₦airaland Forum

Where have I been? Just hearing about this from Toyin on Channelsports tonight now.

So surprised. To think I rushed home Thursday evening to listen to this programme, got home a little late and questioned why this programme was not holding. Didn't know until now that the programme started but ended abruptly.

That's almost N0.2billion - one man dashing someone what is more than the whole wealth of another multi-millionaire!

Hottips: Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank PLC and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated were among the 25 companies honoured by Forbes Africa and ABN Productions at the Forbes Africa top listed West African Companies Awards Ceremony recently. The event titled, “The Top Listed West African Companies” was a celebration of the
success of risk takers and job creators. The list covered the Top 25 companies in the West African capital market comprising of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Ghanaian Stock Exchange and the Abidjan-based Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA (Regional Securities Exchange SA) or BRVM. The awards were ranked in terms of market capitalization, revenue and profit.

Mr. Chris Bishop, Managing Editor Forbes Africa before presenting the awards to the top five companies said “All too often the lists of the world have overlooked the success of African companies. Nights like this show how important successful African companies are in the progress of the world economy.” According to organisers, the Forbes Africa Top Listed West African Companies celebrates the success of risk takers and job creators. It is an important initiative that aims to encourage organisations to strive for sustained excellence and also promote their profiles not only in their home country but around the world. Impressively, 20 Nigerian companies made it to the list of T0p 25 companies in West Africa. They include:

• Dangote Cement
• Zenith Bank PLC
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
• Nigerian Breweries Plc
• First Bank Plc
• Guaranty Trust Bank Plc
• United Bank for Africa
• Guinness Nigeria

• Nestlé Nigeria
• Access Bank
• Flour Mills Nigeria
• Union Bank of Nigeria
• Stanbic IBTC

• First City Monument Bank
• Lafarge Cement WAPCO
• Total Nigeria

• Unilever Nigeria

• PZ Cussions
• UACN
• Cadbury Nigeria Plc

According to Forbes, Nigeria has 20 of the best 25 companies in West Africa. What do you think about this?

News Source: AllAfrica.com

Except they define 'Nigerian' by physical location, not ownership, then the bolded are not Nigerian.

[quote author=Table Leg ]Nonsense!
Those local wings will be clipped on the international stage ...
No african nation is near ready yet to win the make the semi-finals or win the world cup!!![/quote]The Ghana team of 2010 wasn't better than this. (young boys from their 2009 under-20 and plus a couple of experienced players)

They were practically in semi-final until Suarez handed a goal-bound ball.

So why can't an African team make world cup semi final?

I don't see us winning the Confederation Cup, frankly. But a good show like Cameroun in 2003 is enough.

World Cup Semi Final As Next Target - Before The Gas Runs Out

It is common knowledge that football form, especially for national teams, is in cycle.

A time to be at the peak, a time to begin to descend and a time to be at lowest ebb and a time to recover. And the cycle continues.

From 1990 to 1994, Nigeria's Super Eagles gradually moved up the form ladder, reached peak between 1994 - 1996, began to decline from 1998 and banked on pedigree to stil remain force to reckon with between 1998 - 2004, with the retirement of key players between after 2004, the team struggled between 2004 to 2012. Now back on its feet.


Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Cameroun also went through the cycle at different times.


At Nigeria's peak between 1994 - 1996, Nigeria won AFCON 94 and Olympic 96.
At Senegal's peak between 2001 - 2002, they got to AFCON 2002 final and quarterfinals at world cup
At Ghana's peak between 2006 - 2010, they got to AFCON 2010 final and world cup quarterfinal, almost thru to semis


This is Nigeria's peak again, since the decline after 1994-96, we have AFCON already, can we stun at world cup by getting to or close to semi final like Senegal/Ghana, before the decline sets in again?

Another great game. Learnt from old habit of going complacent after taking lead. Fought till the end.

Enyeama: saved the day on many occasions, parrying impossible angle shots from the Burkina boys. Good leadership too, coordinating and charging defenders to avoid loss of concentration. 8

Oboabona: another fantastic outing from the NPL lad. Rock-solid at the back, nodding away balls that have been headed home by Burkina attackers. 7.5

Omeruo: consistently great. Pocketed Bance the way he pocketed Drogba earlier. He was a general in the back. 8

Ambrose: what can one say? Now proved beyond doubt that he is no fluke, forget about his inefficiency in some games before the AFCON. Did well in right back, despite being a natural centre back. Confidently pushing forward, attacking and assisting attackers. 8

