₦airaland Forum

MzPecs:
Just died for nothing

Yewandequeen:
Am I the only One seeing that she wore hips pad in the first and second pix?

Women sha!
The one she get no do?

Arty2014:
Yes she no dey old because she injects her face with BOWTOX all the time
Making her look like a 29 yrs old or something close

robosky02:
The year 2015 has been quite eventful in athletics and one of the names that rang the bells in the course of the year was Femi Ogunode, an athlete of Nigerian origin who now competes for Qatar. Ogunode, now dubbed Asia’s fastest man, was also voted athlete of the year from the largest continent in the world.

However, not many people know that Ogunode has tried his hands on a couple of other sports before sticking with athletics. In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES’ Tunde Eludini, Ogunode tells his grass to grace story even as he sets high targets for himself at next year’s Olympic Games.

Can we meet you?

I am Femi Seun Ogunode, the fastest man in Asia.

Let us into your background.

First of all, I want to thank God, my family, my son and wife and I want to thank my friends and fans that support me. I did not just drop down from heaven to become the fastest man in Asia, but I started from somewhere, from Ondo state. I started as a footballer, then moved to boxing before I found my calling in athletics. Because of the politics of everything in Nigeria, I could not go far in football. I had no godfather and this in turn caused me not to get playing time, therefore opportunities to show my talent was really rare, I was a striker in those days. That discouraged me and I decided to try another sport.

What inspired you to pursue a career in football?

I had always had love for sports and my father was very encouraging. He told me, ‘Femi, you can be anything you want to be’ and he gave me his support when I decided I wanted to become a footballer. However I made no headway in that sport. A coach however saw me one day and advised me to pursue athletics as a career because I was a very fast runner in the time I was a striker then with nucleus Academy in Lagos, I also played with Pepsi Academy.

Give us more insight into your foray into boxing.

I got involved in boxing majorly because my father was a boxer in the army, and I decided to follow in his footsteps. I was involved in boxing for about a year but I could not endure it all. I also did not want my face to be damaged, so I decided to enter into athletics as I was earlier advised.

Shed more light as you made your first entry into athletics.

I got into athletics with the help of my uncle. His name is Segun. After I left Lagos, I went back to my home town, Oka Akoko. Segun then told me of an athletics coach who was in Akure and asked if I was interested in joining him. I readily accepted and that was how I started training with Coach Lawrence in Akure.

What was your parents’ reaction?

My parents were supportive and helped me pursue my dreams. Though they wanted all their children to pursue education, they knew from early on that I was more interested in sports. It was even my mum who helped me get my first spikes.

What gave you the conviction to remain in athletics?

The conviction to remain in athletics came in the third week I attended state trials then and I came in second and everyone wanted to know the newcomer who came to usurp the more experienced runners and that made me decide to try and give my best in athletics.

What was your first major victory as an athlete?

My first major victory was at the Obafemi Awolowo U18 Championship in Ibadan. After I won, I was like yeah now, we are getting somewhere.

Who is your driving force?

My dad. He was very supportive, always encouraging me to pursue my dreams. Though he died last year, I still hear his voice encouraging me and that has kept me going. Three of us are in sports and my younger brother is the record holder for 60 meters in Asia and the other one is involved in the decathlon also for Qatar.

How did you get into representing Qatar?

I was supposed to represent Nigeria at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, however due to some manoeuvres that I could not understand I was dropped from the team. Prior to that I had qualified to represent Nigeria at the All African Games in Algiers but some politicking ensured that I was dropped from the team despite making the trials. These acts were discouraging but I decided to keep on training and working hard because who knows, I could be favoured by one of the powers that be in the future. My dad was also a great source of encouragement because he always told me to be the best that I could be despite whatever challenges that came my way.

One day, I got a mail from Qatar asking if I was interested in coming to their country and I said yes but told them I had no funds to move. They told me to send my passport and I was given passage to Qatar. The rest as they say is history as I became a Nigerian-Qatari.

