Real reasons I conceded to Buhari — Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken of the tensed moments he faced on March 28, 2015 ahead of his decision to concede victory to President Muhammadu Buhari after that year’s presidential election.

“I was actually in that valley on March 28, 2015”, he said.
Jonathan also narrated  why he relinquished power to Buhari, saying he did not want Nigeria to slide into a theatre of war, with his  fellow county men and woman dying, and many more pouring into other nations in Africa and beyond, as refugees.

“I never knew that the human brain had the capacity for such enhanced rapid thinking. One hundred and one things were going through my mind every second. My  country was at the verge of collapse. The tension in the land was abysmally high and palpable, in the months leading to the election. The country became more polarised more than ever before, such that the gap between the North and the South and between Christians and Muslims became quite pronounced”, the former President said.

“In fact, it became so disturbing that some interest  groups in the United States began to predict indeed, many Nigerians did buy into this doomsday prophesy as they began to brace themselves for the worst.
“As the President, I reminded myself that the Government I led had invested so much effort into building our country. I worked hard with my top officials to encourage Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in our country to be able to provide jobs and improve the lives of our people.

“We worked hard to grow our economy and to improve and bring Nigeria up as the biggest economy in Africa, with a GDP of about half a trillion dollars”.

Jonathan told his story, last week, during a dinner in his honour by Cercle Diplomatique, Geneva, Switzerland. The former President also spoke about his foray into politics, the allure of power and future plans.

He began: “ As you can see, I have not come here with a prepared speech, since what I consider appropriate for this occasion is to just thank you all, members and everyone else in attendance, in a few words, for the dinner and the award, in order not to make the evening look boring. But having said that, I am still tempted to note that if I were to present a written speech, the title, would probably have been “Power Tussle in Africa: A Stumbling Block to Economic Growth.” When Mr. Robert Blum, your President, made his very interesting opening remarks, he introduced me as the former President of Nigeria. He was absolutely correct.

My foray into politics
“However, I believe that not many of you here know that the story of my foray into politics has a peculiar ring to it. I entered politics in 1998 and, barely one year after, I got elected as the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, my state. I later became Governor, Vice President and eventually got elected as the President of my country. I remain the only leader in my country to have travelled that route.
As the President, I served out my first term but, as Mr. Blum had pointed out earlier, I lost the bid to be re-elected. I am encouraged by the fact that many of you here appreciated my decision not to reject or contest my loss at the polls, not even in the courts as many people had expected.

The allure of power
“Again, I have to agree with Blum that it was not an easy decision to take. This is because the allure of power and the worries about what would become of you after leaving office constitute an irresistible
force. It has an attraction so controlling and powerful that it takes a man who has the fear of God and who loves his people and nation to relinquish power so easily in Africa.

Alone in the valley
“I was actually in that valley on March 28, 2015. I never knew that the human brain had the capacity for such enhanced rapid thinking. One hundred and one things were coursing through my mind every second. My country was at the verge of collapse. The tension in the land was abysmally high and palpable, in the months and days leading to the election. The country became more polarized more than ever before, such that the gap between the North and the South and between Christians and Muslims became quite pronounced.  In fact, it became so disturbing that some interest groups in the United States began to predict that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. And, indeed, many Nigerians did buy into this doomsday prophesy as they began to brace themselves for the worst. As the President, I reminded myself that the Government I led had invested so much effort into building our country. I worked hard with my top officials to encourage Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in our country to be able to provide jobs and improve the lives of our people. We worked hard to grow our economy and to improve and bring Nigeria up as the biggest economy in Africa, with a GDP of about half a trillion dollars.

Posers I had to contend with
“Should I then, for the love of power, watch Nigeria slide into a theatre of war, with my fellow country men and women dying, and many more pouring into other nations in Africa and beyond, as refugees?

Should I hang on to power and tussle with my challengers, while the investments of hard working citizens of the world go down the drain? I then said to myself, NO!

