Former Super Eagle star Odemwingie becomes certified Professional golf player

After a blistering career in football, which saw him playing at the very highest level at the World Cup for Nigeria and at the Premier League as a club player, former Nigerian international Osaze Odemwingie has achieved a new milestone by becoming a Professional Golfers’ Association, PGA- certified golfer.

This feat marks a significant transition for the former football star, who has now joined the ranks of those who successfully made the switch from the football pitch to the golf course.

Speaking during his graduation, Odemwingie expressed delight at moving from a team sport like football into an individual sport like golf, and he also spoke highly of the life lessons he has learnt on the way to becoming PGA certified.


In a video which has since gone viral on X, Odemwingie said: “I am really proud of myself and my friends that are graduating as well.

It’s a long journey, I fell in love with the game, I played a lot of pro-ams as an amateur . I am coming from a football background where I had a decent level of achievement in a group sport now it’s a different sport sometimes you can be lonely in golf, just you and your caddie if you have one.”

While golf could be a lonely sport, the camaraderie spirit at PGA is really cherished by Odemwingie

“… but the PGA itself feels like a family, and seeing what the PGA professionals enjoy the moment the opportunity came my game became as good as an average pro.


“I passed the playing ability test and I was accepted into the programme and I was as excited as I am today (graduating). It is motivating in itself being around people who want to achieve new things .”

Odemwingie said he considers it a worthwhile experience going through the PGA as the lessons learnt will make him a better man and also pass on to his children.
A stellar football career

Aside from his laudable feats playing in Russia and France, Odemwingie had an illustrious football career, playing for top-tier clubs like West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, and Cardiff City in the English Premier League, where he netted 30 goals.

He also represented the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, at major tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations, World Cup and even at the Olympic Games, where he proudly won a medal for Nigeria.

For the national team, Odemwingie earned 63 caps and scored 11 goals. His impressive skills on the field earned him a reputation as a pacey and skillful winger.
Inspirational transition

Odemwingie’s journey to becoming a PGA-certified golfer is an inspiration to many. He discovered his passion for golf during his football days and has since dedicated himself to mastering the sport.

His hard work and dedication have paid off, as he has now joined the ranks of professional golfers.
Not alone

Odemwingie is not the only skillful athlete to have made the transition from football to golf. Other notable examples include Chelsea legend Andriy Shevchenko, who has been an avid golfer and has participated in several professional golf tournaments.

Gianluca Zambrotta, the ex-Italian footballer and World Cup winner, has also pursued a career in golf, competing in various tournaments and events.

Lately, Gareth Bale has also been making waves on the golf course after announcing his retirement from football after an illustrious career with the Welsh national team and majorly with Real Madrid.

By Tunde Eludini, Premium Times 

Related story: Osaze Odemwingie quits national team

Nigeria to ban single-use plastics in federal MDAs

The Federal Government has banned single-use plastics across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs.

The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, made this disclosure while briefing State House correspondents on Tuesday at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The minister stressed that the ban aligns with the government’s broader plastic waste management strategy.

“This initiative demonstrates our commitment to addressing the triple threat of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution,” he added.

The minister highlighted the severity of plastic pollution in Nigeria, describing it as “a major issue in our country”.

By Matthew Atungwu, Daily Post

Nigerian farmers abandon farms after attacks, sending food prices higher

Hassan Ya'u, a 42-year-old maize and sesame seed farmer in Nigeria's northern Katsina state, was tending to his crops early this month when dozens of armed men on motorcycles rode towards his plot and started shooting at close range.

Ya'u and fellow farmer Musa Nasidi managed to escape, but at least 50 people - many of them farmers working their fields at the time - were killed in the attack in the latest in a series of deadly raids on farming areas.

An unknown number of people were abducted in the assault, which was carried out in broad daylight.
Ya'u and Nasidi said the gunmen had attacked their Kankara farming community because farmers had not paid a levy imposed by the armed gang.

Such raids are forcing many farmers to leave their fields, contributing to higher food prices and soaring inflation as Nigeria faces the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

"They set ablaze my produce and took away foodstuff worth about 4 million naira ($2,739.73)," said Ya'u, who has sought refuge in Daura town, nearly 200 km (124 miles) from Kankara.

"I don't have access to my farm because bandits have taken control of the area. Everything has been ruined," added the father of 13 children who faces an uncertain future.

Armed gangs demand as much as three million naira per village, depending on the size, to allow farmers to work.

"The farmers are even forming vigilante groups to make sure they are able to access the farms but it is still very difficult," said Kabir Ibrahim, president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria.

