₦airaland Forum

Nigeria U20 Women forward Courtney Dike has rejected the $7000 paid to her by the Nigeria Football Federation for playing for the country at the 2014 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup.
The Oklahoma Star Football team player who scored the fastest goal in the competition’s history against South Korea and also got the curtain raiser in the Falconets’ win versus North Korea in the semi-final felt receiving her bonuses was not necessary because representing the country was enough reward for her.

NFF Head of Competition Sanusi Mohammed confirmed that the  player rejected the outstanding allowances accrued to her for representing the country at the 10-day tournament.

"When we called her mother to confirm the delivery of the allowances, she declined it and insisted that the opportunity of playing for Nigeria was all the reward the family needed,” Sanusi told Brila FM.

Dike’s elder brother, Bright, featured for Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil but missed the 2014 World Cup by a foot injury which side-lined him for four months.
http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5837041?ICID=HP_HN_1

Don Jazzy and the Mavins are back with a new song Looku Looku.. The mavins have been buzzing after the release of two hit songs Dorobucci and Adaobi which are still rocking the airwaves, clubs and everywhere.. Personally I like this new song.. listen and tell me what you think

Download Link;

http://tooxclusive.com/downloadmp3/mavins-looku-looku-ft-don-jazzy-tiwa-savage-dr-sid-dprince-dija-reekado-banks-korede-bello/

dicksonxtreme:
Lwkmddddd

what has he made that was posted on FP? #Mofos

khattab02:
Weldone!!! u don try for your country!



She retired at 38, and who says Xavi can't play uo to 40?

Xavi plays 2times a week'while atimes she plays just 3times a month

freshness2020:
From Ūя̲̅ comment! I can sense clearly ♈όϋ need a change of levels...God punish Poverty!

You also need cos if u dont u wont see his over sized shirt

Nashoji:
na so you poor reach? e be like say them write "p" for your face.

u knw say POOR dey ur own system.

Nigeria's senior women team striker Stella Mbachu has announced her retirement from football.

Mbachu, who was a member of the Namibia 2014 African Women Championship-winning Super Falcons, said she is calling time on her football career at club and country.

The 38-year-old had first national team appearance and scored in the Super Falcons’ 2-0 win against Ghana in Abeokuta in the maiden African Women Championship in 1998.

The Most Valuable Player at South Africa 2010 African Women Championship, who had 89 appearances and scored 20 goals for Nigeria, said she is fulfilled after winning lot of laurels for her country and club in her football career.

The former Rivers Angels forward, who is the only remaining member of the Super Falcons that played at the 1999 Fifa Women's World Cup in the United States, also announced plans to venture into coaching as she felt the time is right to take a bow.

"This is complete, I’ve completed everything about football both for national team and club football. I'm not playing anymore," Mbachu told Radio Nigeria.

"If I’m selected today, I don't even think I will be selected because I have already made it open that I’m not going to be playing anymore," she confirmed.

"I just want to rest and give the younger ones the chance. I know they will do it because they are already doing it," she explained.

"I will embark on a coaching course. I hope to go into coaching now that I have retired from the game," she concluded.

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5594081?ICID=HP_BN_2

freshness2020:
Lol...
How this one concern me..
Abeg na who be dis one...
See him oversize shirt sef...
Mod please go find and dig out beta news abeg...

If the guy give you that shirt ur life go change...

Don Jazzy worked with me from the beginning, and I can tell you for sure that my 10th anniversary album will drop soon, and there are many producers on it including Don Jazzy.”

This was what the ‘Kiniwun Funfun’ himself D’banj, revealed during an interview on his upcoming tenth year anniversary album with urban music station, Beat 99.9 FM. After their highly publicized and much talked about split in 2012, it seems that fans of these two top-notch entertainers will get their wish of a come-back or at the very least collaboration between the former partners.


Hopefully, this collaboration will be as much of a success as their last joint effort, Oliver Twist.

http://tooxclusive.com/downloadmp3/dbanj-work-former-partner-don-jazzy-new-album/

He famously claims to be "just doing his job". But in a land where politicians are known for doing anything but, that alone has been enough to make Babatunde Fashola, boss of the vast Nigerian city of Lagos, a very popular man.
Confounding the image of Nigerian leaders as corrupt and incompetent, the 51-year-old governor has won near-celebrity status for transforming west Africa's biggest city, cleaing up its crime-ridden slums and declaring war on corrupt police and civil servants.
Next month, he will come to London to meet business leaders and Mayor Boris Johnson's officials, wooing investors with talk of how he has spent the last seven years building new transport hubs and gleaming business parks.
Yet arguably his biggest achievement in office took place just last week, and was done without a bulldozer in sight. That was when his country was officially declared free of Ebola, which first spread to Nigeria three months ago when Patrick Sawyer, an infected Liberian diplomat, flew into Lagos airport.
Health officials had long feared that the outbreak, which has already claimed nearly 5,000 lives elsewhere in west Africa, would reach catastrophic proportions were it to spread through Lagos. One of the largest cities in the world, it is home to an estimated 17 million people, many of them living in sprawling shanty towns that would have become vast reservoirs for infection. To make matters worse, when the outbreak first happened, medics were on strike.

Instead, Mr Fashola turned a looming disaster into a public health and PR triumph. Breaking off from a trip overseas, he took personal charge of the operation to track down and quarantine nearly 1,000 people feared to have been infected since Mr Sawyer's arrival.
Last week, what would have been a formidably complex operation in any country came to a successful end, when the World Health Organisation announced that since Nigeria had had no new cases for six weeks, it was now officially rid of the virus.
"This is a spectacular success story," said Rui Gama Vaz, a WHO spokesman, who prompted an applause when he broke the news at a press conference in Nigeria on Tuesday. "It shows that Ebola can be contained."

