ETIM ESIN VS JAY JAY OKOCHA,NIGERIA'S FLYING EAGLES AND THE AGE-GRADE CONTROVERSY

I was already planning a write-up with the above title,wherein I intended to compare the unique skills of two of Nigeria's most gifted footballers ever - Etim John Esin and Augustine 'Jay Jay' Okocha,until I started reading the thoroughly unpalatable news of the face-off between the two over a telephone handset.Yes,believe me ,two very good friends washing their dirty linen in public over a mere telephone handset !

Of course I was concerned,and therefore took the time to get as much information on the issue,only to discover that it is nothing afterall.What's the story ? Jay Jay invited Etim to his Christmas party,and at the venue (which was Jay's house) a guest claimed to have lost his phone and immediately fingerred Etim as the prime suspect;then proceeded to search the former Nigerian international and his family thoroughly and in the full presence of the other guests including Etim's kids.Jay Jay heard of what was going on and swiftly asked 'Mr phone loser' to stop embarassing his guest,and the party continued.A few weeks later Etim got his lawyer,Festus Keyamo to threaten Jay Jay with a court case over the matter.

Now this is my candid opinion:

First,I've been following Etim's career for over two decades now,and I do not believe that Etim is a thief. Maybe I need to disclose something that many people do not know : Unlike most of our star footballers who struggled their way out of poverty,I doubt if Etim Esin has ever experienced poverty in his life.Even his travails since injury forced him into premature retirement is only relative, because people tend to compare his current situation with his lifestyle at the pinnacle of his career.

I happened to have been in Cross-River when Etim Esin came to limelight, and believe me it was not only the irresistable edikangikong and afang soups and the extraordinarily hospitable fine calabar babes that made my stay memorable.At that time Calabar Rovers were making waves across the country for their smooth,champaigne soccer and the Calaber Township Stadium was the place to be every saturday evening,especially for those of us Lagos boys who were used to the same atmosphere with Stationery Stores at the Onikan Waterfront.

Mid-field dynamo Isong Isang and left winger James Etokebe were absolutely delightful,and were soon to be joined by two new showstoppers who were to even surpass their feats as the ultimate football entertainers:These were Okon Effa (who later became very popular in lagos as John Ene Okon) and Etim Esin a secondary school student from the Boys High School,Oron. And guess what ? Etim used the visit of my darling team,Stores to boldly announce his arrival at the big stage. His biggest victim that afternoon being no less a personality that our dreaded and most dependable defender, Joe Appiah !

Sorry for that irresistable digression ! The point however is that it was a well known fact at the time that Etim was from an elitist family in Oron.His Dad - a very principled man ,if I remember correctly was a top shot in government at a stage,and his siblings were deep into serious academic pursuits here and abroad. Etim's problems originated from his extraordinary talents which brought him enormous wealth at the age of 18 or thereabout, and I do not intend to recount the story that we already know. But to summarise,I'll say he has a post-retirement weakness for booze.That notwithstanding,I've met and discussed with him personally as recent as last year, and I can say convincingly that he is a very responsible man who has taken his travails in good faith and is determined to make a success of his life after football.

On the other hand,Jay Jay,whose senior brother Emma, played for the Flying Eagles together with Etim, has impressed me with the way he has always treated Etim as a brother: Not for them, the kind of suppressed rivalry between Pele and Maradona, for instance. That is why I am highly suspicious that what happened at the Christmas party was a deliberate attempt by some envious people to create bad blood between the two friends and Nigerian soccer legends.

I will like both Etim and Jay Jay to think deeper about this incident, and bury the hatchet. Etim should stop any further activity on his court action: What is N100 million compared to human friendship? Some mutual friend or former international player should invite the two guys to lunch and get Jay Jay to apologise to Etim; and that should close the matter.

NIGERIA'S FLYING EAGLES AND THE AGE-GRADE CONTROVERSY

The performance of our Flying Eagles at the just-concluded Africa Youth Championship will be rememberred as one of the worst in history. And to put the issue in perspective,the Flying Eagles ( Nigeria's under-20 football team) has traditionally been adored by Nigerians,not just because of their numerous successes, but also because of the beautiful brand of football that they usually display.Nigeria's team to Rwanda produced neither.

I don't want to dwell on the already flogged issue concerning the competence of coach Ladan Bosso; rather, my concern is with the fact that the core of this disgraceful team is made up of players that only a couple of years ago won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for Nigeria. Remember also that just before the disaster in Rwanda the same Flying Eagles crashed miserably here at home during the WAFU Cup.So why did a collection of players who just two years ago ruled the world at the Under-17 level suddenly become so crass and incompetent? I agree that Bosso has his problems, but if the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF ) is only looking at coaching as the weakness of the team, then thay are making a big mistake.

The dismal performance of the Flying Eagles in two successive competitions clearly calls to question the true ages of the former Under-17 players in that team, and this must be addressed seriously by the NFF. The problem with using over-aged players in age-grade competitions,most espesially at the Under-17 level is that it distorts the developmental plan of the federation. The oustanding Nigerian player in Rwanda, Uchebo was not in the last Under - 17 team, and now whoever takes over the Flying Eagles must have to start hunting afresh for quality players to take to the World Cup. Yet we have a World Cup winning group of 'Under-17' players who ordinarily should have been automatically drafted into the team.

