By Tony Ubani

Agony of defeat of Super Eagles

Defeat has finally taken its toll on Nigerians. Besides turning every Nigerian into an orphan, the oneness, the bond of togetherness which has been the signature of football victory has been broken.

The Russian streets which have been brimming with sea of heads, the hotel lobbies which have been occupied by Nigerians, have all been deserted. Suddenly, loneliness has befallen the hotels occupied by Nigerians. One of the few Russians who speak English,  Dimitov, is the hardest hit by the defeat inflicted on Nigeria by Argentina.

“I feel sad that my Nigerian friends are nowhere to be seen. They are nice people who are warm and embrace people easily. Here everybody keeps to himself. But Nigerians are engaging. They greet and they make friends. Before, I used to complain of their noise. Now, I know it is not noise. It is love. I am going back to my old life of loneliness. I miss their greetings”, the waiter in the hotel complained.

The Nigerian supporters club which were united by the World Cup have all gone back to their factions.  Those who bought flight tickets and put their return journey at the end of the World Cup thinking the Super Eagles would play all the way to the final are the ones hardest hit. The cost of changing tickets are as high as buying the tickets anew.  They share in the  pain of defeat of the Eagles.

As for those of us left to see to the end of the World Cup, we still feel the pangs of defeat of the national team.  The pride, the bride has been taken away.  You smile, but you want to cry. You talk, but you want to be quiet. You pretend like you’re happy, but you are not.

Just like Imran Khan wrote: ‘’It is not defeat that destroys you, it is being demoralized by the defeat that destroys you”.

As we mourn and come to terms with our under-achieving feat in the World Cup, we take solace in the comforting words of Napoleon Hill. ‘’When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and sail once more towards your coveted goal.

A chief and Pork meat in Russia

There are traditional beliefs that forbid certain people from the consumption of pork meat. And the consumption of pork meat here in Russia is high. One of the chiefs from Nigeria(South East) was among the thousands that came to be part of the World Cup. He said that it has been a tradition for him to watch football only once in four years – the World Cup. He said that the World Cup has always been a spectacle that brings the best of footballers to exhibit their skills. The poor results of Nigeria in the World Cup has not deterred him from enjoying his passion at the World Cup.

He loves football and exhibits good knowledge of the players. It was in one of our chats that he told me that tradition forbids him from eating pork meat. I was feasting away a pork sausage that has become a special to me since arriving here. He was equally devouring his sausage made of pork apparently not knowing. I told him that most of the meat, sausages and other canned meat are pork. He delved into tradition and how his fore-fathers forbid them from eating meat. A Russian chef who understands English was invited as an arbiter to tell us whether the sausage was made with pork meat. The Chef answered in the affirmative and the Chief held on to his throat as if he was going to throw up. But on seeing eyes starring on him, the chief said that his fore-fathers  could not have meant Russian pork meat sine none of them knew or visited Russia.

‘’I see it as Russian meat. Not pork meat. We do not eat pork meat in my village and tradition forbids me from that. My brother, lets forget about traditions. This place is too far away from home”, he said and took another bite on the pork sausage on his hand.

LOVE: CALL 9401418,

THERE is love in the air. No matter how hard they try to stop them, they device new means of satisfying themselves. A member of Parliament had warned that they don’t want hearts to be broken after the World Cup. They don’t want pregnancies that would result in births. Simply put, they want only Russians to marry Russians.  But you must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong. Variety is the soul of pleasure. Telephone numbers are written bold on the roads with inscriptions ‘’if you want love, call this number. Want a taste of a Russian p…., call my number”.  And the numbers work. Most of them want fun. They want to experience the feel and touch and smell of a man outside what they are used to. And the black man is the centre of attraction. Black is beautiful, bold and strong. Russian women who have experienced it, spread the news. Language is no barrier.

 Vending machines

IF you remember the first time ATM machines were introduced in Nigeria, you would appreciate the story of the vending machines. A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, drinks, cigarettes and lottery tickets to consumers after money, a credit card, or specially designed card is inserted into the machine. When it became operational in Nigeria, we witnessed funny scenes where men spoke angrily to the machine to ‘vomit’ their money. At the Airport Junction, a man threatened to break the machine because he was debited without dispensing the cash.

Similar thing happened here when a man was seen pushing the Vending Machine to force it to bring out his change and the product.

The police arrived and listened to the man. He was not beaten as expected. He explained that he inserted 1,000 Ruble for a 55 Ruble soft drink. The machine did not dispense the soft drink and did not return his money or change. He was about man-handling the machine when Security intervened. Within a moment, the key to the machine was produced. They reset the machine and the soft drink was dispensed and the man’s cash was equally given.

Like they say; anger doesn’t solve anything, it builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.

 10 a.m and 10.p.m

These times are sacrosanct in Russia and their cities. The times are respected and adhered to.

Alcohol sells are banned from 10 p.m to 10.00 a.m. The Russian government has declared an anti-alcohol campaign and aims to halve consumption by 2020 and root out illegal production and sales. However, one in four Russians believes no measures taken to fight alcohol abuse will be effective.

But our own George Aluo has discovered that by 10 p.m. the alcohol restriction takes effect, it causes a chain of reaction which makes the prices of food items to drop. For instance, food items that cost 100 Ruble drops to 50 Ruble by 10pm.

“My brother, there is no need for you to waste your money to eat in the day time. Let us wait till after 10pm to buy food”, Aluo told us.

And true to his discovery, all food items were affected. How did you discover this? “It’s coincidental. A plate of food that I bought for 200 Ruble sold for 100 when I went to buy food after 10pm. I asked and they told me prices drop once alcohol restrictions start”, Aluo said feeling contented with his cheap