₦airaland Forum

I received the following email on the Darfur crisis from Amelia Field who writes on behalf of Human Rights First. Please do give a thought to it.

We don't need to remind you that in Darfur where people are being systematically killed and driven from their homes, immediate intervention is critical.

We're writing you in hopes that you will tell your readers about Human Rights First's important new petition. We're looking for 200,000 caring people to "stand in" for those who have been murdered, raped and displaced. See (and sign!) the petition here.

We have also made a short and powerful Flash movie that we invite you to watch and link to alongside the petition.

The petition calls for a high-level envoy, appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to reenergize the peace process. That means, in particular, bringing all of the stakeholders in Darfur to the negotiating table – something that is not happening right now.
Darfur is a crucial issue to your readers, and I hope you will spread the word about the petition.

Peace

@ Bagoma, dem a wanna fade me for work, so time to post in a forum hasn't really been existent,

@ the rest of y'all, did anyone watch the Juve-Milan game over the weekend where we tied up our 29th scudetto? While Arsenal is still battling to get into Europe next season, we have tied up our title, so we can now relax and think of just how many goals we will put past Jens,

@ allonym your argument holds no water IMO. Will reply properly when I collect my thoughts,

Nice little spat going on between ijebuman and romeo,

romeo let me ask you a question, when did you start watching CNN?

One of the worst days of my life still remains a comment made by Bob Fiscella a CNN correspondent during the 1996 Confederations Cup: Being the poorest country in the tournament, Nigeria certainly needs the $ 1.5 million prize money.

Such comments show it all in terms of these people's bias and mentality.

Has anyone noticed that with the exception of one report, Jeff Koinage has never had a good shot of anywhere in Naija? Sometimes I get the impression that the moment they see street lights in a place they take their camera crews elsewhere,

Some say life is black
Some say life is white
We all know that it is
BLACK AND WHITE
FORZA JUVEhttps://juventuz.com/forum/images/old_juventuz_smilies/touched.gif
La vecchia Signora

To pass any constitutional amendment, to change the name of the constitution, to fulfill the objective Mantu and co. are pushing for, you need two thirds of the 109-member Senate. That is, we, the people, the anti third-termers only need the backing of 36 Senators if they want to end this coming nightmare,

Friends, if we want a vibrant democracy that's built on ideas and not personalities, if we want to prevent our country from being captured by a future tyrants that will kill our democracy, if we want to say that Nigeria can never be fixed in four years, eight years, 12 years but change will last for as long as Nigeria exists, if we want to say that Obasanjo's reforms can be continued under a team of younger Nigerians that haven't been around since independence -- then we need 36 Senators to vote "no" for the third term.


Friends, if we want Nigeria to say to Africa: "Don't only do only what we say but do what we do," and if we want to say the following to Baba: "Thank you very much, you've tried your best, you've done some great things, but now you can rest"--then we need 36 Senators to vote "no" when the real battle gets to the National Assembly.

36 Senators. 36 "Profiles in Courage for our time."

This campaign isn't about North, South, South South or South West. This campaign isn't about Christianity, Sharia, power shift or "recource control." Our campaign is about building a new Nigeria that is in touch with the world. A Nigeria that's home to a multitude of ideas that will together make us great. Not a teleguided Nigeria under the direction of a patriarch.


We're sick and tired of this unease. We're sick and tired of the hairbrained argument that only one man can steer our ship. We're not tiny Singapore in search of a Nanny. We're like India: multicultural, multi-religious, democratic, crazy, and eminently cabapble of capturing the attention of the world with our ingenuity. We're a big time player--at least the seed is there to make us one. We don't need Nasiru Mantu, Tony Anenih, and Jerry Gana to tell us that.


Friends, we want a Nigeira that's run by rules. Not an improvised Nigeria charachterized by shifting the goal posts. We want a serious country that cares about public opinion, and not the opinions of courtiers serving any government in power.

