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Southampton FC in talks with Chinese investors

Southampton FC have revealed that they are in talks with Chinese investors, Lander Holding, who indicated interest in buying a stake in the club, a day after the Premier League club reached the EFL Cup final with victory over Liverpool. Club owner. Katharina Liebher has however written an open letter to the club’s fans addressing any concerns the club’s supporters may have over the deal.
“I am writing to you in relation to an announcement made in China today about Southampton Football Club and Lander Holding.
“Please understand that I can only make limited comments regarding this process but I can assure you that any steps we do take will be in the best interests of the club.
“A potential partnership would need to clear multiple approvals and fulfil strict criteria before being confirmed.
“The Premier League is increasingly competitive; we need to keep moving forward and look to new markets for commercial growth, innovation and to share our journey.
“Together we have had many years of progression and success, and ensuring this continues is the main focus of any possible partnership.
“I cannot thank you enough for the continued support you give Southampton Football Club, and it makes me so proud to think we will soon be experiencing a major final together at Wembley.
“I hope you enjoy what will be a brilliant day for our club and look forward to a successful future together.”

Short Story: Brightly In The Shadows | By: Victoria Adebileje

Alani was just giving himself one last look over when he heard a knock on the door.
“Isn’t it just annoying how people feel comfortable coming to someone else’s house early in the morning?” He mused.
Alani looked around and made sure nothing was out of place. He then assumed the manly gait it seemed he could never get used to before walking to the door to open it.
“Alani my friend! I thought you would still be asleep.”
“I’m an early riser Labisi. Good morning, what brings you here at this time of the day?” He stepped back as Labisi made to come into the house.
“It never ceases to amaze me how neat your house always is. Is that why you haven’t chosen one of the girls as a wife? I know they can be burdensome, but since warming your bed and taking care of the house is what they are made for you really should bring one of them in…or two if you want.”
Alani sighed silently. Labisi is one of the very silly, very shallow ‘friends’ he unfortunately has to put up with. His brain must be the size of a peanut.
“Hahahahah! Labisi my funny friend! You really shouldn’t think of women that lowly though, they are much more than cleaners and cooks.
“Please don’t start with your pet talks this morning joor. You speak so highly of women, yet we never see any around you, you know you actually don’t have to marry them if marriage is what you are scared of. Just frequently throw some little change at any of your choosing and she will do all your bidding for as long as you want.”
The smile on Alani’s face slightly went dim. What Labisi said couldn’t be farther from the truth, it is so sad that women have buried their self-worth for meaningless things.
“Did you come to my house this early to lecture me about my lack of a woman?”
20 minutes later, Labisi left. He had come to ask if some of Alani’s farm workers could come help on his own farm.
Alani hurried out of his house, Labisi had set him back on the numerous things he had to do before the day ends. He checked his wrist watch and saw that he had barely 5 minutes to make the monthly elders meeting. He of course had no business attending the elders meeting, but 6 months ago, the elders had permanently invited him to their monthly meetings stating that his unique and manly wisdom was needed. When he had asked why there was no single woman in the meeting, they had simply said; “what would be their function if we included them?”
How ironic…
After the meeting with the elders, he went on his routine rounds to all of his 7 farms. It was early evening before he finished from his last farm. He had earlier on received a message from the king asking that he comes to the palace at his convenience. The always ran his ideas and decisions by Alani before executing them. Alani had once told the king that he is sure his daughters would do a good job of listening and offering advice when needed, and the king had had a very good laugh with tears running down his black, strong face.
When Alani finally got home, he walked straight into his room and fell face down on his bed. He then slowly got up after a while and stood before his mirror, staring at his own image.
“I really do miss my hair, it used to be full, and long, and shiny.” He pulled off his dansiki and slowly rolled off the swaddle of cloth wrapped tightly over his breasts.
With a deep, long breath she thought; “It feels good to be woman again…”


Victoria is an editor and writer. She blogs at mytwocentsnmore.blogspot.com

Real Madrid have made a slight change to their logo

Spanish club, Real Madrid have made a slight change to their logo and it is almost unnoticeable.
The cross at the top of their crest for shirts has been removed from merchandise that are to be sold in the Middle East. They believe the movie will boost revenues (shirt sales)in the Muslim-dominant region.
“We need to be mindful around certain areas in the Gulf. There is a certain sensitivity towards products which have a cross.” Khaled al-Mheiri, the vice-president of Marka, the company that holds the right to distribute Real’s jersey in Middle East explained.

