NAIJAFEED

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Video - Flying Eagles of Nigeria shift focus to Under-20 World Cup

Nigeria's Flying Eagles won bronze at the CAF Under-20 AFCON in Egypt having fallen in their bid to secure a record-extending eighth title when they lost 1-nil to Gambia in the semis. However, their 4-nil rout of Tunisia in the third-placed play-off in Cairo on Friday night gives the team a platform to do well at the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia, later this year.

CGTN

Central Bank of Nigeria says old naira notes still legal tender

Nigeria’s central bank will allow old bank notes to continue as legal tender until the end of the year to comply with a court order earlier this month, according to a statement late on Monday, raising hopes this would ease acute cash shortages in the economy.

On March 3, the Supreme Court ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the use of old 1,000 ($2.17), 500, and 200 naira notes until December 31. The initial withdrawal of the notes from circulation became an election issue after causing widespread hardship and anger.

CBN said it was complying with the law and that the old notes would circulate with new ones of equivalent value. Earlier, on Monday evening, a statement from the Nigerian presidency said President Muhammadu Buhari did not urge the CBN not to obey the court order.

“The CBN has no reason not to comply with court orders on the excuse of waiting for directives from the President,” it said.

In a country where most people rely on cash for everything from buying food from markets to taxi fares, the shortages of naira notes have riled citizens, a few of whom have attacked banks and burned cash-dispensing machines.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Video - Nigerian banks face a shortage of new naira notes

Monday, March 13, 2023

Gunmen kill 17 in Northern Nigeria

The death toll in the Saturday's attack and reprisal attack has risen to about 17 including a Police officer in communities of Zangon-Kataf in the southern part of Kaduna State.

LEADERSHIP earlier reported that about 10 corpses were discovered following the incident.

Trouble started in the area on Thursday last week when a young herder was tied to a tree and macheted to death by some locals around Ungwan Juju, LEADERSHIP gathered.

It was further gathered that the situation became compounded between Saturday morning and afternoon when a misunderstanding ensued between security operatives and some Fulani men at a checkpoint in Ungwan Wakili, which led to a Fulani man and a Policeman being shot at the checkpoint.

Also, later that evening, a group of youths, who went fishing, were attacked and one of them was said to have been macheted to death by herders in a reprisal attack.

A senior military source from the area told our Correspondent in confidence that: "On Thursday last week, one Umar Sambo (a herder) was killed while he was returning from grazing his cattle around Ungwan Juju in Zangon Kataf LGA.

"The killers tied the young herder up, matcheted him to death and hid the corpse in an unknown location. When his brother, identified as Safiyanu, could not find him, he reported to the security agents, who then launched a search operation. His body was finally discovered at Ungwan Juju."

He said the security situation, which they were making efforts to manage, became compounded Saturday evening when there was a clash between security operatives and some Fulanis at a checkpoint in Ungwan Wakili, which led to the death of a Fulani man and a Policeman.

According to him, "Ungwan Wakili village of Atyap Chiefdom in Zangon Kataf LGA was attacked by unidentified persons around 8:40pm on Saturday, in an apparent reprisal attack following the killing of the herder earlier mentioned.

"Another suspected immediate cause of the Saturday night attack was the accidental shooting of a herder by a policeman at Ungwan Wakili Junction, the burning of herders' motorcycles and the mob action which followed."

He, however, added that by the time the Troops of Operation Safe Haven mobilised to the village to repel the attack, about 16 to 17 persons were already killed, with seven persons wounded. The wounded were taken to Zonkwa General Hospital for treatment.

"Also worthy of note is that, after after a policeman accidentally shot and injured a herder and a colleague at the checkpoint at Ungwan Wakili Junction, a mob action occurred in Ungwan Wakili.

"While the police evacuated the area, a crowd of locals and herders gathered at the scene, and in the confrontation that followed, one local was killed. Two motorcycles belonging to herders were burnt, while the attack on Ungwan Wakili village occurred a few hours later," the security source explained.

Meanwhile, the local government authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew in the affected communities to prevent further breakdown of law and order.

Leadership

Friday, March 10, 2023

Video - INEC postpones polls for state governors in Nigeria

Nigeria’s gubernatorial elections have been pushed back to March 18 instead of March 11. The country's electoral commission says the extra time will allow officials to reconfigure and deploy voting machines that were used in February's presidential and legislative elections.

CGTN

Video - Opposition presidential candidates weigh options after election results in Nigeria

The 1969 visit of Pele to Nigeria changed football in Nigeria

In 1969, with a civil war raging, global football's biggest star arrived in Benin City as part of a visit that would change Nigerian football forever.

Those involved still remember the occasion vividly.

"It was all about Pele. Before one o'clock, Ogbe Stadium was jam-packed and it was difficult for people to have seats, because they were anxious to see the artistry of Pele," Godwin Izilein told BBC Sport Africa.