Northern Nigeria produces the bulk of the country's staples like rice, yam and maize, but it is also its most unstable region, as armed kidnapping gangs attack and pillage villages in the northwest while Islamist militants cause havoc in the northeast.

Nasidi, 36, fled to near Katsina town after the Kankara attack.

He used to harvest about 400 bags of groundnuts, 80 bags of sesame seed and 200 bags of maize, he said, but now faces a bleak year after part of his 8.5-hectare farm was set ablaze by bandits.

"The situation is beyond our control and I was left with no choice other than to leave Kankara because our lives were in danger," Nasidi told Reuters.

A World Food Programme report on the outlook for acute food insecurity globally said Nigeria has joined the world's "hunger hotspots", which analysts attribute to insecurity in farming areas and high costs of seed, fertiliser, chemicals and diesel.

Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence said 1,356 farmers in Nigeria were killed since 2020. This year, 137 deaths had been recorded, it said, adding that farming was becoming a dangerous occupation.

"The risk is very grave," said Confidence McHarry, SBM's lead security analyst, adding that gunmen also attacked farmers "on suspicion of collaborating with the military."

Defence spokesperson Major General Edward Buba said that with the rainy season under way, the military was prioritising farmers' security.

"The farmers union are keying into the farm protection plan of the armed forces to make the best of the rainy season," he said, without elaborating.

But for 22-year-old farmer Abdulaziz Gora in Zamfara state, next to Katsina, there is little hope of returning to his farm. He relocated to state capital Gusau after a violent attack on his village in May, abandoning his soybean and maize crops.

"Anyone caught there risks being kidnapped or killed," he said. 

By Ope Adetayo and Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

Related story: Nigeria gunmen kill at least 25 in village raid, officials say

174 migrants deported from Libya to Nigeria

 A total of 174 migrants were deported from Libya to Nigeria on Tuesday with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to a Libyan official.

Muhammad Baraida, an assistant for security affairs of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department, told Xinhua that the repatriated migrants were mostly women "who tested positive for infectious and chronic diseases."

The migrants were deported through IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) program, which facilitates the return of migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin.

Baraida added that the deportation was carried out in coordination with the Nigerian embassy in Libya, noting that Libya has been collaborating with IOM to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of migrants in the country.

Ever since the downfall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become a preferred point of departure for some African migrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.

According to IOM, the VHR program has helped more than 80,000 migrants return to their home countries voluntarily from Libya since 2015.

Xinhua

Nigeria declares cholera crisis, launches emergency measures

Nigerian authorities have declared a national emergency and activated response operations to control the spread of a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 50 people.

The Nigerian Center for Disease Control, or NCDC, said Tuesday that its decision to activate the National Cholera Emergency Operation center followed a risk assessment conducted by authorities last week.

NCDC said the assessment showed the country was at high risk of the disease and that the fatality rate from cholera stood at 3.5% of cases.

So far, 53 people have died out of more than 1,500 recorded cases in the country. Nigeria's largest city and economic hub, Lagos, is the most impacted.

"Having considered all the details available, there's still an increasing trend of suspected cases nationwide," said Jide Idris, director general of the NCDC. "We have four levels of risk — low, medium, high and very high. We've seen more cases in more states than we did last year."

National health authorities say they will work with affected state authorities to ensure rapid case detection, analysis and management.

The latest outbreak comes as the European Union pledged millions to help fund vaccine production in Africa. The continent depends on imports for more than 90% of its vaccine doses.

Last week, the NCDC said Nigeria had no cholera vaccines and is waiting for fresh supplies.

Public health analyst Chukwunonso Umeh said the threat is serious.

"I'm happy that the government has actually declared an emergency on this," said Umeh. "The virulent level is very high, so there's a possibility of transmutation; in terms of the severity of the symptoms, it's kind of higher and the rate at which it is being transmitted is also higher."

Cholera is a seasonal disease in Nigeria, and authorities warn the impact could worsen with the rainy season.

The disease spreads through contaminated food and water, causing severe diarrhea and death if not treated.

Umeh said socioeconomic problems are affecting the way the disease impacts Nigerians.

"Cholera is a hygiene-related disease," said Umeh. "With the current hardship in the country, people are struggling ... there are a lot of risk factors that people are being exposed to. You don't know the source of the water that they use in making some of those foods. One of the basic things in terms of minimizing this for now is improving awareness of what people are supposed to do, sensitizing people, community mobilization."

In 2018, Nigeria recorded 830 deaths from more than 42,000 cases of cholera — the highest numbers in recent years.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA