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OPINION: NFF, It Is Time To Support Coach Waldrum’s Project By Seun Oloketuyi

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It is sad enough that Nigeria last participated in the Olympics women’s football event 16 years ago yet poor preparations, injuries, and interference from Nigeria’s highest football body, NFF marred the Super Falcons outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As much as Nigerians and fans of the Super Falcons were disappointed by the outing of the 18-player squad under American gaffer, Randy Waldrum, it is imperative to look inwards ahead of other challenges.

Following the outing, Coach Randy Waldrum blamed the Super Falcons’ outing at the Paris 2024 Olympics on poor preparations, which saw the team losing all three group games to come last with zero points despite preparation in the shortest time.

Admittedly, the Nigerian Super Falcons were drawn in a tough group with women’s football reigning champion, Spain, and power houses Japan and Brazil, but that shouldn’t have defined what eventually became the outing of the team.

It is instructive to note that the same Super Falcons, under the tutelage of Waldrum, qualified for the Olympics in flying colours, participated in the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia and New Zealand and came out head high at the round of 16 and again qualified for the Women Africa Cup of Nation set to begin in July 2025.

Waldrum took the job in 2021 when Nigeria was ranked 45 and successfully began building the team to a perfect fit. It would be on record that after the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the Women Football Olympics, Waldrum broke the jinx beating Cameroon and South Africa to clinch the ticket.

It is no gainsaying that Waldrum has a project of turning the Super Falcons into a world class team that fans and Nigerians will be proud of in the next two years. It’s a process and a gradual one. Upon his contract in 2021, Waldrum first evaluated the team and retired the old legs.

He went on to attract young and effective players to create a squad of enviable ballers, hence the success he made at the last Women World Cup and the qualifiers for Olympics and WAFCON.

Hence, it was no surprise when the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, decided to renew his two-year-contract in late 2023.

However, one wonders what suddenly went wrong when the same NFF were beginning to breathe down on Waldrum’s neck to influence some of his technical decisions that might have been responsible for our outing at the Paris Olympic Women Football.

According to a report, allegations were rife that some NFF top officials tried imposing players on the American gaffer including veteran forward Francisca Ordega, who had a below performance at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Then we begin to wonder what really is the motive of the NFF, who has given the man a job but still wants to help him do the same job through influencing his decisions.

For a man, who has begun a project to turn the Super Falcons around, create an unbeatable confidence and gain the trust of his trusted players, it will be hard influencing his choice of game changers.

A pointer to Waldrum’s success with the team were the contracts which some of the Falcons’ stars are beginning to attract – Toni Payne signed for Everton, Jennifer Echegini signed for PSG and others.

Again, without holding a brief for Waldrum, though the Super Falcon’s outing at the Paris Olympic have been perceived ‘poor’ by many, a study of the matches showed that the team could have done much better and hold the champion and power house to a standstill if not for a lot of factors that include injuries of two of the key players, Ashleigh Plumptre and Halimatu Ayinde.

If Ayinde had made the team, Deborah Abiodun and Christy Ucheibe wouldn’t have started three matches in the space of 6 days, while Ashleigh Plumptre’s major influence as the pivot of the defense wouldn’t have been missing in action.

My submission, the NFF should leave Waldrum to complete his project and deliver a world class team for Nigeria. If the NFF puts total structural support behind Waldrum with the confidence he has built in the players, and how they idolize him, the next two years will be a roller coaster as it will be almost difficult to beat the Falcons. Hence, it’s time to support coach Waldrum and let the Falcons fly again. He should be given an extension up until the next WAFCON with a mandate to win it. Win it and a further extension will be on the line, anything less and it is most definitely goodbye

 

Oluwaseun Moyo Oloketuyi

Chairman Bon Awards Adivsory board and Producer Flying with Falcons writes from Lagos

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10,000 New Recruits Ready For Deployment February 2025 — Police

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The Nigeria Police Force has revealed that the 10,000 newly recruited constables and specialists, currently undergoing training, will be deployed in February 2025.

As part of the Federal Government’s community policing initiative, the recruits will be assigned to their states of origin.

The recruitment process, conducted by the Police Service Commission, was initially met with controversy. In June, the commission released the list of successful applicants, but the police, under Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun, rejected it, citing allegations of corruption and seeking a fresh recruitment process.

The PSC stood by the integrity of the process, leading to a standoff. However, in July, the police accepted the list, and the recruits began their training.

With training underway, the February 2025 deployment will mark the culmination of this recruitment cycle, bolstering community policing efforts nationwide.

Speaking in an interview (with The Punch) on Tuesday, the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the recruits’ training was being conducted in 16 police training institutions across the country.

He added that the training commenced on August 10, 2024, for the General Duty cadre, adding that the exercise would last for six months.

Adejobi said the specialist cadre training will commence on 28 September 2024.