Resisting the lure of power
“I promised my God that I will not let that fate befall Nigeria under my watch, hence the historic telephone call I put through to congratulate my challenger even when the results were still being
tallied. I believe that for a country to be great, both the leaders and the led must be prepared to make sacrifices. This is why, everywhere I go, I always advise that the new generation of African leaders must think differently. We can no longer afford to wilfully sacrifice the blood of our citizens on the altar of dangerous partisan politics. It is not worth it. This reminds me of one of my campaign statements to the effect that my ambition was not worth the shedding of the blood of any Nigerian. Some people took it then as mere political slogan but I knew that I meant it when I said it.

We must all fight for the enthronement of political stability in Africa, for in it lies the panacea for sustainable growth and development. For Africa to record the kind of advancement that will be competitive and beneficial to our citizens, we must have stable states supported by strong institutions. That appears to be the irreducible minimum that is common to all developed societies. Africa’s political odyssey can distinctly be categorised into three eras, and probably another that would later signpost its classification as a developed continent”.

Challenges
“Some may doubt this, but it is no fluke that Africa is growing and rising. However I will admit before you here that we still have challenges. That is why people like us did all we could to ensure that
Nigeria, the biggest black nation on earth, would not drift into anarchy because such a situation would have spelt doom for the rest of the continent. It would have affected not just Nigeria alone, but the
GDP and economy of the entire West Africa. And if the economy of West Africa crashes, it would definitely affect the performance of the economy of the whole of Africa. As you know, the GDP of Africa is less than three trillion dollars, with only six African countries able to boast of nominal GDP above $100 billion. Even for those in this ‘elite’ category, you can’t really say that they are rich countries. Apart from maybe South Africa that has an industrially competitive economy, the rest are still mainly commodity exporting countries. Even the case of that of South Africa is not very encouraging, because we have a situation which we could refer to as a first world economic performance, yet the ordinary people live the life of the people in the so called third world.
In the case of Nigeria which is even the biggest economy on the continent, the reality is that we have an unenviable per capita GDP of $3,203, which is the World Bank average for a period covering 2011-2015.

Africa’s future is bright
“Even then, I still believe that Africa has a bright future; a promising prognosis that is supported by the fact that the continent remains a very fertile and attractive territory that yields irresistible returns on investments. I believe that in the next few years many more big investors will be jostling to come to Africa, if only we will do the right thing. The process of getting it right has already started with a democratic and increasingly democratising Africa. But we have to deepen and strengthen our democratic credentials through regular, free and fair elections. This will in turn bring about the stability necessary to improve the infrastructure that promotes rapid economic growth. These are the guarantees that would lead us into the next period which I would like to call the era of a developed Africa. I have no doubt in my mind that we will get there some day.

My future plans
“I will be applying myself diligently to two key areas. First, is to work for good governance by promoting credible and transparent elections. This will bring about the strengthening of our institutions
and the enthronement of stability. I also believe that there is the urgent need to create jobs for our
teeming young population. This is another area that will be receiving my attention. I recall that the Vice President of your association made reference in his speech to my achievements in that regard through
what we called Youth Enterprises with Innovation (YouWin) and the Nagropreneur programme which encouraged young people to go into agriculture. I believe more programmes like that should be established to promote youth entrepreneurship. That way, we reduce their reliance on paid employment. We will not only teach them to become entrepreneurs, they will also acquire the capacity to employ other people. We will be paying special attention to this segment of our society, especially young people and women. We will develop programmes that will inculcate in them business skills to be able to set up micro, small and medium enterprises. We shall assist them to access take-off grants when they acquire the relevant skills and capacities. There are many areas that they can go into; food processing, light manufacturing and the services sector are just some of them. I can tell you from experience that this works. As we speak, Our Nagropreneur programme, to promote youth involvement in agriculture value chain, is being scaled up by the African Development Bank presently. It is already being replicated in 19 African countries because of the success of the programme in Nigeria. I invite all of you here today, cabinet ministers, diplomats and private sector people to remain committed to the cause of improving lives, especially those lives in Africa, and making our world a better place. For those of you that will be sharing in this vision for Africa, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. I am very optimistic that if we encourage young men and women in this continent to develop businesses of their own, the story of Africa will change within 10 years”.

