posted
Congratulations to Chukwu and his team. They must remain focused in order to beat Tunisia at home next wednesday.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged
___________________ The only solution is to divide BiafraNigeria. If not now, then when? If not us, then who? Posts: 173 | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
I am monstrously thrilled by the wonders of the Sup and the true grit of Christian Chukwu. One aspect of this victory is an eye opening that Biafra/nigeria do not have to hire foreign expects for technical know how. The resources is within and gotta be tapped. kudos to Chukwu and the boys.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1739 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
At the risk of damping the celebration of what was a great accomplishment, please read between the line of this article.
This reporter "flew" pass the whole of Igboland from Yoruba to Hausa without observing any celerants in the land that produced those that finaly brought victory!
Is it by accident that no God's country is mentioned in this article..read on.
Nigerians celebrate as Obasanjo salutes Eagles From Bode Ayodele, (Monastir, Tunisia), Olukayode Thomas (Lagos), Mike Chuka Nnabuife, Mike Osunde (Benin), Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Amechi Akpan; Eno-Abasi Sunday (Calabar) and Seun Adeoye (Osogbo) EKUNDAYO Lawal, a teetotaller, was in the clouds immediately central referee Mohammed Guezzaz blew the final whistle for the quarter-final match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun.
He ordered a bottle of beer, which he almost finished in one long guzzle and ordered the bar man to close sale for the day to serve everybody present on his account.
But the beneficiaries were unaware of the gesture: They were also in a different world, a world of wild jubilation.
Lawal was not alone in the display of joy as Nigerians thronged the streets of Lagos, Kaduna, Ilorin, Calabar , and indeed almost all major towns, to celebrate the victory that had been long in coming.
President Olusegun Obasanjo last night held telephone conversation with the victorious team in Tunisia at about 8.50p.m.
He spoke for about 15 minutes. The players were assembled in Room 429 of the NFA Secretary General Taiwo Ogunjobi, in his Kuriat Palace hotel where the team was camped. The football association's chairman, Ibrahim Galadima, was also in attendance.
The President, who received a telephone call from the chairman and secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) alongside Austin "Jay Jay" Okocha as the programme was on, told them that Nigerians were still celebrating.
He told the victorious Eagles: "You have done us proud. It is a wonderful thing. You are doing it. I am looking forward to your bringing the cup home".
To Okocha the President said: "I was lifting my leg as you were playing. I probably scored many empty goals. The determination you showed us is encouraging. Tell everyone that we are celebrating. The other two matches will be won as you won this one".
Responding, Okocha said: "By the grace of God, we will bring back this cup".
The President added: "I believe that the greatest honour you can do for your country is to win for your country. I also think the best thing your country can do for you is to put you in a position to win laurels for it."
Former Eagles star, Samson Siasia, who was a part of the victorious 1994 team, arrived in Tunisia from Nigeria yesterday. He expressed joy at the victory, saying that his presence was to lend whatever help he could to the team.
"At last, the jinx is broken, we have beaten the Indomitable Lions, we have shown that the Lions can be beaten, the jinx is broken," Lawal said.
For him, yesterday's 2-1 spanking of Cameroun by Nigeria, and the orgy of celebration that followed, was a personal victory. He had told millions of Nigerians in a television programme that the Eagles would win by 3-0, but not only did viewers think he was unrealistic, his co-presenters told him so, live on the programme.
But those who thought he was mad were not entirely wrong. Each time Nigeria met Cameroun in Nation's Cup finals, the neighbouring country always came out victorious. First, was in Cote d'Ivore, "Abidjan '84"; the Morocco, Maroc '88 and; then Nigeria/Ghana 2000.
All night on Friday, many churches had as part of their prayer points a victory wish for the Eagles. For instance, football fans who attended the monthly Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Holy Ghost Service on Friday offered prayers for the national team. The situation was not different in many churches yesterday.
Immediately Guezzaz blew the final whistle, the whole of Lagos was thrown to celebration. Commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada and motorists drove at neck breaking speed in celebration. Most drinking places were filled to the brim.
For Banjo Oladapo, the Secretary General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, God "is truly a Nigerian. He said: "God has really answered our prayers," adding that President Obasanjo's contribution to the success should also not be forgotten.