How was it for you transitioning into your new country?

It was not a hard thing to adjust when I got to Qatar. I try as much as possible to adapt to whatever new place in get to, immersing myself into the culture, that way, I am better focused for the task ahead.

Can you please give as a recap of how the season was for you?

My season went well. After the Asian Championships however I suffered injury that laid me up for a while. I was only able to return to training three weeks to the World Championships and that was why it seems I did not do as well in that event. I am.

Why Femi Ogunode Foundation?

I believe in giving back to people. While I was growing up I saw how we young athletes suffered to make headway in athletics. Nobody gave us a chance to showcase our talent. Last year, I thought within myself that it was time to give back to the society especially the young athletes as it seems that the body in charge of athletics here in Nigeria has better things to do than develop the sport at the grassroots level. So I decided that if I start this foundation, I will be helping athletics at the grassroots level.

What is your evaluation of the maiden edition?

I saw that many would be the future of Nigeria if programmes are organised to help them develop the potential they have. If they can keep them together and organise training camps for them, they will shine at the world stage.

What are the plans for the event?

The plan is to keep some of the best talents together and ready for competitions in the future. It is one thing to recognise talent, it is another thing to develop them. What our foundation will try to do is help nurture the talent we see.

What setbacks have you had and how were hey overcome?

I have a mentality that says if you want to succeed, you must face challenges head on and overcome them. This has been my policy and this has helped in such a way that instead of challenges being setbacks, they have become stepping stones to greater things because I do not give up.

What is your take on athletes that dumped Nigeria but are coming back to give back to the society?

I will advise that they follow their heart and do what they want to do. They should not listen to side talks because no matter what you do people will always talk. I, for one, do not listen to what people say because no matter what you do, you will be criticised. If that is then going to be the case is it not better you please your conscience?

If Nigeria fails to respect athletes and give them their due in terms of training, camps etc, they will find out more and more people switching allegiance and going to represent some other country.

What is your target in Rio 2016?

My target is to get gold at the Olympics. Yes I know the world’s best will be present, Usain Bolt and the others but I know with hard work and God on my side, I can shock the world.

Thank you for your time.

The pleasure was mine. Thanks.


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/sports-features/193998-interview-why-i-dumped-nigeria-for-qatar-asias-fastest-man-ogunode.html

auntysimbiat:
[img]http://1.bp..com/-SBEX3YlTFO4/VlwQi_0txAI/AAAAAAAHfmo/Zvnm1VMzUXA/s1600/FB_IMG_1448870330358.jpg[/img]

No be una say make she find X? X wey una don dey find since. She's told you guys where the X is nah! Lol...



SOURCE: http://www.nairanaijanews.com/2015/11/photo-hilarious-see-pupils-answer-when.html

ijustdey:
A suspect under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is dead.






http://saharareporters.com/2015/11/28/stock-fraud-suspect-dies-efcc-custody

Ekeretom:
When Old things pass away,behold u're a new creature and all your sins are forgiven. Even your DEBTS.

FlirtyKaren:
Yet another Nigerian woman proves to the world that there is a God who can make the impossible happen!

An excited Twitter user, Temi Okomi just shared these beautiful photos of his 54 year old aunty with her bouncing twin baby boys. She and her husband who is even older than 54 years old are based in the UK.

More amazing is the fact that throughout the years of barrenness, her husband solidly stood by her. These are also his first kids ever. What a miracle!

http://www.lailasblog.com/2015/11/54-year-old-nigerian-woman-delivers.html

crownprince102:
The 2014 Nigeria Professional Football League season has come to a close with Enyimba crowned the champion for the record 7th time. A lot was seen in the just concluded season, reasonable increase number of away win, fair officiating, fabulous goals, somewhat peaceful spectators, broken records and a lot of wonderful display. Going by what was seen this season in the NPFL, you tend to discover the league has everything it takes to become a world class if the right things are put in place. Having been a keen follower of the NPFL for some period of time and someone who is seriously interested in the growth of Nigerian football, I‘ve sat down closely to look inward into the league and some developed ones around the world for comparison and at the end, I‘ve brought out a “childish” master plan or should I call it a blueprint of how the NPFL can be transformed into a world class league within the shortest possible time. This article will be in editions, parts, episodes or chapters whichever way you wish to take it, please bear with me. Let me also use this medium to congratulate league champion Enyimba, league cup winner Akwa United and the LMC for successful completion of the just concluded NPFL season. I also congratulate the new sport minister, Solomon Dalung for his appointment and I wish him best of luck in running the ministry.

great job, keep it up, I'm a proud dad.


Before I commence, let me briefly take you into the history of the league. The Nigerian football league was founded in 1972, 12 years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain, though the nation had been involved in football right before independence. Political instability and civil war were major factors the country don’t have a soccer league before 1972. The league started with 6 teams which include Mighty Jets of Jos, Rangers International of Enugu, Western Nigeria Development Company, Ibadan (now Shooting Stars S.C), Spartans of Owerri (now Heartland F.C) and Vipers of Benin (now Bendel Insurance F.C). It was rechristened “professional league” in 1990 with the goal to modernize and develop the game in the country and to make clubs self-sufficient. A decree at the time stipulate clubs should be run as a limited liability companies and governed by constituted board of directors, cultivate youth teams and own it own stadium within 5 years of registration. In order to assist club achieve this stated goals, all 56 professional clubs at the time were given 5 years tax moratorium on all income ranging from 1990 to 1995. This was aimed to aid them achieved those goals in the time interval given to them and to develop the league into a world class.


Browsing through the stated decree above, you and I tend to discover the league body present at the time was more than ready to build a professional and world class league. Today, 25 years after, we can all see the deplorable state of our league, no Nigerian club has a stadium of it own, privately owned club hardly exist in the league. The league has been faced with a lot crisis such as improper management, bad officiating, crowd trouble, even match fixing scandal after the 1990 innovation failed. The failure of clubs to meet the stipulated goals can also be blamed on political instability during the period, June 12 crisis precisely. Political instability can be said to be the major cause of the stunted growth in Nigerian football in the 90s. The league is manage today by the League Management Company (LMC), which came on board in 2012 due to the failure of the Nigerian Football League (NFL), the body managing the league before then. The LMC also has came up with a lot of innovative plan to build the league from the scrap, the body has introduced new innovations like the Wonder Goal Award, bonuses for away win, bonus for fans attendance and a lot of constructive plan for the league. The LMC have also secured a $34 million Television right deal with Super Sport and Title sponsorship with telecommunication giant, Glo. We must confess the LMC is working!


Though, the performance of the LMC has been fabulous and incredible, the development of the league under their watch seems quite slow, and going on this pace, it will take over a decade or two to build a good and sustainable soccer league which we are the rest of Africa can be proud of. A league that will be characterized with proper management, world class facilities, stable calendar, peaceful and passionate fans, adequate organisation, financial buoyancy and best quality soccer stars around the world. A league we can proudly call the best in Africa and on of the best in the world and no single individual on earth will doubt. A league the rest of Africa and the world would term “the African league”. Indeed, we can have one in our great nation. We are the giant of Africa and the nation with the largest economy on the continent, but, ladies and gentlemen, we all have a role to play, a major one indeed. Good People, Great Nation.


