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Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo - Sports - Nairaland

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Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Magichand: 10:23pm On Aug 05, 2018
Jim Nwobodo, a former old Anambra governor, has revealed some events that happened during the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

A former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, relives the victory of the Super Eagles in Atlanta Olympics of 1996 and how he saved Kanu Nwankwo from Coach Westerhof.
The Super Eagles won the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 when you were the Sports Minister.

Can you share with us the story of what happened then?
They (Super Eagles) beat Japan, beat Brazil and also beat other big teams. That was the time we had wonderful players. You can only know the best team when they go out of the country and play the best teams in the world. Mikel Obi is playing in China and there are other young boys like Alex Iwobi, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho and many others.


There is one thing I like about Nigerian football. Nigerians are football lovers, there is no doubt about that and football has the ability to unite Nigerians.
I remember very well the 1996 event when we played in Atlanta Olympics. Nigeria was a pariah nation. The day we reached the climax was the day Nigeria met Brazil. We had a very strong team, those who were determined to do their best to make Nigeria proud.


Two things happened that day. We got into the field and, in the first half, they (Brazil) were leading Nigeria by 3-1. I sat by the side of then – FIFA President, Joao Havelange, a Brazilian lawyer, businessman and athlete who served as the 7th FIFA President from 1974 to 1998 and I told him we will beat Brazil and he started laughing because we were two goals down.


Half time break pep talk
During the half time break, I went to our boys in the dressing room and called them one by one, starting with Sunday Oliseh, then Daniel Omokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Celestine Babayaro and others. I urged them not to disgrace me and Nigerians and they assured me that they will beat Brazil. I then called the coach, Clemens Westerhof, who complained that Kanu was not playing well and that he would remove him.

I ordered him not to remove the young man. I threatened to sack him if he removed Kanu. He complied with my order and allowed Kanu to play in the second half. In the second half, Okocha scored the second goal, making it 2-3; another goal was scored by Kanu to make it 3-3 and second half ended. In the extra time, we had what is called the golden goal then and, five minutes after, Kanu scored the golden goal and the match ended. Everyone was surprised but God was at work and I heard Him (God) when I said Kanu should not be removed.

Kanu became the man of the match. We were excited and many whites and many Africans, who did not know about the Dream Team, started painting themselves in green white green. I was also told that families that were not in talking terms for ten years reconciled because of that match.


Sweet victory
Then – Head of State, General Sani Abacha, who was not in the habit of answering telephone calls, called almost all of us, including my wife. He did not stop there. He had to wait for us alongside some state governors for two days under the rain at the City Gate, Abuja when we returned to Nigeria and that was what that victory did to Nigeria. What a sweet victory!


The second thing that happened was that Chioma Ajunwa told me that she and other Nigerian athletes were yet to be paid their 300 dollars per day on the day she would compete. I saw reason with her but I told her it was a very small amount. I promised her that I will give her 10,000 dollars if she won a gold medal, she was shocked. I advised her to go for the long jump if she was good at that. Her first jump earned her gold medal for Nigeria and I gave her 10,000 dollars. This thing is about leadership and encouraging people around you.


So, sport, in itself, is something that, if properly developed, will bring the country together. Look at what sport is doing in the world today. If you are a sports administrator, you are known all over the world. FIFA President is bigger that any President in the world. My worry is that Nigeria has not given proper attention to sports.
What is your rating of journalists in Nigeria?
Nigeria has the freest press in the world; journalists write anything and get away with it and they hold people accountable and nobody can fight them. In Nigeria, I can say that we have a very free and strong press. I really don’t see anything wrong with what they are doing, except that they should always get their facts right.


What is your take on employers owing workers?
Any employer that owes his workers should not expect them to be loyal to him. Such could expose workers to temptation because they have to take care of themselves and their families. It is not good to owe your workers; whether they are journalists, footballers, civil servants, you don’t need to owe them. Workers deserve their wages. So it is not good at all. You should do everything possible not to owe your workers.


What about state governments owing workers?
I mean it’s unfair. It is ungodly and unchristian. If you don’t pay workers, what do you want them to do? In fact, when I was governor, I didn’t have anything as salary arrears. Throughout my stay in Government House, I never owed anybody for one month because one thing you do as a leader is to pay your workers before any other thing. That is the first charge and, from there, you motivate them to work harder.


So, any governor that owes workers for months is not fit to be a governor. Although, some governors have said that the problem about payment of salaries stems from the many problems confronting them, that argument does not hold water because you can still sit down and arrange your budget to make the recurrent less than the capital. You give capital budget priority over recurrent.


From Zenithnaija.com

More below:
https://zenithnaija.com/how-i-saved-kanu-nwankwo-from-coach-westerhof-during-atlanta-96-olympics-jim-nwobodo-opens-up/

5 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by directorXixXICK(m): 10:27pm On Aug 05, 2018
Maybe they should have left iheanacho in the World Cup game against Argentina instead of that 'two left leg' Ighalo he perhaps might have helped us win...
My 2cents

31 Likes 2 Shares

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by gcof(m): 10:36pm On Aug 05, 2018
That is what is killing Nigerian football today, sports administrators interfering with happenings on the pitch

33 Likes 4 Shares

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by FirstCounsel(m): 10:38pm On Aug 05, 2018
Abeg which Tournament is this Chief talking about? If my memory serves me right, Jo Bonfrere took us to the Olympics.