Echiejile: I have criticised him many times as not effective in the left back like TT and poorer in moving forward. He isn't that bad, after all. Poor crosses/passes from the left, but still performed above average. 6

Onazi: Covered the defenders, assisted Mikel. Decent game. 7

Mikel: another great outing. Throwing the passes, unfortunately no Emenike to connect the passes but Ideye tried. Didn't move deep forward. Blocked many balls from reaching our defence. Helped retain fluidity in the midfield, although Marseille's Charles Kabore also matched him in the midfield in this game unlike previous games where he was completely dominant. 8

Mba: partnered well with Onazi and Mikel in the midfield triangle. Handled the midfield well. But above all, his daring runs and quickly taken goal was world-class. 8

Moses: Obviously not 100% fit, so didn't make many daring runs. But he was fantastic still, holding the ball, threatening the Burkina defence, partnering with Ideye well. He missed a couple of chances he could have buried though. 7.5

Ideye: Constant threat in Burkina defence. A less powerful version of Emenike. Great game all the same. 7

Uche: Not his confident self again, probably having lost some confidence since not doing well in prior games and relegated to bench. Couldn't make the daring dribbles that earned him the nickname 'garri master'. Couldn't fire his trademark shots too. 5

SUBS

Musa: Came in for Uche and added more bite to attack. Couple of decent balls to the central attack. Decent game, but still not the Musa we named 'Air Nigeria' just few years ago. 6.5

Oshaniwa: Replaced injured Echiejile. First ball, he was almost beaten by a Burkina winger, but pulled the guy down, earning a yellow card for himself. Also tried to push forward like Echiejile, but less sharp. 5

Yobo: Thrown in to waste time and to receive the trophy. Unrated.


MAN OF THE MATCH: Mba - if not for anything for delivering the decider.

The technical crew also did a good job, sticking to the winning team.

Reference: Pitroipa man of the tournament.? Scratching my head.

Nonsense.

Mikel should easily be the MVP of this tournament, followed by Moses.

Boko Haram congratulate Eagles

....Say we shall welcome you at Airport.

How can they give Pitroipa Player of the tournament? Haba, this should be Mikel.

Espn is on. packed stadium,only 2 gbananians present both both are sitting in the cheap seats

Funny comment. From a Nigerian on Ghanaweb

Kai, this is nt the Uche we used to know

I still recall Oliseh weeping profusely. I was in SSS3

Eto'o has been around for long o

Today is D-Day! Burkina Faso is gripped with fevered excitement hours ahead of their historic Africa Cup of Nations final against Nigeria at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. Every two people you meet in the West African landlocked nation are sharing gossips about today’s clash. Joy, uncertainty, fear and fury can described how they feel about the fate of their team.

Supersport.com stormed the dusty streets of Ouagadougou on Sunday morning as locals bustled their kids on rusty and rackety motorbikes to church under the blazing tropical sun. Every face was smiling sweetly and everybody wants spare some time to talk generously about what will happen in South Africa today.

“Look, over confidence will kill Nigeria,” said Ahmed Issiaka, a 31-year-old roadside mechanic, who lives in the capital.

“When I read and hear what pundits are saying and how the Nigerians are reacting to these misleading and paper previews, I feel they’d collapse tonight if the trophy eludes them. As for us Burkinabe, we’ll play our game very relaxed and when you do any task that way, you are more inspired and creative because the pressure on you seems very less.”

Burkina Faso have close to 56% of practicing Christians and 37% of Muslims, who have been living side by side peacefully for decades, but the national cause of today will likely unite them more, as some Muslims implore their fellow Christian brothers to intensify their prayers for the Stallions.

“On Friday, we the Muslims had our general prayers for our team to win the Cup. Today is Sunday and it’s the turn of our Christian brothers to pray for the same purpose that is uniting the whole nation at the moment. We are all the same today, praying to the same God to help us overcome Nigeria in the Afcon final,” Ibrahima Ouatarra, a 42-year-old pharmacist said.

Burkina Faso women are traditionally cold to these kinds of football excitements, but that has changed. They say they are behind their team and will kiss every players once they arrive with the trophy.

“No other day in the history of this country has been greater than this. We are experience something different. My mother, grandmother and sisters are all excited about our team playing the Afcon final,” Sandrine Kabore said.

“I’m waiting for tonight to give my fiancée the answer whether I will marry him. He asked me for it last month and I have been thinking. However, if the Stallions win tonight I’ll call him and say I’ve agreed to marry him,” she said.

Mariame Coulibally, who runs a local restaurant in central Ouagadougou told supersport.com she’d offer free service two hours to the game and do the same till Monday evening.