36 Senators.

If you're a senator and you have a conscience, if your a senator afraid to be seen taking a sign, do not fear. You can join your colleagues that said "no" in Rivers a few days ago: Udoma Udo Udoma; Bello Maitama; Farouk Bello-Bunza; Abdulaziz A. Ibrahim; Chukwumerije; Mamora; Dahiru Umar; Ahmed Ibrahim; Usman K. Umar; Baba Tella; Bode

Notice how plain women always hang around with absolute boilers? Makes them comparatively beautiful, see. Similarly, the presence of Sunderland in this season's Premiership has made the rest of the league look relatively good. But closer inspection reveals bags under the eyes and pungent BO. We are on course for the first Premiership season in history in which the average number of goals per game will be under two. So is it really surprising that Pool and Chelski have emulated ManYoo by being dumped out of Europe because of their inability to score?

Lord Fergie abandoned his club's attacking tradition to fiddle with his formation like a fumbling teenager, while Pool and Chelski ignored proven goalscorers Michael Owen and Hernan Crespo in order to take on the cream of the continent with jumped-up bouncers such as Peter Crouch and Didier Drogba - rich men's versions of Kevin Davies and James Beattie, to name but two other oafs indulged by English clubs.

I think Portuguese midfielder Tiago rang compatriot Comical Jose last night to offer a further example. "You flogged me, a creative player, to Lyon for a 1.5m pound loss and then splurged 24.4m pounds to relieve them of Michael Essien," he must have lectured. "And while that glorified mule missed your Barcelona shambles because of suspension, I delivered a man-of-the-match performance and two silky goals in my new team's 4-0 destruction of PSV." Laudable Lyon combine class with adventure, while the top English clubs blend brawn with yawns.

The situation is, like Chxta most Friday nights, scandalous and staggering. Shouldn't Pool fans be singing "You'll never work again" to a manager who invited Champion's League elimination by dropping his best player in the first leg and trying to scab a 0-0?

Is it really acceptable for a team with infinite wealth to try to blag a goal in the Nou Camp by sending on a second-rate centre-back as striker?

And, most staggering of all, is the man who's masterminding Lyon's swashbuckling progress the same Ged Houllier who was run out of Anfield two years ago for being narrow-minded and boring? Or is Rafael Benitez that Ged Houllier in disguise?

So it has finally happened! They have shown the hidden hand. Senator Ibrahim Mantu et al have decided that our 'elected' representatives at the executive level should all get a third term. Isn't it just wonderful? Our beloved president and governors will get a third term, then towards the end of the 2007-2011 term, some judge would come out and say something along the lines of well, the new 'improvement' to the constitution was implemented in 2006, so the 1999 constitution doesn't hold since we are operating under the 2007 constitution and as such the president and governors have just served out their first terms under the 2007 constitution and as a result are free to contest for 2 more terms. We shall be seeing Lucky Igbinedion's face on our screens for another 12 years! Isn't Nigeria such an interesting place?

There is an old Chinese curse which says 'may you live in interesting times'. These are such times, and it makes me sad. You see, for my own selfish reasons, I'd rather live in boring times. As any student of history will tell you, the interesting parts of history are periods of chaos and conflict. We are living in such times in our beloved Nigeria,

On an even gloomier note, it is extremely depressing to see that our elected representatives who swore to uphold and defend the constitution are the ones at the forefront of supressing the law! For those of you who may not know, the text of a lawmaker's oath in Nigeria goes thus:
[I]
I, do solemnly swear/affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that as a Member of the Senate/House of Representatives/ , House of Assembly, I will perform my functions honestly to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law, and the rules of the Senate/House of Representatives/ , House of Assembly and always in the interest of the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; that I will strive to preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and that I will abide by the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

So help me God. [/I]
So what the hell is the matter with these people? Why make a promise that you can't keep?

Why shoud they delibrately disobey a court order? From a Ferderal High Court for that matter?
It is nice to note that the NBA is insisting on fighting this thing, but I have my doubts as to what the outcome will be. By the time a few gmg bags get distributed, I bet we will be hearing a different tune. The sad truth remains that Nigeria [B]cannot, and will not[/B] move forward as long as there is no respect for the rule of law!

