It seems the rumour began as an April Fool's joke by Kenyan news station K24, but it was quickly spread by blogs, including Nigerian blogs as if it was true.
I saw the story this morning, but I didn't believe it because no reputable media outlet had it.
Kenyans are condemning K24 for going too far with its April fool joke.
The story claimed that a Kenyan anti-drug agency had complained to the police about drug use at Davido's concert. It said that police had stormed Davido's plane at Jomo Kenyatta Airport and found cocaine in a hidden compartment. It also said that the singer had subsequently been arrested.
"I have never been arrested by anyone for any crime in any country in the world," Davido has told fans on social media.
It followed speculation that he was under arrest in East Africa. That had led to a "barrage of calls", says the Nigerian singer, and he's now threatening legal action against whoever started the rumours.
"I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria," added the statement on Tuesday.
Others clearly agree that the shows were a success, with Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper calling his Kololo show a "timeless hit wave".
So good was the performance, the paper said the star's late touchdown at Entebbe airport and failure to join a press conference were all but forgotten.
CharleyBright: Pls who is that delusional moderator that banned me and what section is that?
He is a coward if he cannot tell me my offense but went ahead to surreptitiously ban me. Some of these Nairaland moderators are operating like tyrants.
Click on your username. It will take you to your profile. Read everything that it written there. If you have actually been banned, then you'll see a message that will tell you why, who banned you and how long the ban will last.
I have seen a video where the very rich Alhaji Dantata offered his hands to some men and they didn’t shake him. In the North, this doesn’t translate to disrespect. Cultures differ
It has come to my attention that on a moment captured almost a month ago, has unexpectedly become the center of attention on social media. It's disheartening to see a simple act of cultural respect blown out of proportion. In our Northern culture, the gesture of kneeling, shaking hands etc signifies the highest form of respect. This was my intention when I greeted the Deputy Governor in such a manner. However, when it came to greeting the Governor, I chose to bow and not shake his hands, honoring him in a way that is deeply rooted in tradition.
It's unfortunate that amidst all the pressing issues our nation faces – economic hardships, security challenges, religious clashes and more – this seemingly insignificant moment has garnered so much attention. Even national media outlets like ARISE TV have jumped on the bandwagon, diverting focus from issues that truly matter- highly disappointing I must say.
What's even more disheartening are the comments questioning my respectfulness, especially from those who don't know me personally. Let's pause for a moment and reflect on where we choose to direct our energy. Shouldn't it be towards finding solutions to the problems plaguing our society rather than getting caught up in needless distractions?
I urge us all to channel our collective efforts towards addressing the real issues at hand. Let's focus on uplifting one another, fostering unity, and working towards a better future for all. And with this, I rest my case. #FocusOnWhatMatters #CulturalRespect #UnityInDiversity ❤️👍🙏
CLASH OF THE BROTHERS,1977. (Igbos vs their Yorubas brothers)
By Remigius Akinbinu.
'Clash of the brothers'; that, exactly, was the way the Nigerian press tagged the tie, back then. It was the way they wanted Nigerians to see it regardless of which of the two major tribes involved you're from.
But in truth and naturally so, vast majority of Igbos and Yorubas rooted for the club from their own side of the divide in a titanic clash that captured the attention of the entire country while it lasted.
It was the 1977 African Cup Winners Cup first semi-final between Rangers International Football Club of Enugu and the Industrial Investment Credit Corporation (IICC) Shooting Stars Football Club of Ibadan.
That time, I was only an 11-year-old boy in my first year in the secondary school but (without being boastful) with an unimaginable interest in the round leather game.
In June that year, my father, a school teacher bought the family's first television set. It was black and white of 'National' brand. This kindled my interest in football the more because, from following via radio commentaries and newspapers, I graduated into watching live and repeat telecast of matches on NTV Ibadan. This afforded me the opportunity of watching continental club football and following the Super Eagles' Argentina '78 World Cup qualifiers against Ivory Coast, Senegal, Egypt and Tunisia on TV.