“I have enough stock and I have cooked enough to feed people for free till tomorrow. This is my contribution to this cause. We have to unite, fight and do all we can to motivate fans till final victory.”

http://mobi.supersport.com/football/africa-cup-of-nations/news/130210/Over_confidence_will_kill_Nigeria_fans

Kajina: I see some user names there and I suspect one of them is you. Hey that's what is good about the World wide web. Keep enjoying your time there. The difference is that when a Nigerian comes to Ghanaweb to make mouth, only a couple of people acknowledge his presence Nobody gives them attention. But on NL Ghanaians get so much attention from Nigerians

Hahaha, tell that to Deciiva, the football moderator.

Ayo, Dr. No etc are one of the most popular members of that forum and they are Nigerians.

Plus, count the number of threads on Nigeria opened by Ghanaians on GW and the number of threads on Ghana on NL here, and come back to tell me which people give more attention to another.

Freiburger: If Ghana had met a better team @ that quater finals, it would have been long a done deal.

The Cape Verde they met actually stretched them. They won by 2 late goals. That was when their yansh was being exposed.

I suspected this, since not seeing Momodu feature on SS studio again after that match.

I also saw Bwalya's twitter comment that evening and Zambians' vitperations on Supersports facebook page that day.


That said, both of them are wrong.

Nothing wrong in an analyst describing officiating as 'dubious and shameful', Oliseh also described Ghana-Burkina Faso refereeing as 'disgusting and shameful'.

Momodu however went too far openly accusing CAF and Kalusha of amorous relationship without any proof. It's like those beer-parlour accusations by Nigerians that Hayatou 'gave' Eto'o African footballer of the year awards. You don't say such things on formal platforms, except you have hard proof.

Kalusha also disappointed with the report of planning to mobilize to attack SS office is Momodu was not given the boot. That's very unprofessional.

All these said, I'm not a fan of Momodu too but I enjoy his banters, his comics, his smattering English and knowledge of African football.

If Zambians think he hate them, then what do they want Nigerians to say? And Ghanaians too? He has always made fun of Nigerian teams and recently Ghanaians, writing them off.

I wish he was in studio the day Nigeria beat his CIV. He so much believes in that CIV team and almost always crying in studio anytime they disappoint him.

Ishsoph: Pls can a broda giv me the link to Ghanian's online forum. Wana knw their thought toward d missed Penalty.

Ghanaweb.com

Sports-forum-football

With our newfound bragging right, I can go there go make mouth. Na dem name us Super Chickens.

Orpelin: Seeing the wonderful performance of the Super Eagles
against the Malian team,Nigeria will now take on Burkina Faso for the Final place.
My prediction for the match is Nigeria 2-1 Burkina Faso. So what is your prediction for the final AFCON 2013 match?
Let have yours with no too much story telling.

Looks like 2-1 for me too.

In any case, I'm sure it won't spill into penalties.

Daring. Good. I like that and pray it works for you guys.

But I'm surprised it can happen. This should be the first or second time I'm hearing about this interview gate-crashing thing. Actually never knew, thought all tests are by invitation.

90% of testing entities won't accept that though.

But there is nothing wrong in trying. Good efforts, guys.

mr byron: it 19 years not 13 years please.... we last won the nations cup in 1994

You have not won yet. You got to final last 13 years ago.

Go school.

Why was he not specific like this against Cote D'ivoire?

Nobody dared!!!

This is one-kobo prediction abegii

Win or lose, sacked or left to continue, call it fluke or tactical efficiency, Stephen Keshi has made his mark already as producing for Nigeria its best performance in 13 years.

Some of us that faulted his inclusion of home-based players and dropping of some big names have since returned to our vomit, swallowing it.

Give it to him, he deserves some respect, for sticking to his gun with these young players.

While giving him the full credit,someone reminded me that Siasia also deserves part as some of the players Keshi are using actually cut their Super Eagles teeth under him. I almost spanked the person, that 'Dr, are you serious? Siasia that did not even qualify us for Nations cup'.

But on a more critical reflection, I realized some things:

1, Some of the players Keshi is using to produce result actually made their debut under Siasia (Musa, Emenike etc)

2, Siasia started the discipline trend which is working for Keshi. He dropped key players like Osaze because they were fighting with coaches. Keshi also did same. In hindsight, that decision is very right, if it were Osaze that is being made to sit on bench like Yobo or Uche now, by now we would be hearing different news from camp, news of Osaze fighting coach etc. It didn't work for Osaze, and initially appeared not working for Keshi too until the gradual turn-around.

