Fayrouzz:
This getting out of line. Musicians and actors don't work for the government but athletes do.

All the sectors you mentioned are tied to the government, so, by the government yardstick, they should. Footballers and other athletes are also tied to the government. They should earn pensions too.

ehmmy11:
where were you when this same man was asking us for 500k ?? I don't need to read your post cos experience is a better teacher...

festacman:


The least I can do for a brother in need is to enjoin other brothers to help the brother in need for brotherhood sake. It is then up to them to help or not.

SmartyPants:


I'm surprised you are asking this question when the answer is the core of what Mr. Odegbami writes about. Didn't you read through?

spafu:

Why won't I read through? The difference between you and I is that I just don't take anything in his, line and sinker. Sometimes reading in between the lines could reveal some truth. If FIFA had nominated Siasia for an award or employment, there was no way that email would have been in disuse.
Maybe you also want me to believe this from Odegbami:

If Samson Siasia was involved in match-fixing it makes sense to assume it must have been with one of the teams or players he was involved with – any of the three Nigerian national teams and the players in the teams. Those were the only teams he was involved with during his entire 12 years’ career as a national team coach.

There is not one of the national teams, or one of the players that played under him throughout his career that has been named in any match-fixing charge.
When I am very much aware that a coach who has involved himself in fixing a match can do so by the caliber of players he selects and features in a given match.

TheGoodJoe:


I will not believe you without a shred of proof.

1. Did Siasia ask you directly for money?

2. What competition and what was the level of your player to break into the squad.

You people run around spreading these rumors that go viral to tarnish the image of our local coaches. Please answer the above questions.

By the way, this is about a possibility of gross injustice and Segun Odegbami believes it being hinged on Racism.

majamajic:



even the segun odegbami , handed the 2010 world cup bidding to South Africa , when Nigeria is far in front . he was the head of bidding committee , he told FIFA that Nigeria is potting for South Africa , when Nigeria is far ahead .


money exchanged hands I think

Nigeria hosted under 20 world cup in 1999.

though FIFA later gave Nigeria under 17 world cup as compensation ,

a Friend from South told me , when FIFA said the world cup must be in Africa , Nigeria had a better chance than South , until segun shifted it .

blowjohn:


But u called out prominent names including the federal government. Are they ur other brothers?
What about the poor on the streets?

Neoteny:


Governors and their deputies work for government too... Heck, they're the government. So why is there a hue and a cry over their pensions?

ehmmy11:
whether you believe it or not it's inconsequential...
There is no way of showing any proof as bribe demands are not usually documented..
It's the little drops of water that makes the ocean his cup is full and it finally caught up with him..



Good afternoon.. Bye

shugaboy6102:
I support this your comment with this. As if they are playing for free

festacman:


When I say brotherhood, I mean community of human beings. Federal government and state governments are run by human beings who initiate and implement policies and programs.

Furthermore, a distress is a person in a distress though the causative factors may differ. There is no difference between a homeless beggar who is hungry and a wealthy man whose car broke down in an isolated highway. The state of distress is basically the same as in a homeless beggar. Sometimes, the beggar might actually be the more content and happier one. It is not all about 'almajiris'

TheGoodJoe:


Coaches have preference of players. That does not mean they are fixing matches. Mourinho was not a fan of De Bruyne and Salah. Gave them little playing time and shipped them off. That did not mean match fixing.

From what you posted there, Uncle Segun is telling us that no player was indicted for Match fixing. No one in three national teams. So how can they ban Siasia for life. Did he fix the match with his teeth?

spafu:

Why won't I read through? The difference between you and I is that I just don't take anything in his, line and sinker. Sometimes reading in between the lines could reveal some truth. If FIFA had nominated Siasia for an award or employment, there was no way that email would have been in disuse.
Maybe you also want me to believe this from Odegbami:

If Samson Siasia was involved in match-fixing it makes sense to assume it must have been with one of the teams or players he was involved with – any of the three Nigerian national teams and the players in the teams. Those were the only teams he was involved with during his entire 12 years’ career as a national team coach.

There is not one of the national teams, or one of the players that played under him throughout his career that has been named in any match-fixing charge.
When I am very much aware that a coach who has involved himself in fixing a match can do so by the caliber of players he selects and features in a given match.

spafu:

Please I don't like engaging in a baseless argument. I am telling you that a coach who fixes a match can do so with none of his players involved, and you are telling me about Mourinho. Abeg leave matter for Matthias.

rusher14:
Thanks for thinking about your associate.

But the problem is this:

In Nigeria, corruption is rife and that's no exaggeration.

When a matter bordering on corruption comes up, the actors are often pronounced guilty in the court of public opinion because of its preponderance.

Siasia himself was often accused of selling out super eagles positions when he was manager of the team.