100 Likes 5 Shares

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by LuciferChristi: 10:40pm On Aug 05, 2018
If he did that then it was very unprofessional & he should be arrested immediately & tried.

I don't care if Nigeria later won - we might have still won if Kanu was removed.

Nothing annoys me in football than when a Manager isn't allowed to do his job. Is Jim Nwobodo qualified? No.

Does he have any experience with coaching? No.

More importantly, was he employed as the Head Coach? No.


Why threaten to fire the Manager if he doesn't bow to your orders? What's it with Gorilla Africans and authority sef?

He's only admitting this because he's lucky we won but he ought to be dealt with.

34 Likes 3 Shares

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by LuciferChristi: 10:43pm On Aug 05, 2018
FirstCounsel:
Abeg which Tournament is this Chief talking about? If my memory serves me right, Jo Bonfrere took us to the Olympics.


Na true o

Nwobodo is drunk or is showing signs of Alzheimer's.

16 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by goldbim(f): 10:43pm On Aug 05, 2018
Unfortunately, the Capone sports minister we have now is less concerned about motivation.. May we get it right someday!! lipsrsealed
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Teeboi56: 10:40am On Aug 06, 2018
Okay
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Originality007: 10:41am On Aug 06, 2018
grin
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by tobilinoP(m): 10:43am On Aug 06, 2018
Coach was Bonfrere Jo, not Clemens Westerhof!!!

7 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by CuTTiieAngeL(f): 10:43am On Aug 06, 2018
Mtcheew...

1 Like

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by dazzlingd(m): 10:44am On Aug 06, 2018
Sunday Oliseh, then Daniel Omokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Celestine Babayaro


See names

5 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Mikeparlo12(m): 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
Baba is getting Old, it wasn’t Clemence westerhorf that took Nigeria to atlanta 1996but Bon Jo. Also Okocha didn’t score the second goal but Victor Ikpeba

22 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Iceman2017(m): 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
Just give Igbo's mantle of leadership in any field, they would do better.
Nigeria is where we are because they failed to recognise the importance of an Igbo man

6 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by carammel(f): 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
Atlanta 96,still fresh in my memory,the semi-final was the most interesting. kiss

Jim Nwobodo, be lying upandan,unless this is what you want the indomie generation to know about the 1996 Olympics. grin

That was how they lied to us that India gave Nigeria 100: 0 in one game.

6 Likes 1 Share

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Authoreety: 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
I watched that match with small pikin eye that year...

Twas actually glorious that night


gwinaB:


Was he not the one they said abducted the generator at the national stadium in surulere?

Stupidity is when u quote an entire post of ds lenght jst to spew trash!

Cant u jst say ur nonsense without quotin d entire post?

1 Like

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Iceman2017(m): 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
Just give Igbo's mantle of leadership in any field, they would do better.
Nigeria is where we are because they failed to recognise the importance of an Igbo man.

1 Like

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by nedu2000(m): 10:45am On Aug 06, 2018
Westerhoff wasn't the coach of the atlanta u-23 team Mr Nwobodo.
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Sijo01(f): 10:46am On Aug 06, 2018
That was when boys played with passion and not just money.
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by Nobody: 10:47am On Aug 06, 2018
Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by gwinaB(m): 10:47am On Aug 06, 2018
Magichand:
Jim Nwobodo, a former old Anambra governor, has revealed some events that happened during the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

A former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, relives the victory of the Super Eagles in Atlanta Olympics of 1996 and how he saved Kanu Nwankwo from Coach Westerhof.
The Super Eagles won the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 when you were the Sports Minister.

Can you share with us the story of what happened then?
They (Super Eagles) beat Japan, beat Brazil and also beat other big teams. That was the time we had wonderful players. You can only know the best team when they go out of the country and play the best teams in the world. Mikel Obi is playing in China and there are other young boys like Alex Iwobi, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho and many others.


There is one thing I like about Nigerian football. Nigerians are football lovers, there is no doubt about that and football has the ability to unite Nigerians.
I remember very well the 1996 event when we played in Atlanta Olympics. Nigeria was a pariah nation. The day we reached the climax was the day Nigeria met Brazil. We had a very strong team, those who were determined to do their best to make Nigeria proud.


Two things happened that day. We got into the field and, in the first half, they (Brazil) were leading Nigeria by 3-1. I sat by the side of then – FIFA President, Joao Havelange, a Brazilian lawyer, businessman and athlete who served as the 7th FIFA President from 1974 to 1998 and I told him we will beat Brazil and he started laughing because we were two goals down.


Half time break pep talk
During the half time break, I went to our boys in the dressing room and called them one by one, starting with Sunday Oliseh, then Daniel Omokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, Jay Jay Okocha, Victor Ikpeba, Celestine Babayaro and others. I urged them not to disgrace me and Nigerians and they assured me that they will beat Brazil. I then called the coach, Clemens Westerhof, who complained that Kanu was not playing well and that he would remove him.

