Palm Fruit Farming

Many people are already aware of this fruit but haven't realized the money it can generate.

This fruit is generally known as palm fruit which our lay men call banga fruit or palm kanel.

As a farmer, I have noticed that this fruit takes energy to maintain but when harvested yields money.

I know you might be thinking of the money to begin such a project, but one thing you are forgetting is that when you have a good plan concerning a project the money for that project will surely come out from somewhere.

In this post, I will tell you the amount required to start such a farm project depending on the size of your land that you want to plant the palm fruit on.

Before I do that I believe you know the advantages of this farm project?

Let me just list a few for you incase you don't know:

1. after harvesting, it can be used to produce palm fruit oil which is commonly know as palm oil

2. after harvesting, it can be used to make banga soup which is one of the native soups in Nigeria

3. after harvesting, it can be used to produce other palm fruits for nursery purposes which can be replanted and sold from also

4. the farm land with the palm fruit can be rented or leased out for monthly, quarterly, or yearly payment

5. knowing the fact that vitamin E helps to rid the body of free radicals and protect it from cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease and other serious illness. However there are two forms of vitamin E that each serve a unique purpose: tocopherols and tocotrienols. While tocopherols are the most common form of vitamin E available on the market, tocotrienols are just now beginning to emerge in the Western world as a superior addition to the vitamin E family, particularly in the form of palm fruit oil where they are most richly found. 

Having listed a few advantages, someone will ask, how much does it cost to get a palm fruit from the nursery?

Before I answer this question, I would like you to know that this palm fruits have different qualites, so be very careful of the type you are going to purchase.

As Producers and Distributors of both Palm fruit and Palm Oil here in Nigeria, at Ophinab International Limited, Benin City, Edo State, from my own nursery it costs N350 only per palm fruit. For more information call +2348184801792 

So you can see that with with a minimum amount N50,000 into such a farm project, you can boast of a better future. Another thing you should know is that this palm fruit business can be done both in small scale and large scale, so be encouraged and start up something now before it's too late.

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Get Connected To The Internet Cheaply

We have created this arena for you because we know by now you will be very happy to browse cheaply by the reason of what our network providers are doing to us here in Nigeria.

Knowing the kind of network providers that we have here, research has been made on them, and we have found out that almost all the time there are loop holes we can tape into to be able to either reduce the cost of browsing or increase the bandwidth for browsing the internet.

Not to do much exposures here, because our network providers are not sleeping, each time we get access into their terrain they try to block us out, so we have learnt to be secretive also by what we are doing now.

For your cheap internet connection, just call +2348184801792 and within the next 6hrs you will be online smiling like never before.

We are waiting for you. 

NOTE: Our aim is to let you know which network you can use to access the internet cheaply, I repeat cheaply.

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Working DNS Servers With Etisalat Ng

GOOGLE DNS
DNS1 : 8.8.8.8
DNS2 : 8.8.4.4

CISCO DNS
DNS1 : 64.102.255.44
DNS2 : 128.102.241.185
OPEN DNS
DNS1 : 208.67.222.222
DNS2 : 208.67.220.220

DNS ADVANTAGE
DNS1 : 156.154.70.1
DNS2 : 156.154.71.1

SCRUBIT DNS
DNS1 : 67.138.54.100
DNS2 : 207.225.209.66

UK DNS
DNS1 : 78.143.192.10
DNS2 : 78.143.192.20

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Pressure mounts on Jonathan to reconstitute cabinet

President Goodluck Jonathan
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Strong indications emerged on Friday that President Goodluck Jonathan is under pressure to reconstitute  the Federal Executive Council.

Top Ijaw personalities from Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom converged on the Bayelsa State capital and took a decision that it was time for the President to take a critical look at his cabinet and make the requisite changes.

The meeting, called by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, was attended by a former chairman of the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, Chief Albert Horsfall; former governor of the old Rivers State, Alfred Diete-Spiff; and former Bayelsa governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

Former Minister of Aviation, Alabo Graham-Douglas; former President of Ijaw National Congress, Chief Joshua Fumudoh; and a Niger Delta activist, Ankio Briggs, were also at the meeting.

A prominent personality at the meeting said the performance of the Jonathan administration, security and the 2015 elections were top on the agenda of the meeting.  

Investigations by our correspondent showed that participants at the meeting were disturbed that highly placed political appointees from the South-South had betrayed the expectations of the people.  

It was the view among those at the meeting that Jonathan was seen by many as having not done enough because of the poor level of performance of his appointees.

It was learnt that the meeting insisted that the President must take a critical look at the performance index of the ministers, special advisers, and other top appointees in the Presidency and fire those whose presence had rubbished the President’s image.

The meeting insisted that the expectations of Nigerians from Jonathan could only be realised with a level of commitment and performance by those appointed.

It was learnt that the elders were worried about the state of the East-West Road, whose construction is viewed as rather too slow.

The Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, whose office supervises the implementation of the East-West Road contract, had complained of paucity of funds as the cause of the delay.

Investigations, however, showed that except for the appointment of new ministers for power and defence, the President is not in a hurry to drop many of the cabinet members.

It was gathered that a major cabinet shake-up might not take place till the next three or four months, when the performance assessment forms signed by the ministers recently would be used.

But as pressure continues to mount on Jonathan to carry out a cabinet reshuffle, organised labour and opposition parties have asked him to drop ministers that have been found wanting.

The President, Trade Union Congress, Mr. Peter Esele, said the President should take steps to relieve non-performing ministers of their jobs.

He said the former Minister of Power, Prof. Bath Nnaji, was not the only minister who had the issue of conflict of interest in the supervision and operations involving the sectors under them.

The TUC president, therefore, called on the President to fire ministers that were not performing in accordance with acceptable standards.

“Well, I think the President has just set up a performance bond with the ministers and that’s a good step. I believe what happened with Prof. Nnaji was a conflict of interest and there are still other ministers with conflict of interest.

“Any minister that is not performing should be shown the exit door,” he said.   

Also, the Congress for Progressive Change said a shake-up in Jonathan’s cabinet was over-due.

It said, “The Abuja minister is there in grovelling, fawning servitude of the first family. The oil minister, being the direct appointee of the President from her brief spell as transport minister, has presided over the industry in an era of unprecedented corruption and opacity in Nigeria’s history.

“Finance ministry is rudderless because the minister has lost touch with economic progressivism. Is a time of depression for enunciating sovereign wealth fund? Keynessian economic theory is at variance with savings in a depressed economy.

“It is the time that the government should be the big spender to re-invigorate the productive sector of the economy. Savings? After we are all dead?

“The agriculture minister is the only trophy that the Jonathan government can hold aloft! The question is, does Jonathan have the will to rejig his cabinet?”

National Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande, said the President should take the bull by the horns and evolve policies capable of engendering national development.

Akande spoke through his media aide, Mr. Lani Baderinwa, on Friday.

He said if there was any reason for the President to reshuffle his cabinet, he should do so, especially if the action would benefit Nigerians.

“It is not clear what the problem is with Nnaji and the government, thus, it may not be right to use his case as an excuse to have a cabinet dissolution. It will be an aimless exercise,” he said.

Also, a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Dimeji Fowowe, said the President and his cabinet had not delivered on PDP’s electoral promises.

He said, “I can’t see anything done by the Jonathan cabinet; look at our roads, hospitals, airports, seaports, schools, security and other forms of infrastructure, where can you see any meaningful achievement?”

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Okada rider accused of attempted robbery

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012 BY COMFORT OSEGHALE 18 COMMENTS

One Sunday afternoon recently, Adeleye Akinsola, 26, was not in a hurry to leave his uncle’s home at Iwelepe community in Ogun State to resume work for the day as a commercial motorcycle operator.

So when his friend, Seun, showed up and requested a ride to his family compound at Awo, he obliged him.

Akinsola said, “I live with my mother’s younger brother and I have known Seun for sometime. He lives within my community. He approached me on Sunday and asked if I could take him to Awo to see his mother, I agreed. We went to Awo together. On our way back, we decided to pass through Papa Road, which was ridden with potholes. This was between 5 pm and 5.30 pm.”