‘I am big enough to say I am not right’ – Arsene Wenger accepts FA charge

 
Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger has said he will accept his Football Association misconduct charge. Recall that the frenchman had an altercation with a match official and got punished for it .
The 67 year-old was charged with verbally abusing and pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor after being sent off in the closing stages of the game involving his side and Burnley few days ago.
“Yes, I answered that in the press conference, I have little more to add. I am big enough to stand up for what I do. When I don’t behave like I think I should behave, I am big enough to say I am not right. I’m a passionate guy and I believe that I am completely committed in my job and want to win the football games.” He said
 

Burna Boy, Davido, to join 2face in nationwide protest against the Nigerian Government.

Nigerian music acts, Davido and Burnaboy have indicated their interest in protesting against the Federal Government come February, 2017. The call was made by their colleague, Innocent ‘2face’ Idibia few days ago who took to his Instagram page to announce his intention to remonstrate against the bad leadership and mismanagement of funds and recovered monies. His post below:
‘FIRST MASSIVE NATIONWIDE PROTESTS ON THE 5TH OF FEBRUARY, 2017.
A call for good governance.
A call for urgent explanation into the reckless economic downturn nationwide.
A call for nationwide protests as we say No to the Executive, No to legislatures, No to judiciary… You have all failed us.
We the people are tired. We can no longer continue with all of you. All your excuses and mistakes are not funny. We do not wish to continue with a system and government that is not working but afflicting the people. We the people of this country not living under the privileges of government allowances and remuneration have now accepted to take the bull by the horn to come out and protest this obnoxious and baseless policies and excuses of the government of the day.
Where are the recovered looted funds?
Why do we still have the executive arms and legislatures still enjoying their salaries and allowances while we hear there’s no money to pay workers?
Why do we still see ceaseless power failures with no explanation and hope of getting out of it unlike before?
Why do we keep seeing peace talks in Niger Delta, fulani heardsmen and ipob without any solutions being reached, while the strategies keeps aggravating the people involved as political leaders stage forums to extort funds in the name of addressing their subjects?
Why did we have petrol price rise to 145 for the sake of global oil price crash and removal of subsidy but such price is still being maintained despite significant re-awakening of the oil price from $30/barrel to $56/barrel?
Who is to be held accountable for the sudden and continuous hike in price of commodities in the market, where for the first time in history, Nigeria is suddenly selling kerosene at 400 naira per litre as against 50 naira per litre, diesel at 300 naira per litre as against 100 naira per litre and petrol from 87 naira to 145 naira? Yet maintaining the same systems, environment and maybe a lesser money spending government.
There’s need for Nigerians to rise against what is happening in this country having waited patiently for the legislatures that were elected to represent the people all to no avail.’
 
Adducing reasons for his decision, 2baba as fondly called said, “I am blessed to have a platform that allows me to reach a lot of people at a time. I believe this voice also comes with a responsibility to use it to speak up for my people. So, when I received the broadcasts that had been going round for some days calling for protests against the state of the country I posted it in a show of support.
“My intention was never to take credit for the movement but rather amplify the voices of the organization credited with the widely circulated message.
“To my colleagues that have joined their voices to this call, thank you for showing the Nigerian people they are not alone. I remain committed to contributing to the well being of my people in any little way I can. One love! #WeWillProtest”
burna1
burna2
 