Seven months after inauguration, Buhari achieves one of 222 Campaign Promises – Report

Seven months after inauguration, Buhari achieves one of 222 Campaign Promises – Report

Seven months after taking over government, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has succeeded in achieving only one out of the 222 campaign promises made to Nigerians, according to a report by Buharimetre, a civil society monitoring report tracking the implementation of the president’s campaign promises.

The report, which covers the activities of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government from May 29 to December 31, 2015, observed in its assessment that the achievement was in the area of the fight against corruption, even though a lot was still left undone in that regard.

“PMB has only achieved 1 out of the 222 tracked promises, which constitutes 0.5 percent of the promises,” Buharimetre reported.

“ More so, it reveals that while the government is taking action to achieving only 27 (12.2 percent approximately) of the tracked promises thus ongoing, 194 electoral promises are still ‘Not Rated.’
“ The latter constitutes 87.3 percent of the tracked promises.”

The electoral promises not rated, it says, is because there is “no tangible related activities being implemented.”

The 2015 report is the fourth on the series of report on the assessment of the performance of President  Muhammadu Buhari  and the governing party, the APC, on the delivery of its 222 electoral promises.

The report examined and focused on issues around insecurity, the economy, oil and gas, corruption, agriculture and social sectors, with emphasis on the environment.

It also provided useful insights into the current state of key sectors as a way of establishing the basis of measuring outcomes.

Assessing the fight against corruption, the report noted that there had been visible efforts to combat corruption since the inauguration of the present administration, naming the arrest and prosecution of some notable persons and the efforts to recover looted funds.

“PMB anti-corruption efforts have been commended as a step in the right direction,” the report noted.
“ Positive opinions in this regard are due to the possible positive impact of the efforts on development and democracy in the country.

“However, the government has been accused of politics of selection in the fight against corruption. A delay in the prosecution of the accused people has been a major criticism of the government. Moreover, while the government has shown unmatched commitment to curbing corruption, such effort should be institutionalised.”
The report observed that one of the promises of the current administration was to strengthen the capacity of anti-graft agencies, particularly EFCC and ICPC, by guaranteeing their prosecutorial and financial independence as well as security of tenure.

“Despite the fact that the anti-grant agencies have shown renewed efforts in the fight against corrupt practices, there has been no effort by the government to amend relevant laws to guarantee their independence in these areas,” states the report.

“Moreover, nothing has been done to enact the Whistle Blower Act, as promised by the administration. We believe that through these interventions, the performance of anti-graft agencies would not rely on the personality and political will of President Buhari, but rather the campaign against corruption would be institutionalised and thereby would extend beyond the current administration.”

While stating that it was aware of government’s commitment to fighting corruption and blocking leakages in both the civil service and the oil and gas sector; and exhibiting a strong political will to fight corruption irrespective of who is involved,  Buharimetre observed that the fight against corruption must not be devoid of strict adherence to the rule of law.

“In the last few months, several of the people accused of corruption have been detained against the law, which stipulates that all accused must be brought before the court 48 hours after arrest,” it stated.

“Some people granted bail have since been re-arrested and detained. The fight against corruption must be pursued in line with due process and never in abuse of the law.

“It is also imperative for the government to acknowledge that the fight against corruption should not be confused as sufficient to address all governance challenges in the country.

“Essentially, fighting corruption is and should remain one of the policy priorities of government but not the only overarching intervention necessary to strengthen governance, especially in a country like Nigeria where democracy is still transitioning.

“The campaign against corrupt practices should simultaneously exist with interventions such as social provisions that could discourage people from engaging in corrupt practices, and to a large extent, galvanize support for the campaign. This may also help institutionalise the anti-corruption process in the country.

“ Allegations of perceived bias continue to be made against the PMB administration in several parts of the country. For instance, the South Eastern part of the country continues to claim marginalization on the part of the government.”

Boko Haram
Although, Buharimetre noted the efforts of the Nigerian military in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the north east of Nigeria and to ensure security in the entire country, it said the rising wave of violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, militancy in the Nigeria Delta and the activities of Biafra separatists groups were posing even greater danger to the security of life in the country.