His words: "I believe our recent success in sports could be attributed to the aura of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He really motivated us and supported us financially, we went ahead and won the All African Games for the fist time since 1965. Under him, we broke the Africa Champions league jinx."
For former sports minister Air Commodore Emeka Omeruah, Nigeria should give glory to God for the victory. "At this stage, now that we have broken the jinx, the Eagles will go all the way," he said.
The two-time sports minister and former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Authority (NFA) added: "The kind of mood we are now was the mood we were when we beat Brazil at the Olympics."
Omeruah urged the government and the NFA to give the players all they need to bring the cup back to Nigeria.
In Surulere and Itire, Lagos suburbs, strangers would assume there was a street carnival even as there was skeletal traffic on the streets.
Immediately the match ended, thousands of Nigerian youths trooped into the streets chanting songs of praise for the Super Eagles.
At Ijeshatedo area of Surulere some tradesmen holding a party around Ijesha Road abandoned the event for the match. Once the football encounter ended, a frenzy engaged all the major roads.
Commercial motorcycle riders (popularly called Okada men thrilled with acrobatic displays as they sped through the streets, blaring their horns and beaming full lights. Some of them had about four persons riding on one bike.
Benin, the Edo State capital , also came alive yesterday to celebrate the Eagles victory.
Football fans, with their eyes glued to their television sets as the match progressed, began to troop out as soon as the match ended.
They shouted and patted one another on the back in the euphoria over the victory and the sweet Nigerian revenge against the Camerounian team.
"We are on course," said one fan on Ugbafue Street.
"There is every possibility we may win this cup again in Tunisia, having last won it in 1994. If anything, Cameroun has fallen, so who are the others remaining?" he asked.
In Calabar, thousands of youths poured into the streets to celebrate the victory.
A unique feature of the celebration in the metropolis was that the were street parties along major roads with one of such events taking place close to the Consulate of the Republic of Cameroun along Marian Road.
Some Cameroun's nationals spotted at the Consulate wore long faces and parried all forms of advances by The Guardian.
During the game, the streets of Calabar were deserted, but as soon as the referee blew the last whistle at 3.50 p.m., the youths poured into the streets and gathered 'Converts' as they drummed along.
Abuja, the nation's capital was not left out in the celebration as the residents of the city trooped to the streets to celebrate.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who went round the metropolis reported that no sooner had the match ended than jubilant youths took to streets in Garki and Wuse districts to celebrate. Many of the celebrators ended up in beer joints where drinks were easily passed around.
In Kaduna , immediately the final whistle was blown, the residents who had stood glued to their television sets, suddenly besieged the streets chanting victory songs.
The residents, mainly youths forgot their differences, mobilised other people they met on their way to jubilate round major streets in the metropolis. Some of the youths carried Nigeria's flags and the group photographs of the Super Eagles players, as they sang along the city.
In Osogbo, the Osun State capital , Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola joined millions of residents to celebrate the victory.
Besides, youths in their hundreds stormed major streets in Osogbo, the state capital singing various songs to celebrate the victory of the Super Eagles.
Oyinlola told The Guardian that with yesterday's performance of the Nigeria representative, the nation's cup "is as good as already in our country."
He commended the Eagles players and Okocha for their brilliant performance on the field of play saying "they have brought joy to the faces of Nigerians today."
If they had their way, Okocha would become another Babayaro or Yakubu!
___________________ Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom Posts: 96 | From: USA | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged
MONASTIR, Tunisia, Feb 9 (Reuters) - BiafraNigeria coach Christian Chukwu believes team could make a serious challenge for the World Cup in 2006.
African football singularly failed to deliver on predictions from the likes of Pele and Stanley Matthews that it would produce a world champion side by the end of last century.
Chukwu said on Monday that Nigeria, who booked their place in the African Nations Cup semi-finals with Sunday's 2-1 win over holders Cameroon, were turning themselves into contenders for Germany in 2006.
'Right now, we are not yet there but we are making progress towards the goal,' Chukwu said. 'Give us two more years and this is a team that can challenge for the World Cup title.'