Opinion: Buhari’s UK trip, a total blunder| By: Niran Adedokun

It now seems obvious that those who sold the idea of change to President Muhammadu Buhari did not reach what lawyers call ad idem with him from the outset.
Ad idem refers to a meeting of minds of parties involved in a contract on the very essence of that agreement. It is a critical ingredient whose absence is able to vitiate any contract subjected to the test of law.
Over the past 20 months, it has become increasingly discernable that those who hawked Buhari to Nigerians as the agent of transformation only successfully communicated half of the elements of Buhari’s agency to him.
This half, from what one perceives, ends with the urgent need for a change in leadership. That critical part wherein the desire to reform a country is followed through by a series of policies and actions was either not conveyed at all or got lost at some point during the conversation.
This is why it is impossible to reconcile the President’s avowed commitment to revolutionize the way Nigerians think and conduct themselves with some of his actions. All of this makes you wonder whether Nigerians and members of the All Progressives Congress had the same understanding of change as they worked towards the definitive 2015 elections.
And please, no one should raise that already overstretched argument about change being a tedious, long process which an impatient nature makes Nigerians misunderstands.
That suggestion by itself, is a reprehensible slight on the resilient determination of millions of Nigerians who defied all odds to vote in Buhari about 21 months ago. What those who market this idea should realize is that even the long process of instilling effective transformation should be signposted by incontrovertible evidences of a deep, research-based understanding of the problem, a theoretical and practicable framework for the reversal of the problem, a palpable determination of the leader to solve the problem without fear and favour as well as an undisguised ability of custodians of the people’s mandate to lead by example!
Subjected to any objective evaluation, it is doubtful that the Buhari administration will exceed the very base of assessments on most of these fronts. The administration has, to say the least, wallowed in uninspiring ineptitude that should currently worry every Nigerian conversant with the urgency with which this country should get of the gallows of underdevelopment.
For example, Buhari and his party men have regaled us with tales of how we found ourselves in the current economic deep pit because past leaders of Nigeria allowed the importation of everything and anything to the detriment of production at home. They have gone further to promise to redress the situation and set Nigeria on the path of irreversible development.
Part of their design to achieve this is weaning the nation off its dependence on oil through relentless diversification and the encouragement of local manufacturing. A clear way to go, everyone would agree.
Towards the achievement of the latter in particular, this government has almost since inception imposed capital controls which have seen to the restriction of the importation of a number of items and the ability of many hardworking Nigerians to transact legitimate business, attend to their health care needs or send their children to school regardless of the import of the latter to the country’s future.
The President coverts the collaboration and sacrifice of all Nigerians on these but he and some of his close aides are not exactly inclined to subjecting themselves to the very demands they make of their compatriots.
He would show total disregard for the sensibilities of Nigerians when he made that comment about being able to send his daughter to school abroad because he could afford it while insisting that those who could no longer afford it, even if through no fault of theirs, would get no help from government. A veiled suggestion that they should withdraw their children from schools abroad. Yet, he indulges in this venture that costs Nigerians a whopping N1.5tn annually. What about bringing your children back home as a sign of your commitment to improving standards at home?
It is this same rationale that would make the President jump on a plane to seek medical attention in the United Kingdom, a second time in his less than two years in office.
And here one must acknowledge the clarification by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, to the effect that his principal’s primary mission to the UK is a  vacation and that the medical checkup is a mere adjunct. He went on in his usual manner to denigrate Nigerians for trying to reverse the President’s scale of priority.
But the joke here is on Adesina and the government he serves. The bitter truth is that there could never be any acceptable reason for Buhari to embark on any of these missions out of the country at this time. I will explain.
Why should a President who desires to bestow a variegated economy on his country think of a holiday abroad? In his administration research into ways in which Nigerians “waste” billions of dollars on unproductive ventures annually, did it not encounter foreign travels for holidays? Doesn’t this administration understand how much could accrue as well as how much it could save from a thriving tourism industry? What better way exists for a President to encourage his people to holiday in-country than for him to lead by that example? After all, the late Umaru Yar’Adua once did that in 2009!
And for the subsidiary purpose admitted by Adesina, this administration is gradually becoming a most pathetic failure at living to the reality of the expectations that it raised.
In two years and in spite of humongous budgetary allocations to the Aso Rock Clinic, Buhari’s government has been unable to build a world-class hospital that could treat the President and his staff and save us occasions of rushed transfers in air ambulances as was recently reported concerning his Chief of Staff, Mr. Abba Kyari!
A country in dire economic straits and bogged down by an epochal scarcity of foreign exchange should think of nothing but a conservation of its resources. It should work assiduously towards being able to treat its people and developing the capacity for medical tourism.
Rather than go out of the country to consult with medical doctors who emigrated out of the frustrations of a comatose system, the President should lead the mobilisation for the return of close to 10, 000 Nigerian medical experts in western and Middle East countries. Even if we do not have the vision to become a medical tourism hub, we could at least conserve monies in the excess of $1bn spent on this cause by our compatriots in 2013.
It is not clear whether the President’s decision to seek medical attention abroad came out of distrust of the Nigerian medical system, or the age-long honest error of seeing everything foreign as better, but it is certainly not a project that the leader of a country of Nigeria’s current travails, size and resources should invest resources, even if they were personal, in.
I do not think Buhari has left anyone in doubt about his desire to lead a turnaround in the fortunes of the country, but then this is not one of those things that you wish into reality.
The President must realise that transformational leadership isn’t just about the title; it is more about the judicious use of the opportunity and scarce resources to show positive action and examples.
Before Buhari can hope to fix Nigeria, he must first fix himself and then show the way to go. He must continually improve himself in areas that he plans to improve the country before hoping to achieve success.
Anything less will place him on the same row with every other past leader that he always gleefully disparages. It is a prospect that the President should avoid like a plague

