ETHNIC BREAK-DOWN OF CHUKWUS TEAM VS GARBON

[JACKAL]

Perhaps the same argument can be applied to the Education problem as well. Is this a problem of talent or just a matter of interest and neglect?

Jiggibaby,

....and thats why we are having this discussion !

[Abubakar]

I know you get the point I am trying to make, but you don't want to admit it. This is not about Chukwu. It's about every player getting a fair chance to compete for a chance to play for the SE. That's how Udeze, Osaze, Aghahowa and many other were discovered. They were given a chance, and they excelled!

Which was the same chance that has been afforded Ahmed Yaro Yaro, Muhammed Aliyu-Dati, Rabiu Baita, Greg Etafia and others.

Wittingly or otherwise, your thesis rests upon the unsubstantiated presumption that every Northern player is not getting a "fair chance" to excel, apparently based on nothing more than numbers. This thesis totally and summarily discounts the role of (actual or perceived) ability in a very competitive market place.

And of course it fails to explain why the Sudanese, Kenyans, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Nigeriens, Tanzanians, Malawians, etc, who have presumably not been held down by Southern Nigerian coaches (and who love football just as much as Nigerians) have not been able to take their own chances and "excel" thereto.

Gotti,
Do you know what the population of Northern Nigeria (include Kogi, Kwara and Benue) is?
Give me just an approximate figure and then compare it with the population of Eastern Nigeria (where almost all Chukwu's players come from).

Stop sounding like the bass-string of a guitar. The issue here is that not as many Northerners are given a fair chance as southerners when it comes to National selections. The fact that you can name a handful of Northerners (including Abubakar Balarabe from many decades ago), should tell you me that there are very few given the opportunity in the first place.

You need to go to primary schools in Gombe, Katsina, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kano and Sokoto to see some kids with very raw skills. Then you will forget all this your obsession with chuku, nnamdi, nna-bros, chinedu and ndubisi players.

And stop killing me with all these hereof, herewith, and thereto!!!

Buran Uba!

[1naija]

You need to go to primary schools in Gombe, Katsina, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kano and Sokoto to see some kids with very raw skills.

Let's not push it.

[ikenga]

While I am a huge fan of Garba Lawal and have always been a staunch advocate of his inclusion on our national teams, I would venture to say almost everyone agrees that Garba is a spent force and is at the twilight of his career. However, the NFA and our coaches will continue to invite him because they have no other Northern players to fill that ethnic quota.

His inclusion at this stage of his career proves what I have been criticizing about Nigeria’s team selections and our need to ethnically balance our teams at all cost. This shows that we are either deliberately excluding players from the north or doing a very poor job discovering them.

For those who are so inclined, here is the ethnic breakdown of Chukwus team Vs Gabon


IGBO
Austin Ejide (Etoile du Sahel/TUN) ..should not be on the team anymore
Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow/RUS)..We will see what all the noise is about
Celestine Babayaro (Newcastle/ENG)...we should be done with cele by now
Christian Obodo (Fiorentina/ITA)...Yujams wife
Ifeanyi Ekwueme (Aris Salonika/GR)...Chukwus love child
Nwankwo Kanu (West Bromwich Albion/ENG)....Common on !! ??
John Utaka (RC Lens/FRA)

YORUBA
Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille/FRA).. So much hype...he better perform
Seyi Olofinjana (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG)
Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev/UKR) We sill see what he is made of
Obafemi Martins (Inter/ENG)

NIGER DELTA
Vincent Enyeama (no club)
Joseph Yobo (Everton/ENG)
Ifeanyi Udeze (PAOK Salonika/GRE)
Obinna Nwaneri (Esperance/TUN) ..should be a started over Enakahire
Joseph Enakarhire (Sporting Lisbon/POR)..should not be on the team
Wilson Oruma (Sochaux/FRA)..we should be done with him by now
Austin Okocha (Bolton Wanderers/ENG)
Julius Aghahowa (Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR)
Osaze Odemwingie (Lille/FRA),
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Portsmouth/ENG)...fair weather player..he should score in this one.