Nigeria came from behind to win 2-1 in Monastir on Sunday, their first win over their southern neighbours since the third place play-off match at the 1992 Nations Cup finals in Senegal.
'Beating Cameroon means we have broken a jinx,' he said. 'They have never been a better team than us but we have always struggled against them in the past.
'They have always been beatable but somehow in the big matches they have always had the upper hand over Nigeria. Everyone is so happy with the win because we have trying to rebuild this team for some time now.
'Only Jay-Jay Okocha and Kanu are from the older generation and have been fantastic in helping mould this new group. We are building a team here that can make a name for Nigeria and achieve something on the world stage.'
Nigeria have been to the last three World Cup finals and have twice reached the second round but never the quarter-finals - a feat that only two African nations have ever achieved.
They face hosts Tunisia at Rades in their semi-final on Wednesday.
SInce you wanna go there, the actual score was 5-4 Tunisia. All of the Igbo boys made their penalties. OBJ should not have "blessed"(cursed) the team. Everytime he "blesses" the Eagles, they loose that game. That shows you that the man is bad luck. In 2000, the team was doing well until OBJ decided to "bless" them before the finals against Camerron, and they lost. During the world Cup, he again "blessed" them and wished they make it to the i/4 finals, instead, they lost all their games and was a total disgrace, thanks to you know who. He also "blessed" the 2002 nations cup semi final team and they also crashed out. The man is bad news. Look at Nigerian economy. He has ruined it with the help of his yoroba assiatants.
posted
The sore fact is that the Nigerian side met a more determined, better-coached,classy, and better-motivated side in the Eagles of Tunisia. There is only so much one can achieve with individual skill and luck, especially in a team sport such as football. When time came to exhibit technical know-how, the boys became flat-footed. My take is that Chukwu has outlived his usefulness to the NFA and should retire to his village. Once again, the Igbo nation just missed a chance to thumb its nose at other Nigerians in a but-i-told-you-so fashion as is its stock in trade. Actually, for once in this lifetime of following Nigerian soccer, yours truly actually sat by the TV and wished and prayed that the Eagles record a loss. What a shame on all those who saw in the Eagles, a golden opportunity to flaunt their myopic opinions about the hegemony of their tribe!!.
___________________ This war of attrition on the Igbo must end now! Posts: 441 | From: california, US | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
quote:PS: I shall be opening another thread to debate AD-dy on the cultures of the Igbo Nation Vs the Yoroba Emirate. lET'S NOT DISTRACT THIS THREAD AND DIMINISH THE MERCURIAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHAIMAN CHUKWU. ...Ohafia Udemezue
I hope we will not have to wait forever like the first time (we remember!).
___________________ This war of attrition on the Igbo must end now! Posts: 441 | From: california, US | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
Isn’t it rather surprising that YOU, who have on several occasions repudiated people for ascribing to the whole a quality found in the parts should now be caught doing the same? Whither the precautionary stances that you have adopted elsewhere when the Yorubas have been collectively chastised?
Soccer has been one of the few things (if not the only) that has united Nigerians across the board. The Super Eagles have NEVER been composed entirely of people of one ethnic group. I was amongst the people that did not think that these Super Eagles have gotten the required team spirit and poise to be ultimate champions. I said so even before the tournament began. However, there has been some improvement when compared to the team that went to the 2002 World Cup. With a little more dedication and hard work, this young Super Eagles team would find their form.
Secondly, one cannot minimize the fact that the Tunisians were more determined to win this game. This is their third time hosting the cup, and with a vastly improved team, they are poised to win it for fatherland for the first time. They have their work cut out against fellow North Africans (Morocco) though, because the over 20,000 screaming North African supporters would be really divided to some extent. Morocco has been the best team in this tournament in my opinion and with the final in another neighboring country they could very well win it all! If you must know, the cheers and jeers of the ravening crowd can do things to the psyche of the players on the field. Think about the deliberate or incidental mistake of playing some foreign anthem when it was the Super Eagles’ turn to recite the national anthem. Think about the booing that followed, and ask yourself (in your post-game analysis mode), if such a seemingly insignificant turn of events did not negatively impact the Eagles.