More later as this unfolds.

@ Akolawole, last time I checked, Jamaica ain't in Africa,

Some thread this,

Your CV long o,

Dirtiest town in Nigeria? Aba. No questions asked.

Pendelite,
please can you send me a pm message i think i might have a coiuple of ideas that might be worth your while

I find it funny that I haven't been here. To those who support the killings, I have only one thing to say: violence begets violence.

Calabar based on that list, but personally I think it is Owerri,

I have/had a similar problem, and I talked to my mother about . She said, follow your instincts. If your mind tells you that she really loves you, then she does. Just be patient. There are no rules in the love game, and that she doesn't say I love you doesn't mean that she doesn't.

Tasteless sods,

Basking on the success of its Switch-Off phone protest in 2003 to press for a switch to per second billing, National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) said it is set for another mass revolt, this time to demand satisfactory services and lower tariffs.

Network operators and experts have however dismissed the planned switch-off campaign accusing the organizers of insincerity and ulterior motive.

But NATCOMS said it will carry out another switch off campaign on February 17, "in protest of the unsatisfactory services, deliberate high tariff structure, subscriber-care insensitivity"

The above story ran in the Daily Champion of January 19 2006. Today is February 17, and I had forgotten all about the switch off protest until, this morning. On my way to work it was mentioned in a Rhythm 93.7 newsreel. This led me to think about a lot of things. Firstly, who is NATCOMS? What do they hope to achieve?

NATCOM is the acronym for the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, an organisation that was formed in 2002 to meet the GSM operators head on in their exploitative habits. And boy, those GSM people really exploit us. They were successful in their first protest back in 2003 which successfully forced V-Mobile (then known as Econet) and MTN (thieving bastards) to eventually introduce per second billing. Granted, there is a need for this protest.

But my train of thought here is not about NATCOM, their protests and/or their effectiveness, but about the fact that as I am typing this, my phone like those of all my colleagues are all on. Firstly, this particular protest was given very poor coverage. I DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT IT BETWEEN JANUARY 19 AND TODAY, which says a lot about the campaigning skills of those pushing the clamour for lower tariffs. I pride myself on knowing what is happening everywhere around me and I didn't hear about this, but I heard a lot about valentine's day.

The attitude of people when I mentioned it, starting from my friend with whom I hopped a ride, to the other people in the car, to the people who were interviewed on 93.7, then to my colleagues, and of course myself! An attitude of who gives a ****.

Frankly, at this point I couldn't care less anymore because I don't think Nigerians are a set of people worth fighting for. Nigerians are among the most selfish group of people on the planet. As individuals we may, and definitely have selfless people, but as a collective,

Why do I say that? We have had a lot of opportunities to right a lot of the wrongs that have been inflicted on us all by our government (let's face it, most of the wrongs committed by MTN are committed simply because Obj and co look the other way), and we have always come short. A very wiseman once said that the people deserve the government that they have. And sadly, in the case of my beloved Naija, it is very true. Do you remember the last real labour strike? April or was it May 2004? That strike was effective, and had we hung in there just 3 more days, the government would have caved in. But what happened? People began crying. Adams Oshimole let us go back to work we are suffering. What kind of attitude is that? Didn't we watch the Ukrainians when their government tried to force crap down their throats? They braved the bitter cold in the streests of Kiev and Lvov until the government obeyed the will of the people. Vox populi vox Dei! Can that happen in Naija? As things currently are, NEVER! Until we sit up as a collective and do what has to be done, we will continue to be exploited by MTN and the rest of their kind.