In our house,that time, the clash -of-brothers tag actually played out for the Rangers/IICC tie as my immediate elder brother and my immediate younger brother,for reasons I found difficult to understand, were all out in support of Rangers while I, like virtually all other boys on the street (except my good friend, Christopher Ifeanyichukwu Okanu and his housemates) rooted for Shooting Stars. I still remember my elder brother, Basil, threatening to beat me if Shooting Stars managed to beat Rangers.
The tension that gripped the Nation's football family before and after the first leg was made more intense by the boastfulness of the promoters and fans of the two top Nigerian clubs.
Defending champions, IICC which the previous year became the first to win a continental trophy for Nigeria were asking Rangers fans to go and inquire about them from their quarter final victims, FC Stade de Abidjan while Rangers felt it was tougher for them getting rid of Senegal Police FC in their own quarter final tie.
To qualify for the semi-final, IICC pulled up all the tricks in their Pandora box to overcome a two-nil deficit suffered in Abidjan to outscore Stade by three first half goals. A Garuba Umoru brace and a Segun Odegbami header sealed it for the Oluyole warriors at the Liberty Stadium Ibadan.
The starting line-ups of IICC that year looked more like this; (1) Best Ogedegbe 2. Joe Appiah 3. Sam Ojebode (C) 4. Muda Lawal 5.Idowu Otubusin 6. Sam Asante 7. Segun Odegbami 8. Phillip Boamah/Nathaniel Adewole 9.Moses Otolorin 10. Garuba Umoru/Dauda Ladipo 11. Kunle Awesu.
If IICC had it tough qualifying for the semis, Rangers literally went through hell before making it to the semis. The first leg which was played at the National stadium,Surulere Lagos was almost uneventful as it ended goalless as the team from Senegal 'packed the bus' and frustrated the Chairman Chukwu led side.
In the 2nd leg played at the filled-to-capacity Sedar Senghor stadium in Dakar, the home crowd never bargained for what hit them for they had thought after holding Rangers to a draw in Lagos,they will easily trash the visiting coal city Boys.
First half ended one-nil in favour of Senegal Police (who scored through a controversial penalty kick) and it remained so until the 75th minute or thereabout when Rangers struck.
Coach Roberto had just replaced the injured Stanley Okoronkwo with Chimezie Ngadi who with his first touch of the ball raced past three Senegalese defenders before silencing the home crowd with a deft volley. Before the home team could come to terms with what hit them, Ngadi struck again when it was about five minutes to the end.
Two-one it ended and all hell was let loose in Dakar. Rangers' players and officials were stoned and beaten by the disappointed Senegal Police FC supporters. Several players sustained various degrees of injuries and I can still remember Emmanuel Okala recounting his experience and claiming the stonning actually started before the final whistle as he tried to use the net as cover to no avail. An apologetic President of Senegal, Leopold Sedar Senghor (One of my favorite African poets) had to visit Nigeria to apologise to the then head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo and the Nigerian people. Senegal Police FC was suspended from playing on the Continent for a number of years by CAF.
The typical starting line-up for Rangers that year looked like this: (1) Emmanuel Okala 2.Charles Adimorah 3.Ignatius Ilechukwu 4. Christian Madu 5. Christian Chukwu 6. Nnamdi Anyafo 7. Stanley Okoronkwo 8.Ogidinma Ibeabuchi/Chimezie Ngadi 9. Emeka Onyedika 10. Alloy Atuegbu. 11. Nwachukwu Onyekwelo .
The Nigerian National team, the Green Eagles was dominated by players from these two clubs. Coach 'Father' Tiko that year invited four each from the two clubs for the World Cup qualifiers. From IICC were Segun Odegbami, Mudashiru Lawal, Sam Ojebode and Best Ogedegbe. While Rangers had Christian Chukwu, Emmanuel Okala, Aloysius Atuegbu and Ignatius Ilechukwu invited.
