“... Okocha’s, Kanu’s Big Boys Era Destroyed Eagles”

Samson Siasia Too Arrogant

Fellow Nigerians, lovers of football and followers of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, thanks for the prayers and the unquantifiable supports to the Sampson Siasia’s lead Super Eagles till now. This kind of support was last seen in 1993 en route to the winning of the “Nations Cup” in Tunisia in 1994 by the Super Eagles and their second round impressive performance against Roberto Baggio’s motivated“Azuris”of Italy at the “FIFA” world cup in USA the same year.

Despite the fact that Siasia led our U20 team to a marvelous second position after fantastic and slippery Lionel Messi inspired Argentines to defeat us 2:1 in the FIFA U20 world cup final in Holland in 2005, he was my second choice for the Super Eagles job after Stephen Keshi

Because any time Nigerian national teams are having matches especially Super Eagles, Nigerians forget their differences in unity. The Boko Haram from the north drop their bombs in support of the Eagles, the militants “MEND” from Niger Delta leave their hiding bushes to support the Eagles, the “Biafrans” from the east temporarily leave behind their struggle for an independent state to support the Eagles, the Muslims and Christians unite spiritually in praying for the Eagles’success and would hug each other with love in happiness and even the native doctors all over Nigeria including “Ijebu” unite traditionally in tying the legs of the Super Eagles’ opponents for victory and our corrupt failed politicians from PDP, ANPP, APGA, ACN and CPC etc. forget about their loots in the banks and their appointments with their girl friends and descend from their expensive mansions and luxurious cars to associate themselves with us the poor under one political entity called Super Eagles. Consequently, Siasia must be cautioned and reminded of his past for him to be careful and watch his steps before he destroys the only generally accepted unity of Nigeria in arrogance.

His recent unguarded statements on Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo and his arrogant action against his players should be condemned by patriotic lovers of Super Eagles and Nigeria. He was recently quoted to have said that “Okocha’s and Kanu's big boy era destroyed the Eagles. … It was when‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo became captains of the national team that things changed. That was when the whole Super Eagles were destroyed, there was not that union anymore. They stayed alone in their rooms. How can you bring players together if everyone is on his own?” I made it as a point of duty to read his interview from different sources at least to see if there was any place he was asked to compare the captains of the Super Eagles or why Okocha and Kanu as captains were not so successful like“Chairman” Christian Chukwu of the 1980 Super Eagles (then Green Eagles) or “Boss”Stephen Keshi’s mesmerizing Eagles in Tunisia 1994 etc. but I did not see. Because Jay Jay Okacha and Kanu Nwankwo had stayed in their rooms while the Eagles captains as alleged by Siasia should not attract such open heavy attack or criticism that has got the capacity of portraying them as bad people or bad leaders and instigating Nigerians against them or denting the integrity and reputation they built over the years. The public condemnation of these patriotic citizens in this nature is not necessary and should have been tactically best used in the dressing room to achieve the maximal result by gingering the players especially Joseph Yobo, the captain, but surely not for public consumption in this form. While I agree that there are lies that are still golden and acceptable like the one told by Abraham in the bible, I equally subscribe that there are truths that are deceptive, harmful and dangerous like any lie.

LASTMA AND KAI UNIFORMS: LICENSE TO MISBEHAVE IN LAGOS STATE

My findings over the past few years have shown that LASTMA or KAI uniform is what you need to unofficially misbehave in an official capacity – it is the license to misbehave in Lagos state. LASTMA is the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority saddled with the responsibility of managing traffic and everything associated with vehicular movement in Lagos state while the KAI brigade’s responsibility is to kick against indiscipline, both organizations were established by and subject to Lagos state laws.

Several stories abound about the excesses of LASTMA officials in every part of Lagos, they have over stepped their bounds severally and the only thing they understand about traffic management is towing of vehicles and if you question or try to prove a point to the officials, your fine increases. Of particular interest is the just decided case between Jonathan Odutola and LASTMA where Justice Okon Abang of the FederAL High Court in Lagos said that LATMA lacked the power to impose fines on traffic offenders in Lagos state, the judge held that sections 9,11,12 and 13 of laws establishing LASTMA were unconstitutional and in contrast to section 36 of the constitution. LASTMA can arrest offenders but cannot impose fines on them as LASTMA cannot be a judge in its own case. In some areas, the police collaborate with the LASTMA officials to extort you of your money, the said Jonathan Odutola narrated that sometimes in march 2011 after his car broke down on the third mainland bridge, he got the beaten of his life courtesy of the Nigerian police and his vehicle was towed to LASTMA premises where the illegal fine was imposed, it is only in lagos state that anything and everything can amount to a traffic offence.

The operations of KAI brigade is the most appalling. They have ‘kai miscreants’ that goes after the street traders, they are hired to run after the street traders on the high way, arrest them, beat them up and collect their wares, there is a seventy percent probability that somebody is being chased on the lagos high way by the ‘kai miscreants’ as you read this write-up. Some few months back, the KAI brigade stationed their ‘mobile prison’(vehicle) on the oshodi express way (assisted by the police) to arrest those that refused to use the pedestrian bridge, while the arrests were not illegal, they could have turned back the offenders and direct them to use the pedestrian bridge instead of hiring miscreants to run after them on a very busy road like the oshodi express road. It is obvious that if those ‘kai miscreants’ don’t collect remuneration, they would have invested their energy on some other profitable things rather than advertising their nuisance value.