Someone asked me what is my beef with MTN. My beef is this: MTN collected a loan of $1.8 billion for 5 years in order to commence their Naija operations. In less than 2 years they had made more than enough to pay back the loan twice over, but were it left to them, tariffs would still be at 2002 levels. Whenever it comes to customer care MTN are always the last to implement changes that will be felt by the people. They kept giving excuses as to why they couldn't change over from per minute billing to per second until Globacom came on and showed us that it could be done. When MTN finally got off their fat arses to change to PSB, they did it at a cost!

MTN South Africa became one of the major players in the South African telecoms industry because of funds repatriated from Naija. Why do y'all think that Telkom and Vodacome keep casting greedy glances in our direction? They know what is here to be made because of 2 factors: our sheer size by virtue of population, and our apparent lack of regulations.

A few weeks back there was a High Court ruling asking Shell and all other oil companies (Shell is always the target because they are the biggest oilco in Nigeria) to stop gas flaring with immediate effect. The companies didn't even need to appeal the ruling. The Federal Government made it abundantly clear that the ruling couldn't be implemented until 2008 at the earliest! This is a government that is supposed to uphold the rule of law! A few days after the ruling, I happened to go to Warri, and guess what? It is gas flaring business as usual! Shell Estate at Ejeba, Warri is just beside a slum. Is that a mark of a socially responsible firm making billions from us?

We blame the oil companies. Wrong! Blame the government. The companies are only doing what most humans would do. As they like, since there aren't being regulated.

But then we go ahead of ourselves if we blame the government. You see in theory we are in a democracy. By common definition, a democracy is a government for the people, of the people and by the people. Which means that if a democratic government isn't doing well, the people can boot it out. This PDP government has simply not performed in broad terms. They have done well on some specifics lets be fair, but generally, what do we have? Never Expect Power At-all has metamorphosed into Problem Has Changed Name?

Nigerians aren't ready to stand up and claim their rights, so like the rest of the people that I know, my phone will remain switched on. While we are on the subject of lower and fairer tarrifs by the way, those South Africans are ripping us off badly on another front. Can we form an association of DSTV owners?

Try WINE,

bagoma:
chxta,
now i'm convinced you have a covenant(for want of a better word) with loooong posts.

Not the first time I am hearing such a complaint.

All the quotes below are by Bill Shankly, one of the greatest coaches ever,

* “Some people believe that football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude, it is much, much more important than that!”
o Notes: On a Granada Television chat-show in 1981.

* "My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in."

* "I don't think I was in a bath until I was 15 years old. I used to use a tub to wash myself. But out of poverty with a lot of people living in the same house, you get humour."

* "It's there to remind our lads who they're playing for, and to remind the opposition who they're playing against."
o Notes: on the 'This is Anfield' plaque

* "I'm a people's man - only the people matter"

* "My life is my work. My work is my life."

* "I know this is a sad occasion but I think that Dixie would be amazed to know that even in death he could draw a bigger crowd than Everton can on a Saturday Afternoon."
o Notes: at Dixie Dean's funeral

* "The problem with you, son, is that all your brains are in your head."
o Notes: to a Liverpool trainee

* "Sickness would not have kept me away from this one. If I'd been dead, I would have had them bring the casket to the ground, prop it up in the stands and cut a hole in the lid."
o Notes: after beating Everton in the '71 FA Cup semi-final

* "I was the best manager in Britain because I was never devious or cheated anyone. I'd break my wife's legs if I played against her, but I'd never cheat her."

* "Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool."

* "This is a team of skill and character, with men eager and ready to do any job if it's for the benefit of the club."

* "The fans here are the greatest in the land. They know the game and they know what they want to see. The people on the Kop make you feel great - yet humble."

* "No one was asked to do more than anyone else, we were a team. We shared the ball, we shared the game, we shared the worries."

* "At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the cheques."
o Notes: on boardroom meetings

* "I'm just one of the people who stands on the Kop. They think the same as I do, and I think the same as they do. It's a kind of marriage of people who like each other."
o Notes: on his relationship with the fans

* "If he isn't named Footballer of the Year, football should be stopped and the men who picked any other player should be sent to the Kremlin."
o Notes: on Tommy Smith

* "Fire in your belly comes from pride and passion in wearing the red shirt. We don't need to motivate players because each of them is responsible for the performance of the team as a whole. The status of Liverpool's players keeps them motivated."

