Giwa versus Pinnick: Akinwumi pleads for objective
reportage
By Ayo Ademokoya
The Vice Chairman of Nigerian Football Federation
(NFF) Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi has pleaded with the Nigerian Press to be
objective in their various reportage on the ongoing leadership crisis
bedeviling the federation and urged them to be a true watchdog of the society.
Barrister Akinwunmi who doubles as the Lagos State
Football Association boss who was a guest of Oyo state Sports Writers
Association hot seat at the weekend held at the Obafemi Awolowo stadium Ibadan also
vowed to resigned his appointment as the vice chairman of the Federation
if Giwa could prove his case as he spoke
extensively on other issues of hiring the new coach for the Super Eagles,
grassroots sports development and women football ,age cheats sponsorship and marketing of football in the
country as he affirms that the
Federation needs more hands in the Technical Department to assist in the
enormous task of discovering talents and move Nigeria’s national teams forward
at the session.
On Giwa
Barister said “ I have said I will not comment on Giwa issue but for
crying out loud, I have been a practicing lawyer for about 30years now and I
have never seen anything as bizarre as what Chris Giwa is doing. I know the
proceeding of getting an injunction against somebody and it baffles me whether
only the city of Jos where Giwa got his injunction from is the only court in
Nigeria.
“What pains me most was the way and manner some
journalists report the imbroglio and I
want to plead with them to be more objective. Some of them were at the so
called Giwa’s election and they handed to me the tape of Giwa’s convention testifying
what happened there was a sham . Most of these journalists were at our
convention and they recorded and registered each and every State Football
Association Chairman and their secretary one after the other to ascertain the
authenticity of our convention but I’m
shocked that none of these guys has come out boldly to clarify that what Giwa
is doing is wrong. I just want to plead with the gentlemen of the press who are
the watchdog of the society to please be more objective with information
dissemination especially concerning this Giwa issue as I am ready to relinquish
my position as the vice chairman of the Federation if Giwa could prove his case
“
On the issue of hiring the coach for the Super
Eagle, Barrister Akinwunmi denied the rumour that Former Paris Saint Germain ,French
national team defender and coach of Oman, Cameroon Paul le Guen has been hired to tutor the
Nigerian Super Eagles and reiterated that funding is a major determining factor
in choosing whether the Super Eagles coach is would be a foreigner or not
“You see many people often tell us to go and meet
the corporate bodies to sponsor this or that forgetting that this is herculean
considering the present situation of the country. Nigerians are always very
divided about the choice of who to coach the Super Eagles whether foreign or
local and I'm sure the federation at the appropriate time would announce who
should tutor us to the Russia 2018 world cup. But I must confess to you that
Salisu Yusuf is a very good coach and Im sure he would be part of other technical crew in one capacity of the other.
On grassroots football development, Barrister Seyi
Akinwunmi said it is the best the nation can get to the promised land on time
and that why the federation is not taking age group completion with levity.
We recently concluded national under 13 competition
held in Ondo state recently while Under 15 football completion was held in Ogun
state as a way of discovering talent for our age group national team.
I was shocked when I saw more than 5,000 players
coming out for the under17 national team screening in Abuja recently .
Some of
them are apparently over aged and we resolve that schools sports where we can
determine the authenticity of every child identity to a large extent is the
solution to age cheat in our football.
The Lagos FA boss did not forget to mention the
women football in the country as he and admitted that its true the federation
is not doing enough in that are but gradually the federation will get there.
“ You see I am an ardent fan of female football and
there president of Female football at
the NFF would attest to it that how I usually trouble her about the development
of the game in the country.
Unfortunately there are many issue confronting
female football in the country and funding too is a major factor but I strongly
believe that is the success from the male football that will fund their female
counterpart. Other factors militating against the growth of the game in the
country are various vices such as lesbianism and coaches taking advantage of
this girls. Female football is a little bit complicated but I must tell you we
will get there.
Lagos State government yesterday warned that it is set to visit the
activities of land grabbers, also known as Omo-onile, in the state with
full wrath of the law.
The warning was delivered by the government through the state
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem who
said the state is ready to apply the full wrath of the law on anybody
caught forcibly taking another person’s land in the state. Inaugurating a
five-man Special Task Force to curb the criminal activities of land
grabbers, the government said it will henceforth enforce the state
government rights over land in Lagos and to also work with all security
agencies to implement state government and private property rights in
the state. The terms of reference of the committee, include: “to reduce
to a barest minimum the activities of persons or corporate entities who
use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity
from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property acquired
through state government or private transactions. Beside the committee
is: “to coordinate the efforts of the various agencies of government
charged with enforcing the state government rights over land in Lagos
and to work with all security agencies to ensure enforcement of state
government and private property rights in Lagos State”. Kazeem explained
that the state government’s decision to set up the task force is in
realisation that in recent years, “the land grabbers have caused havoc
and unrest in different parts of the state by dispossessing legitimate
land owners of their properties, thereby stifling commercial activities
in the state. “It is therefore important that the state government not
only identifies the effects of the problems being perpetrated by these
unscrupulous elements on commercial activities and peace of the
citizenry but also find lasting solutions to the menace”, he noted.
Beside the commissioner said the task force “was to protect investors
and maintain law and order” adding, “this by implication will encourage
the verification of legal claims through litigation rather than
resorting to violence”. He said that the State Assembly is about passing
a law that will exclusively deal with the activities of the land
grabbers and prescribe appropriate stiff penalty for offenders.