He said, “The training is currently being conducted in 16 police training institutions spread across the federation. The training commenced on 10 August 2024 for the General Duty cadre and would last for six months. The specialist cadre will commence training on September 28, 2024.

“This implies that come February 2025, all the successfully trained recruits (both General Duty and Specialist) will be absorbed into mainstream policing and deployed to their various states of origin in line with the community policing scheme of the Federal Government.”

Adejobi also said the ongoing training for the newly recruited constables is guided and conducted through the implementation of a new and robust Training Plan and Curriculum.

He added, “The training plan and curriculum provide for three learning phases, the Basic Training Course, Intermediate Training Course and the Practical Police Duty Course.

“These phases will emphasise the rudiments, fundamentals, core principles and concepts of contemporary policing, suitable for a dynamic society such as our dear country, Nigeria.

“The courses being taught encompass core areas, such as practical beat duty policing, police professional studies, including suspects’ handling and detention, criminal law, emotional intelligence, distress and complaints handling, police ethics and code of conduct, public relations and community policing, fundamental human rights, gender education, firearms handling and shooting range practice, unarmed combat, use of English and French languages, ICT, forensics, general liberal and field studies, amongst others.

“Recruits will also be exposed to relevant areas of law as it relates to policing. These include knowledge of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; Nigeria Police Act, 2020; Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015; Evidence Act, 2011 (as amended); Cybercrime Prevention Act, 2015; Electoral Act 2022, etc.”

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55-Yr-Old Woman Slumps, Dies While Sharing Testimony In Lagos Church

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A 55-year-old woman, identified as Ifeoma, tragically passed away on September 8, 2024, after collapsing during Sunday service at a church in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State.

According to reports, Ifeoma had stepped forward to share her testimony around 8:48 am when she suddenly collapsed. Despite prompt medical attention, she died shortly thereafter.

Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, stating that Ifeoma was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as Ifeoma sang praises and prepared to share her testimony before suddenly collapsing.

He stated, “The Zonal accountant of the church in Ejigbo came to the station and reported that during testimony hour in the church, while the service was on, Ifeoma came out singing songs to give her testimony when she suddenly slumped.

“She was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital but was referred to the General Hospital in Isolo, where she was confirmed dead.

“Based on the report, detectives were detailed to visit the hospital with the complainant. On getting there, they were told that the husband and family of the deceased had taken the corpse to Anambra State, where she came from for burial.”

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Two UK-based Nigerians Risk Life Jail After Rape Conviction

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Two Nigerians, Tosin Dada and Solomon Adebiyi, now face the possibility of life imprisonment for multiple rape charges after being convicted by a jury at the Northampton Crown Court in the United Kingdom.

It was gathered from Lawtons Solicitors, a UK-based law firm, and a feminist charity organisation, Rape Crisis (England & Wales), that under the UK’s Sexual Offences Act 2003, the maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment.

It was earlier reported that the Northamptonshire Police announced the conviction of the two Nigerians on its official Facebook page on Monday.

The conviction of Dada and Adebiyi follows weeks after a Nigerian pilot, Olukayode Ojo, was found guilty in a Texas court in the United States for making false statements to obtain a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Northamptonshire Police announced that the convicts, Dada and Adebiyi, had each been charged with three counts of rape related to a March 2022 incident, while claiming they had engaged in consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl.

However, the jury found these claims false, ruling against them and declaring both guilty.

“Tosin Dada, 34, previously of Knox Road, Wellingborough, and Solomon Adebiyi, 39, previously of Stanley Street, Northampton, were both charged with three counts of rape each in connection with the offence on March 12, 2022.

“Their nine-day trial at Northampton Crown Court ended last week with both men being found unanimously guilty by the jury on all charges after eight hours of deliberation.

“Both men were remanded into custody ahead of sentencing at Northampton Crown Court on October 25, 2024,” the police disclosed.

Lawtons noted that while the average prison sentence for rape ranges from four to 19 years, varying from case to case, there is no statutory minimum sentence for the crime.

“Generally, sentencing for rape convictions starts from four years imprisonment. This sentence would only be given for category three offences and it is also very rare to receive such a short sentence, given that the majority of rape convictions also include some degree of harm or culpability.

“The maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment. However, when using the term ‘sentenced for life’, it does not mean that someone will spend their whole life in prison. Instead, someone who is given a life sentence usually spends 15 years in prison.

“In these cases, the offenders will spend the rest of their lives on a life licence. This means they would immediately be called back to prison if they were to commit another crime,” the law firm stated on its website.

Our correspondent also learnt that the possibility of the convicted Nigerians bagging life imprisonment for the crime was possible, as mentioned on the official Rape Crisis (England & Wales) website.

“Rape is defined as someone with a penis penetrating another person’s vagina, anus, or mouth without consent and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison,” the feminist charity organisation stated.

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