MAPUTO 2011: Ubani’s Flicks: Jacob’s Costly Mistake

The famous Scott Adams said in ‘The Dilbert Principle’ that “mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life”. Mistakes are part of being human. And Napoleon Bonaparte also said that “an expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field”.

It’s my friend and colleague, Jacob Ajom, whose mistake in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he transited before hitting Maputo, Mozambique for the 10th All Africa Games that made me go memory lane recalling these notable quotes on mistakes. Ajom, no doubt, has paid his dues in Sports Journalism with stints in Radio, TV and the print. His golden voice on radio cannot be mistaken but he was advised to concentrate on Radio and stop appearing on TV because of his ‘handsomeness’.

He arrived Maputo with loads of Ethiopian currency, Birr, and that got me curious. “Chair, they put me in a five-star hotel and stuffed the refrigerator with drinks”, he said laughing.  Not aware that he would pay for the drinks if he drank them, he went on a drinking spree, hailing the airline for their hospitality. At the reception to check-out  the next day, they presented him with a frightening bill. He paid to avoid missing his flight to Maputo. And that accounted for the Birr that he carries about in Maputo.

Language Difficulty

Language difficulty caught up with a Nigerian Journalist the other day. He was heading to Southern Sun Hotel but due to language barrier, his driver took him to somewhere else. He was stranded. He quickly called to inform of his predicament and advised that we watch Television for missing person. Not that we would understand when it is relayed on TV but at least we would identify him.

A funny Minister

Never knew that massively-built Sports Minister, Yussuf Suleiman has a sense for humor. At the Press conference he called to talk about the activities of Team Nigeria at the on-going All Africa Games, somebody said that Nigeria should re-position their strategy in sports. The Minister smiled and said that before Nigeria can re-position, we must know their position first.

Unexpected bronze

Nobody expected Nigeria to win any medal of any colour in Canoeing. But surprisingly, Team Nigeria won bronze from the waters of Maputo. In the same Canoeing during the Kayak event, doom was averted when Team Nigeria’s boat capsized.