Izilein had been chosen as captain of a team put together to represent Mid-Western State, an old administrative region that covered what are now Edo and Delta states, in a friendly against Pele's Brazilian club Santos.

"It was at the peak of the civil war. The day of the match, nobody thought of guns any more," Izilein added.
Santasticos on tour

With a roster including Pele and the likes of fellow Brazil legends Carlos Alberto and Pepe, Santos' so-called 'Santasticos' spent much of the 1960s cashing in on their global fame, heading out on exhibition tours across multiple continents.

They made more than one trip to Africa, including the 1969 visit that included stop-offs in Algeria, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Ghana and Mozambique, in addition to Nigeria.

Aged 28, Pele was already a two-time World Cup winner, having burst on to the scene as a precocious 17-year-old in 1958, scoring six goals as Brazil won their first title in Sweden. The Selecao made it back-to-back World Cups in Chile in 1962, although Pele missed much of that tournament through injury.

Although Santos' arrival in Nigeria came a year ahead of Brazil's much-celebrated third world title, claimed in Mexico in 1970, Pele was still seen as an African sporting icon, given his ancestry on the continent.

"It was quite striking to see Pele in person because we all read about him as a young player who helped Brazil win the World Cup in Sweden," said Jonathan Ofugere, who at the time was president of the West African Football Union (WAFU).

"We were proud that a player of African origin, born in Brazil, could put up such a show."

Mid-Western State governor Samuel Ogbemudia had helped organise the match, having extended an invitation to Santos following their 2-2 draw in Lagos against Nigeria's national team, known back then as the Green Eagles.

"The Nigeria Football Association wanted a guarantee that the Mid-Western government would provide some money to facilitate their movement from Lagos to Benin," Ofugere continued.

"Ogbemudia called an emergency meeting to raise funds. Before long, we were ready to meet all the conditions."
'My first tackle on him was a robust one'

The game took place on 4 February - and started badly for the home side.

"Within five minutes, we conceded two goals," recalls Izilein, who played in midfield.

"I talked to my players and said, 'Look, we have to do something. We cannot be slaughtered here on our ground'."

Izilein's plan involved him taking on the game's most difficult task.

"I had no option but to volunteer to mark Pele.

"He was very skilful and smart, a perfect gentleman. My first tackle on him was a robust one and he didn't like it.''

Izilein's robust tactics seemed to pay dividends. At the start of the second half, a goal for Mid-Western State was greeted by ecstatic celebrations in the stands - and an unusual red card.

"It was wonderful! It was like a million goals. Everybody in the stadium went berserk.

"Esama Igbinedion [a Nigerian business tycoon] entered the pitch and started spraying money on us. He was given a red card (but) didn't leave until after spraying us."

The game ended 2-1 to Santos, but it wasn't the end of Izilein's encounter with Pele.

"(He) was very enthusiastic to hear from me. He said, 'Would you like to follow me to Brazil?' And I said no.

"Nobody was enthusiastic about travelling at that time. If it were now, I would have followed them right from the pitch.''
Nigeria turns to Brazil for inspiration

There are oft-repeated apocryphal tales that claim Pele's arrival in Benin City, close to the frontline of the fighting between Nigerian government forces and Biafran independence fighters, led to an informal ceasefire, with soldiers putting down their weapons in order to focus on the football, although the wider consensus in Nigeria is that this is not true.

If there was a cessation in the war, it certainly didn't last - but the impact of Santos' visit definitely did.

"(Pele's visit) led to a lot of things," said Ogufere.

"The Nigeria Football Association, where I served for more than 10 years, now looked towards Brazil and imitated them and encouraged the players to play like Brazilians.

"That led to Nigerians going to Brazil and Nigeria also hiring a Brazilian coach - Otto Gloria - who helped us win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1980."

There are also personal stories about the impact the man they called 'The King' had in Nigeria.

"Pele raised the standard of football in Nigeria. He made it very high. The impact was tremendous," says Jossy Donbraye, another of the Mid-Western State team that lined up against the great man in 1969.

"I was just 19 years old. I played as a schemer, distributing passes in midfield," Donbraye added.

"That's why Pele told me that I will play for the country. For me to play 10 years for Nigeria was by Pele telling me."

For Izilein, who would go on to coach Nigeria's women's team, the Super Falcons, the impact on training was key.

''He emphasised discipline. We started training and coaches were being sent out for refresher courses.

"There was no more kick and follow. People now developed the idea of initiating attack from the rear.

"Those who were not interested before... their interest was rekindled."

Pele's death in December at the age of 82 robbed football of an all-time great but Ogufere is convinced the Brazilian's legacy endures in Nigeria.

"We are all very saddened to lose him but he has left an indelible mark which players should look to emulate."

By Joshua Adetunji, BBC