Good weekend, not so good week

Its been a bit of this and a bit of that. I have had some great responses to this blog (even though y'all keep forgettin that I want them comments ON THE BLOG!!!!)
Anyway, thanks guys and keep em coming.

Its a new week and time to look ahead, after the horrors of last week. I live in Ajah area of Lagos, and with all the political and other wars going on, going home from work this past week has been nothing short of horific.

On two occasions, I have seen dead bodies on the highway as I go home from work. Early in the week, my driver was robbed at the bus-stop on his way home after dropping me off. The fighting rascals dispossessed him of his cell phone and a few other valuables. At least he got away with his life.

Can someone please beg these guys to stop it already! Going home this past week has been a case of courage under fire. On Tuesday night, I had to even go catch a movie while i waited for reports that the fighting had abated before I could go home.

Serious.

Enough of that, though. Lets take look forward to a better week ahead but not before taking a look back at what has been, well, a weekend that will put a pendulum to shame.

Football wise, its been great! (Yeah, you knew I was going to go there didnt you? Sorry to the ARSEnal and Ghana fans in advance cos am launching into you like you wouldnt believe. Ha ha).

Anyway, it so happened that Man United started it all off with a 4-1 pounding of Bolton, with some irresistible performances by the two Rs, Ronaldo and Rooney that left me dancing a jig and begging for more.

And then the Golden Eagles went through Ghana's Black Starlets like they didnt exist. BTW, who are those folks who keep saying that the Eagles restored pride 'after a series of losses to Ghana?'

Helloooooo, we have only lost to Ghana once and that was in a friendly game where the real Super Eagles did not show up. The U23 games both ended in draws and Ghana only advanced on goal difference, so puhlease! Ghana still havent beaten Nigeria in a competitive fixture in 15 years, and you can take THAT to the bank!

Moving ahead, all of Nigeria's continental representatives, Nasarawa United, Dolphins and Kwara United advanced to the next round of their competitions, with Kwara coming through a nerve-jingling penalty shoot-out.

And as if that was not enough, Joseph Yobo and Victor Anichebe 'conspired' to help Everton to a 1-0 win over the auld enemy, ARSEnal!

Whew! How does it get any better????

It does and it did and it was in church this Sunday. No, I didnt hit on and get a date with that pretty girl in the front row. It was the Sermon by Pastor Segun Banwo. It felt like he was talking to me.

But that is another story.

On Sani Lulu’s plea

Before I start this, let me say that I originally planned this blog as a personal story of me. But it’s not so easy to separate it from work. Besides, some folks who emailed, wanted me to comment on national issues (football-wise).

I will try to create a balance.

Last night in Lagos, NFA chairman Sani Lulu begged the press to ‘package’ the NFA and not only report negative things about the Glass House.
In other words, Lulu is asking us to censor ourselves for his benefit.

Now, I ask myself, why? What have the NFA done to deserve anything from us, from me? How do you ‘package’ an NFA that goofs at every turn?

Let me use the case of Berti Vogts as an example of how this NFA does itself in and then expects to be packaged.

1. Vogts fails to arrive: First the man failed to arrive in Nigeria because the NFA defaulted on his contract, causing Nigeria international embarrassment.

2. League postponed for Vogts: To heighten the disgrace, the entire league was postponed because of an inconsequential exhibition match to ‘welcome’ the German!
Can someone please educate me? I want to know where else in the world this happens.
What were the consequences? TV rights holders Supersport were in a quandary. The schedule and logistics for televised matches had been planned to the last detail from the start of the season, and then updated at the start of the second round (I know because I was part of the planning).

That postponement (without informing Supersport, formally or informally), meant that the production crew were sitting at a league venue, waiting to televise a game that never took place.

Not only that, it has thrown the entire transmission schedule out of kilter as officials scrambled to re-work the schedule. This might sound like an easy task, but different provisions were made for midweek games and weekend games. That has all been turned on its head. Maybe I will talk about this later. For now, lets move on.

BTW, did I mention that the NFL was not consulted when the NFA decided to arbitrarily rule that all league games be moved?

3. Anti Press NFA: This same NFA that wants ‘packaging’ has been blocking the press at every turn from talking to Vogts.
Reports from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja says NFA officials actually ordered security to throw out journalists who tried to interview the coach on his arrival.

If we assume that they did not want the man to be ambushed at the airport, we would have expected that they were taking him to a press conference.

Unfortunately, that would be too much to expect from this ‘abeg package us’ NFA. Rather than a press conference, Vogts was taken on a junket all over the place. Doing this and doing that and only feeding snippets here and there to the press.

Now, someone correct me if I am wrong, but is there anywhere in the world where a coach is employed and there is no press conference?
South Africa and Carlos Alberto Parreira are a recent example. The Brazilian went straight from the airport to a press conference.