While Akinsola was navigating the potholes, a car moved close to him. In fact, it came so close that he allegedly warned the driver of the vehicle not to hit him.

“The driver of the vehicle came so close to me that we were both in the same pot hole. I had to quickly caution him not to hit me because I was ready to fight him if he did. After I said this, the man apologised, flashed his full light at me, then waved and passed. I didn’t think much of the incident. It was simply one of those things one encountered as a rider,” he recalled.

But in what seems like a contradiction of Akinsola’s story, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Mr. Okoye Ikemefuna, said that an attempted robbery attack was reported at the Sagamu Police Division on that particular evening.

Ikemefuna said, “On Aug. 5, 2012, at about 19.05 pm, a member of staff of the Nigerian Service Civil Defence Corps in Ogun State, Mr. Babalola Gbenga, reported that at about 5 pm, while he was coming from Babalento in his vehicle and heading to Sagamu, he met two men on a red Bajaj motorcycle with Registration No. FKJ 596 QA.

“Gbenga said both men had on a pair of dark sunglasses, rode their motorcycle close to him and threatened him with a gun to park his vehicle or be killed in the process. Gbenga said he pretended as if he was about to park and then quickly zoomed off.”

On getting to the Sagamu interchange, Gbenga was said to have alerted a police patrol team stationed there. A few minutes later, Akinsola and his companion had arrived at the interchange, unaware that the police had been tipped off.

“I noticed that by the time I had reached Ijemo that my fuel was in reserve. I increased my speed so I could get to toll gate and buy fuel to avoid being stranded. Before I could get to Nestle, I was asked to stop by some men at the Sagamu interchange. Since they wore plain clothes, I had no idea that they were policemen and so I refused to stop,” Akinsola said.

When Akinsola refused to stop, the policemen shot at him. Both men fell to the ground. Seun immediately jumped off and ran into the bush, while Akinsola was arrested and taken to the Sagamu Police Station. His motorcycle was seized.

“Seun was later found by a police search team, but he had sustained some injuries in the process of escaping and died later. Four live cartridges were recovered from his body and a purse full of charms. The gun was never found.”

“It was at the station that I learned Gbenga had reported to the police that we had tried to rob him. I had no idea Seun was into armed robbery. I never even saw him use a gun to threaten Gbenga because I have no side mirrors on my motorcycle. I was shocked when the police showed me the bullets they recovered from Seun; I had always known him as a labourer,” Akinsola said.

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Terrorism: Still in search of solution

OLALEKAN ADETAYO writes on confusion trailing efforts of the Federal Government to end terrorism in the country through dialogue and denials

The fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has been claiming responsibilities for most, if not all, the bombings recorded in the Northern part of the country for over one year.

The bombings have left in their trail cries of orphans whose parents were sent to their early graves, tears of widows and widowers whose spouses were snatched from them at their prime as well as the wailing of helpless family members whose breadwinners were killed in most gruesome manner.

In spilling the blood of  innocent persons no place had been spared: churches, mosques, schools, police stations, workplaces, markets and government buildings have all been bombed. These are happening despite the usual claims by security agents that they are “on top of the situation.”

So intense has the campaign of bloodletting become that Nigerians, leaders and followers alike, no longer sleep with their eyes closed. All stakeholders are desirous of an urgent end to the orgy of violence.

It is therefore understandable why panic-stricken members of the public are elated whenever they hear the news of any concrete steps being taken by the Federal Government to put the situation under control.

Such a step that has been eliciting interest from all is the much-talked-about dialogue between the government and the sect. Not a few Nigerians are of the view that the crisis can be restored through negotiation.

That was why a lot of Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief earlier this year when they got hints of the move by the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, Ibrahim Datti Ahmad, to mediate in the discussions between the two parties.