* "Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple."

* "Don't worry, Alan. At least you'll be able to play close to a great team!"
o Notes: to Alan Ball, who'd just signed for Everton

* "He has football in his blood," the disappointed scout complained. "You may be right," Shankly said, "but it hasn't reached his legs yet."
o Notes: after a scout told Shankly about a young player who he'd given a trial at Liverpool

* "Nonsense! I've kicked every ball, headed out every cross. I once scored a hat-trick; One was lucky, but the others were great goals."
o Notes: after being told that he had never experienced playing in a derby

* "It was the most difficult thing in the world. When I went to tell the chairman, it was like walking to the electric chair. That's the way it felt."
o Notes: on his resignation

* "Where are you from?" "I'm a Liverpool fan from London." "Well laddie , What's it like to be in heaven?"
o Notes: to a Liverpool fan

* "Aye, here we are with problems at the top of the league."
o Notes: to the journalist suggesting Liverpool were in difficulties

* "I only wanted him for the reserves."
o Notes: to the players after failing to sign Lou Macari in 1973

* "100,000 wouldn't buy him.", Tommy Docherty said. "Yeah, I am one of the 100,000!", replied Shankly.
o Notes: Shankly and Docherty discussing a player every other club coveted on sight

* "A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are. In my time at Anfield we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves."

* "But that's where I live!"
o Notes: to the Brussels hotel clerk who queried his signing 'Anfield' as his address on the hotel register

* "Just go out and drop a few hand grenades all over the place, son."
o Notes: to Kevin Keegan

* "Take that poof bandage off, and what do you mean your knee, it's Liverpool's knee!"
o Notes: to Tommy Smith after he'd turned up for training with a bandaged knee

* "We absolutely annihilated England. It was a massacre. We beat them 5-4."
o Notes: on a wartime England v Scotland match

* "Aye, Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets in the right place to miss them."
o Notes: to a reporter in the 60s

* "If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing."

* "The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game."

* "Anything off the top", asked a barber in 1968. "Aye, Everton", replied Shankly.

* "Just tell them I completely disagree with everything they say."
o Notes: to an interpreter regarding excited Italian journalists

* "The best side drew."
o Notes: after a hard fought 1:1 draw

* "It's a 90 minute game for sure. In fact I used to train for a 190 minute game so that when the whistle blew at the end of the match I could have played another 90 minutes."

* "You son, could start a riot in a graveyard."
o Notes: to Tommy Smith

* "I told this player, 'Listen Son, you haven't broken your leg. It's all in the mind."

* "Aye, watch it Bob, it's very greasy and treacherous out there. Very difficult for goalkeepers."
o Notes: to Arsenal 'keeper Bob Wilson before the 1971 Cup Final

* "Sorry, boss, I should have kept my legs together.", said Clemence. "Wrong, it`s your mother who should have!", replied Shankly.
o Notes: after Ray Clemence had let in a fluke goal between his legs

* "If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains."

* "Of course I didn't take my wife to see Rochdale as an anniversary present, it was her birthday. Would I have got married in the football season? Anyway, it was Rochdale reserves."

* "Son, you'll do well here as long as you remember two things. Don't over-eat and don't lose your accent."
o Notes: on the day he signed Ian St John

* "What can you do, playing against eleven goalposts?"
o Notes: after a 0-0 draw at Anfield

* "With him in defence, we could play Arthur Askey in goal."
o Notes: after signing Ron Yeats

* "For a player to be good enough to play for Liverpool, he must be prepared to run through a brick wall for me then come out fighting on the other side."

* "If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be."

* "Although I'm a Scot, I'd be proud to be called a Scouser."