The WHO announcement was a rare glimmer of hope in the fight against Ebola, and even rarer vote of confidence in a branch of the Nigerian government, which was heavily criticised over its response to the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the Boko Haram insurgent group in April. As a columninst in Nigeria's Leadership newspaper put it last week: "For once, we did not underachieve."
For Mr Fashola's many supporters, it is also yet more proof that the 51-year-old ex-lawyer is a future president in the making, a much-needed technocrat in a country dominated far too long by ageing "Big Men" and ex-generals.
"He is the best governor we have ever had," said Odun Babalola, a Lagos-based pension fund portfolio manager. "He's made a lot of progress in schools, railways, and infrastructure, and unlike a lot of politicians, who are corrupt, he's a good administrator."
True, the successful tackling of the Ebola outbreak was not Mr Fashola's doing alone. For a start, the doctor's strike that was under way when Mr Sawyer collapsed at Lagos airport turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Rather than being taken to one of Lagos's vast public hospitals, where he might have languished for hours and infected numerous fellow patients and staff, he was instead admitted to a private clinic. There he was seen by a sharp-eyed consultant, Stella Adadevoh, who spotted that his symptoms were not malaria as had been first thought.
She then alerted the Nigerian health ministry, and along with other doctors physically restrained Sawyer when he became aggressive and tried to leave the hospital to fly to another Nigerian city. Her quick thinking help stop the virus being spread more widely, but also cost her her life: she caught Ebola herself while treating Mr Sawyer, and has now been recommended for a national award.

But even by the time Mr Sawyer had been isolated, the virus was already on the loose. Knowing that he had passed through one of the busiest airports in west Africa, health officials had to try to track down every single person who had potentially been infected by him, including the other passengers on his flight. The list started at 281 people and grew to nearly 1,000. as eight others whom he turned out to have passed the virus to subsequently died.
That was where Mr Fashola stepped in. He broke off from a pilgrimage to Mecca, flew home and then helped set up an Ebola Emergency Operations Centre, which spearheaded the mammoth task of monitoring all those potentially infected. A team of 2,000 officials were trained for the task, who ended up knocking on 26,000 doors. At one point the governor was being briefed up to ten times a day by disease control experts. He made a point of visiting the country's Ebola treatment centre, a way of communicating to the Nigerian public that they should not panic needlessly.
"Command and control is very important in fighting disease outbreaks, and he provided effective leadership," said Dr Ike Anya, a London-based Nigerian public health expert. "He also said exactly the right things, urging for the need to keep calm. Regardless of whether you support his politics, he has been very effective as a governor and I would be happy to see him stand for leadership."
Born into a prominent Muslim family but married to a Christian, Mr Fashola trained as a lawyer and went into politics after being appointed chief of staff by the previous Lagos governor, Asiwaju Tinubu, a powerful politician often described as Mr Fashola's "Godfather". But while he has long enjoyed the backing of a political "Big Man", is his role as a rare defender of Nigeria's "Little Men" that has won him most support.
Once, while driving through Lagos in his convoy, he famously stopped an army colonel who was driving illegally in one of the governor's newly-built bus lanes, berating him in front of television cameras.
The bus is for those who cannot afford to buy cars," he said. "I want a zero tolerance of lawlesness, and those who don't want to comply can leave our state."
It was one of the first times Nigerians had ever seen a civil servant confronting a member of the security forces, whose fondness for committing crime rather than fighting it has long contributed to Lagos's legendary reputation for lawlessness.
Armed robberies - sometimes by moonlighting police - used to be so common that few people ventured out after dark. Foreign businessmen would routinely travel with armed escorts, and the few willing to live there would stay mainly in a heavily-guarded diplomatic area called Victoria Island, a rough equivalent to Baghdad's Green Zone. Add to that the suffocating smog, widespread squalor and regular three-hour traffic jams, and it was no suprise that the city had a reputation as one of the worst places in the world to live.
Today, much of the problems remain. But members of the vast Nigerian diaspora say they now notice big changes whenever they go back. "When you return you see an absolute difference - things have improved 100 per cent," said Nels Abbey, a London-based Nigerian journalist and businessman. "Traffic is not what it used to be, bus lanes have been introduced, and it feels a lot safer. Fashola has been like a Tory mayor for Lagos - he is trying to make it attractive to the well-off."

Styling himself as Lagos's answer to Boris Johnson has not endeared him to everyone. As well as laying plans for a vast offshore business park intended as an "African Dubai", he has accelerated programs to clear the ever-expanding shanty towns, ordering their occupants to return to their homes in Nigeria's poorest east and north. That has led to criticism from human rights groups, although others say it is hard to see how Lagos will ever improve otherwise. "Do I endorse it?" said Mr Nels. "I am afraid it is a bit of a necessary evil."
Another big achievement has been increasing tax revenues, vital in a city where the GDP of $43 billion makes it the fifth-biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Mr Fashola has tried to sweeten the pill by putting up signs on all new infrasructure projects, saying "paid for by your taxes". It is a rare acknowledgement of gratitude in a country where a guaranteed stream of state oil wealth has historically allowed rulers to remain aloof from the ruled.
However, despite being relected with 80 per cent of the vote in 2011, the main hailed as Nigeria's brightest political hope in years is far from guaranteed a life in office. Having served two terms in office already, he is not allowed to run as Lagos governor again. And as a member of a minority tribe and the country's opposition All Progressives Congress, he currently lacks the political backing to go head to head against Goodluck Jonathan in next year's elections.
In the meantime, fresh from ridding Lagos of Ebola, he is focusing on an arguably even tougher challenge, launching a new initiative to stop motorists stuck in traffic jams from blasting their horns all day. As he put it: "If we can overcome Ebola, then we can overcome noise pollution."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/11184759/Meet-the-man-who-tamed-Nigerias-most-lawless-city.html

The Federation of International Football Association has released the shortlists for the 2014 Fifa Coach of the Year for Women shortlists with Nigeria Women’s U-20 coach, Peter Dedevbo making the cut in the ten-man list.

