After hovering over the city of Peking (now Beijing) for a long time our plane finally landed almost at midnight. With stops in 4 cities since we departed Lagos on July 26, 1976, we had been airborne for a total of 27 hours. The Ethiopian Airline aircraft had long stops in Khartoum, Addis Abba, New…
It is happening right now. The community cannot believe it is happening, but it is. Members of Five generations of Nigeria’s national football team, the Eagles ( Green and Super) have started to land for the ‘Big Match’ today when old legs will play against tired legs in a novelty match that will bring down…
Former Green Eagles Captain and international footballer, Dr. Segun Odegbami, has given a fresh update concerning the burial arrangements of the late football legend, Peter Fregene. It will be recalled that the late Olympian died on 13th October, 2024 after a prolonged illness. In a Facebook post titled: Peter Fregene – An update!, Dr. Odegbami…
I cannot post any more pictures of Peter. Last night, I spoke with the doctor on duty at the Obule Medical Centre, Sapele, where Peter is on life-support, connected to an oxygen cylinder. He is unconscious but alive and breathing! At the hospital, he is fed and medicated intravenously, and, according to the doctor, his…
There has been a fresh concern over the health status of Peter Fregene, a legendary Nigerian football hero who diligently served Nigeria for two, decades, from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, the longest in Nigeria’s football history. In a post tagged: Frustrating news – prayers for ‘Apo’!, Dr. Segun Odegbami, a Nigerian former professional…
A little story to take minds away from the ‘horrors’ of the present times in the world (and in Nigeria). I told his story some weeks ago. Permit me to tell it again because the dial of life has moved up since then. There are interesting developments and new stories to tell. About 10 years…
I have been in hibernation for two weeks, high up in the hills of Wasimi in Ogun State buried in work. As a result, I failed to catch up with some major sports news. I missed Raphael Nadal’s loss in the first round at Roland Garros. I missed Manchester United’s surprise defeat of my favourite…
I do not have any of the answers to the three questions but I have experiences that span almost 50 years since I played my first serious football competition as a teenager in my first year in Ibadan after leaving Jos at 18. These past two days, foremost African Cinematographer, Tunde Kelani, and I have…
The news of Jose Paseiro’s exit as coach of the national team of Nigeria comes in a potpourri of little criticism, plenty of relief and appreciation, and huge new expectations. The Portuguese Coach must be the luckiest gaffer in the world. The confetti of gifts showered on him for coming second in the AFCON 2023…
For a moment, I am disoriented, not too certain about the day, the place and even the time. I am thinking and trying, in the wake of a deep short sleep, to work out the arithmetic of my activities in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, Saturday, was August 5. We left Nigeria at 2:30 pm…