It is “refreshing” to learn that there are some that would actively wish their country ill (the same country they try so vainly to defend), just so they can massage their feelings of hate and spite on account of the postings of some web contributors. Talk about “cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face”!
I bet you have your joy and satisfaction now that “the Igbo Nation just missed a chance to thumb its nose at other Nigerians” but call your friends and relatives in Nigeria or elsewhere to see how disappointed and heavy-hearted they are. Ask the Yoruba monomaniacal president of Nigeria how he feels. The temporary happiness that might have flooded the hearts of countless Nigerians thus enabling them to temporarily forget their plethora of woes on account of Obasanjo’s brutal dictatorship has now been dammed because the Eagles did not win this cup. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the ever-vindictive goon might think that this was another calculated attempt by Igbos to deny his blind administration any legitimate happiness, hence do not be surprised if tomorrow you hear that Chairman Chukwu has been replaced! Also, the purported assistance that Obasanjo was expected to lend to Okocha in recovering the money he lost in a Nigerian bank remains to be seen. I do not want to preempt the process, but something tells me that with the failure to win the cup, this bumbling unfaithful president cannot and should not be expected to deliver on his promise. I’d like to be proven wrong!
Addy, so go ahead and rejoice that Nigeria lost. The fact remains that the majority of Nigerians that do not visit or contribute to this forum are grief-stricken at the Eagles’ loss. If your happiness is coming at the expense of the people that contribute to this forum, then perhaps you ought to remember that most of these people do not really give a hoot how the Super Eagles performed in the final analysis because they are somewhat removed from the bitterness of the defeat. Secondly, you would do well to remember that these same people might never want anything positive recorded in the administration of Obasanjo, the YORUBA president of Nigeria.
posted
For anyone who understands the game of soccer[football], knows that you do not coach or teach players how to kick a penalty kick. Any 6 year old who plays soccer knows that your aim is to kick the ball away from the keeper and make a score. I believe thats why they call it...a woman's goal because it is cheap and easy. Addy should know better, that is if he understands the game of sport. Christian Chukwu did his maximum best but one player goofed.
Hail Biafra
[ February 13, 2004, 01:17 AM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1739 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
Quote: ---------------------- There is only so much one can achieve with individual skill and luck, especially in a team sport such as football...When time came to exhibit technical know-how, the boys became flat-footed.--Addy. -----------------------
Sad loser. So you are jealous because NO Nigerian or indeed African player can beat the maradonic moves of Jay Jay Okocha nor that of Kanu Nwankwo who happen to be Igbos? Whine as much as you can, the truth is that those folks are not only a household name in Africa but around the world! Beside, they got there by combination of cheer luck, hard work and ofcourse IGBO INGENUITY.
Since the essence of all your input herein, like those before it is to deny the Igbo coach and players their dues, it might interest you then to know that it was NOT an Igbo fellow, rather it was a half-breed Nigerian, born of Ishan father and Russian mother by name PETER ODEMGHWIGIE that went "flat-footed" by missing the last penatly shootout that sent the Nigerian side parking. Now go figure!
Quote: -------------------------- My take is that Chukwu has outlived his usefulness to the NFA and should retire to his village. ---Addy. --------------------------
You are BIASED. The lastest news is that Chukwu's team just dismissed the Malian side on 2-1 aggregate. So it's only a die-hard ethnocentric like you who would discribe a Coach who coached a team (the Nigerian team) that finished THIRD in a tournament with 24 participating countries as someone who has "outlived his usefulness". Before you start comparing Chukwu to the juju priest Onigbinde, you should realize that there were teams like the Cameronian side which is coached by a westerner, but inspite of that, they also met their WATALOO in the hands of Chukwu's side. So, whenever you remove your tribe-rimmed google, you and people like you will give Chukwu the CREDIT he DESERVES.
Quote: -------------------------- What a shame on all those who saw in the Eagles, a golden opportunity to flaunt their myopic opinions about the hegemony of their tribe!!---Addy --------------------------
A case of a man beaten to his game shedding crocodile tears. If I may ask, which Nigerian nation is the worst at flaunting their tribal hegemony at other Nigerians more than the Yoruba nation? If I should reframe the question, could you tell us which Nigerian nation can NEVER live or work with others AS A TEAM?