This could be mere rumour or even have some basis behind it. Either way, his tenure was tainted by this belief.

Lastly, he has been found guilty by a FIFA panel of investigation into match fixing.

This is away from dabbling of our local politics.

Even football great Platini has been given the same treatment, so the suggestion of racism is not particularly a good kite to fly.

All in all, 2019 has been a terrible year for Siasia.

He can pick himself up and do other things with his life.

You can help him too but don't expect much from the Nigerian populace or FIFA.

spafu:

Please I don't like engaging in a baseless argument. I am telling you that a coach who fixes a match can do so with none of his players involved, and you are telling me about Mourinho. Abeg leave matter for Matthias.

Aystarz:


He and Keshi were the first Nigerian head coaches to be paid over 5million as salary. The Paul Hamilton and Oniigbindes of this world didn't even earn close to that, and here's this entitled mumu who thinks, having played for Nigeria, it's his right to use taxpayers' money to clear his own name!!! Arrant Rubbish!

ajl:


Did you read the entire post before blabbing. I suppose you know him more than Segun Odegbami. Do you even know the person behind that post? He asked few questions, if Siason did what they accused him for, was he given the chance to defend himself. What team or players were involved. Someone sent an email to an old email address which he did not see and gbam that the end of his career. If you don't live in a white-man's you would probably not understand how certain things work and the level of bias against people of color especially Africans. Even FIFA itself is a corrupt organisation. All they are doing now is looking for scapegoats to use to raise their public profile so countries like USA and others will think they are dealing with corruption. And it's easy to imagine who the scapegoats will be.

Deejaygold:
When him dey collect bribe nko ?

blowjohn:



Well my point is that sia sia is not in a hopeless state.
He is still a rich man by many standards.
And what he has been accused of is a personal thing so let him defend himself.
When u start calling out people to help someone that has so far been pronounced guilty then u make justice and fairness lose its power.

spafu:
Mr. Mathematical Odegbami, abeg park for one side and save us this noise. Some of you made money in your playing days and we were all busy cheering you and being happy for you guys. We on our part played little football and did more of education with the hope the country will give us some employment at the end of it, but we got nothing other than hardship and unemployment. But each time any of you get sick, get unto or a problem or is a financial fix, you will call one Nigerians and the government, abeg, was it for free you played for Nigeria? Who should the rest of us call on?
With my education and above average result, I hustle outside Nigerian economy, as my signature will show.
Now let me ask, since Siasia new FIFA had the power to punish him, why did he chose not to defend himself when the opportunity was granted him?
Abeg, footballers should learn to save from their abundance today and save for the rainy day.

I can hardly recognize the present-day Nigeria from the country I was born into, grew up in, and served in my own little ways.

Beyond politics, corruption and poor governance that have raped and left this abundantly rich and blessed country prostrate with poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, millions of jobless youths, ethnic crisis, kidnappings, senseless internecine killings, and more, I find that we have arrived at the final frontier, that point beyond which there can be no redemption – our humanity. Where, when, how did we become such a completely dehumanized people without love and compassion for each other?

Everything about the Nigerian could fail but not the spirit of community and concern for the weak, the afflicted, and the aged in society.

Nigerians welcomed strangers with open arms, treated them without discrimination, like kings and queens, and provided for them an atmosphere where they could flourish even at the expense of their own people. That was the Nigeria of old.

Suddenly those values are disappearing fast.

I am forced again to write about Samson Siasia.

I have done so twice in the past 6 months, drawing attention to the plight of a man who has been unjustly condemned by FIFA for a crime that some of us believe he never committed, and that FIFA has never taken the trouble to clearly state so that the world would know what he did (or did not do).

Nigerians forget so quickly and easily who Samson Siasia is, and what he has done for Nigeria, and should never have been left alone at this period of his greatest challenge.

FIFA passed a ‘death’ sentence on him, a life ban from the only activity he has always known throughout his life – football – because he failed to respond to an email sent to him to come and defend himself in a scandalous matter of match fixing.

Samson cried out to the world, (and many did not believe him) that he never saw the mail because he had not been using that particular email box for his correspondences for some time. True or not, the facts still remain that nothing categorical was ever traced to him resembling ‘match fixing’ – not a particular match, not a team, not a player(s).

He had some contact with a man, as did a lot of people involved in one football business or the other, that was caught for fixing matches. Does that make everyone that knew him complicit? The man was a registered football agent that does various businesses in football with many people, teams, players, federations and coaches within the football circuit.

The only way for Samson Siasia to defend himself was to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports , CAS. He could not raise the exorbitant cost before the deadline given. Through the effort of his lawyers, the matter was raised again with CAS, who now gave him a lifeline to defend himself, at a private sitting in CAS’s office in Switzerland, in the month of January.