The report acknowledged the achievements in decimating the capabilities of Boko Haram insurgents in the North East and the reorganization of the entire structure in the anti-terrorism project, but noted that the sect continues to display strong resilience and shocking adaptability.

“Members of the group, who formerly travelled in armoured personnel carriers (APCs), now ride horses, motor bikes and bicycles to carry out their nefarious activities,” said the report.

“ These range from poisoning water when fleeing villages and adopting soft target attacks using suicide bombing, executed mostly by young girls.

“The insurgents have also carried out attacks in Nyanya and Kuje, on the outskirts of the capital city, Abuja.”
It faulted the government’s responses to the increasing number of internally displaced persons whose living conditions had become life threatening.

The report also underscored government’s failure to officially unveil its accountability plans for resolving the Boko Haram insurgency.

“This may be partly because the problem is not Boko Haram alone. Amnesty International recently issued a report titled Stars on Their Shoulders, Blood on Their Hands indicting the Nigerian military for its wanton killings in the war against the insurgency,” it said.

“The ICC-OTP has also established eight possible cases of crimes against humanity in relation to the North East of Nigeria. This includes six possible cases against Boko Haram and two possible cases against the Nigerian security forces.”

The report also drew attention to the fact that the remote and immediate causes of violent extremism are still very much alive in the polity.

“There are smaller, less popular Islamic radical groups present in several parts of Northern  Nigeria,” says the report.

“For instance, Yanlabaiku in Kebbi state is preaching against Western education and Westernisation, and Niger state is pervaded by different radical Islamist groups. Most of these groups live in seclusion, preaching and practicing radical Islam.”

It also cited armed banditry which had continue to terrorise rural communities, rustling cattle, raping and abducting women and girls, killing people and committing highway robbery and thus increasing tension in Northern Nigeria.

Also citing the Biafra struggle, the report noted that the state approach, and particularly the security sector approach in handling the conflicts remained a cause for concern across the country.

“There are fears that if the IPOB is not properly managed, it may degenerate into a low level insurgency, further compounding current security challenges,” it said.

“Soon after the security agents clampdown on the Biafra separatist movement, there were reports that the Nigerian Army, in preventing an alleged attempted assassination on the Chief of Army staff, General Buratai, killed twenty Shia members in Zaria.

“The Shia are said to have put up barricades and blocked the road to be used by General Buratai. The Army went to the sect’s enclave Husainiyyah, the residence of sect leader Ibrahim Zakzaky in Gyallesu, and the DarurRahma mosque, where many unarmed people were killed.

“Human Rights Watch (HRW), has alleged that no fewer than 300 members of the Shia sect were killed and secretly buried by members of the Nigerian army,” the report stated.

Fire kills mother, seven children in Ebonyi

Eight members of a family have been burnt to death in a fire outbreak in Ebonyi state.
Premium Times reports that the tragedy struck on Friday, January 29, in Ohufu village, Ogboji community in Ishielu local government area of the state.

A horrible inferno killed a woman and seven children, while the husband, Sylvanus Nefuru, and one of the children, Ukamaka Nwefuru, escaped death.

It was gathered that the incident happened at 3 a.m., when the family members were sleeping.

A 80-year-old Sylvanus Nweferu said that he heard a loud noise while in deep sleep which woke him up.
The survived girl said that her mother rescued her and went to save another member of the family when she was caught by the fire and died.

Confirming the incident, Henry Eze, the caretaker committee chairman of Ishielu local government area, lamented the death of the family and urged security agencied to investigate the matter.

In December 2015, a similar tragedy happened in Ogun state, when a family-of-five met with an ill-fate, after a night fire engulfed their residence at Abule Ake.

Residents within the Idi Aba area of Abeokuta metropolis were thrown into mourning as none of the Oloruku family was saved from the inferno.

Photo: 33-yr-old woman delivers baby from 4yr-old pregnancy

– Woman delivers baby after being pregnant for four years
– The baby was said to have “got lost” in the womb
– A consultant on naturopathic gynaecologist said it was an abnormal medical record

A 33-year-old woman identified as Oluwabunmi Ogidan was delivered of a baby on Wednesday, January 27 after reportedly being pregnant for four years.

