By Paul Bassey
I doff my hat for technology. For advancement in communication science. It is that technology that made it possible for me to get out of Nigeria on Wednesday, destination Lubumbashi, via South Africa.

The same technology that followed me and has reminded me of the woe I left behind and the hope of a greater tomorrow, football wise. TV5 is a French TV station whose programme, Afro Goals Thursday night did a detailed review of the African qualifiers of South Africa 2010, bemoaned Nigeria’s chances and ended with the MTN-AIT Awards and how Osaze got the footballer of the year award.

It is also that technology that made me, even here, French speaking country, to watch Thomas Mlambo and his Soccer Africa colleagues also take their own look at the African qualifiers, quote NFF President Lulu as saying he “thanks God” for revealing to him that “Siasia is not the coach for the Super Eagles.” Don’t laugh.

The date is Friday, October 15, 2009. The time is 7am here in Lubumbashi, thanks to the technology that has made me wake up and put this column together for onward transmission to Sports Vanguard in Nigeria.

Needless to say that that I am here to ensure the perfect organisation of the second leg semi-final match of the CAF Champions League between Tout Puissant  (Almighty) Mazembe of Congo DR and El Hilal of Sudan.

If you remember that the first leg ended 5-2 advantage Mazembe in Sudan, then you have every reason to believe that the host will get to the final. Modesty is the word here.

The club officials tell you until the match is played on Sunday, celebration is on hold. They also quickly add that no club has beaten the Crocodiles here.

However, when Heartland arrive for the second leg final  (if TP win that is) they will encounter a different stadium from the one they played in during the group stage. The federation and the club have embarked on a massive reconstruction that will create parking lots for the VIP.

Also, a VIP rest area has been constructed near the official tribune while the press gallery has been enlarged. The imposing Stade Omnisports de la Kenya is also wearing a new look as paint has been splashed all over the edifice.

As General Coordinator my first point of call on hitting Lubumbashi was the stadium and coming from the MTN-Globacom background, I was amazed at what I saw. In contrast to match venues back home in Nigeria, the Stade Omnisports is totally oversubscribed with pitch panels.

Not only oversubscribed but everyone is invited to the feast of football. An official of the club, Desiree Kabulo told me that there is nothing like exclusivity. You are either in or you are out.

Three beers, Brasimba, Simba and Tembo have their pitch panels here. Two soft drinks, Djino Cola and Coca Cola are here. Then there is Moneygram and Mastercard.
Add to this Cowbell, Vodacom, Freshtech, Germoil, Kodac, Iveco, Yamaha, Chemaf (whatever this is) Djino Orange, King Tyres and you have a stadium that portrays the ambience needed for a football match, not the drab and monotonous panels we have back home.

Whereas Heartland was founded in 1976, TP Mazembe came into existence as far back as 1939! Before Heartland was conceived by Imo State Government, but later acquired by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, TP had won the Champions League in 1967 and 1968 and the Cup Winners Cup in 1980.

Since then, the club has been struggling until they returned as national champions in 2000, went into another lull and came back fully in 2006 and 2007.

So much for the match. I did mention that while here, the foreign media talked about the award won by Osaze and I felt proud to belong to the pioneering group of the MTN-AIT Awards. Let it be said however that even before I left Nigeria, there were a couple of reactions on the award.

The very first one came from Emeka Onwuka in London. In a text he sent while the show was on, he disagreed with some of the winners. There were those who thought the awards were great and looked forward to next year.

Let me quickly say that if there was no reaction or disagreement as regards the winners, I would have been shocked especially in the setting that is Nigeria.

The award panel as constituted, recommends teams and individuals for the awards and that is where its work ends. The nominations are then thrown open to Nigerians who DECIDE WHO WINS, BY THEIR VOTES. I have come across a lot of people who believe they should have won one thing or another, yet, did not as much as vote even for themselves.

Wish I could have a platform for asking the thousands of Nigerians who participated, why they voted for this or that person. Most voters could be subjective, others emotional yet you had to vote to win and that was not in our hands.

What was in our hands, however, was the organisation of the night and it was definitely not perfect. The visuals came in spasms and the award presenters were not properly schooled yet for a pioneering effort this was a great show.

What tripped me the most was the presence, the overwhelming presence of football people on the night. Never in five years, outside the stadium, have I met so many football people under one roof. The young, the old and the not so old. Among them Victor Ikpeba, Jay Jay Okocha, Christian Chukwu, Mutiu Adepoju, Samson Siasia, Osaze Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama……..

They all came to honour a night of football excellence presided over by Rivers State governor the Honourable Amechi who wondered why Nigerians cannot support their teams the way he and others support Arsenal, FOR LIFE.

Then came the moving train, the enigmatic chairman of the Premier League and Vice President of the NFF and his board, come to collect an award ironically from MTN for a good work done with the Globacom League, come to deliver a sermon on the need to support the domestic game under thick or thin.

The award night was deemed successful by AIT Channel Manager Aisha Falode who prayed for an Eagles victory to buoy up the awards. “Paul, the Eagles have to win, primarily to sustain our World Cup qualification chances and also to ignite interest in the award.

If they lose, God forbid, people will not come for the award” God answered Aisha’s prayers, the Eagles won, (victory na victory) and the award night was boosted with the presence of Super Eagles players and members of the Presidential Task Force on Eagles qualification.

I have not forgotten sports bosses Olapade of Ogun State and Pinnick Amaju of Delta, South African ambassador to Nigeria, Chief Onigbinde, Coach Laloko, Fabio Lanipekun, Austin Akosa……

What about the presence of the awardees themselves, a clear departure from similar awards where recipients are nowhere to be found.

I end this piece by pouring a million encomiums on Ehi Braimah and his colleagues at Neo Media for midwifing what will become the greatest football award in Nigeria yet.

Working closely with Ehi, I appreciate first hand the challenges he went through in seeing this off and I am happy for him and for football, the ultimate winner.

The funny side of life English is a crazy language, consider the following: there is neither egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple or pine in pineapple; English muffins weren’t invented in England, or French fries in france. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet are meat.

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that: quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. Moreover, why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing? Grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham.

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?

Finally, if vegetarians eat vegetables what does humanitarians eat?

For Mfon

I dedicate this week’s column to my baby Mfon who last Wednesday was matriculated into Redeemers University to read Mass Communications. Unfortunately Daddy could not make it to the grounds. Lots of love baby. Always.

See you next week.