Nigeria @ MindSay

Watching the first leg of the IAAF Golden League in Oslo two weeks, I was completely astounded to see another Nigerian hurdler in Spanish colours.

This was not Glory Alozie, who ditched the country in 2001 after winning silver medal at the Sydney Olympics, but a young lovely talent - Josephine Onyia.

She came 5th in a modest 12.93seconds , but last week took the women's 100m hurdles at the 46th Zlata Tetra -Golden Spike, IAAF Grand Prix meet in Ostrava with 12.91 seconds.

Nigerian athletics technical director, Sunday Bada could only lament at another talent drain. He described change of nationality as another medal lost at next month's All Africa Games.

Bada told the Nigerian Daily Champion newspapers:

"Our athletes are leaving in great numbers, we must have to stem this trend otherwise that is how we would be losing our best athletics talents."

Onyia, who currently lives and trains with Alozie in Valencia has a season's best of 12.82 seconds over the 100m hurdles with a season's best of 12.82 seconds and will now represent her adopted country in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

So where do Africa go from here? should we simply resign that we will forever be losing our best talents to the developed and richer nations? what do you think is the way forward for Africa?

Nigeria’s kind-of democracy is a voting system that is influenced by a lobby system unnatural to legitimate democracy. Money is bandied by an oligarchy of rich businessman. The money is not used for ad campaigning. The money is used to hire thugs who utilize bullets that make offers voters cannot refuse.

JRH

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Nigeria’s ‘Godfather Syndrome’

Updated: April 16, 2007

Prepared by:	Stephanie Hanson

Council on Foriegn Relations

In Nigerian politics, charisma is much less important than an arsenal of thuggish campaign tactics. In the months preceding mid-April’s polls, political candidates have engineered the kidnapping of their opponents, would-be candidates have been assassinated, and thugs have been hired to intimidate rival campaign supporters.

Such behavior is business-as-usual in a country run by political “godfathers,” (BBC) or political elites who sponsor candidates with the understanding that they will reap the financial benefits once the candidate takes office. “If anyone tries to attack me, my boys will unleash terror,” a nationally prominent opposition politician told Human Rights Watch.

As expected, Saturday's gubernatorial elections were marred by irregularities (Reuters), leading election observers to say that the vote should be rerun in four to six states. In the oil-rich Niger Delta states, many people were unable to vote and electoral officials were seen stuffing ballot boxes (AP). While the vote was largely peaceful, such widespread vote rigging does not bode well for the April 21 presidential elections.

If successful, this month’s elections will usher in the first transition between democratically elected leaders since Nigeria’s independence in 1960. But given all the preelection and gubernatorial election shenanigans, observers remain skeptical. An editorial in the New York Times urges President Olusegun Obasanjo to allow serious opposition candidates on the presidential ballot. Yet the president appears determined to do just the opposite: He declared this week that April 12 and 13 would be a public holiday, a move that delays a Supreme Court hearing to determine whether a key opposition presidential candidate can run (VOA). “The elections were programmed to fail,” said Jibrin Ibrahim of the Center for Democracy and Development in Nigeria at a March 9 panel at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “But people will fight to prevent this.”

Leading the fight is Nigeria’s judiciary, which has shown admirable independence from Obasanjo’s administration. It ruled this week that the elections cannot be postponed (Nigerian Tribune), which some had rumored Obasanjo might attempt. Another battle in the courts over the right of Vice President Atiku Abubakar to run for president remains unresolved. The Independent National Electoral Commission has tried to disqualify him, and the issue now hangs in the balance in Nigeria’s Supreme Court. The electoral commission has been widely criticized for its mismanagement of the electoral process, and many fear that its incompetence and politicization will undermine this month’s polls. The strength of Nigeria’s institutions and the flaws of its federalist government structure are examined in a new Backgrounder.

Outside Nigeria, the presidential election’s results may reverberate widely. “Nigeria should be the central African question,” writes Robert I. Rotberg in a new Council Special Report on Nigeria. “No country’s fate is so decisive for the continent.” Oil-rich Nigeria is the continent’s most populous country, and if successful, its return to democracy could serve as a model for other African countries. Already the government has made substantial inroads in tackling corruption, but a growing insurgency (Economist) in the Niger Delta has oil executives, and the governments they supply, nervous.

Reducing conflict in the Niger Delta will be imperative for Nigeria’s new leader. The militant group MEND, profiled in this Backgrounder, has reduced national oil output by at least 25 percent by attacking oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign oil workers. Thus far, the Nigerian government has treated MEND as a security threat, not a political entity to negotiate with, but many experts argue it will have to change strategies to successfully deal with the group. This conference looks at trends in the Niger Delta and how the United States might support the Nigerian government’s effort to improve security in the region.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.

Well the 4x400m is no different here as the Nigerians men and women teams underachived once again.

The men's team - Former Olympics silver and bronze medallists ended up fifth, having being second with about 90 metres to go.

Good news for Africa, South Africa men picked the silver medal behind an impressive Australian team but the SA women has been disqualified along with England for standing in a wrong lane to receive the baton.

Wait a minute, the Nigerian women have been elevated to the bronze medal position, despite having the worst performance by a Nigerian relay team in a long time.

Now, where does Africa go from here!

Reigning World Half marathon champion Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania took home the $10,000 prize money on offer at the 4th MTN Lagos International Half Marathon today.

The 19-year-old ran away from defending champion John Korir of Kenya to win in a new course record of 1:02:20, ending the Kenyan 3-year domination of the course.

Korir, 25, equalled his former course record of 1:03:05 to place second while Joseph's training partner and fellow countryman John Yuda took the third position from the hordes of Kenyans and other local runners in 1:04:21.

Joseph told reporters after the race: "When Korir did not want to respond when I asked him to take the lead, I thought then that I was going to win.

"I was third in this race in 2002, so now I am very glad to win it."