Last minute changes in space allocation killed this column last week. I serve it today. But let me briefly touch on two things that happened after that.

Last week I pleaded with Stephen Keshi to have a rethink about the conditions he announced before any member of the Golden Eaglets can be invited to the Super Eagles.

We have had players who were sensational in the junior teams especially the Under 17 team but who never progressed to the senior team.

I did not know that I would be called upon to pray. Before this time I said the Lord’s prayer, Holy Mary, Glory Be God and went on in my meditation to pray for the family that has shown me great love and which was leading us in prayer.

In the said article that my friend Sadiq is condemning in his attempted defence for Sani Ndanusa I summarily wrote that tennis in Nigeria has suffered tremendously since Ndanusa assumed office as the President of Tennis Federation in Nigeria and regretted that even as sports minister and President of Nigeria Olympic Committee Ndanusa has not been able to help tennis. Many tournaments have died under his tenure and he has not been able to convince any sponsors to return to the game. It is so bad that teenagers, as I experienced myself at the National Stadium, who should be playing tournaments and mapping a future for themselves now beg to coach elderly people for tokens that could help them live.

How times change. Rolake Olagbegi, the once elegant tennis queen of Nigeria from the famous Olagbegi family is now married to Moyo Kassim and boasts of all the features that make her a mother of three.

I received many messages especially in the first half of the game.
Nigerians could not understand what was happening. Three of the messages were similar as if the senders rehearsed them. They were apt questions. “What’s happening?”, one read. Next was “What’s going on?” Another said “it will be miraculous if we survive this.”

You can lose to a weaker team when you underrate them. With all your finesse and techniques, a fighting team, with guts and stupendous will, overpowers you. A team endowed with technical prowess can lose to a team full of determination. A hungrier team can shock a team with superior skills.

The world has been fed with all sorts of stories on the 2018 World Cup that went to Russia and the 2022 World Cup hosting right that Qatar won.

It was natural that Blessing Okagbare became emotional exactly two week ago. What Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan did overwhelmed her and she strongly fought back tears. When the emotions got the greater part of her the tears flowed.