But the joy was short-lived when Ahmad announced that he was withdrawing from the talks. He said in a statement that he had come to doubt the sincerity of the Federal Government, after information from a confidential meeting was leaked to the press. He had confirmed that his group had made contact with “leadership of the sect and established from them that as Muslims they were prepared to consider ‘Sulhu’ which means ‘broad reconciliation’ regarding the dispute between them and the government.”

Last month, another ray of hope appeared in the horizon when the news of renewed talks between the two parties made headlines. The Voice of America had reported that a purported spokesman for Boko Haram, one Habu Mohammed, said the group and the Federal Government were involved in direct talks on ways to end violence in the North.

According to the VOA, Mohammed, who claims to be a deputy to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, said in a statement the group decided to initiate the peace moves in response to numerous public appeals for peace in the country.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, had since accepted to hold dialogue with the sect  in order to arrest insecurity in the country as soon as possible. “We have accepted dialogue as a way of bringing the (insecurity) situation to an end as quickly as possible. We have always called on those engaging in violence to stop because violence can’t solve any problem. So we welcome the decision to discuss,” Maku told journalists in Abuja.

Nigerians were already waiting anxiously to see if the negotiation would be successful this time. They were of the view that all things being equal, a lot of grounds would be covered in the fresh talks with both parties expected to shift grounds on their earlier hard-line postures.

Earlier demands of the Islamic sect had included release of their members being detained and prosecuted and President Goodluck Jonathan’s resignation or his conversion to Islam. However, the Presidency had spurned these demands.

New demands were said to have been introduced by the sect in the ongoing negotiations. One of the sect’s fresh demands, it was learnt, was the payment of compensation or Diyya for their members, considered, “killed unjustly” by security forces. The sect is reported to have identified about 24 of such members. One of them was the leader of the group, Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in 2010 in Maiduguri, after he was reportedly captured alive by soldiers.

Yusuf was then handed over to the police, under whose custody, he died mysteriously.

It was learnt that the sect put the compensation to each of the family of the 24 deceased members at N2m. Consequently, for the 24 families, the Diyya to be paid is N48m. It was learnt that government might accede to the Diyya demand.

Apart from compensation, the sect is also pressing for the release of those clamped into detention without committing any crime. Under this category of persons are women and children whom they said were innocent.

Confirming the readiness of government to take a second look at the sect’s demands, Maku again issued a statement on Saturday indicating  government’s readiness to look into the sect’s grievances.

“The Federal government wishes to reiterate its willingness to listen to the grievances of the sect. It is our hope that this process will lead to restoration of peace, security and tranquillity to Northern Nigeria,” he had said.

Apparently drawing a lesson from the earlier truncated talks, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has appealed to the media not to publicise the fresh dialogue process so as not to sabotage the process. He made the appeal in a Sallah message issued by his Special Adviser on Communication, Isa Gusau.

He said, “At this point, I appeal to members of the media to kindly ignore and not report whatever efforts being made by any stakeholder towards achieving dialogue over the current crisis so as not to sabotage the process. I believe the media has a responsibility to inform members of the public by searching for credible information and reporting it. The media will not be doing anything illegal by reporting efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis, as it has the responsibility to probe happenings in our national lives but as they say, necessity can alter routines, and in this case, I appeal to the media not to report whatever efforts being made so that we can succeed and make our society safer for all of us.”

But expectedly, some Nigerians are already skeptical about the success of the fresh talks. A human rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, is one of them. Shehu, who is the National President  of the Civil Rights Congress, said the Federal Government might be deceiving Nigerians about the dialogue between it and Boko Haram. He argued that the talks might have been designed by the government to give Nigerians false belief that the government was on the verge of combating insecurity in the country.

Shehu’s concern is that the leadership of the Islamic sect had not come out categorically through its channel of communication, on its decision to enter into round-table talks.

Shehu is not alone in his pessimism. He has an ally in Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State. Elechi was  quoted as saying that the decision by the Federal Government to enter into negotiation with the Boko Haram insurgents would bear no fruits, insisting that the sect is being propelled by political motives related to the emergence of President Jonathan as presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party.