The roll was compiled by Fifa’s Committee for Women's Football and a group of experts from France Football.

Under the guidance of Dedevbo, Nigeria went within inches of becoming the first African nation to become women’s world champions after losing to Germany 1-0 in the final of the Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

He also boasts a strong connection with the many young stars of Nigerian women’s football, having also coached the U-17 national team at Azerbaijan 2012 prior to his breakthrough effort with the Super Falconets at Canada 2014.

The named will be pruned to three on December 1, 2014 while the winner will be announced at the Fifa Ballon d’Or Gala on 12 January 2015.


FULL LIST OF NOMINEES

1. Philippe Bergeroo (France/France national team)
2. Peter Dedevbo (Nigeria/Nigeria U-20 national team)
3. Laura Harvey (England/Seattle Reign FC)
4. Ralf Kellermann (Germany/VfL Wolfsburg)
5. Maren Meinert (Germany/Germany U-20 national team)
6. Norio Sasaki (Japan/Japan national team)
7. Pia Sundhage (Sweden/Sweden national team)
8. Asako Takemoto Takakura (Japan/Japan U-17 national team)
9. Jorge Vilda (Spain/Spain U-17 national team and U-19 national team)
10. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany/Switzerland national team)

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5436821?ICID=HP_HN_3

The House of Representatives moved on Tuesday to contain the “arbitrary” subscription rates charged by Multichoice for its Digital Satellite Television services in the country.

The House observed that high pricing by Dstv had made access to its “premium” programming difficult for the majority of Nigerians.

It also noted that lack of competition in the digital satellite broadcast industry had encouraged a monopoly giving firms such as Multichoice the “undue advantage” of blocking the efforts of other firms to enter the market and crash prices.

Lawmakers particularly opposed a “rigid” subscription policy that permanently billed subscribers “whether they are at home viewing programmes or not.”

A bill to stop such stranglehold on the industry passed second reading at the House on Tuesday.

The bill, which was sponsored by a member from Adamawa State, Mrs. Aisha Dahiru-Modibbo, sought to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act to guarantee openness and competition in the industry.

The long title of the bill reads, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act to Provide for Competition in Nigeria, to Promote Efficiency and Expand Opportunities for Participation of Nigerians in World Markets, while at the same time recognising the Role of Foreign Competition in Nigeria and for other Matters Related thereto.”

Leading the debate on the bill, Dahiru-Modibbo said while Nigeria was not against foreign participation in the local economy but such involvement should not be to the detriment of Nigerians.

She noted that there were indigenous firms which could also render premium satellite broadcast programming to Nigerians, but complained that “deliberate actions” by monopolies stifled the firms.

“In every country, measures are taken to protect the people.

“What is happening to us in Nigeria does not happen elsewhere on the continent.

“It is high time our regulatory body, the NBC was positioned to protect Nigerians from this arbitrary actions,” she stated.

The House Deputy Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, wondered why Nigeria, one of the countries with the largest subscriber base of Dstv services, hardly received the kind of “subscriber-friendly offers” that were offered to the citizens of other African countries.

“You have a situation in the telecommunications industry, for example, where you are billed as you go or use your mobile phones.

“You pay for what you use. We should be having pay as you view or watch as well.

“Why should Nigerians continue to pay for Dstv services whether they are at home using the service or not?” Ogor asked.

He cited Kenya as one of the countries that had taken measures to contain the excesses of Dstv and other foreign digital satellite TV service providers.

Seasoned broadcaster and Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, lent her voice to the debate, supporting a call for more subscriber-friendly pricing in Nigeria.

http://www.punchng.com/news/reps-move-to-end-dstv-monopoly/

New coach of the U23 team, Samson Siasia has said that players from the Nigeria Professional Football League would form the base of his team for the qualifying series for both the All African Games and the Olympic Games.

The trainer said that in as much as he has absolute trust in the availability of football talents in the country, he was also mindful of the fact that the AAG and 2016 Olympics qualifying series are not FIFA-listed tournaments.

He stated that in other to get the right kind of players to be invited for screening, he had contacted all the coaches of the various clubs in the premier league to give him names of very good players in their clubs.

"I have to start an early preparation so that we can pick the best players through elimination by substitution so that we can begin blending of the team before the qualifiers which is billed to commence in February 2015," Siasia disclosed.

Meanwhile, the former Super Eagles coach maintained that he is not shutting the door on the foreign-based players as they would be joining the team at a later date when they would be ready to go for the major championship.

"The foreign based players, especially some of them in the Super Eagles camp who are still within the age limit, would still make the team but that would be at very crucial point or when we must have qualified.

“The problem is that our competition is not under FIFA, so securing their release would be very difficult. But we are sure to get them when we eventually qualify," Siasia told SportingLife.

This is Siasia’s second stint in charge of the U23s. He led the team to winning silver at the Beijing Olympics Games.