3, Against Guinea in October 2011 in the match we drew that cost us AFCON 2012 participation, Siasia stuck his neck for Emenike despite the guy missing chances and we were all shouting. Today, it is same Emenike that is now firing at all cylinders? Could this mean we were impatient with Siasia? That he saw what we didn't see in this guy? (in any case I have personally always believed in Emenike's ability)

4, When Amodu purely had foreign, big players orientation, Siasia has a mixture generation orientation, gradually introducing the younger boys. He traveled round teh world to speak with many Nigerian young players, including Victor Moses, and convince them to come play for Nigeria. These are the boys doing it for Nigeria today.

With all these and many others, are we right to say Siasia laid the foundation to today's success? Or Keshi's philosophy just appears to co-incide with Siasia's in many respects? Does he deserve some credit?

Who doesnt know.

Why not this express prediction against CIV?

funshint: Hope dis won't be a mistake by ACN; joining mainstream politics has always been deadly 4 south-west. Infact Northerners are known to be betrayers. Wat I can see 4rm dis merger is just a plan by an individual(Buhari) to foist his selfish political aspiration on others. If dats going 2 be d case; then d merger is bound 2 fail except neutral individuals who will be generally accepted by majority of the populace are selected with d sole aim of improving d welfare of d people they aspire 2 serve while sacrificing their individual political aspirations. If dis is done den I believe we'll hv a formidable opposition 2 save us from dis barbaric, bloodthirsty and #messiless party called "PDP"!!!

The northerners that put South-West man Obj there in 1999?

Who is teh betrayer.

Maxymilliano: Oshiomole is only being diplomatic here, he's more closer to the GEJ led government at federal level than his political party.

100% correct.

Oshiomole, though not a PDP man, is a GEJ guy.

I don't seen him campaigning against GEJ or delivering Edo to APC in 2015.

I won't mind Buhari/Fashola. Buhari to do the sanitizing of the rotten system, while Fashola brings intellectualism to the table. Thankfully, Buhari has a history of giving his deputy free hands.

The snag will however be: Muslim/Muslim and absence of SE/Igbo on the ticket.

wesley80: Some Nigerians really can be unbelievably stuupid! I can't believe supposedly educated folks are still rooting for Buhari even in the face of a landmark merger that should ordinarily present a platform for some kind of political revolution. What is wrong with us? How's a seventy something year old barely literate retired army General who blamed a "PDP kamfuter" for his electoral loss and whose most noteworthy accomplishment as a Head of state was being a ball-less figurehead while his second in command ran the show, the best a supposedly educated well meaning Nigerian can propose? I just don't get it.
You're smart enough to make projections but too daft to realize your nation has moved beyond Buhari and his warped ideas. Perhaps you're also in your seventies - the only sane rationalization you can offer - and the forceful days of military Generals still fills you with nostalgia - Pls accept my sympathy, but you must learn to dream much better dreams.
Truth is Nigeria deserves better than your mediocre dream, Nigeria deserves better than Buhari. It doesn't matter if he's "the messiah" to legions of ediots, sanity must prevail. The opposition with this merger are on the brink of helping this nation build its democracy into what we all desire and we must not carve out the helm as an exclusive preserve for mediocres.

Is Jonathan the alternative?

Interestingly, the first time I heard the name Aliko Dangote was in 1996 when he donated 500,000 to Olympic winning team. I still recall listening to that news: a businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has donated the sum of 500,000 to blabla.m..

He was 39 years old then.

PapaBrowne: But which kind name be this na?? This people dont want to win eh??
All Progressive Congress. The name doesn't work abeg.
They should have found something better na.
If they cant give us a good name is it a good country they want to give us?

What's wrong with the name?

coogar: he doesn't surge forward at chelsea like he does for the super eagles......
they don't even trust him enough to make those sweeping passes to the attack or the wingers. mikel is top quality - our best passer by all standards. he has shown nothing but absolute class in this tournament throughout......

3 standout players for me in this tourney have been mikel obi, emenike and alain traore(burkina faso)

Yeah, that Alain Trarore guy na baller. Too bad for Bf he's out to injury.

JideTheBlogger: All of you that said we cannot do without Osaze, make u na show face ooo

Osaze would have caused friction in that team. He wont tolerate being benched like Uche and Yobo. If it was Osaze that was being benched, instead of taking it in good faith like Yobo and Uche, he would have started fighting coaches.

Keshi is evry right dropping him, in hindsight.