The typical starting line-up of the Green Eagles side which at the the National stadium surulere Lagos, beat Ivory Coast 4-0, beat Senegal 3-0, beat Egypt 4-0 and lost 0-1 to Tunisia in 1977 was as follows: 1. Emma Okala (Rangers) 2. Pat Ekeji (Vasco) 3. Sam Ojebode (IICC) 4. Muda Lawal (IICC) 5. Christian Chukwu (Rangers) 6. Godwin Odiye (National Bank) 7. Segun Odegbami (IICC) 8. Adokiye Amiesimaka (Sharks) 9. Thompson Usiyen (USA) 10. Aloysius Atuegbu (Rangers) 11. Godwin Uwelumo (ACB Lagos)
The first leg of the clash of the brothers was played in Lagos and it ended goalless. The return leg two weeks later which was played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna also ended goalless. Allan Hawks-tutored IICC appeared to be the better side that day but couldn't score because of the water tight Rangers' defence marshalled by Chairman Chukwu who ensured that Nnamdi Anyafo man marked the dangerous Odegbami through out the game. I remember the words of Earnest Okonkwo the legendary radio commentator "Nnamdi 'the Policeman' Anyafo effectively policed Segun 'the mathematician' Odegbami."
Rangers International won the penalty shoot-out that ensued 4-2 to qualify for the final of the 1977 African Cup Winners Cup which they won after beating Canon Sportive of Yaounde Cameroon 5-1 on aggregate.
The first leg was played in Lagos and Rangers won 4-1 with goals from Christian Chukwu,Christian Madu (penalties) Alloy Atuegbu and Emeka Onyedika. Canon's only goal was scored by Eugene Imbida who also scored the indomitable Lions equalizer against Italy at Espana '82 World Cup.
The return leg in Yaounde ended 1-1. Eugene Oley Oley put Canon up in the first half while Ibeabuchi silenced the Cameroonians with a back breaking equalizer in the 2nd half.
That day, in Yaunde Cameroon, Enugu Rangers lifted the 1977 African Cup Winners Cup thereby becoming the second Nigeria club to do so after IICC which beat Zamalek of Egypt to emerge winners in 1976.
(C) Remigius Akinbinu.
Second picture from right to left) "Man Mountain" Emmanuel Okala", "Mathematical" Segun Odegbami, "Chairman" Christian Chukwu (Captain of the Green Eagles and Captain of Rangers International) and Sam Ojebode (Assistant Captain of the Green Eagles and Captain of IICC Shooting Stars).
In more recent times, Christian Chukwu became the general manager of Rangers International.
However, he had to step down from the role due to ill health. He fell very ill and could barely walk.
Rangers International, Mr Femi Otedola and the NFF spent a lot of money to ensure that he got the best medical care. Mr Otedola spent over 36 million naira to ensure that Christian Chukwu was sent to the UK for treatment.
Happily, the Chairman is now in better health as you can see from the pictures and videos of the anniversary.
Clemens Westerhof and Christian Chukwu left the national team after the 1994 World Cup.
Chukwu went to coach in Lebanon, then he was invited to coach Nigeria. He left his job in Lebanon to return home, but the NFA didn't give him the Eagles' job. He eventually went to coach the Kenyan National Team.
However, in 2003, Christian Chukwu was appointed coach of the Super Eagles and this time he was the boss.
These are my favourite moments from his tenure.
Nigeria played a 2004 Nations Cup game, but the coach of the other team held his press conference exclusively in French or Arabic. There were no translations for Nigerian journalists.
When it was time for the Super Eagles' press conference, Nigerian journalists protested that the Nigerians should not speak English. During the commotion Christian Chukwu said in Igbo, "What's happening? What's going on"?
Nigeria played Zimbabwe in Harare in 2004. There was some friction between the Nigerian and Zimbabwean Governments at the time and there were fears that Zimbabwean fans would attack the Eagles. SSS agents were detailed to accompany the Eagles.
There is a story that the Zimbabwean TV commentator was sacked for praising Jay Jay Okocha too much. Some Zimbabweans say the story is true, while others say that government officials already had beef with the commentator and that they used the Jay Jay story as an excuse.
African Cup of Champions Clubs Final (2nd Leg): Rangers 1-2 Hafia F.C. | December 1975
Saturday, December 20th 1975.
Hafia F. C. defeated Enugu Rangers 2-1 away in the second leg of the African Cup of Champions Clubs Final, making the aggregate score 3-1.