* "He's worse than the rain in Manchester. At least God stops the rain in Manchester occasionally."
o Notes: about Brian Clough

* "He typifies everything that is good in football, and he has never changed. You could stake your life on Ian."
o Notes: about Ian Callaghan

* "He's not just the best centre-forward in the British Isles, but the only one."
o Notes: about Ian St John

* "Above all, I would like to be remembered as a man who was selfless, who strove and worried so that others could share the glory, and who built up a family of people who could hold their heads up high and say 'We're Liverpool'."

* "When you get the ball, I want you to beat a couple of men and smash the ball into the net, just the same way you used to at Bury," said Shankly. Lindsay replied: "But Boss that wasn't me, it was Bobby Kerr." Shankly turned to Bob Paisley and said: "Christ Bob, we've signed the wrong player."

* "Laddie, that man scored 200 goals in 270 matches - an incredible record - and he has won cup after cup as a manager. When he talks, pin back your ears."
o Notes: to a photographer who suggested Brian Clough was outspoken

* "It's great grass at Anfield, professional grass."
o Notes: about Anfield

* "I've been a slave to football. It follows you home, it follows you everywhere, and eats into your family life. But every working man misses out on some things because of his job."

* "I was only in the game for the love of football - and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool."

* "A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing."

DR Congo's goal is missing.. Nothing to panic about though, its a lame own-goal.

Egypt 1-0 DR Congo [Ahmed Hassan]
Egypt 2-0 DR Congo [Hossam Hassan, the legend]
Egypt 2-1 DR Congo [El Saka, o.g.]
Egypt 3-1 DR Congo [Emad Meteb]
Egypt 4-1 DR Congo [Ahmed Hassan]

Guinea 1-0 Senegal
Guinea 1-1 Senegal
Guinea 1-2 Senegal
Guinea 1-3 Senegal
Guinea 2-3 Senegal

Nigeria 0-1 Senegal [Camara]
Nigeria 1-1 Senegal [Martins]
Nigeria 2-1 Senegal [Martins]

Someone here said that Malu's statement was not inciting...

Incite: To provoke and urge on

A respected ex-general talking about how he should have overthrown the government of the day, if that is not putting ideas in the heads of younger soldiers, I wonder what is...

Afcon 2006, End Of Round 1

My impression after the first game (Egypt-Libya) was this: Libya was a joke and I seriously expected them to be a cake walk for the other group teams. In that game Abu Treka's goal was simply beautiful, but I felt that the Egyptians would have to develop to beat the other teams. Cote d'Ivoire's 3 points against Morocco were undeserved at best, they played a more defensive game and relied almost entirely on counters. No possession. Morocco were very upsetting in the third half of the field throughout their tournament. Some wasted chances, but most attacks incomplete.

The best game in this group was undoubtably the North African derby.
Both teams were very patient and very secure. A real pity that the match didn't produce any goals. I wonder what the Moroccans drank before the tournament as they simply failed to score, and rightly went out with a whimper. It was apalling. For crying out loud even Libya managed a goal! It is scary. I really fear that Morocco is going in the direction of Algeria, a has been! As for the game between Egypt and Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt played really well, and without their talisman Mido as well. That kid Emad seems like a true goalpoacher. And Barakat and Abou Treika ran the midfield well. Treika is a good playmaker. Good signs for the future perhaps?

How long before an own goal from Song in this tournament? His blunders are just too bad that it is a pity Cameroon haven't really played a quality team that can expose him. I wonder if *spit* Drogba *spit* will. Outstanding performance by DR Congo in the tournament thus far, Lualua has really shown the characteristics of a leader on the pitch. Especially in the game against Angola where he ran round the pitch over and over again making sure that their man disadvantage didn't show. He was phenomenal if you ask me. He did everything a captain needs to do and inspired the whole squad. I was very dissapointed with Angola I must say. They are rather lacklustre. Even when the chips were down and they needed to score goals against a Togolese side that had 10 men, they were found wanting. Granted they got 3, but for crying out loud they needed 4 at that point, and what happened? The Togolese were down a man, and don't know how to defend. What more do we need to indict the Angolans?