NORTHERNGarba Lawal (Santa Clara/POR)

You guys must be silly!!! how could you place JayJay Okocha as not being an IBO Person??? What's wrong with You people. can somebody pls translate the word OKOCHA and tell us what it means??? Even Nduka Ugbade that i once met in Isreal spoke the IBO languge better and more fluently than myself yet they say he's not IBO. Even OLISEH whose younger bro's name Is Azubuike is still considered a non-IBO.. moreover their parents who I know one on one spoke IBO. This is senseless. The fact is that the IBO's are the lost tribe of the jews they migrated to other places in Nigeria, and still maitain their language and culture. Pls let's be realistic here OK?? Eve Keshi whose middle name is OKechukwu is still grouped on this site as a NON- IBO are there no people with common sense in this forum??? These people who geographically are in the delta area of Naija are IBOs please and only speak IBO language, though with a different dialect This response of mine is by no means intended to cause trouble or clain players but C'mon MY PEOPLE let the "TRUTH BE TOLD"

Okocha may not have been clssified Ibo but the list only said he's from Niger Delta. As for Ugbade, he speaks Yoruba just like the late Claudius Eke aka Jegede Sokoya who prolly speak better Yoruba than a lot of Yorubas on this board like Jimi. I also speak Hausa too. And do yo remember that Bisi Olatilo, late Bola Ige, Chukwuemeka Chikelue are polyglots sort of.

What should we infer from this? Does being "passport American" make anyone Americans ? Does Keshi's "bearriful" accent make him American despite living in CIV, Belgium and France b4 1994? And is Owomoyela Nigerian or German? Medeleine Albright nko? Czech or American?

We could on and on. I guess it's only in Nigeria that we give damn about these things.

I don't give a damn who come from where only that if it ought to be addressed at all, then it ought to be addressed correctly. my point doesn't just hinge on if Nduke Ugbade spoke ibo or yoruba. the fact is that the word Nduka is an Ibo name. so how could somebody bear an ibo name if he's not an Ibo. What are dumb ???

[MI5]

Solowe,

While i always disagree with you on the ethnic issue of who and who is selected to play for the SE for the first time i will have to agree with you on this one. Your points on Nothern players selection is well taken. There is talent up in the North but unfortunately they are victims of the bad practice our futbol is in right now. If the level playing field and selection process was open and fair there won't be any problem...

I remember when the selection for the U-16 Eaglets was starting up in 1984 Brodericks and Salami were told to travel to every state in Nigeria and find the best player in each state and for the final screening to be taken place in Lagos. Today we don't have that anymore. While there is some level of ethnic bias in terms of player selections, a lot has to do with who knows who and who is ready to drop some $$$$$ to have their players picked....

For those who continue to rant and talk nonsense based on theory with no facts... Players like Dahiru Sadi and others like him excelled during their times with the SE...

[Prince]

This thread has to be the funniest ever.

[bouncino]

Why are we treating this issue in isolation of the general Naija problem.
There is absolutely no scouting or development going on anywhere and in whatever field or endeavour.
The southern players have shown more resolve to excel not because of the interest of Naija but simply for there own personal good(avoiding poverty).

NFA stinks, the Naija govt and all its parasatals stink as well. It is quite unfortunate that Chukwu is being singled out for this but I sympathise with him.

Has any one wondered why in most cases our coaches rely on younger brothers of known players. They have no time to scout. Why the emphasis on English players, bcos that's the one DSTV/Multichoice shows more and you can go on and on.

Credit to Chukwu, at least I saw him at PH Liberation stadium when Dolphin thrashed Accra Hearts of Oak (great match).

[Gadfly]

Solowe,

Allah Godiya! Your write-up has giving me an impetus to dust up the one or so page interview I did with Coaches Ben Duamlong, Zakare Baraje and Amokachi of Nasarawa United on this very subject. Hopefully, I will get it done along with pictures this weekend.

Gadfly,

i am waiting for you oooo! Please come share with us !!

Solowe,

Please see the following thread:

viewtopic.php?t=31014

[Gotti]

Gotti,
Do you know what the population of Northern Nigeria (include Kogi, Kwara and Benue) is?
Give me just an approximate figure and then compare it with the population of Eastern Nigeria (where almost all Chukwu's players come from).

ABU:
And do you know the population of China? Do you know the population of India? As opposed to the population of Holland or France or Germany? Or even Surinam?

Even though I hardly take you seriously on these matters, since I am well aware that you are a FAKE 'Northerner' (ie, a Southern Nigerian masquerading as a Northerner), the latest epitomizes the farcical nature that these discussion often degenerate into. For while I bet that even the chairperson of Nigeria's National Population Commission does not know the real "population of Northern Nigeria (including Kogi, Kwara and Benue)", what exactly has population got to do with footballing ability?

[The YeyeMan]

This guy was trouble. I'll miss him.

[pajimoh]

This guy was trouble. I'll miss him.

Solowe had the capacity to start WW3 between two friends just having a beer.