I ordered him not to remove the young man. I threatened to sack him if he removed Kanu. He complied with my order and allowed Kanu to play in the second half. In the second half, Okocha scored the second goal, making it 2-3; another goal was scored by Kanu to make it 3-3 and second half ended. In the extra time, we had what is called the golden goal then and, five minutes after, Kanu scored the golden goal and the match ended. Everyone was surprised but God was at work and I heard Him (God) when I said Kanu should not be removed.

Kanu became the man of the match. We were excited and many whites and many Africans, who did not know about the Dream Team, started painting themselves in green white green. I was also told that families that were not in talking terms for ten years reconciled because of that match.


Sweet victory
Then – Head of State, General Sani Abacha, who was not in the habit of answering telephone calls, called almost all of us, including my wife. He did not stop there. He had to wait for us alongside some state governors for two days under the rain at the City Gate, Abuja when we returned to Nigeria and that was what that victory did to Nigeria. What a sweet victory!


The second thing that happened was that Chioma Ajunwa told me that she and other Nigerian athletes were yet to be paid their 300 dollars per day on the day she would compete. I saw reason with her but I told her it was a very small amount. I promised her that I will give her 10,000 dollars if she won a gold medal, she was shocked. I advised her to go for the long jump if she was good at that. Her first jump earned her gold medal for Nigeria and I gave her 10,000 dollars. This thing is about leadership and encouraging people around you.


So, sport, in itself, is something that, if properly developed, will bring the country together. Look at what sport is doing in the world today. If you are a sports administrator, you are known all over the world. FIFA President is bigger that any President in the world. My worry is that Nigeria has not given proper attention to sports.
What is your rating of journalists in Nigeria?
Nigeria has the freest press in the world; journalists write anything and get away with it and they hold people accountable and nobody can fight them. In Nigeria, I can say that we have a very free and strong press. I really don’t see anything wrong with what they are doing, except that they should always get their facts right.


What is your take on employers owing workers?
Any employer that owes his workers should not expect them to be loyal to him. Such could expose workers to temptation because they have to take care of themselves and their families. It is not good to owe your workers; whether they are journalists, footballers, civil servants, you don’t need to owe them. Workers deserve their wages. So it is not good at all. You should do everything possible not to owe your workers.


What about state governments owing workers?
I mean it’s unfair. It is ungodly and unchristian. If you don’t pay workers, what do you want them to do? In fact, when I was governor, I didn’t have anything as salary arrears. Throughout my stay in Government House, I never owed anybody for one month because one thing you do as a leader is to pay your workers before any other thing. That is the first charge and, from there, you motivate them to work harder.


So, any governor that owes workers for months is not fit to be a governor. Although, some governors have said that the problem about payment of salaries stems from the many problems confronting them, that argument does not hold water because you can still sit down and arrange your budget to make the recurrent less than the capital. You give capital budget priority over recurrent.


From Zenithnaija.com

More below:
https://zenithnaija.com/how-i-saved-kanu-nwankwo-from-coach-westerhof-during-atlanta-96-olympics-jim-nwobodo-opens-up/



Was he not the one they said abducted the generator at the national stadium in surulere?

4 Likes

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by dazzlingd(m): 10:48am On Aug 06, 2018
Nathdoug:
WHY APC IS STRONGER THAN PDP 1). It took PDP 16 years to make a dollar = N197, but it took APC just 1 year to make a dollar N350.... 2). It took PDP 16 years to destroy Nigeria, but it took APC just 1 year to massacre, dismantle, kill and bury Nigeria. ... 3). It took PDP 16 years to make fuel price N87 per litre, but it took APC 1yr to make fuel N145 per litre. ... 4). It took PDP 16 years to make Nigeria corrupt, but it took APC just 1 year to make Nigeria fantastically corrupt. 5). It took PDP 16 years to keep the price of rice at N7,000 per bag, but took APC 1 year to project it to N18,000 per bag. 6). It took Jonathan 5yrs to travel to 15 countries, but it took Buhari 1 year to travel to 30 countries. 7). It took PDP 16years to apply resounding economic policies that made banks grow, but took APC 1 year to apply policies which they beg banks not to sack more staff. CONCLUSIVELY: I am beginning to think that while PDP is better in administration, APC is better in opposition, that's why APC is still campaigning, blaming, promising and playing opposition party despite being the ruling party after three years.

That story of dollar does not work.

Dollar issue started with Gej government and as at his departure, naira was already in a chain reaction of instability. Be transparent and fair...

Before you attack me, Im not a fan of buhari

4 Likes 1 Share

Re: Jim Nwobodo: What Abacha Did After Atlanta '96; What I Did For Kanu Nwankwo by mcnuel001(m): 10:48am On Aug 06, 2018
FirstCounsel:
Abeg which Tournament is this Chief talking about? If my memory serves me right, Jo Bonfrere took us to the Olympics.
Abioo, and the second goal was scored by victor ikpeba and not okocha ,infact okocha missed a penalty on that faithful day .

4 Likes

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