Back to Cameroon, some people say this Cameroon team is outstanding.

Outstanding?

Sorry but I haven't noticed any team greatness. They have one magnificent individual and that's about it. All their goals so far have been as a result of brilliant individual efforts, not team play. This Cameroon team can't hold a candle to the side they had 6 years ago. Not even close. Eto'o wasn't the player he developed to be today but they had other stars in their prime. I'm not saying they won't win the tournament, they might. But I'm not impressed yet. Perhaps I'm hard to please ?

Group C finally confirmed what I have been saying for a long time. South Africa has no business calling itself a football playing nation. Why did they bother turning up? Sudan would have put up a better performance than Bafana did. It was disgusting. The team that impressed me the most, and everyone I guess was Guinea. Wow! They really showed up. Tunisia is a waste. You have to go back to the game against Zambia to really understand what I am saying. They have a great tactician on the bench in Roger Lemmere and that's it. Creativity is zero. I am not taking the Guinea game into consideration in making this statement because as some would point out, they used a B side against the Guineans. But then again, the last time I checked, it was also Guinea's B side, bar the subs. The truth is just this, this Tunisian side has nothing to offer in reality. They just have good work ethics. But their undoing will be when they meet a truly creative side as they will in the World Cup.
For me there was a moment of choked up emotions (and reflections back to the golden age of football) when Elijah Tana scored for Zambia against Guinea. The goal was a carbon copy of the one he scored against Nigeria in Tunisia 12 years ago!

Group D was justifiably labelled the proverbial Group of Death when the African Nations Cup draw was made and today, it all came to a climax.

Nigeria qualified with a 100% record and in the process avenged that loss to Senegal 4 years ago. Isn't it funny to note that Nigeria and Senegal have met 4 times in Nations Cup history (1992, 2000, 2002 and 2006) and all 4 meetings have ended 2-1?
Nigeria may have won thrice but we have not been wholly convincing. We need to work on that left and tell the bleeding defenders that we are playing football, not catch!

However, I am ecstatic about today's game for 2 reasons: Obafemi broke his duck, so trust me, there is more to come. The second reason is that we conceded a goal. You might ask why I am happy that we conceded? For a simple reason: I used to be a defender, and I can tell you that had we kept a clean sheet until the semi-finals say, our false-confidence would have been shattered big time when we finally let in one and we'd go on to loose the match. For those of you who doubt me, remember in 2002 we didn't concede a goal until the semis and we lost there. Italy didn't concede a goal until the semis of Italia 90 and what happened? It is better for us to have conceded in the group stage and know that we are not invincible than to have Eto'o disvirgin our net in the semis and fall out then. It was also nice to see Mikel caged, so things won't start getting into his head. But over and above, I was happy that though we started badly (what was Cerezo thinking by having us play defensive at first), we cranked up the game after they scored and showed them that we are a better team.
Is there any need to waste my time talking about Ghana? Diouf got it all correct when he labelled them a bad team. Pity.

The African contingent going to Germany this summer won't be good for Africa...Angola aren't good enough to compete with Iran, Mexico, or Portugal, and the Togolese team is already split and this rift between Keshi and Adebayor could extend to Germany of the bad blood continues.

This African Cup of Nations should provide a clear picture for the audience and other coaches involved in the World Cup regarding the calibre of certain African teams whom they will compete with. Sadly, I think only Tunisia can compete out of the bunch this time around, not that they'll get past the first round.

Let's celebrate! https://juventuz.com/forum/images/juventuz_smilies/pint.gif

Nah. Things will work out for him. Let's kill Shittu instead...

Tunisia 0-1 Guinea [O. Bangoura]
Tunisia 0-2 Guinea [P. Feindouno]
Tunisia 0-3 Guinea [K. Diawara]

Still can't get my hands on Angola-Togo. Looks like Zambia-South Africa's going in that direction too...

Your laptop is dead, bury it.

Treason by reason of incitement...