The town of Ikugbomire in Obafemi Owode local government area, Ogun state became a sort of Mecca as people trooped to Alayo Vantage Hospital from far and near for a glimpse of the miracle baby, The Nation reports.

She had gotten married to her husband, Bankole Ogidan on August 27, 2011 and in 2013, there were signs that she was pregnant.

Woman delivers baby from four-year-old pregnancy in Ogun

Narrating what happened, her husband said: “We went for pregnancy test and it was confirmed positive. A few days after, my wife complained that she was feeling pains in her womb. We went to a midwife who told us that the pain was not a problem; that the pregnancy was intact. I was not satisfied, so I took her to another hospital (name withheld) where we did a scan but the doctor said he didn’t see any pregnancy. The doctor said there had been a miscarriage. I asked him that shouldn’t there be an outflow of blood if she had a miscarriage? The doctor said yes. I told him that we had not witnessed anything like that and he was shocked.”

He said they ran to their pastor, Prophet Emmanuel Ogbara, who assured him that God had told him the pregnancy was intact.

They returned to the hospital and were told that she had multiple fibroid in her womb with no chance of conception.

“All this while, my wife’s menstruation had ceased. It was only once after the pregnancy was sighted that we observed that little blood came out but stopped almost immediately. We left there for the Government Hospital in Owode, Ogun state,” Bankole said.

Meanwhile, Oluwabunmi’s stomach had protruded as if she was due for delivery and she had become the gossip of the town’s people.

Bankole explained that on September 10, 2015, his wife became ill with labour signs and he took her to the hospital. She was treated and asked to go for scan.

To the glory of God, the doctor here said he had seen a baby; that my wife was carrying four months pregnancy. At the church, the prophet confirmed again that the child had all along been there; only that scan could not pick it. So the hospital continued to nurture the baby for antenatal. But here again, they still saw fibroid in the womb. But to the glory of God 27th January this year, our baby finally arrived,” he said.
But before the baby was born, it was said to have “got lost” in the womb.

The hospital’s matron said: “We had to do an operation. When we did, we found that contrary to scan reports, we met a different thing in the womb. It was a sac with pus inside. It was not fibroid. And looking inside, we didn’t see any baby. But I remembered that I used to hear sound inside Mrs Ogidan’s womb, so the doctor searched further; the baby was hidden in the uterus.

“We thank God. It’s a miracle. The sac was so big that it swallowed up the uterus where the baby was. The sac was so big that the uterus could not be easily found. The doctor said he had never seen such a thing before.”

Dr Sam Akinyemi, a consultant on naturopathic gynaecologist described the situation as “an abnormal medical record.”

'We are not deterred, we are not dismayed' – Peterside

– Dakuku Peterside accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court
– He noted that the blood of those who were killed during election in the state will demand for justice

“We are not deterred, we are not dismayed. Our first position is that we have accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court, if though, with some form of reservations.”

Dakuku Peterside, the Rivers state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has stated that the blood of those who were killed during election in the state will demand for justice.
Leadership reports that Peterside said this on Saturday, January 30, while addressing supporters of the APC who were at the Port Harcourt International Airport, to receive him on his arrival from Abuja.
Speaking about the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the election of Governor Nyesom Wike, the APC candidate said:

“We are not deterred, we are not dismayed. Our first position is that we have accepted the verdict of the Supreme Court, if though, with some form of reservations. But, we have not alternative. So, that verdict has been accepted but we also know that the blood of all those people who were killed on the 11th of April; all those people who were killed will be crying for justice.

“You may have gotten the judgement of man, but wait for the judgement of God. In the judgement of God, there is no appeal. So, please, don’t be discouraged; you have always known that we are greater together. One thing is definite, and the only thing we are certain about is that God’s judgment is coming and when it comes, there is not any man can do about it.

“We have not heard the end of this matter. If you serve a living God, you have no cause to worry, unless nobody died in the cause of the election, unless they did not use violence on our people, unless, the did not soil their hands, then, they will go scot free. But if they killed one life, if they killed people, if people died, if blood was spilled in his land, nobody who had a hand in it, who participated in the meeting will ever go scot free.”