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5316471

Seyi Akinwunmi, vice president of the NFF, has told Goal that the country has the capacity to host the Africa Cup of Nations if asked by CAF

Nigeria could host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations if Morocco pull out of staging the continent’s biggest football showpiece due to fears over the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease, according to Seyi Akinwunmi, vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation.

While the north African country is mauling over the decision whether to pass up the opportunity to host the tournament, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has already written to a few countries including Ghana and Egypt to ask if they can host the Cup of Nations.

Morocco asked CAF to postpone the tournament to a later date instead of its present January/February schedule but the governing body is not ready to.

Nigeria could throw her hat in the ring to stage the tournament despite fears of the possibility of teams from Ebola-ravaged countries qualifying for the competition and bringing along their supporters.

Africa’s largest country was certified Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation on Monday, six weeks after the last case of the disease was reported and this could prompt renewed interest from international organizations.   

“I think we are interested [in hosting the Afcon],” new NFF vice president Seyi Akinwunmi told Goal on Monday.

“It is not strictly the purview of the NFF alone but we have been asked [if we can host the competition] and we have said yes, why not?

“I think that the National Sports Commission or the Federal Government is looking at the possibility of hosting the tournament,” said Akinwunmi who disclosed that CAF had not yet written to Nigeria.

South Africa have already turned down the opportunity to host the tournament with Safa president Danny Joordan saying: "The Afcon 2015 tournament will not be held here. That issue doesn't exist. Caf must discuss this matter with Morocco.”

With the Super Eagles struggling to qualify for the 2015 tournament, hosting the competition would give them automatic qualification to defend the title they won in South Africa last year.

It could also be a way for Nigeria to show its leadership role on the continent after successfully curtailing the spread of the disease, something for which it has already earned the praise of the international community. 


http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5302301?ICID=HP_BN_4

Nyc one

The Confederation of African Football has announced Lagos as host of the 2014 edition of the Glo/Caf Awards.
The event fixed to hold on Thursday, 8 January 2015 will see footballers and officials who have distinguished themselves during the year receiving honours for their achievements. 

Legends of the game including the prestigious African Player of the Year and winners in 15 other categories will be unveiled during the Gala night. 

Other categories are African Player of The Year (Based in Africa), National Team of The Year, Club of The Year, Referee of the Year and Coach of The Year. 

The rest are Most Promising Talent, Women’s National Team of The Year, Women’s Player of The Year, African Legend, CAF Fair Play Award, Youth Player of the Year and Platinum Award. 


Africa’s finest XI will also be revealed on the night that will be attended by the crème de la crème of the continent’s football icons.

However, the continental football ruling body has introduced two new categories which are the Goal of the Year and Save of the Year, to be decided by votes from the public.

Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure was decorated African Player of the Year for the third time at the last edition held on 9 January 2014 in Lagos, whilst former Al Ahly and Egypt talisman, Mohamed Aboutreika scooped the Player of the Year (Based in Africa).

This is the third time Lagos will be hosting the event after 2008 and 2013. Previous host cities include Abuja (2005), Accra (2006, 2009, 2011, 2012), Lome (2007) and Cairo (2010).

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5279821

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has released a list of 24 players picked that will take on Sudan in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game on October 11 and 15 in Khartoum and Abuja respectively.
Captain Vincent Enyeama makes a return to the team after been excused from the game against Congo and South Africa due to personal reasons while Victor Moses and Babatunde Michael will be hoping to play for the country for the first time since the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Norway-based Ugonna Anyora, Hope Akpan of Reading and Aaron Samuel were handed their maiden call-up by Keshi.

Nigeria are placed third in Group A with one point and must beat Sudan to stand a chance of defending their title in Morocco.

 

FULL SQUAD

Goalkeepers

Vincent Enyeama (Lille OSC, France)
Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’erSheva, Israel)
ChigozieAgbim (Gombe United)

Defenders

EldersonEchiejile (Monaco FC, France)
JuwonOshaniwa (Ashdod FC, Israel)
Efe Ambrose (Celtic FC, Scotland)
Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor FC, Turkey)
Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves, Nigeria)
Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough, England)

Midfielders

John Mikel Obi (Chelsea FC, England)
OgenyiOnazi (SS Lazio, Italy)
NosaIgiebor (Maccabi Haifa FC, Israel)
Omatsone Aluko (Hull City, England)
Hope Akpan (Reading FC, England)
Raheem Lawal (Eskisehirspor FC, Turkey)
AnyoraUgonna (Haugesund FC, Norway)

Forwards

Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia)
Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce FC, Turkey)
Gbolahan Salami (Warri Wolves, Nigeria)
Osaguona Ighodaro (Enugu Rangers, Nigeria)
Victor Moses (Stoke City, England)
Aaron Samuel (Guangzhou R & F, China)
Emmanuel Sunday (SV ScholzGrodig, Austria)
Babatunde Michael (Volyn Lutsk, Ukraine)

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5135870?ICID=HP_HN_1

Former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia has warned that anyone who wishes to talk to Mikel Obi to raise his game, should equally be ready to take a slagging from the Chelsea star.

Mikel has come under intense criticisms following his recent sluggish displays for the Super Eagles.

And Siasia, who lined up the midfielder for the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup and then dropped him for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said that Mikel does not welcome criticisms.

“Someone would have to talk to him. But to talk to Mikel, you have to be ready for your own beating,” Siasia told Africanfootball.com.

This further confirms the awesome player-power the Chelsea star wields in the Super Eagles.

Siasia said that it will be up to Mikel to take the responsibility to step up his game.

“From what we have seen and what people are talking about, they don’t think he is giving his best. But he should be able to criticise himself,” argued the coach.

“He should do a self-critique. If he believes he is not doing well, he has to try and up his game.