Rather, what our NFA have done is attend a ‘dinner’ organised by the sponsors where the coach was ‘unveiled’. Someone please tell me that Berti Vogts is not a statue that needs unveiling.

4. Invitation letters: This has been beaten to death, but this is a new one. The NFA sent 36 letters of invitation to players (including those we are trying to woo to come and play for us).

I know for a fact that two of these players (Everton’s Victor Anichebe and Man City’s Nedum Onuoha) were planning to come and be part of the squad.

Then a list of 25 players comes out and their names are not there. Now, I understand that a cash-strapped FA cannot deal with 37 players. But I did expect that what should have gone out would have been notification letters and not invitation letters. Or the coach simply names his squad of 25 before the 15-day FIFA deadline.

Now we have players sitting with IVs on their hands, and travel plans that they do not know what to do with anymore.

In Anichebe’s case, he has been posted so many times by our NFA it is a wonder the kid still wants to play for Nigeria!

This is the NFA that Sani Lulu wants me to ‘package’? Abegi!

Let me tell Lulu right here and now. There is no better ‘packaging’ that you can have, than the one you do for yourself.

It is that simple.

Post ur comments on the blog!

Since I sent out the email with the link to this blog, I have received tons of comments from folks.
Unfortunately, y'all cant see most of those comments here. Why? Because, people, most of y'all chose to send the comments to my email, or via sms. A few even called! Dayummmmm!
I want to read the comments on the blog!!! So please, please, please, drop em here. You'll even get paid for doing so. . . See them, everyone's all excited now. ha ha. Just kidding, but pls post them comments.
Thanx and thanx again for the humongous response!

Working, and lovin it!

I just got an email from a former classmate. We were in Engineering School together at Uni. We were also in the same private study group and used to do a lot of stuff together. We also graduated at the same time, although we worked for two different Oil Servicing firms in PH.
He is currently an Engineer and Team Leader in a major Oil company, and earning tons of dosh.
This got me thinking.
If I had stayed where I was at the time I decided to make the jump from engineering to journalism, I would be where he is or thereabouts.
He earns a whole load more than I do at the mo and then some.
But the key questions are; would I have been as happy as I am now?
Would I be kicking myself for not having made the change to what I enjoy?
Would I wake up in the morning and still feel excited about going to work?
Would I have made as much of a difference in people's lives as I have made where I am?

Frankly, I cant claim to have the answers to those questions. What I do know however, is that I love what I am doing now, I love waking up in the morning and thinking of the challenges ahead, the money may not be much compared to what my friend is earning, but I have been lucky in life and can claim to be one of the better paid in this country in the profession I chose.

All in all, I think I made the right choice.
I would like to go on and say those of you who have a passion for something other than what you are doing now, should chase it. But i hesitate to do so, because I am aware that I got this far, not only by hard work and talent--mostly a gift for writing and an ability to learn quickly--but also by getting some good breaks along the way that put me in the right place at the right time.
Its not quite so cut and dried then. All I will say is, weigh every option before taking the plunge.
For me, I thank God for His numerous blessings, even though I dont know that I deserve them.
Oh, and by the way, the pic there shows me at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich when I was appointed as a FIFA Instructor.

The poem below by Robert Frost helped me make up my mind. But that is a story for another day.

But yield who will to their separation/
My object in living is to unite/
My avocation and my vocation/
As my two eyes make one in sight/
Only where love and need are one/
And the work is play for mortal stakes/
Is the deed ever really done/
For Heaven and the future's sakes/

AWOL? Guilty again!

Okay, okay. I know, I know, I know. I did not update the blog when I should and for that, I apologise.
So much has been going in the past few months its unbelievable. Unfortunately, I cant go into all of it, but I’ll do my best, in parts. For now, let’s stick with the birthday.
The pic here shows me and girlfriend at the FIFA World Player of the Year Gala in December with Fabio Cannavaro, who won the Footballer of the Year award

So first off, what happened on that Saturday?? Well, thanks to y’all who sent me reminders, I actually remembered!! Isn’t that great???
That is just the beginning. Not only did I remember, I surprised the tears out of the lady. Which is never an easy thing to do, I can assure you. Its kinda tough to be in Lagos, while your wife is in the USA and do something to make her enjoy her birthday, but yours truly managed it (lesson for all you young hubbies out there. Am da maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!).
And what did I do? Simple. Planned an ambush with some mutual friends. Got one of my pals living in the same city (fortuitous coincidence) to get a whopping big cake and some flowers over to another friend’s house (who she was due to go visit that day). Almost everyone knew about the plan but wifey.
She got to the house, and there was this big cake waiting from her from her darling! My baby cried. . .
Hey, Robby, thanks bro. You rock!