Speaking earlier, Peterside had promised to offer help to the government of Wike through the provision of virile opposition. He also expressed hope that the Rivers state governor and his team would appreciate the suggestions and proposals that were made in the interest of people of the state.

FA Cup: Iheanacho bags a hat-trick, Ighalo strikes again

– Iheanacho scored a hat-trick for Manchester City
– Ighalo scored for Watford
– Van Gaal is a relieved man
Naij.com sports reviews the fourth round of the English FA cup with Iheanacho scoring his first hat-trick for the Etihad outfit and Ighalo came on as a substitute to make the difference in Watford’s away victory.
Rooney, Blind and Mata eased the pressure on their manager, Louis Van Gaal.

Derby 1-3 Manchester United

A sigh of relief at last for Van Gaal as Rooney, Blind and Mata put a smile back on the face of their beleaguered boss.

Juan Mata was a revelation, and flourished in his favoured playmaker role after eventually earning the trust of the manager to spearhead United’s attacking and creative play.

However, the Spaniard was a peripheral figure in the early exchanges despite his imaginative and fluid movements.

Rooney’s superb curler set the ball rolling before allowing the host back into the game with George Thorne’s equalizer. Jesse Lingard provided the cross for Blind to score, putting United back into the lead.
The diminutive and impressive Spaniard rounded the night proceedings by applying the finishing touch to Martial’s pull-back late in the game to ease the pressure on their manager.

Colchester 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur

The gulf in class was obvious from the first whistle with Spurs continuously peppering the host’s defence. Colchester were not helped by the early loss of both central defenders to injury, with Wynter stretchered off, aiding Tottenham’s domination.

The away side deservedly opened the scoring in the 27^th minute when Lamela slides Chadli into space down the inside right, who curled the ball into the top left.


Erik Dier made it two in 64 minutes and Chadli’s brace made it three for the opposition in 78 minutes with a guided header.

Ben Davies’s own goal gave Colchester some hope of a comeback before Carrol put paid to that aspiration five minutes later by completing the goal-fest with a sweet volley.

Manchester United jubliates. Credit: AP

Arsenal 1-1 Burnley
Arsenal’s defence of the FA Cup continued unabated with a professional performance. Alexis Sanchez saved the Gunner’s blushes with his first goal in as many start since return from injury.

The first-half was fairly even with both sides creating chances. Calum Chambers put the home team ahead, his second-ever goal for Arsenal with a peach of a finish but Burnley deservedly got themselves level with a fine header from Sam Vokes.

Arsenal tightened their grip on the game in the second half resulting in a magnificient team goal. Sanchez started and finished the move when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross was smashed high into the net to put the Gunners in the hat for the fifth round.

Iheanacho celebrates his goal

Aston Villa 0-2 Manchester City
Iheanacho’s brace in the first half gave the opposition the perfect start to this comprehensive victory against an abysmal Villa side on their own ground.

He later secured his first hat-trick for the Etihad outfit in the rout. Iheanacho scored his first from the first corner of the game snatching home Fernando’s headed goal-bound ball on the line.
The second via a penatly awarded after Bacuna was adjudged to have shoved Raheem Sterling. Iheanacho scored his hat-trick when he ran into an empty space before beating Guzan at leisure.
His acrobat overhead kick led to the fourth with sterling bundling in to complete the rout.

Nothingham 0-0 Watford

Nigerian striker, Odion Ighalo’s late goal put his team to the fifth round after coming on as a late substitute, his 15^th goal of the season.

The match was full of efforts and endeavours, but with little quality. The home team came into the match having conceded only once in their last five games and equally less effective scoring goals, Watford on the other hand were neat and purposeful but missed the predatory instinct of the Nigerian.

Ighalo made the difference when he eventually came on by capitalising on Kelvin Wilson mis-kick to drive in the decisive goal.