Oh Solowe. Safe journey to the bosom of The Father. RIP

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

RIP, Sir Solowe

I still remember the early battles with Suya....I had to mediate in Suya vs Ogolo (too many times to recount), Suya vs "Abubakar", and Suya vs Solowe (when the CE was hacked).

[jette1]

While I am a huge fan of Garba Lawal and have always been a staunch advocate of his inclusion on our national teams, I would venture to say almost everyone agrees that Garba is a spent force and is at the twilight of his career. However, the NFA and our coaches will continue to invite him because they have no other Northern players to fill that ethnic quota.

His inclusion at this stage of his career proves what I have been criticizing about Nigeria’s team selections and our need to ethnically balance our teams at all cost. This shows that we are either deliberately excluding players from the north or doing a very poor job discovering them.

For those who are so inclined, here is the ethnic breakdown of Chukwus team Vs Gabon


IGBO
Austin Ejide (Etoile du Sahel/TUN) ..should not be on the team anymore
Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow/RUS)..We will see what all the noise is about
Celestine Babayaro (Newcastle/ENG)...we should be done with cele by now
Christian Obodo (Fiorentina/ITA)...Yujams wife
Ifeanyi Ekwueme (Aris Salonika/GR)...Chukwus love child
Nwankwo Kanu (West Bromwich Albion/ENG)....Common on !! ??
John Utaka (RC Lens/FRA)

YORUBA
Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille/FRA).. So much hype...he better perform
Seyi Olofinjana (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG)
Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev/UKR) We sill see what he is made of
Obafemi Martins (Inter/ENG)

NIGER DELTA
Vincent Enyeama (no club)
Joseph Yobo (Everton/ENG)
Ifeanyi Udeze (PAOK Salonika/GRE)
Obinna Nwaneri (Esperance/TUN) ..should be a started over Enakahire
Joseph Enakarhire (Sporting Lisbon/POR)..should not be on the team
Wilson Oruma (Sochaux/FRA)..we should be done with him by now
Austin Okocha (Bolton Wanderers/ENG)
Julius Aghahowa (Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR)
Osaze Odemwingie (Lille/FRA),
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Portsmouth/ENG)...fair weather player..he should score in this one.

NORTHERNGarba Lawal (Santa Clara/POR)

Solowe is Niger Delta an ethnic group

[truetalk]

While I am a huge fan of Garba Lawal and have always been a staunch advocate of his inclusion on our national teams, I would venture to say almost everyone agrees that Garba is a spent force and is at the twilight of his career. However, the NFA and our coaches will continue to invite him because they have no other Northern players to fill that ethnic quota.

His inclusion at this stage of his career proves what I have been criticizing about Nigeria’s team selections and our need to ethnically balance our teams at all cost. This shows that we are either deliberately excluding players from the north or doing a very poor job discovering them.

For those who are so inclined, here is the ethnic breakdown of Chukwus team Vs Gabon


IGBO
Austin Ejide (Etoile du Sahel/TUN) ..should not be on the team anymore
Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow/RUS)..We will see what all the noise is about
Celestine Babayaro (Newcastle/ENG)...we should be done with cele by now
Christian Obodo (Fiorentina/ITA)...Yujams wife
Ifeanyi Ekwueme (Aris Salonika/GR)...Chukwus love child
Nwankwo Kanu (West Bromwich Albion/ENG)....Common on !! ??
John Utaka (RC Lens/FRA)

YORUBA
Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille/FRA).. So much hype...he better perform
Seyi Olofinjana (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG)
Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev/UKR) We sill see what he is made of
Obafemi Martins (Inter/ENG)

NIGER DELTA
Vincent Enyeama (no club)
Joseph Yobo (Everton/ENG)
Ifeanyi Udeze (PAOK Salonika/GRE)
Obinna Nwaneri (Esperance/TUN) ..should be a started over Enakahire
Joseph Enakarhire (Sporting Lisbon/POR)..should not be on the team
Wilson Oruma (Sochaux/FRA)..we should be done with him by now
Austin Okocha (Bolton Wanderers/ENG)
Julius Aghahowa (Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR)
Osaze Odemwingie (Lille/FRA),
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Portsmouth/ENG)...fair weather player..he should score in this one.

NORTHERNGarba Lawal (Santa Clara/POR)

Solowe is Niger Delta an ethnic group

Oh boy!!! (Triple facepalm)

[ANC]

^lol

[ANC]

Memories..., man, i miss many CEs like Talkit

[green4life]

RIP Solowe. The beauty of this world is we all have different views. Solowe embodied that statement for me. God bless his soul.