more goals) and Herr Vogts replaced him with Richard Eromoigbe, a defensive midfielder who actually played right full back at the last ACN - I wondered 'What was he smoking?'
When we were one goal behind, (and the Ghanaians were down to ten men) he removed Mikel Obi and brought in Obi Nsofor who really had no role to play in the match, the guy just kept running around (I don't want to say like a headless chicken). Even Kanu was disgusted, you could see it on his face. I mean, where did they get this guy from?
Take nothing away from the Ghanaians. Michael Essien was a very effective leader in the team even before he put on the captains band and when he moved back to replace the ousted J. Mensah, I was expecting the Eagles to over run the midfield by simple majority but Essien did a yeoman's job there. I was impressed.
Even that Ghanaian joke called 'Junior'Agogo stepped up his game a notch against Nigeria. The commentators had said what Agogo lacked in technique he made up with 'gra gra'. His 'gra gra' eventually paid off as he scored the second goal from beside a flat footed Taye Taiwo.
As for me, immediately the referee raised up his hands and blew the final whistle, I just switched channels to watch 'Desperate Housewives' Season 4.
The Fourteen Years Theory was beginning to look good after Nigeria was able to qualify from the Group stages due to a fluke. Several commentators had gone to town with all sorts of permutations both logical and illogical- and trust us Nigerians, we love to make up good stories.
One particularly good one was about 'Injured Skippers' that goes thus: It somehow was revealed that at the 1980 ACN Skipper Christian Chukwu was actually nursing an injury but because of his enormous influence on the players - most of who were from his Rangers International FC, Coach Otto Gloria had to keep him on the team and he played all the matches in the ACN that year when Nigeria won.
In 1994, Skipper Stephen Keshi was injured even before the ACN in Tunisia but because of his charisma, the Coach Clemens Westerhof put him in the team and actually dressed him for all the matches even though he never got to kick the ball. He was always in track bottoms until the last match when he took them off and collected the Captain's band from the substantive captain Austin Eguavoen in order to receive the trophy.
In 2008, Skipper Nwankwo Kanu was injured in the very first match against Ivory Coast and he was not likely to recover anytime soon. Presto! That was all that the Fourteen Year Theorists needed. Notice that Kanu was actually dressed for that match against Ghana even though we all knew he could not play. Probably as a psychological tonic for the boys.
But alas! The Fourteen Year Theory failed. Nigeria crashed out for the first time at the quarter-finals of an ACN.
The match itself lived up to its billing. It had been tagged The Fiftieth World War (WW50) by the press. It is the fiftieth time Nigeria and Ghana would be meeting in a football match both competitive and otherwise. And every time the two sides meet, it is war! There is nothing like a 'friendly' match between Nigeria and Ghana. The rivalry is so intense that many Nigerians are actually relieved that we lost to Ghana and not any other team in the competition. 'Our time will come' is the consolation. As it stands now Ghana has won 18; Nigeria won 17 with 15 drawn games. It was 17-17-15 as at kickoff. I sincerely don't know where they got these stats but it was repeated several times during commentaries.
I'm pretty sure Herr Berti Vogts did not know what he was getting himself into when he took this job but now he should have an idea. One could notice some changes in the pattern of play particularly after the Mali misadventure when Nigeria fielded a whole 5 (five!) attackers while Mali fielded five midfielders and none of them could find the goals! It was laughable!
I had never thought I would live to see the day that Nigerians would rejoice over defeating their Beninois neighbors by a mere two goals to nothing but saw it I did. Nigerians actually popped champagne because of that. I mean, just when did we come to this? Its a scandal!
If I was impressed by the little improvement in the team after they reverted back to Wingplay, it was shortlived because of the horrendous changes made by Herr Vogts.
It was a delight watching Osaze Odemwingie running on the flanks in the match against Ghana. The Ghanaians had a tough time keeping up with him and he switched from the right to the left so often that he frustrated the Ghanaian captain John Mensah into committing a red carded foul. The new boy, Uche Ikechukwu was also a sensation. Thank God the Spaniards did not get him to play for them. It would have been a great loss to Nigeria.
Danny Shittu was very mobile even with his bulk and he was very good at checking the Ghanaian attackers. One would have loved to see him more in a libero role but he had to fall back too often to cover up for Taye Taiwo. And the bros in the middle that was supposed to do the finishing was absent most of the time except when Uche presented him with a penalty kick to score from. Yakubu Ayegbeni was a disappointment.
What we need is someone in the mould of a Rashidi Yekini, a finisher par excellence or even a Victor Agali. Someone with a nose for goals. Ayegbeni seems only to perform against slow defenders and Martins was just not effective in Vogts 4-3-3 pattern. Mikel Obi was very effective in the middle and Dickson Etuhu was also very effective as his silent assistant though we didn't notice that until when Etuhu was injured.
Against a formidable midfield with Michael Essien, Sulleyman Muntari and Gyang, it was not a mean feat for the young men to cope and contain the Ghanaians but when Etuhu had to go out,(the game was at a 1-1 draw and we obviously needed more goals) and Herr Vogts replaced him with Richard Eromoigbe, a defensive midfielder who actually played right full back at the last ACN - I wondered 'What was he smoking?'
When we were one goal behind, (and the Ghanaians were down to ten men) he removed Mikel Obi and brought in Obi Nsofor who really had no role to play in the match, the guy just kept running around (I don't want to say like a headless chicken). Even Kanu was disgusted, you could see it on his face. I mean, where did they get this guy from?
Take nothing away from the Ghanaians. Michael Essien was a very effective leader in the team even before he put on the captains band and when he moved back to replace the ousted J. Mensah, I was expecting the Eagles to over run the midfield by simple majority but Essien did a yeoman's job there. I was impressed.
Even that Ghanaian joke called 'Junior'Agogo stepped up his game a notch against Nigeria. The commentators had said what Agogo lacked in technique he made up with 'gra gra'. His 'gra gra' eventually paid off as he scored the second goal from beside a flat footed Taye Taiwo.
As for me, immediately the referee raised up his hands and blew the final whistle, I just switched channels to watch 'Desperate Housewives' Season 4.
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