I have followed his case remotely, asked probing questions, and I now see that Nigeria, through its football authorities, has not been fair at all to the man that served the federation and country so diligently, and is facing a charge that reeks of injustice from one mile away. They could have investigated on their own and let Nigerians know what they think rather than just keep silent and allow their innocent servant rot in ‘jail’.

If Samson Siasia was involved in match-fixing it makes sense to assume it must have been with one of the teams or players he was involved with – any of the three Nigerian national teams and the players in the teams. Those were the only teams he was involved with during his entire 12 years’ career as a national team coach.

There is not one of the national teams, or one of the players that played under him throughout his career that has been named in any match-fixing charge.

So, what match(es) did he fix, or was he only an accessory to fixing? How, where, when?

You cannot separate him from a team, or players in alleging the offence he is purported to have committed. In this case, he has only ever coached Nigeria’s national teams where his records are impeccable and without blemish.

The least the Nigerian government could do for him is request their Football Federation to conduct a quiet investigation of their own, and brief government before abandoning him to his fate.

His present situation is Nigeria’s eventual loss. He is one of only very few Nigerians that have the pedigree to take on the responsibility an unfolding development in football presents.

Racism is on the rise. It has permeated European football, and nationalism is on the rise everywhere. Black persons, including Nigerians, are the prime victims of the increasing scourge.

Nigeria now has a present responsibility to sink or swim with its own coaches, or with Black coaches around the world, in this new fight of civilisations and slavery, cloaked in racism. Already, Black players are never considered good and intelligent enough to rise above the level of players into higher levels of coaching, management and administration in football.

There is serious racism on the field and in the terraces. The only way Black and African coaches can get to the top is to go back to their roots and own it, give themselves the training, the knowledge, the experience, the time and the opportunity to handle their own teams, take on the world, and win or lose.

Samson Siasia remains one of the most promising and accomplished Black coaches in African football to lead that struggle.

He took Nigeria to the finals of the 2005 Under-20 World Cup that matched Lionel Messi against Mikel Obi in an epic, unforgettable final.

He took Nigeria to win Silver Medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, and was listed amongst the best 15 coaches in the world, and second best on the African continent after that.

In 2016 he returned to a very demoralized Nigerian Olympic team heading to Brazil. He sought funds from external sources to camp and train the team in Nigeria and in the USA, took them to the Games and returned with the only Bronze medal Nigeria won in all sports at the Games.

Samson Siasia was on the rise in stature, knowledge and experience when his career was cut short by the political intrigues in Nigerian football aided by a few poor results resulting in some fracas with some people at the helm of football in Nigeria.

Before all this, he had served Nigeria as a junior player to Mexico in 1985, and at senior level, as a first-team member of, probably, the best assembly and most successful national team in Nigeria’s history – the 1994 squad that won the African Cup of Nations and played at the first World Cup in the USA.

He was in the team that emerged as the most entertaining team during the USA ‘94 World Cup, personally scoring one of the goals of the championship against Argentina at Fox Boro Stadium.

Samson is amongst those that are still to be fully rewarded for those feats of 1994 – no national honour, and no house in Abuja.

Samson Siasia must not be left to languish as a result of one simple innocuous error. Nigeria needs to get up and support him if the country investigates and finds out he is not guilty as many of us believe after looking at the facts on ground.

He needs to be supported by the Nigeria Football Federation, by the federal government, by his State government, and by influential and rich Nigerians who may still have in their DNA the spirit of unconditional love and compassion.

Segun Odegbami

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.completesports.com/odegbami-samson-siasia-does-not-deserve-to-be-abandoned-now/amp/

ajl:


Olodo, who can't think deeply. The fact that NFF was is former employer and that he was a national coach means a dent on his name is also a dent on the reputation of Nigeria. Except if NFF and other Nigerian authorities feel that Nigeria has no reputation to protect. Ideal NFF should have called Siasia to come and explain himself and his role in the alleged scandal. Its after that internal investigation that NFF may decide to support him to defend himself. You all cant reason objectively anymore. I wonder what his previous earnings have to do with this. Obviously you have issues with the fact that he earned good salary which I know did not come easy because NFF was always owing them (Siasia and Keshi) salaries while foreign coaches are paid easily.

victorazyvictor:

The guy is reaping what he planted. Nemesis

GEEBITE:
Fiction.Nelson Mandela personally pitched for SA and with the whole world behind him we stood no chance. Do you think a country with our poor and chaotic transport system can hold a major event like the world cup. FYI big Shegs pitch was for a pan african world cup when he saw Nigeria's bid with our poor infrastructure is DOA.Let us not be careful not to turn fiction to facts.

majamajic:



u know nothing about football for u to think South was ahead of us then to host the world cup , Nigeria was just coming out from hosting a record spectators in under 20 world cup

in terms of hosting a FIFA event , what comes first is the hospitality of the host country not about transportation