Speaking when Muslim faithful in the state paid him Sallah homage, the governor was quoted as saying that there was no basis to negotiate with the sect since, according to him, their initial claim of fighting against western education flies in the face  of reality their use of products of western civilisation like telephone handsets and travelling in aircraft.

As if confirming Shehu and Elechi’s fears, the sect has debunked reports that it has accepted to dialogue with the Federal Government and wondered why the media was giving publicity to what it described as unfounded claims.

A statement signed by Abul-Qaqa, which was emailed to newsmen, said the group recognised only two attempted dialogue offers in 2011 even though both of them failed midway.

The group wondered why the media was giving publicity to what it described as unfounded claims.

The group warned  media organssations against conspiring with government officials to mislead the public.

The group said, “There is no difference between those who fight us with guns and those who fight us with their tongues and pens. All of them are our enemies and we would not be merciful in dealing with them. This is a very important, it is a response to the news we heard in the media alluding to the fact that we (members of the group) have renewed dialogue with the Federal Government. We want to use this opportunity to send strong warning to the following: The first group is the media (both print and electronic). We want to remind them that the reason why we earmarked some media houses for attacks, including Thisday is because they have not been fair to us and are extremely critical about our cause of promoting Islam.”

Amid the confusion over dialogue, one thing is not in doubt: Nigerians are earnestly waiting for lasting peace to be restored to the country soon and they will support any legitimate move to achieve this.

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900 passengers escape death in Lagos train accident

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Over nine hundred passengers escaped death on Friday morning when a 10-coach Iddo-bound train rammed into a truck at Ilupeju Railway Crossing near Oshodi, Lagos.

The accident, which occurred at about 7.30 am, led to traffic gridlock on the Ilupeju/Oshodi Road for several hours.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that each of the coaches has 90 seats, but they were usually overloaded.

An eyewitness told NAN that the articulated vehicle blocked the railway crossing when the train was already close by.

The loaded trailer had crashed into the double barriers on the railway crossing shortly before the train arrived.

On seeing the approaching train, the driver jumped out of the trailer and ran away. The train then dragged the truck for some distance, scattering the goods inside it — which were mostly empty cartons of Malta Guinness drink – along the track.

The dragging of the truck also led to the damaging of some vehicles parked along the rail track by auto mechanics.

The accident caused some damage to the engine of the locomotive and the track.

NAN reported that the incident was the third time in the month of August that a passenger train would ram into vehicles at railway crossing in the Lagos metropolis.

The earlier two accidents occurred at the Ikeja railway crossing, and claimed some lives.

Confirming the accident, Mr Ademuyiwa Adekanbi, the Lagos District Public Relations Officer of the Railways, said that no life was lost in the incident.

Adekanbi said that the corporation had embarked on enough enlightenment campaign on the use of the railway crossings.

“We have done enough jingles on radio and television, we have rallies and distributed fliers to sensitise people of the right of way of a train at level crossings,” he said.

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Lifeline for National Anthem composer

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012 BY PETER THOMAS (GROOVEMASTERPT@YAHOO.COM) 30 COMMENTS

Pa Benedict Odiase
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The composer of the current National Anthem, Arise O Compatriots, Pa Benedict Odiase, MON, got a cheque of N150,000 from the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria as royalty for using the composition as a ringtone.

The cash represents a specific point of royalty to Odiase, who retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

The payment of the royalty has been described as timely. The old man’s relatives believe it will help pay his hospital bills and save him from grinding poverty.

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PDP at 14, begs Nigerians to be patient with Jonathan

THE National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Friday admitted that the mood of the nation especially against the backdrop of security challenge in the country will not allow it roll out its drums to mark fourteen years of its existence.

Members of the Boko Haram sect have threatened the security situation of the country following massive killings and wanton destruction of property in some parts of the country, thereby crippling the economy of Nigeria.

Addressing Journalists yesterday at the Wadata Plaza, National Secretariat of the party to mark fourteen years of the formation of PDP, the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP while admitting that there have been some shortcomings in governance and hiccups as it has not met its target of transforming the country, however, pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with the PDP led government.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on PDP to in the spirit of fourteen years of formation, look critically on how the party has fulfilled its social contract with the electorate.