Mikel Obi
“He has been watching the games from the World Cup, if he thinks he is not doing well, why is he not scoring, he has to be able to look at those videos and see the areas he needs to improve on.

“Nobody has to tell him. He is a professional. So, I am not going to criticise him. He has done well for this country but if he is not doing well like he used to, then something has to be done.”

Siasia equally conceded he is “confused” about whether the best position for the player is as a defensive or attacking midfielder.

“I am actually confused on that one, I don’t know anymore,” he admitted.

“As a defensive midfield player, it doesn’t mean you should not go forward or try to take some shots at goal. (Nemanja) Matic is doing it, Ramires is doing it, so how come Mikel is not doing it? Why can’t he cover the box-to-box play. If you don’t get into the box, you can never shoot at goal. So, that is his problem.”

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/why-coaches-fear-mikel-siasia.html?m=1

The Sultan of Sokoto and spiritual leader of Muslims in Nigeria, Abubakar Sa’ad, has been named as the 18th most influential Muslim leader in the world.
The recognition was contained in the fifth edition of the annual publication of The Muslim 500. The fifth edition chronicles the world’s most influential Muslims for the year 2013/2014.
Abdallah Schleifer, a Professor & Senior Fellow at Kamal Adham Centre for Television & Digital Journalism at the American University in Cairo, who wrote forward in the current edition, stated that there are 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today, making up approximately 23 per cent of the world’s population, or one-fifth of mankind.
“As well as being citizens of their respective countries, they also have a sense of belonging to the ‘ummah’, the worldwide Muslim community,” Mr. Schleifer said in describing the nominees in the edition.
He also said the publication sets out to ascertain the influence some Muslims have on the community, or on behalf of the community.
He described such influence to include any person who has the power (be it cultural, ideological, financial, political or otherwise) to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim world.
He said the impact can be either positive or negative, depending on one’s point of view of course.
He added that the influence can be of a religious scholar directly addressing Muslims and influencing their beliefs, ideas and behaviour, or it can be of a ruler shaping the socio-economic factors within which people live their lives, or of artists shaping popular culture.
The publication recognised the Sultan for his important administrative influence in Nigerian religious life.
It said that the Sultan is highly influential as head of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs; adding that as the Sultan of Sokoto, he is considered the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s 74.6 million Muslims, who account for roughly 50 per cent of the nation’s population.
“Leadership of this council means that the Sultan of Sokoto remains the only figure that can legitimately claim to speak on behalf of all Nigerian Muslims.
“This role has become increasingly influential over the years with a rise in interreligious tensions between Nigeria’s Muslim- majority north and Christian-majority south,” it said.
The publication also recognised the role of the Sultan in the on-going insurgency in the northern part of the country by members of Boko Haram sect.
“The Sultan has started many initiatives to counter and reduce the influence of the terrorist group Boko Haram, including inviting an international joint Muslim-Christian Delegation to visit Nigeria,” it said.
The current edition is the fifth in the series of The Muslim 500, which was first published in 2009.
It is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre Amman, Jordan, in cooperation with Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in the United States of America.
The current edition identified the Grand Sheikh of the Al-Azhar University and Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque, Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayyeb, as the most influential Muslim in 2013/2014.
He was closely followed by King Abdullah bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia, and Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.
The Muslim 500 has already began accepting nominations for the 2014/2015 edition.

https://m.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/168119-sultan-of-sokoto-named-18th-most-influential-muslim-leader-in-world.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

The Nigeria Football Federation has invited 30 players to camp in preparation for the Africa Women 's Championship (AWC) billed for Namibia from October 11-25.

The list of 30 includes Asisat Oshoala who was best player and highest goal scorer at the 2014 Fifa U20 Women's World Cup in Canada.

Six other players from the Falconets' silver-winning side are in the preparatory squad. They are Uchechi Sunday, Ugochi Njoku, Maryam Ibrahim, Sarah Nnodim, Halimat Ayinde and Chinwendu Ihezuo.

Media officer of the team, Gracious Akujobi said the list of players invited were released by the Super Falcons' administrator Ruth David and the players have been mandated to resume camp on Sunday, September 14.

David said that players and officials should report to Serob Hotel with their training kits and traveling documents.

She also said letters of invitation have been sent to the clubs for the release of the invited players and urged the clubs to release the players as the competition is very important to the country.

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Ibubeleye Whyte (Rivers Angels), Precious Dede (Ibom Queens), Charity John (Rivers Angels), Juliet Obi (State House FC), Ohieriaku Christy (Osun Queens)

Defenders: Blessing Edoho (Pelican Stars), Ebere Ngozi (Rivers Angels), Mariam Ibrahim (Nasarawa Amazons), Josephine Chukwunonye (Rivers Angels), Onome Ebi (FK Minsk, Belarus), Osinachi Ohale (Houston Dash, USA), Ugochi Njoku (Rivers Angels), Gloria Ofoegbu (Rivers Angels), Sarah Nnodim (Delta Queens)

Midfielders: Ngozi Okobi (Delta Queens), Onyinyechi Ohadugha (Rivers Angels), Chiwendu Ihezuo (Pelican Stars), Stella Mbachu (Rivers Angels), Asisat Oshoala (Rivers Angels), Cecilia Nku (Rivers Angels), Evelyn Nwabuoku (Rivers Angels), Halimat Ayinde (Delta Queens), Loveth Ayila (Rivers Angels), Gloria Iroka (Rivers Angels), Rosemary Okezie (Nasarawa Amazon).