 


Adeniran Tweets at @niranadedokun


Source: PUNCH Newspapers

I don't like Messi comparison – Ronaldo

Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo has for the umpteenth time rejected comparisons between him and his fierce rival, Lionel Messi. The Portuguese made the disclosure after he picked up the 2016 MVP honour bestowed on him by Chinese publication Dongqiudi following a very amazing 2016. The 31 year-old maintained that it is unfair to compare him with the Barcelona forward adding that they are both professionals striving to be the best for their clubs.
He told reporters, “Cristiano is Cristiano and Messi is Messi. We are both great players with individual and team titles that speak for themselves. The comparison? I don’t like to compare, that word doesn’t exist for me. We are different, two people just doing their jobs, that is all.
“He tries to be the best player for his team and I try to do the same for mine. We are rivals because we play for different clubs, but when we are together we show each other mutual respect. We have a normal relationship.
“People compare us all that time, that is normal. People even compared our sons when they were born and talk about who is the fastest and smartest at school. This is all part of the business. But I think that you can’t compare these things.”
The former Man United striker picked the Ballon d’Or and the inaugural The Best FIFA Men’s Player award after winning the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup with Real Madrid, as well as Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Popular novelist, Buchi Emechata dies

 
Popular Novelist, Buchi Emecheta OBE has died. The veteran author of  ‘The Joys of Motherhood’, ‘Second-Class Citizen’, ‘The Bride Price’, ‘The Slave Girl’ and many others reportedly died in her home in London on Wednesday January 25, 2017 at the age of 72.
Confirming her passing, Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, President, Denja Abdullahi said  “We have lost a rare gem in this field. Her works would forever live to speak for her. It is a sad loss to our circle and we pray that God would give the family the fortitude to bear the loss. She was known for championing the female gender and we would forever miss her.”
May her soul find repose. Amen!

Cristiano Ronaldo taken home in ambulance

Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez were driving towards the Navacerrada ski resort near Madrid on Sunday night when he suffered wrist pain, when he couldn’t drive further, he stopped by the side of the road and called for help
Spanish entertainment website Informalia said the world best footballer then called for an ambulance to take him and his girlfriend back home, while a tow truck was ordered to take his new £260,000 Lamborghini back to the city.

Skiers had a field day posing and taking pictures of themselves beside the Portugese’s posh ride at the resort.
 

Usain Bolt stripped of Olympic gold medal

Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt has been stripped of his 2008 Olympic gold medal due to due to a doping offence by his team-mate, Nesta Caster tests positive to drugs.
BBC reports that “Carter was one of 454 selected doping samples retested by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, and has been found to contain the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.”
30 year-old Bolt, completed a ‘triple triple’ in Rio last summer, sweeping to 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres golds. He had won 3 golds each in previous two editions; Beijing 2008 and London 2012 of the Games in same events.
Carter was also part of the squad that won the event in London five years ago and helped Jamaica win at the World Championships in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The team won in a then world record of 37.10 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan, who will now have their medals upgraded. Brazil will receive bronze.
Carter was tested on the evening of the Beijing final in 2008 but that was found at the time to contain no “adverse analytical finding”.
More than 4,500 tests were carried out at those Games, but just nine athletes were caught cheating.
An anomaly was discovered in Carter’s submission following the IOC’s decision to retest 454 samples from Beijing using the latest scientific analysis methods.
 
 
Source: BBC

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