According to Atiku in a statement, ‘’as PDP marks its 14years anniversary today, our attention must not only focus on how old our Party is today but how well has our party fulfilled its social contract with the electorate who has kept us going for the last 14years and  how best we can do more.

‘’The 14years Survival of PDP cannot be written without a big salute to the strong efforts put in by people like you in seeing that our party flag continues to fly high. No matter the ups and downs, we must remain committed to the PDP vision of building a strong Nation where Economic & Socio-Political growth has no boundary and the only way we can survive the years ahead is by insisting on electing our leaders and not allowing others to impose them on us no matter the influence, threat or inducement.”

According to Metuh, since the party was registered August 31,1998, Nigerians have been looking forward to greater achievements, but was quick to add that the government has stabilized the economy, exposed corrupt members even among the party.

‘’PDP is not unmindful of such expectation. We recall that exactly today in 1998, the historic efforts of eminent Nigerians from all walks of life to form a credible nationwide, issue and people based political party were crowned with the official lunching of our great party  at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

President Goodluck Jonathan

‘’The visions of the founding fathers of our party, the critical elements of its manifesto which centred on re-building Nigeria into a pride in the comity of nations, its untrammeled credibility as a truly national political party that has been providing a platform for all Nigerians to realize their political aspirations irrespective of religious, ethnic or cultural affiliations differentiate the PDP from its contemporaries, in deed, any other political party in the history of Nigeria. This unique character of our party has been the major reason for its preference by Nigerians who have continued to renew our mandate as seen in 1999, 2003, 2007 and in 2011.

‘’There have been some short comings, it has not been smooth all the way, there have been some hiccups;  we are not an excellent organisation, Nigerians should exercise patience, it will be okay next year,” he said.

The PDP has also vowed that ahead of the 2015 general election, it will not interfere in the process of selecting candidates to fly the flag of the PDP both at the local government, state and at the national level, adding that even at general elections, the people will decide through one man, one vote on who will be their leaders.”

The PDP National Publicity Secretary who noted that an occasion of this kind calls for celebration, but it is marked this year without pomp, however called  on its members in Nigeria and in the Diaspora to soberly reflect on the values of justice, unity and progress which is the motto of the party.

Speaking further, Metuh disclosed that as a party, it has put in place internal mechanisms to assess and evaluate all its ministers and other public officials as that will be the means of getting the party’s ticket for the 2015 general elections.

The spokesperson who listed the achievements of the party in the last fourteen years, was however silent on the controversial proposed N5,000 denomination by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the ranging state police being canvassed for by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, adding that the National Working Committee, NWC was yet to meet to take a decision on the issues.

He however called on Nigerians to be patriotic and put the interest of Nigeria over and above personal interest, adding, ‘’the National Working Committee (NWC) has decided that our members throughout the Federation and in the Diaspora should use the occasion of this year’s anniversary to soberly reflect on the values of justice, unity and progress which is the motto of our great party. We wish to add that the significance of our motto has remained a critical essential in navigating through the current challenging trajectory of our national history.

‘’Our anniversary should be an occasion for us to celebrate really but we have chosen to mark it this year without pomp. This is in line with our determination to devote more attention to accelerating an all front delivery of our electoral promises to Nigerians and in deference to the mood of the nation.

‘’On behalf of the National Executive Committee of our great Party, our National Chairman , Dr. Bamanga Tukur wishes to commend Nigerians for their support over the years. We wish to promise once again that the PDP will continue to make the welfare of the people a priority. We shall do more than we have done in the last fourteen years and urge that we all keep hope alive.”

Listing some of the achievements, Metuh said, ‘’after fourteen years of the formation of the PDP and thirteen years in leadership of our dear nation, we are happy to express our deep satisfaction at the roles we have so far played in the course of the development of Nigeria. Nigeria has moved from a pariah nation which it once was, to an influential global player since the inception of the PDP Government. Our status as a regional, continental and global power has been enhanced.

Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.

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Oparanozie one of the best headers of the ball

Desire Oparanozie spends a lot of time off the ground, as is only to be expected of one of the best headers of the ball at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2012.