Attackers: Desire Oparanozie (En Avent De Guingamp, France), Francisca Ordega (Pitea IFF, Sweden),  Esther Sunday (FK Minsk, Belarus), Uchechi Sunday (Rivers Angels), Pepetua Nkwocha (Sunana SK, Sweden)

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5095084?ICID=HP_BN_6

Coach Stephen Keshi has recalled Villarreal forward Ikechukwu Uche and Al Rayyan SC of Qatar star Kalu Uche for Super Eagles all important Africa Cup of Nations game against South Africa on Wednesday.

Nigeria lost 3-2 at home on Saturday to Claude Le Roy’s Congo in Calabar, and will be hoping to bounce back towards qualifying for Morocco 2015.

The duo were brought in to replace Uche Nwofor and El Kanemi Warriors goalkeeper David Obiazor who were part of the Eagles that played against the Red Devils.

Keshi last Wednesday revealed the pint-sized player was not invited to be part of the team to play Congo and South Africa in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers because he wanted to be begged.

"He was supposed to be part of the team that is presently in camp but he said we must beg him first to play for Nigeria because he was left out of some competitions but I can’t beg anyone to play for Nigeria, impossible. That’s why he is not here,” said Keshi in a press release by Super Eagles media officer Ben Alaiya.

Uche fell out with the ‘Big Boss’ during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and has been snubbed since, missing the Confederations Cup and 2014 Fifa World Cup despite being Nigeria's highest scoring striker in Europe in that period.

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5091668?ICID=HP_BN_3

APC!!! - Change « PDP!!!! - Ebola

While Nigerians will not find it funny that their most reliable player will be missing from their squad next weekend, opponents Congo and South Africa will see goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s absence in between the posts as a good omen to explore.
The Lille safe hand has been granted leave for the two opening matches of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on September 6 and 10.

With the national team camp opening its doors to the Super Eagles on Monday, interim coach Stephen Keshi said he allowed the new team captain, who was brilliant in goal for Nigeria at the World Cup, off  to enable him attend to some pressing family issues.

“It’s better we excuse him, instead of bringing him down here without him concentrating for the game. I have asked him to sort himself out and he can join us in the future. For now there is no replacement for him because there is no time to do that,” Keshi declared.

As at Monday evening, eight players had arrived the Metropolitan Hotel camp of the Super Eagles in Calabar.

Locally based invitees Kunle Odunlami, Gbolahan Salami, Christian Osaguona and Azubuike Egwuekwe were joined at dinner time by Godfrey Oboabona, Nosa Igiebor, Ramon Azeez and Uche Nwofor.

The team is still battling with the release of Chinedu Obasi by his club Schalke 04 who said they have submitted his passport to embassies in Germany in order to procure visas to pursue their Uefa Champions League campaign.

Team administrator Dayo Enebi Achor is said to be working hard at ensuring that all players turn up for the game.

The team will commence training on Tuesday morning at the Abraham Ordia  Pitch of the University of Calabar.

Congo is expected to arrive in a few days.

http://m.goal.com/s/en-ng/news/5077352

Best Album of the Year
Baddest Boy Ever Liveth – Olamide  WINNER
Once Upon A Time – Tiwa Savage
Takeover – Kcee
Leaving an Impact For Eternity (L.I.F.E) – Burna Boy
Jagz Nation, Vol 1: Thy Nation Come -Jesse Jagz
Journey – Sean Tizzle
Blessed – Flavour

Hottest Single of the Year
Pull Over – Kcee ft. Wizkid
Double Wahala – Oritse Femi
Aye – Davido
Caro – Starboi ft Lax and Wizkid
Surulere – Dr Sid ft. Don Jazzy
Eminado – Tiwa Savage ft. Don Jazzy
Touching Body – J Martins ft. DJ Arafat

Best New act of the Year
Orezi
Patoranking   WINNER
Runtown
Charass
Tekno Miles
Oritse Femi
Skuki

Gospel Artist of the year
Tim Godfrey and Xtreme Crew
Frank Edwards
Flo
Segun Oluwayomi
Niki Laoye
Sabina
Proverbs
Indigenous Artist of the Year
Oritse Femi  WINNER
Reminisce
Sean Tizzle
Jaywon
Flavour
Timaya
Mc Galaxy

Best Pop/R&B artist of the Year
Praiz
Tiwa Savage  WINNER
Wande Coal
Ayoola
Banky W
Chidinma
Harry Song

Female Artist of the Year
Tiwa Savage   WINNER
Yemi Alade
Seyi Shay
Cynthia Morgan
Eva
Chidinma
Niyola

Male Artist of the Year
Kcee
Davido  WINNER
Iyanya
Wande Coal
Wizkid
Oritse Femi
Patoranking

Best Rap Act of the Year
Olamide
Phyno
Ice Prince
Eva
Show Dem Camp
Reminisce
Cynthia Morgan

Music Producer of the Year
Duncan Daniels
Dtunes
Don Jazzy
Blaq Jerzy
Pheelz
Del B   WINNER
Malek Berry

Best Music Video of the Year (Artist & Director)
Jaiye Jaiye – Wizkid & Sesan
Personally – P-Square & Jude Okoye
Rands & Naira – Emmy Gee & Nick
Sitting on the Throne – Olamide & Kemi Adetiba
Skelewu – Davido & Moe Musa
Eminado – Tiwa Savage & Clarence Peters
Oh Baby! – Chidinma ft Flavour & Clarence Peters

Best Collaboration
Mofe Lowo Ju Daddy Mi – Reminisce ft Davido
Oluchi – Solid Star ft Flavor
WanDaMo – Burna Boy ft Dbanj
Oh Baby! – Chidinma ft Flavour
Emergency – Wizzy Pro ft Runtown, Skales & Patoranking
Gallardo – Runtown ft Davido  WINNER
Allubarika – Patoranking ft Timaya