Full Results of the fourth round of the FA Cup 2016
Colchester1-4Tottenham
Arsenal 2-1 Burnley
Aston Villa 0-4 Man City
Bolton 1-2 Leeds
Bury 1-3 Hull
Crystal Palace 1-0 Stoke
Nottm Forest 0-1 Watford
Oxford Utd 0-3 Blackburn
Portsmouth 1-2 Bournemouth
Reading 4-0 Walsall
Shrewsbury 3-2 Sheff Wed
West Brom 2-2 Peterborough

The Super Eagles must prepare for match against Egypt - Rufai

– The Super Eagles must prepare well for the crucial Nations cup qualifier against Egypt
– Sunday Oliseh needs to evaluate himself
– The team should take positive lessons from the CHAN exit

Nigeria’s ex-international and arguably the best Nigerian goalkeeper of all time Peter Rufai also known as ‘Dodo Mayana’, was at the launch of Ikorodu United, one of the Lagos based newly promoted side to the Nigerian premier league.

In an interview with Naij.com Sports, the ex number one shot-stopper thanked the management of Ikorodu United for returning elite football to Nigeria’s commercial hub.

He also cautions Sunday Oliseh on the crucial Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers which are fast approaching.

Excerpts:

Naij.com Sports: Sir, Ikorodu United are being launched into the premier league, how do you feel about this?
I have to give the management big kudos. Not just for the success, but one-for-one I can tell you, it would not have been easy.

They have been consistent. If you want to move to the elite league anywhere in the world, there are big challenges, especially in this part of the world.

Having set up a team like this, you fit in the right people into positions, and this has told their story.

Players of Ikorodu United display their kit

Looking at the management and the players, the technical crew, it is not easy managing players in this country. I can tell you, for them to have been able to keep these boys from different background is a big kudos.

For them to be promoted into the elite league, the fans in Lagos that have been longing for this; in fact we thought we would have it with Stationery Stores, it did not come true All efforts did not go well.
This time around, Ikorodu United have made it and I am glad on that note.

Naij.com Sports: Looking at the Super Eagles and their early exit at the African Nations Championship, how did you feel as an ex-international?
Personally, I don’t think that tells well on grounds of what we should be doing now in Africa and in the world, in terms of football.

It is over three decades since Nigeria had dominated the scene; I am talking about the 80s, before my time, then during my time. Right now, we should be in a position of both knowledge of the game and playing of the game, as well as the knowledge of tournaments and participation and knowledge of preparation.
With all these, Nigeria today should have been masters. So, it tells it all. I am disappointed that up till now, we are still struggling with the game itself.

I think the challenges the team had encountered, we hear different information about not properly being taken care of and all that, but I know the present administration are doing everything within their reach. Now we have a Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, a man with a well-proven knowledge of soccer management alongside Amaju Pinnick, the president.

Peter Rufai

So, we know they are good hands and I wonder what would have happened. However, if we want to look at another perspective where we should know it is time to raise new players for the national team
To do this for the future, we should be ready to take the challenges.

So I think the exit at CHAN has served as a lesson and we should take it as a build-up process.

Naij.com Sports: Now the World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers are fast approaching, what lessons have we learnt from the early exit in Rwanda?
The early exit took everyone by surprise, because they walloped their Nigerien opponents in the first game.
Their game against Tunisia was a big one, as the North Africans are never push overs in African football; the last game against Guinea; I used to know the Guineans as a very tough team, though many would not observe this. The Camaras of those days, whenever we play against these guys, we are always on our toes.
So we should not let over confidence over shadow us. So, this has served as a lesson for the boys.
I hope this would be a morale booster for the team.

Naij.com Sports: Sir, the Super Eagles will play a crucial AFCON qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt about 7 weeks from now, what are the ‘ingredients’ missing which you think Oliseh can quickly work on?
We don’t have anything missing in terms of expertise in our football. I only believe Oliseh would evaluate himself and then pick-up over expectations and work towards the victory of this crucial encounter.

Peter Rufai in action at USA 94′

Naij.com Sports: Finally, what’s your advice for the Ikorodu United players?
Fantastic! Number one they must be discipline, as long as they have this. You can describe the word discipline in over a hundred of pages.

As long as they can handle this with commitment, then the sky is not their limit. They would go as far as possible.