Today, the English Premier League is regarded by absolute majority of football fans around the world as the best league in the world due to it financial buoyancy and competitiveness, it is the most watched and most followed football league all over the world with broadcast in 212 countries to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people, more than half of the population of the earth. The average stadium occupancy is 92% with an average attendance of 35,363, the second highest in any professional football league in the world behind the German Bundesliga. The Premier League is currently sponsored by Barclay bank in a deal worth £40 million a year and thus officially known as the Barclay Premier League. Sky sports and BT sports are the league TV partner with deals worth billions of pound yearly for both domestic and international right. The league gains billions of pounds annually on both local and international Television broadcast due to worldwide interest of football fans in the league. The premier league has also attracted a lot of foreign talents in Europe and around the world and it is the only soccer league today that has a team that has fielded starting line-up without a citizen of the country involve and a team that fielded 11 players of different nationalities in it starting line-up. All these achieve achievement didn’t came to be in a twinkle of an eye, it went through rigorous process with great commitment and belief. Do you know that the English football was once in shamble?


Despite significant success in European football during the 1970s and early 1980s, the late ‘80s marked a low point in English football. Their were a lot of crumbling stadia, poor facilities, hooliganism, and the worst, English clubs were banned from European competition for 5 years following the Heysel stadium disaster in 1985. The English football league was well behind the Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga in almost everything ranging from attendance, revenues, etc. Several top English player move abroad to find greener pasture, a rare case nowadays. It only took the English FA and the government of United Kingdom to put their heads together and find a solution to the challenges. A report on safety standard known as Taylor report which proposed expensive upgrades of stadiums, making them all-seater was published in January 1990. The British government led by “iron lady”, Margaret Thatcher issued a grant worth over £200 million for stadium renovation and upgrades. A new league was established which commenced in 1992 after several agreements was reached by clubs and the FA which was rechristened “Premier League”. Fans attendance started growing, broadcast and sponsorship revenue rose till it became what we have today as the best and most financially buoyant soccer league on earth.

In building a world class league in Nigeria, we have to follow the same trend in a different dimension. The first step needed to be taken is to order State government to relinquish powers of operating football clubs. This looks quite easy but seems to be one of the hardest steps we have to take. To make State government relinquish power is quite difficult, did you as why? Operating a football club is by far the easiest and most unquestionable way of embezzling funds by state government officials. Do you know that all NPFL clubs are operated with the least of 500 million naira per annum? Are you surprised? You wonder why players are owed wages and not even paid high wages. Government relinquishing powers to operate clubs will create avenue for private hands to come in and invest bountifully into the league. The question is how do we generate the interest of the private sector to invest in into the league? How do we make them feel investing in the league has more benefit than elsewhere. There is only one way in generating interest of private individuals to invest the football league; putting the right and necessary facilities in place. The aim of all private investors is to make reasonable amount profit or fulfilment of his interest. The LMC under capable hands needs to create enabling environment for private investors, both local and foreign, for them to invest in the league and achieve their interest. Creating a cordial relationship with them and aiding them in achieving their interest is vital for the growth and development of the league. As we move further, we will explain more on how to create influx of local and foreign investors.



To build a world class league in Nigeria, we have to follow the steps taking by the British Government in the early 90s, the League Management Company and the Nigerian Football Federation in collaboration with the National Sport Commission and the new sport minister should request for a grant worth at least $500 million from the federal government for stadia upgrades across the 36 states and the federal capital territory. The sum sounds amazingly crazy and incredibly outrageous, oh yes! I agree with you no one in government would be ready to offer such sum and see it perish mysteriously, not even at this time the country is encountering economic crisis. Did I mention earlier that today the British government generates over £3 billion pounds a year on taxes, football tourism, etc? They only invested £200 million pound 24 years ago and today it earns them huge revenue, good global picture and respect amidst nations. Do you know the Nigerian government can generate back this huge fund back in 10 years or less through taxes generated from clubs only, not considering the later increase in revenue? The mathematical and statistical analysis will be done as we progress, the societal benefit and communal gains will also be given a look. As I‘ve said earlier, this article will be in edition, parts or episode, just stay calm and wait for the next edition of this article. To my humble reader, thanks a lot.