Most Promising Act to Watch
Di’Ja
Ayo Jay
Elphlex
Koko J
Sna-Z
Brain
DJ Mo

Diaspora Artist of the Year
Stlyzz
Wale
Bils
L.A.X  WINNER
Lola Rae
Mr. 2Kay
Emmy Gee

African Artist of the Year (Non-Nigerian)
Sarkodie
Mafikizolo
Shatta Wale  WINNER
Micasa
Fally Ipupa
Uhuru
R2Bees

http://tooxclusive.com/news-from-africa/nea-awards-2014-winners-list/

Rain Drop

Im already enjoying the steady power for the past 2month in Suleja NigerState. Atleast 20hrs every day

Would be suprise if APC wins cos Nigerlites dey dull me

Femi and Yeni's maternal grandmother turned 93 today and Femi took to twitter to celebrate her.

Chelsea got their Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a comfortable 3-1 away win over newly-promoted side Burnley on Monday. 

In terms of personnel and performance, it was a new-look Chelsea, one that Jose Mourinho likes very much.

The Portuguese handed debuts to new recruits, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, and both proved to be key figures as Burnley were taken apart.

However, with the team packed with so much power and flair, where exactly does John Obi Mikel fit in the revolutionised Stamford Bridge outfit? As Mourinho seeks perfection, does he have a place for the Nigerian, even if he is one of his long-serving lieutenants?

Mikel was a substitute against Burnley, entering the fray in the second half with the match already won. This is hardly a status befitting the Super Eagles’ key man.

To make my point crystal clear, here’s a tweet by Goal’s Chief Editor Lolade Adewuyi after the game: “Mikel begins his #CFC season as a (82nd minute) substitute. Nigeria’s most high profile player ought to set a better example. Na like this we go dey dey?”

It would have taken quite some guts to bet against Mourinho starting with Nemanja Matic and Fabregas just in front of the back-four—a combination he is likely to stick with for most of the campaign, including the Champions League, you’d think.

Now, that’s in the starting XI and the midfield set, leaving no place for Mikel.
It would also be wayward to believe that the Nigerian would get the nod over Ramires (who was suspended for the game) for a position in the double pivot in midfield in the event of injuries or suspensions.
Now, that’s on the bench; still no chance.

So what exactly is the Nigeria’s most high profile player doing at the London-based club?

The frustration for most is that he continues to carry the torch as the Super Eagles’ most flamboyant player, wile he continues to represent Nigeria under the illusion that he is still the player he used to be five or six years ago.

The most sensible thing to do, one would think, is to do a ‘Mourinho’ on him in the national team, and seek someone else for the centre of midfield. Maybe that would serve as the much-needed wake-up call.

But then again, have the national team handlers got the grace to pull such a drastic move?

That’s a story for another day.

Though the English Premier league is underway, the transfer window is still very much active. There have been several viewpoints regarding Mikel’s insistence to remain at the Bridge, some of which make for a good laugh.

However, whatever the case might be, it seems the seasonal and platitudinous I-want-to-fight-for-a-place-in-the-team song has lost its meaning. There’s no battle. There’s no war. There are just too many other better players at the same time.

Mikel, at 27, is not getting any younger, and as far as the national team is concerned, there is a sense he could be walking the last mile in his Nigeria career. Few batted an eyelid when he was parachuted into the Super Eagles setup in 2006; so high were expectations of him.

He is now at an age where players, especially midfielders, are expected to peak. In a way, one can say he already has. His performances in 2013 were heart-warming in their consistency, and brought unprecedented success to the Super Eagles. However, is that the best Nigeria’s brightest midfield talent of the last decade can produce? One year of peak performance? A brief flicker in a prevailing wind?
He soldiers on at Cobham, in a capacity that remains unclear.

Mourinho’s methods are well-known; he will not suffer fools. If Mikel remains, one must feel that there is some usefulness to him in the eyes of the manager. His eight-minute cameo role against Burnley offers perhaps the best indication of what he can look forward to.

However, Chelsea will not always have the luxury of wrapping up a game at half time, especially when you consider that the Premier League provides sterner tests. The Blues went through the motions after the break, slowing the game down to a manageable pace; one in which Mikel is well versed. Even then he only got eight measly minutes.

The implications for Mikel are grave: a further reduced playing schedule and copious amounts of time on the upholstery.

In his prime years, Nigeria’s No.10 can look forward to the playing schedule of a weary veteran in the twilight of his career.