All, NIGERIA 2 - MALI 1. with that result Nigeria is finally placed at THIRD place in the 24th African Cup of Nations. Who would then sincerely say that Chukwu and his boys has not delivered?
Posts: 997 | From: Germany | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
If that team members were all of Igbo blood, that cup would have returned to Biafra. The pride of the black man was at stake. But we know the chauvinist/pompous Yoruba in particular will sell out to the West/foreigner just so he can feel "shofisticated and best educated."
[ February 13, 2004, 05:50 PM: Message edited by: Amadi O. ]
___________________ achieve Biafra and show the difference Posts: 646 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
Despite his rants here on this forum, it took this thread to understand clearly this guy Addy for what he really is. Chukwu did extremely well with the very limited options he had, thanks to the impositions from Ogunjobi(sports minister)a yoruba. Prior to the competition, chukwu's list was pruned and ridiculous additions were made by the NFA(nigeria football association or no future ambition). Chukwu had no other option but to mold this team around Kanu and Okocha. The only yoruba person in the team, Olofinjana was the weak link. The equalizing Tunisian goal in the semi-final match came from the penalty kick caused by Olofinjana. This fellow, Olofinjana took the place of Christian Obodo, an Igbo boy who plays in the Serie A italy for perujia. Needless to say that the Serie A is a much more advanced league than where Olofinjana plys his trade. The simple fact is that they sacrificed exellence on the alter of mediocrity. Biafranigeria sports ministry was uncormfortable that if they field the best of biafranigeria players, at least 90 percent will be Igbo. Also, another Igbo boy Uche Kalu(a very good player)was dropped by the sports minister and his cronies. The only yoruba who could make this particular team is a certain Obafemi Martins but in a typical yoruba fashon, he refused to honor the invitation extended to him by Chukwu.
posted
Nwa-Aro, You always amaze me by your half and half understanding of pertinent issues. Was there ever a need for penalties in the first place?
quote:All, NIGERIA 2 - MALI 1. with that result Nigeria is finally placed at THIRD place in the 24th African Cup of Nations. Who would then sincerely say that Chukwu and his boys has not delivered? .. Nwa-Aro
Most Definitely, who says he hasn't delivered? Now we can fully appreciate the much-taunted standards of the moribund biafran nation.
Mr Ogbunigwe, You must be a poor reader of people. That it took you this long to come to terms with my brief on this messageboard speaks volumes. We are by now used to the plethora of excuses that your ilk are wont to come up with each time their imperiousness is struck down by the forces of reality. How i only wish you will quit hallucinating and face the reality. At the beginning of the game or thereabout, biafran juggernauts on the board gave it all to the Eagles because in their opinion, we now have the perfect situation where the head coach, the team captain and 90% of the cast members are descendants of Okonkwo. I guess you guys forgot to include the venerable Odumegwu Ojukwu in the supporters' club list, to spoil what would have been a showcase of the best of biafran "technology" on the fields of Monastir. Instead of looking for scapegoats, you guys just need to zip up and find the quiet to massage your bruised overblown egos. Ciao!
___________________ This war of attrition on the Igbo must end now! Posts: 441 | From: california, US | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
"Was there ever a need for penalties in the first place?---Addy. ----------------------------------
The more you talk the more you ring yourself in. Every follower of the game of football will agree with Nwa Aro that penalty kicks have been used to win or lose important matches.
Except you are now confirming what some are now saying that Chuckwu was forced to sidelene Kanu Nwankwo in place of that Edo chap who stopped Nigeria from getting to the final and surely to lifting the cup JUST TO FRUSTRATE CHUKWU. Those who hold this view may not be far from the truth because I cant undertand why Kanu was sidelined in that all important match and after watching the accuracy at which Kanu score penalties in both club and country engagements (he did many at the Olympics where Nigeria took gold) I really dont see Kanu Nwankwo playing that ball into the waiting hands of the Tunisian goalkeeper as that confused and INEXPERIENCED half-breed Edo kid did.
All, Meanwhile, those who are supposed to know say Chukwu "DID WEll" with totally unknown players and are throwing their SUPPORT behind the man addy said should "retire to his village".
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Cry]](graemlins/pi_cry.gif)