And no matter how much the Nigeria attacker is buffeted by opposition defenders or how acrobatically she tries to reach the ball, she always manages to land on her feet.

TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 30: Desire Oparanozie (L) of Nigeria celebrates with team-mates after scoring a goal in extra time during the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Quarter-Final match between Nigeria and Mexico at the National Stadium on August 30, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan. ( FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

She also manages to keep her feet firmly on the ground metaphorically, a useful trait when she has to deal with disappointment, such as in the recent quarter-final against Mexico.

“I missed a hatful of chances. I know I did, and I’m really annoyed with myself,” she said to FIFA.com. “I needed to score to know that all my hard work was actually worth something and that I’d contributed something to the team.

“At the end of the day if I’ve created a lot of chances for myself and we lose, I don’t feel like I’ve helped the team – the opposite in fact.”

Despite being her own harshest critic, the centre-forward certainly did help her team against Mexico.

Her extra-time goal, which as you would expect came from a header, sent the Falconets into the semi-finals, where they will take on USA, as well as repaying the faith shown in her by the rest of the Nigerian side.

“I felt under a certain amount of pressure, but it was of my own making – no-one else was putting any pressure on me,” said the striker, who grew up idolising local legend Mercy Akide and who now admires Abby Wambach and Wayne Rooney.

“When I missed those chances and when I made a few wrong decisions, the coach and my team-mates kept telling me to keep my chin up, to put it behind me and that the next chance would come along soon. When the ball finally went in, I could hardly believe it!

The goal was just reward for their encouragement because it got them into the semi-final.”

Making sacrifices
Where plenty of other forwards would have become impatient, Oparanozie maintained her focus and assumed her responsibilities.

“When you’ve got the experience of playing in the full international team, you have a duty not to get carried away and to help your team-mates to keep calm,” said Oparanozie, who represented her country at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2008, the U-20 equivalent in 2010 and at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011™.

“I never give up, and that’s an important aspect of my character,” she said of her never-say-die attitude against Mexico, even when it looked as if the Nigerians were on the way out.

“When you have an objective, you need to give it all you’ve got all the time, and never give up until you’ve achieved what you set out to do. That applies to football and to life in general.”

In the short term, Oparanozie’s main aim is to help her country put things right after their failure to reach this year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. “People around the country expect a lot of us, particularly after what happened with the Olympic Tournament,” said the striker, who is also studying business and management to ensure that she has a career path to follow once she hangs up her boots.

“We didn’t even take part and the whole country was in mourning after that,” she continued. “I’m one of the players who has most to say and when things start looking difficult, I tell the others that we can’t afford to falter, that the time has come to make sacrifices.
“Not just for ourselves, but for our families and all the people who believe in us and whom we make happy whenever we win. We know that we can do it and we know that we have to do it.”

What they feel they “can and have to do” is bring the trophy home to Nigeria. Oparanozie was part of the team that came so close to achieving that in 2010 and she believes that the near miss will help them enjoy more success in the future.

“I experienced the elation of making it through to the final in [Germany in] 2010, and I’m back now with the same objective in mind,” said the striker, whose transfer from Delta Queens to Turkish club Duvenciler Lisesi fell through in 2011, just when she was hoping to launch a new stage of her career in Europe.

“Getting through to the final showed me where I’m at and the minimum that I can achieve. I didn’t come here this year with the mindset of not getting as far this time around.”

Oparanozie continues to fly high and land on her feet. And on the rare occasions that she stumbles, she picks herself up again straight away. “I want to play in the final again,” she concluded with conviction. “But this year I don’t want to come off second-best.”

From FIFA

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Oyo no more a Pace Setter State – Olaosebikan

Erstwhile journalist turned politician, Alhaji Kehinde Olaosebikan is a leading member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Oyo State. In this interview centered on developments in Oyo State, Olaosebikan asserts that the Abiola Ajimobi administration in the State has failed in its promises and performance. Excerpts:

How would you assess the present administration in Oyo State?
It is a very difficult task. Difficult in the sense that a government is best assessed based on its vision and goals for the state. With the vision one can benchmark the governor against the set vision or match him with his colleagues to see how well, he is doing. Unfortunately, the present government in Oyo State does not have a clear cut vision. No blueprint! No agenda.

