Headlines
‘Don’t Sack Rohr Now’
Ex-international Godwin Okpara has urged the Nigeria Football Federation to desist from sacking Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr with just three months to the final play-off of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers.
Okpara is the second ex-internationals – after Victor Ikpeba – to kick against the sacking of the Franco-German with just 34 days to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations insisting the move will be a disaster.
Rohr once again came under heavy criticism following the Eagles’ underwhelming performance in their 1-1 draw with Cape Verde at the Teslim Balogun stadium in November.
Speaking in an interview, the former defender said now was not the time to sack Rohr.
He said, “This is not the right time to do all these, apart from the fact that we have the AFCON almost here; we are still in the middle of World Cup qualifiers, so we don’t need these distractions and confusion.
“They should not bring confusion into the team. Let’s allow the coach concentrate on the team. We know we must perform well at the AFCON and also qualify for the World Cup.”
On the team’s chances of going far at the tournament in Cameroon, the former Standard Liège player added, “I have belief in the team, what they needed is discipline, if they really want to go far.
“We have players like Wilfred Ndidi and others who are playing well. All they need now is discipline and whatever the coach is saying, they should do it, if they are playing to the coach’s instructions then they can go places. And whatever we are doing, we should do it straight, allow the coach to do his work, with that, and then we can hold him to whatever results we are getting.
“I have heard a lot and I can’t just be talking about it on the pages of newspapers; we should allow him to do his job without any interference.”
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
