NAETO C NI BIG DEAL,THE ROT IN NIGERIA'S SPORTS,BIG BROTHER AFRICA 3

NAETO C NI BIG DEAL


He's cool,he's smart - his designer suits will make any corporate exec green with envy. More importantly he owns the song of the moment - 'kini big deal ?';and the album of the day - 'u know my P'.He's Naeto C.


We always knew it would take a gigantic effort to knock 9ice's 'gongo aso' off that prestigeous top spot.Big guns like Eidris Abdulkareem,Tu Face and Styl Plus have relased new songs since march,but none has given Mr.Abulore any run for his money.Naeto C just did that,with...wait for this....a rap song and album!


Despite all its associated controversies,never has a rap album managed to hit mainstream rave status in Nigeria.The likes of Freestyle,Ruggedman,Wierd MC and Mode 9 have all made impact as rappers,but still a wee bit short of that magic leap to the next level.The closest was Jimmy Jatt's album.But in 'u know my P' you find most of the ingredients that made Tu Face's debut such a massive hit.

'Ashewo' and 'kini big deal' are as commercial as any song can be,while rap fundamentalists will find 'gidi' and at least three other tracks irresistible.'E mara mma' on the other hand is vintage highlife,beautifully rederred;but what its relevance is on this album I cannot see:It only distorts the flow.That little flaw is however easily forgotten when you listen to 'I've been',a world class blues song that instantly creates a romantic feeling to the senses.


Naeto C's debut brings to Nigerian rap what MC Hammer's 'u can't touch this' did to the American rap community - opening the door a lot wider for greater acceptance and of course the big bucks.The song 'is built on a very strong melodious hook which grips the listener throughout,while the artiste kills it with such a clinical rap performance that even Jay Z will applaud;and to think I bought the CD with just N200....



THE ROT IN NIGERIA'S SPORTS


If anyone ever doubted the rotten state of sports administration in Nigeria,our performance at
the just concluded Olympic Games in China should erase such doubts once and for all.Our scorecard of 3 bronze and one silver medal is what Africa's most populous country with abundant human and natural resources could offer.What a shame!


When our sports 'super administrator' (not the Minister please) was asked after the football
final why such a poor haul,he retorted,'why not wait for the games to end;or has the paralympics
been held?' ! Very interesting!But to be fair,the guy and his colleagues have done their best,only that things have long moved beyond their generation and ideas.


Let's put the records straight:Nigeria attained the dominant place in Africa and also became a major force at world level in at least three sports since as far back as the 1980s.These sports were athetics,table tennis, and boxing.By the 1990s soccer ,weightlifting ,karate and basketball had been added to the list.We were also making steady progress in lawn tennis, volleyball,handball,swimming and badminton.Today all the afore-mentioned sports with the exception of soccer have become near extinct.Even soccer is surving only because of the motivation private 'agents' have to sell local talents to European,Asian and Middle Eastern clubsides (remember a top national goalkeeper died in Iraq or Iran some years ago while searching for a club).


There are no infrastructure,and definitely no conscious structure on ground to develop sports in the country.Rather than progressing we have been steadily retrogressing.At this point the
government has a duty to embark on a clean sweep of its Sports organ.The sports ministry needs young,learned and forthright administrators;preferrably former international sportsmen and women with hunger to achieve.A Samson Siasia kind of spirit.


Then a two-pronged plan should be articulated as follows:


Short Term - Operation Next Olympics (2008-2012,ie 4 years):


This should be restricted to those sports where some sort of structure for identifying national materials still exist,i.e soccer,athletics,basketball, and table tennis.A team of ex-international athtetes in each sport,including those with coaching credentials,should be constituted to serve as the planning and supervisory organ for the sport.Their mandate should be to scout for youths(age 16 - 24) with strong potential for world class performance in the next two years (2010).A 5-star camping village to accomodate and groom at least 100 of these athletes should be set up immediately.Apart from free feeding and training materials, a daily allowance should be paid to the selected athletes,while those in school should in addition be given full scholarship,with a clear academic/training time table worked out for them.Arrangement should be made to ensure that those playing for clubsides within or outside the country are properly intergrated with the rest of the group.


The camping should commence latest by January 2009 ,while the government should create a special fund for this purpose.It's a national duty.



Long Term (beyond 2012)


i.Build and maintain at least one multi-purpose stadium in each state capital,with facilities for our regular popular sports,i.e soccer,athletics,table tennis,basketball,swimming,boxing,weightlifting,handball,martial arts,volleyball and badminton.These should be made freely available to schools and grassroots sports bodies for competions.

ii.Establish and passionately encourage inter-school competitions (primary and secondary),and grant scholarships to the winning students.In my estimation this is the most vital of all.Kids of age 10 - 16 must have all the facilities and competitions they need to actualise and develop their talents if they are to make any meaningful progress as sportsmen and women.


iii.Retain the special camp for extraordinarily gifted athletes.The government must take over their living,schooling and training expenses up till when they attain the age of ,say 22,by which time they must have started their professional carreers.

iv.Government must encourage the private sector to invest in sports,by granting all the necessary incentives.

v.Zero tolerance for age cheating/use of overraged athletes in age-grade competitions locally and internationally.Age cheating creates serious distortions in sports planning and administration,and makes a huge mess of whatever developmental efforts on ground.

Funnily,none of what I've written above is new.The problem is always the WILL to act.Will President Yar'Adua be different?Nigerians are watching.

BIG BROTHER AFRICA 3

Why did I have to go through these hasles just to get a channel that I legimately paid for activated on my TV ? Channel 198 has always been active on my DSTV;in fact much of the Beijing Olympics was shown on that channel.Olympics ends,and a text message hits my phone.I'm required to text 'yes' if I want to watch BBA 3.What do they expect me to do - say No? When my subscription supposedly covers the entire bouquet - the good,the bad and even the ugly?

OK,I text 'yes' as requested,only to be inundated with the same text message again.I drive to Multichoice the next day for clarifications.I'm subjected to a baseless interview, and still given a form to fill.All correct ?Sorry I was wrong.I return home on time to catch the much dreaded ( which I've since discoverred means 'much loved' ) shower hour -which by the way is now strangely but very conveniently timed.Channel 198 is blank !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My babe was outraged,given the kind of high expectations that we created in our preamble gossips.She actually went back to the company herself during her office hours,only to be sent back with instructions to put the channel on and call customer service on phone for activation.All these for Big Brother !

Good news however is that we're finally watching BBA 3.More good news (well,bad news really for the critics) is that,if the first 3 days are anything to go by,then this will be the wildest and most scandal-infested BBA yet.For starters the girls in this edition are simply out of this world - wild!Yet they look stunningly beautiful and innocent from the outside.And the boys are no less crazy either.

Now I'm waiting to read from the critics of the show.They will need to explain to me if they went through all the rigours I went through above,stay awake till late in the night,switch from good ol' NTA, Silverbird, and the popular Channels TV News at 10, just to 'observe' BBA 3 and criticise!