A capacity crowd of 70,000 filled the National Stadium in Lagos to watch the match.
Rangers took the lead after 19 minutes when inside-left Mathias Obianika scored from the penalty spot.
Haifa's defence absorbed Rangers' pressure. and on occasion took the opportunity to turn defence into attack with a series of sweeping pick-up moves against the Rangers' goal.
Haifa came close to scoring in the twenty-fourth minute, but Emmanuel Okala, the Rangers & Nigerian national goalkeeper, made a superb save to stop Ibrahim Sory Keita.
The visitors began the second half by taking all the initiative in midfield with some top-quality attacking soccer. It was only thanks to the sterling efforts of goalkeeper Okala and captain Christian Chukwu that Rangers kept the score level.
Haifa equalised in the 57th minute when Keita managed to put the ball past Okala. It gave the Guineans a 2-1 lead on aggregate.
Rangers made two team changes, bringing on Francis Nwosu to replace Emeka Onyedika in attack, and Stanley Okonkwo as substitute for the injured Kenneth Ilodogwe. But the replacements did little to affect the match.
With only minutes to go, Cherif Souleymane scored the goal that ensured Haifa's success. His penalty made the score 2-1.
African Cup of Champions Clubs Quarter-Final (2nd Leg): Rangers 2-1 Green Buffalos F.C. | Sept. 1975
Saturday, September 27th 1975.
Footage of Nigerian team Enugu Rangers defeating Green Buffalos of Zambia 2-1 in the second leg of a quarter-final match of the African Cup of Champions Clubs tournament.
Rangers came from a goal down and went through to the semi-final having drawn 2-2 with their Zambian opponents two weeks earlier in Lusaka.
The first goal of the match came in the 70th minute of the second half courtesy of the Buffalos skipper Lonesome Katiwa, who capitalised on a defensive error by Rangers captain, Christian Chukwu. But right-winger, Emeka Onyedika scored the equaliser a few minutes later. Foster Ikeagwu made it 2-1 in the 81st minute.
I often confuse my friends by telling them that Christian Chukwu was the first person to win the African Nations Cup as a player and coach.
They'll argue and argue with me, then I'll provide evidence.
I'll explain.
The Wonder Boy, Paul Hamilton, was chief coach of the Green Eagles. However, the NFA decided that we needed some foreign experience, so they hired a German called Manfred Horner to be the technical adviser of the team. Horner led us to the 1988 African Cup of Nations and the 1988 Olympics before he was sacked.
Paul Hamilton continued to coach the team on his own.
Then in 1989 the NFA hired Clemens Westerhof as technical adviser.
This was demoralising and infuriating for Paul Hamilton. The NFA did not treat the Wonder Boy well. He often had to hire buses to take the team to training (with his own money), he was often owed salaries, etc. Yet the NFA had brought another foreigner to be his boss.
Anyway, Nigeria lost its final World Cup qualifying match to Cameroon. There were allegations that Paul Hamilton gave Westerhof bad advice (this was Westerhof's first match). Anyway, Paul Hamilton was removed from the position of chief coach.
After some time, Christian Chukwu was appointed chief coach of the Super Eagles. He was chief coach during the 1992 and 1994 African Nations Cups and the 1994 World Cup.
Christian Chukwu was also the captain of the Green Eagles when Nigeria won the 1980 African Cup of Nations. He won the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament.
Christian Chukwu was captain when Nigeria won the 1980 African Nations Cup and he was Chief Coach when we won the 1994 African Nations Cup.
(Of course FIFA, CAF and the media recognise Clemens Westerhof as the chief coach, but his official title was technical adviser).
Picture 1) Clemens Westerhof on the extreme right and Christian Chukwu on the extreme left, with the Super Eagles at the 1992 African Nations Cup.
Picture 2) A picture of my 1993 Complete Football Magazine. It reads:
Celebrities › Re: Davido Debunks Rumours That He Was Arrested. by naptu2(op): 5:14pm On Apr 02, 2024*. Modified: 5:56pm On Apr 02, 2024