chiefololade:
Try this to test your reasoning ability

sukkot:
those green grapes though. they look diseased.


https://www.nigeriatechnologyawards.com/wp-content/gallery/nigeria-technology-awards-2015/NiTA-2015-008.jpg

niggi4life:
With 13Billion Pounds, i will sleep with Genevive, Rita Dominic and Halle Berry

queenst:
[img]http://4.bp..com/-ysaHMmVIAcw/VlhNqYQXgmI/AAAAAAAHd78/oxjgagO8Vzs/s1600/index.jpg[/img]

Our president and the queen of England at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting today. The queen hosted a reception for new Common Heads of government as San Anton Palace. More photos after the cut…

[img]http://2.bp..com/-_XWSGeKrliw/VlhLviIQ_3I/AAAAAAAHd7o/tbBnwVRXLCI/s1600/1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://1.bp..com/-_cAzaaEdarU/VlhPIGIkqTI/AAAAAAAHd9w/H0hcnqc68Qw/s1600/0.jpg[/img]

[img]http://3.bp..com/-15c9O7xypUc/VlhPIo6CThI/AAAAAAAHd94/4AnB_0Hofw0/s1600/1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://2.bp..com/-6TGgIsVDT3c/VlhLwGIHB3I/AAAAAAAHd7w/lrcz6znR3fE/s1600/2.jpg[/img]

---

---

Source: http://examhall.net/home/photos-of-buhari-queen-elizabeth-discussing-at-chogm-in-malta/

trishapal:
This escapist will say he neither awarded the contracts nor signed the cheques for the construction of the collapsed bridges... and the morons will start hailing him for a smart answer...

amokeme:
Her face looks so stressed.....

robosky02:
1. The question she will ask you when you make the first move.
Eg when you say I love you, she will reply what of x,y,z. I saw with you or was chatting with you. Relax she only want to know if the space is REALLY free or you are booked. Especially if she has been expecting it.

2. she will always want to see you or make you notice her.
Eg. When she knows you will pass by, she will deliberately stands on that way so you’ll notice her. If it’s on Nairaland she follows all your thread or comment just to get your attention.

3. She will always laugh or look impress by your words, comments or jokes, just to please you.

4. She will always react badly or angrily at the sight of you and other girls. Relax that’s a sign of positive jealousy that she wants you all alone.

5. She keeps your picture were everyone will see
E.g. She uses your pictures as screen savers, takes selfie with you and past everywhere on nairaland and other social media.

omenka:
Did that guy in the background bath himself in tar or is he a Sudanese??!!

richidinho:
Alwayz talking from afar, is he afraid?

anyway

Scholes007:
Op i think that is an internal affairs for the company. If laying off of some worker will maximize their profit, then there is nothing wrong with that or were you also sacked?

cronsberg:
Is it just me or does the school look like a Gen pop (general population) area of a U.S penetentiary? I bet the money spent to built this glorified prison looking school with outside hallways can conviniently built a more dignified highschool like this

Ghandi12:
If we are not 3rd world then we could be worse - The US,UK, Russia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Japan etc are generally considered 1st world - While Malaysia, India, South-Africa, Peru, Mexico, etc are usually considered 2nd world with some shades of nuance. Are you going to put us among these nations? So if we do not fall among these groups where-else shall we be accommodated?

There is nothing shameful about starting from bottom but for too long we embraced retrogression as norm.

Ghandi12:
If 109 Senators have 500 aides; it implies an average of 5 aides/Senator.

What exactly is a lawmaker (of a poor 3rd-world nation) doing with 5 aides on tax-payers money? Public service should not be an opportunity to indulge in satiation but a demonstration of will to sacrifice for a more prosperous nation.

iyatrustee:
People dey vex oh !

But our celebrities sabi copy copy. Remember when Ice bucket challenge dey trend (pardon me if I spelt it wrongly ) na so all of them follow.

Surprised they didn't really celebrate Halloween this year