You cannot believe this, 15 months after inauguration, the governor is still engaging his predecessor. Up till now, rather than informing the world on its activities, plan and so on,  it is still talks of Akala! Akala!  That “Akala did this. Akala did not do that. We are more educated. We are older. We are more handsome. We became MD…” and all those entire unnecessary ego tripping.

Till date, the government has not even come up with anything outstanding in terms of concept not to talk of accomplishments. Imagine the hype and noise they made before the construction of their  so called “ultra modern world class motor park” on New Ife Road, commissioned as the major achievement of the administration so far. Check the motor park and compare it to the one done before it in Akure, you will be ashamed that you are from the pace setter state.

Olaosebikan

A year after the flood disaster of last year, none of the damaged bridges has been fixed. They just left the bridges virtually unattended to as if they do not mean anything to the daily activities of the  people of the areas.  Go to Apete, Ogbere, Ayegun, you will not meet more than one or two persons loitering around in the name of working on the bridges which lives of millions of Oyo State people depend on.

All what they are doing is duplicating what Governor Fashola did in his first term in office. Instead of fixing the roads and providing people with immediately needed amenities; our government is busy searching for people who did the planting of flowers for Governor Fashola in Lagos about 6 years ago.

If our governor had made time and consulted Governor Fashola, I am sure the action governor of Lagos would have advised Senator Ajimobi  to place emphasis on providing basic amenities like chalks and dusters in our almost hopeless public schools, drugs, reagents and other essentials in hospitals, water for the taps that had become dry since the last governor left, repair the bridges to link up people of Apete, Ayete, Ogbere , Oniyangi who are at  present going  through hell.

His is a case of how not to copy!  For this government, the major character or achievement one can attribute to it is in oppressive, abrasive, vindictive and heartless governance. Pouring venom, insults and outright acts of cruelty on the populace.

Do you think the performance of the administration would diminish its chances of re-election?
His pitiable performance has seriously diminished ACN’s chances of returning to government in 2015. This is known to all. The leaders of his party even up to Lagos are not happy with his abysmal performance. They are very disappointed with his meager acceptance by virtually all the sections of the state including the religious and traditional leaders and even up to his kinsmen. They are all by now expressing deep regret for putting him there.

Rather than improving on the quality of governance set since 1999, the government of the day has brought us backward, turning us to a state lacking in ingenuity. Since his first day in office, copying has become the order of the day. The government is so bereft of ideas that it is even copying very poorly, duplicating up to names.

When we told the world that the man did not have any idea, capacity or competence to generate 20,000 jobs in his first 100 days in office, as he had promised, people thought we were merely playing politics. What happened at the end of the day? Our governor was not able to generate a single job in 100 days in office.

Months after, he had to secretly creep into Osun to photocopy their youths empowerment programme. Sadly, when they brought the photocopy here, his team of “more educated people and MDs “could not get a better name. It is O YES in Osun, YES O  in Oyo. I am sure, Oyo State will soon launch its  ‘ELDERS O’ too. They have spoilt our name.

What factors do you think led to your defeat in the last round of elections- Do you believe those issues are still with you in the PDP?

We lost basically as a result of internal wrangling. A number of our leaders felt that they were not carried along sufficiently and this made them to leave the party and worked for the Action Congress of Nigeria, particularly.

Incidentally, these leaders who felt they were not treated well in PDP met a worse form of leadership in ACN. When one had expected that they would at least stayed a while with the government they helped to form, they beat a retreat to PDP in just weeks when they got to know the draconian nature of the man they put in government.

Let me say this too. You know the governor is seriously scared of conducting local government elections. He knows that the PDP people that helped him win and even real political leaders in their party are now totally against him and will not support his candidates if local government elections are held now.  If he likes, he can shift it till 2014, any time it is held , ACN will be disgraced.

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