The commandant-general of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ade Abolurin, came close to being shot Friday by a rampaging police officer who challenged him for conducting anti-vandalism inspection at sites manned by the police, a spokesperson for the corps said.
Mr. Abolurin was in Lagos for an inspection but managed to escape after the officer, a police inspector, threatened to open fire on his team for daring to conduct the checks at the site, the corps said.
The inspection team comprised officials from the army, the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Office of the Attorney-General.
The team were members of a government committee on anti-vandalism constituted by the government, and chaired by the civil defence boss.
A spokesperson for civil defence, Emmanuel Okeh, said the attack occurred at Ikorodu, Lagos after the arrest of suspected vandals and oil thieves who were in possession of petroleum products in jerry cans.
Mr. Okeh said those arrested contacted the police, soon after the arrival of the commandant general and his team, a police team reached the scene in an unmarked danfo bus.
He said a police inspector, brandishing an AK47 riffle, challenged Mr. Abolurin and made it clear to him the police were in charge, and he had no business visiting the site.
Attempts by members of the committee to caution the officer was rebuffed, Mr. Okeh said.
But the police denied that its officers attacked or threatened the commandant-general.
A spokesperson for the Lagos State police, Lelme Kolle, told PREMIUM TIMES it could not be true that a police officer would attack a convoy of armed civil defence personnel and soldiers.
“It is a complete lie. It is not true. It is a concocted story,” said Mr. Kolle.
Mr. Kolle said a police anti-vandalism team only stopped a convoy of 10 cars that was headed to the site and sought to know whether the occupants had cleared with the police before visiting the site.
Asked why a commandant –general of the Civil Defence would require police clearance to carry out his statutory anti-vandalism assignments, Mr. Kolle said it was possible the police operatives did not know that Mr. Abolurin was on of the visiting team.
The civil defence has come under attacks in the past at the hands overzealous police officers.
In 2013, two personnel of the anti-vandal squad of the Lagos state command of NSCDC- Gabriel Adaji and Innocent Akegbe- were shot dead by the police.
“It is however unclear if the suspected officer was working on a written script by a superior authority or just acting in his own capacity as a vandal in uniform,” Civil Defence spokesperson, Mr. Okey, said in a statement.
“What is however clear is that, this is the umpteenth time that officers and men of the corps has been brazenly harassed, molested, assassinated or maimed by officers of the Nigeria police in recent time in the cause of carrying out their legitimate assignments.”

https://m.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/167158-civil-defence-commandant-general-escapes-assassination.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=civil-defence-commandant-general-escapes-assassination

Parents of the schoolgirls kidnapped from a secondary Chibok, Borno State, have urged the Nigerian government to confirm if their daughters are already dead, and hand over their bodies for burial.
The parents said they would rather welcome such news and prepare for the funeral than wait endlessly for update on the fate of their children abducted by Boko Haram April 14.
The solemn call came Friday, more than four months after armed insurgents stormed Government Secondary School in Chibok, loaded more than 200 girls on to trucks, and drove them away in the dead of the night.

Schools and students have been major targets by the Boko Haram insurgents
For weeks, officials of the Nigerian government denied the abductions took place, and accused critics of sponsoring the reports to embarrass the government.
While the government failed to rescue the abducted girls, security operatives clamped down on protesters in Abuja demanding more action from the government.
President Goodluck Jonathan acknowledged the kidnappings only three weeks after, sparking international outrage. Mr. Jonathan later met with some parents of the abducted girls July, more than three months after the attack.
At least 200 of the girls have remained in captivity despite a multinational support from the United States, United Kingdom, France and Israel. The four countries have provided intelligence and specialist support to assist the Nigerian military search and rescue the girls.
On Friday, marking 130 day of the girls’ abduction, over 50 protesters marched from the Unity Fountain to the National Secretariat demanding that the girls be returned alive.
The demonstrators distributed flyers and stickers. They chanted: “What are we demanding for? Bring our girls back and alive” as they marched.
One of the leaders of the march, Hadiza Bala-Usman, told PREMIUM TIMES that the parents of the abducted calls were asking the Federal Government to bring back the bodies of their children if they were dead already.
“The parents said they would rather know that theirs daughters are dead and their bodies brought back and buried so as to put an end to this endless wondering about the status of their children” she said. “They are calling on the Federal Government to help them search for the bodies of their children; that’s if they are dead. It’s better for them to know that their kids are dead and the bodies are brought back.”

Mothers of the missing Chibok school girls are still grieving
Ms. Bala-Usman said the march was aimed at promoting continued awareness around the girls’ abduction.
An official of the Centre for Democracy and Development, Jibrin Ibrahim, who was also at the protest ground, told PREMIUM TIMES that the march was to remind the Federal Government of its responsibilities.
“Today is 130 days since the abduction of the girls. Since they were abducted, our government promised us swift action, to search and rescue them; that, has not happened. We are therefore out on the street to remind the government that they have a responsibility to rescue these girls and return them to their parents and homes,” Mr. Ibrahim said.

https://m.premiumtimesng.com/featured-news/167156-tell-us-if-our-daughters-are-dead-chibok-parents-to-nigerian-government.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=tell-us-if-our-daughters-are-dead-chibok-parents-to-nigerian-government

The National Council on Health on Ebola on Monday declared support for a federal government ban on transportation of corpses from one state to another.
The Council, however, stated that corpses can only be transported with waivers approved by the Federal Ministry of Health.
The ban is to help contain the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in Nigeria.
The Council, headed by the health minister, also resolved that all corpses should be accompanied with death certificates. It also agreed that the corpses of all persons confirmed to have died of EVD must be buried according to standard WHO protocol.
Other members of the council are the commissioners of health in all the 36 states and the equivalent in Abuja, as well as the Minister of State for Health.
The Council said it would also ensure that states are encouraged to have legislation to support its resolutions.
The Ebola disease was imported into Nigeria by a Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, after he was cleared to travel by the Liberian Government through its Deputy Minister for Fiscal Affairs, Sebastian Muah.
Mr. Sawyer was scheduled for an ECOWAS convention in Calabar. He, however, died on July 24 at First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, Lagos.
A Nigerian nurse who treated Mr. Sawyer has since died of the disease while eight other Nigerians have been infected with the virus.

https://m.premiumtimesng.com/news/166579-ebola-nigeria-restates-ban-on-inter-state-transportation-of-corpses.html?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=ebola-nigeria-restates-ban-on-inter-state-transportation-of-corpses?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=ebola-nigeria-restates-ban-on-inter-state-transportation-of-corpses