This is therefore a wake up call to Henry Nwosu and the new Under-17 team he's moulding: Please go for authentic under-17 players only. Nigeria does not have to win the Under-17 World Cup at all means ! But we need to build a team that will serve as potent foundation for the Super Eagles and The World Cup in 2014 and beyond.There are thousands of exquisite and prodigeously talented footballers in secondary schools all over Nigeria - in fact, the likes of a certain Henry Nwosu who played for St. Finbarr's College some years ago !

My advice to the NFF is that henceforth, the names of the primary and secondary schools attended by every under-17 player selected to play for the country,and years of attendance should be published for everyone to see. Any talented 'youngster' who does not have academic record should be asked to try his luck with the U-20 or U-23s.We have had enough of this charade.

CHARLES NOVIA AND MAJEK FASHEK

Today I want to write about two people I like so much: Frontline musician,Majek Fashek and talented filmmaker cum many other things,Charles Novia. I like Majek because he gave us entertainment of the highest quality,on stage and in records from the late 1980s through the entire 90s,then sufaced from nowhere to drop one of the very best albums of the 2000s - Little Patience. And that is where my affection for Charles started.

Like Aibtonia did some years back, Charles Novia saw beyond the horrible press on the artiste and took on the daring responsibility of resurrecting Majek's recording career (well,in Nigeria that is) about four years ago.It turned out to be a very successful venture from an artistic and commercial point of view, as Majek's reggae/rock/afrobeat - lased pangolo music surprisingly caught on effortlessly with the hiphop incensed youths.The only minus in the whole thing was that Novia kept promising that Majek will return to the country by November of that year to stage concerts across the country (and went ahead to further wet the fans' appetite by releasing a video compilation of live material from the US ) - a promise he never fulfilled; and to the best of my knowledge no credible excuse or even an apology was given.

It would appear that 'a lot of water has passed through the bridge' as my people would say, since then. Majek Fashek has been in Nigeria since last November, but from available reports, not at the instance of November Records (Novia's company).More significantly, from the moment he landed in Nigeria, according to press reports, Majek has been dissociating himself from the planned film on his life by Novia.Novia has also consistently responded by affirming that all is well between the two of them and that the film will go on as planned.Well and good.

My interest and concern on the matter was however aroused when I read an article on Majek by Charles Novia on saturday. Now, I do not know what Charles intended to achieve with that article: promote Majek or destroy him ? However I think articles like that do more damage than good to Majek's already severely battered image.

Let's put this in it's proper perspective: In the 1980s when Majek burst into the scene as a very lively twenty-something year old with the rest of his ghetto-bred hommies like Victor Essiet and Ras Kimono,he was obviously the most handsome and photogenic.Like Kris Okotie before him,it was difficult to assertain what really drew the large turnout of ladies to his shows - the music or the look ? Today, almost 30 years later, things have changed and Majek is a lot leaner with the wrinkles of age now very obvious. But so what ?

The legendary Fela went through exactly the same physical transformation, but that did not stop him from creating the best music of his life. Another superstar, Sunny Okosuns who dedicated his latter years to propagating the Gospel also had a similar experience. What then is the point in flogging this issue of Majek's 'new look'. Majek Fashek made his name as a musician, not some corporate exec. or model. So the question is; does he still have the music in him ? Can he still perform ?

Little Patience, a great work by all standards, showed clearly that Majek still has the music in abundance, while his recent one-man performance to honour Fela at the shrine,plus November Records' video release also proved that his thrilling stage presence is still intact. However,and most dissappointingly, Majek has been in the country for three months now, yet no major shows have been organised for him, and millions of his fans - both old and young - across the country. All we see are unnecessary write-ups like Novia's, alluding to drinking problems,spiritual problems, 'substances',olokun deity, and what have you. If this is what Novia's Majek film is going to be all about, then I'll advise that he drops the idea, otherwise Majek's kids will sue the life out of him !

And for the records, Majek Fashek has, despite his weaknesses been one of the best role-models among Nigerian artistes, or in fact Nigerian men as a whole. First he has extremely strong family value.His life has always revolved around his family : From his late mum to his wife and kids.I cannot remember ever reading or hearing any tale of Majek being involved in extramarital issues of any kind. Second, his music is entirely devoid of vulgar language or themes, but always addressing positive issues ,and from a very honest and frank position. Tracks like Jobe Lamentation and I'm Not Tired contain very deep philosophy that can only come out of a very perceptive mind.

What the likes of Charles Novia should realise is that the music of iconic artistes like Fela, Majek ,Bob Marley and Jimi Hendricks, amongst others transcend the physical and is deeply rooted in the spiritual. Except you are like them you cannot really understand what they go through emotionally - which of course sometimes manifests in wierd outward behaviour of one form or the other.Majek was born a Dada. Although he took after Bob Marley's music he is not a rastafarian: His Christian faith is easily discernible in all his albums. But there always has been something mystical about him. He is not called 'rainmaker' for nothing.In those days,when he performed Send Down The Rain, the skies obliged.This is no fiction.

But who cares really ? So long as the music continues to flow , and as sweet as the song I Am Not Afraid. The real challenge for Charles Novia and concert promoters across Nigeria is to get Majek back on stage; at Lekki beach, Ogbe Stadium , Abuja, Polo Club, wherever. Put the red gown on his back,the handcuffs, the bell........Let loose the Prisoner of Conscience ! Let the rain fall !