Featured

Gara Gombe Lambasts NFF’s Technical Department For Nigeria’s Football Gloom

Published

3 years ago

January 12, 2021

Joel Ajayi

Following the recent miserable performance of the country’s national teams, the Former Chairman of Gombe State Football Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has ridiculed the technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the absence of their technical input on the teams.

He attributed the continued shameful performance of the Nigerian teams to the incompetence and inefficiency of the personnel in the technical department of the NFF, saying the Amaju Pinnick-led board is not interested in the development of the round leather game in the country and lack a blueprint.

The former NFF reform committee member said as far as the appointment of coaches for the national teams are based on political consideration instead of competence and development, Nigeria will go nowhere in the development of football.

According to him, “You will agree with me that in recent times, Nigeria’s football has been witnessing embarrassing performances from both the national teams and club level in continental competitions. These are happening because NFF has no plans to develop the game. Their main focus is on competitions because of the money involved. Well, that is a story for another day.

“I have said severally that as much NFF continues to appoint coaches based on political consideration for competitions instead of development, we are going nowhere in football development. In the last 15 years, I do not think there is a blueprint or roadmap that was produced that was sustainable or implemented by NFF. It has been trial and error.

“Now, let’s look at it one after the other, we saw what happened between the Super Eagle and Sierra Leone, we also saw what happened to Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets in WAFU tournaments in Benin and Lomé respectively, and also how our clubs except Rivers United were dumped out of continental competitions.

“I have always said that we don’t have a league, we only have teams playing amongst themselves. Look at how Al-Merrikh of Sudan dealt with Enyimba that we were hoping on for a good outing on the continent. That is, it because you can’t plant onion and expect to harvest watermelon. It is not possible; you can only get what you plant,” Gara lamented.

The renowned administrator and fearless sports critic said policy somersault and unabated corruption in NFF would not allow knowledgeable people that have a genuine interest to get involved in the development of football in Nigeria.

“About five year ago, Amaju Pinnick took Sunday Oliseh to Nigerian Stock Exchange, saying he is the face of Nigeria’s football and the Guardiola of Africa, and gave him the responsibility to produce a roadmap for Nigeria’s football but at the end, he was not allowed to implement the plan. Late Amodu Shuaibu also came up with a developmental plan but they didn’t allow him to implement it.

“We have to look at the quality of the people in the NFF technical department. Who are these people? NFF has never had a functional technical department. We have people who are knowledgeable, but they can’t come closer because of the corruption and policy somersault in NFF.

“For instance, Ladan Bosso was the coach of the U-20 national to Canada 2007 World Cup, and 13 years later, you brought the same Bosso to coach the U-20 team. Also, Fatai Amoo, coached the U-23 team at the 2003 All African Games, and 17 years after, you appoint the same Amoo to coach the U-17 team. So, are we progressing or retrogressing?” Gara asked.

Share on Facebook

Featured

FG to Harness the Digital Economy to Empower Youth

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Honourable Minister of State for Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande has disclosed that the Federal Government is making efforts to harness the potentials of the digital economy in empowering the youth and creating sustainable jobs.

He made this disclosure in Abuja when he received the participants of the Senior Executive Course 46, 2024 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State who were on study tour to the Ministry.

Mr Olawande said over 50% of the population below the age of 30 have a significant demographic advantage in the digital age.

“Our youths are tech-savvy, innovative and eager to contribute to the country’s economic growth. However, they face numerous challenges including limited access to quality education, skills training and job opportunities.

The digital economy offers a unique opportunity for Nigeria to leapfrog traditional development challenges. With the rise of e-commerce, digital payments and remote work”. “Our youths can assess global markets, skills training and job opportunities like never before,” he added.

According to the Minister, challenges hindering the growth of the digital economy in Nigeria must be addressed.
He explained that to overcome the challenges, the Ministry has implemented initiatives such as digital skills training programs for youths, focusing on areas like software development, data analytics and digital marketing especially in the NYSC.

This, he disclosed is alongside partnering with Galaxy Back Bone to improve infrastructure, Internet connectivity and alternative electricity supply as well as funding opportunities such as grants, loans and venture capital for startups of small businesses with launching of the National Youth Investment Fund.

The Honourable Minister who hinted that the Ministry’ s goal is to create an ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for youth stated: ” We recognise that sustainable job creation is critical to Nigeria ‘s economic growth and stability”

”I urge you all to join us in this journey to harness the potential of the digital economy for youth empowerment and sustainable job creation in Nigeria.”, he added.

Mr Olawande further said that the opportunities and challenges underscore the need for a collaborative effort from all stakeholders to harness the potential of the digital economy for sustainable development.

The Minister who observed that there is a gap between the Government and the young people expressed his heartfelt desire for the Youths of the nation to feel the Government. He opined that the country has the most intelligent youths in the world.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation from NIPSS, Barrister Nima Salman Mann, mni said they are in the Ministry to research, proffer solutions, recommendations and strategies to help Government chart its course for the the year, with the theme : ‘Digital Economy, Youth Empowerment and Sustainable Job Creation in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities’.

.She also added that Ministry of Youth Development is very germane to this year’s theme .” We are with the Ministry of Youth to listen to what you are doing to help the youth, how you are doing it, strategic plans and way forward as well as how we can use the digital economy to chart the goal for sustainable job creation,” she concluded.

Share on Facebook