20:20:17; A Tennis love triangle

    When youngsters Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met in 2005 on the red clay of the Roland Garros center court to battle it out for a spot in the French Open final, both men could not have known that they would dominate the world tennis scene for the next two decades. Nadal won that match en route to winning his first Grand Slam, and has since gone on to win 100 matches on that court, losing only twice there in his career. Of the two men to have ever beaten him in the French Open (the other is Robin Soderling), a certain Novak Djokovic stands out as a third force in world tennis. As at 2008, the man with the most Grand Slam titles was Pete Sampras, with 14. 12 years later, only three men have won more titles than Sampras and they are Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Both Federer and Nadal have won 20, with Djokovic further behind on 17 titles. These three combined have won 57 of 71 Grand Slams available since 2002, a whopping 80.2%. Considering the fact that these men have missed a number of Grand Slam events due to injury only puts the statistic into a clearer view.

    These men have shown that they are on a level of their own and all the statistics are there to back them up. On every surface (Hard, Grass, Clay), they hold the records for most wins and titles won. Federer has the best Open era record on grass (Wimbledon), having won 101 of 114 matches since 2001, with a win rate of 88.6%. Djokovic has the best record on the hard courts (US Open and Australian Open), winning 150 of 170 matches (88.2%) since he made his Grand Slam debut in 2005. Nadal meanwhile has the best record on clay (French Open), having won 100 of his 102 matches there with a win rate of 98%. Nadal’s exploits in the French Open have earned him the title “King of Clay”. He has won a mind-blowing 13 of his 20 Grand Slam titles in Paris, winning the Coupe des Mousqetaires more times than any other man in history has.

    Of these three, Federer is the oldest, and he has played in the most matches with 421. He has won 362 of these, giving him a rate of 86% in Grand Slam matches. He won his first Grand Slam on the grass surface of Wimbledon and first became World No. 1 in February 2004. He has gone on to hold on to the No. 1 for the longest time in history, with 310 weeks as World No. 1. Nadal is next to him in age, and he has won 282 matches from 321 played in Grand Slams, at a rate of 87.9%. He won his first Grand Slam in 2005 at the French Open and only became World No. 1 for the first time in August 2008. Djokovic is the youngest of the trio, and he has won 296 matches out of 341 he has appeared in (86.8%). His first Grand Slam came in the 2008 Australian Open, and he had to wait until July 2011 before he was first ranked as No. 1 in the world. It is fascinating how these men have gone on to completely dominate the specific events in which they won their first Grand Slam titles. Federer has appeared in and won the most Wimbledon finals in the Open Era, Nadal is the only man in history to win a single Grand Slam more than 10 times, and Djokovic has gone on to win the most Australian Open titles in history. Djokovic is also the last man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once since Rod Laver did it in 1969.

    They have completely dominated the Grand Slam scene, with all three of them completing Career Grand Slams, and Nadal having an Olympic gold medal in the singles, completing the Golden slam. They hold most of the Open era records, and below is a breakdown of their Grand Slam victories;

Australian Open

US Open

Wimbledon

French Open

Total

Novak Djokovic

8

3

5

1

17

Rafael Nadal

1

4

2

13

20

Roger Federer

6

5

8

1

20

    On a head-to-head level, these men have a fascinating record. Djokovic has faced Nadal 56 times, more than any two players have ever faced each other in the Open era, and leads 29-27; he has faced Federer 50 times, with 17 of them in Grand Slams, a record, and also leads 27-23. Federer and Nadal have faced off 40 times, with Nadal ahead by 24-16. They hold the record for the most Grand Slam final meetings, with 9 meetings. Off the court, they have attested to having a good relationship, as was visible when during the COVID-19 lockdown, a call between Federer and Nadal was made public. They have appeared in a number of charity matches too, and Federer has paid several visits to Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy.

   Despite Federer and Nadal having more Grand Slam titles, Djokovic has the upper hand in the tennis GOAT race as he has had the most unblighted career of the three. Federer at 39 has had it hard with injuries and might be inching closer to his retirement, and Nadal, despite being much younger at 34, has had a hard time with injuries in his career. Djokovic is still only 33, and has barely been touched by serious injuries in his career. Federer utterly dominated the period from 2000-2009 where he won 15 of his 20 Grand Slam titles, but the period from 2010-2019 was dominated by Djokovic and Nadal, who won 15 and 13 titles, respectively. Of the three, Djokovic has a better chance of going on and winning more Grand Slam titles than any other man, and recent evidence proves that he is not stopping anytime soon.

NIGERIANS AND THE CRAZE FOR FOREIGN BRANDS

    Gucci, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger. These are some exquisite foreign brands that enjoy a considerable amount of patronage from Nigerians. This ought to be a normal thing, but then, the rate at which our people source for these brands is so high that it is gradually becoming a menace. 

   The bottom line is that our craving for these brands not only affects indigenous manufacturing businesses, but also affects the nation's economy. Most of us have the staunch belief that any product made by Nigerians is very likely to be a fake and would not serve us well. In order to survive, our indigenous manufacturers have adopted the names of some of these foreign brands to sell their products, further intensifying the claims that they produce fakes. Our warped belief and sense of belonging doesn't help their case because most of us never patronise them. Sometimes when I see people going crazy over an accessory because of its brand name, I ask myself "where are we headed as a nation?". We tend to prioritize products of outsiders over our own products and so, it's very unlikely that we'll make much headway as a nation, to be brutally honest. This is because at the end of the day, it's all money going out. These companies mostly do not have production facilities in the country and as such, don't reduce unemployment or improve the economy. As a result, the economy suffers as huge sums of money are spent yearly in importing and buying these goods. 

   A very good example is that of the Team Nigeria kit for the World Cup in 2018 produced by sportswear giants, Nike. These were released officially to the public for purchase at a standard rate of 41,000 naira for the jersey and 70,000 naira for the complete tracksuit. These jerseys came out for sale in Nigerian markets at 1,000 naira or slightly higher. These replicas were manufactured in the country by our own people, but are branded as fakes because they were not gotten from Nike. An ex-senator, Ben Murray-Bruce had something to say about the deal with the sportswear giants which cost about $100 million. He said that kind of money ought to have been utilised within the nation's economy with the contract being awarded to indigenous sportswear makers in Aba, a major hub for indigenous products in the country. We all know that the nation stands to gain from its association with Nike, but on the flip side, it would have been absolutely fantastic if the contract had been awarded to an indigenous sportswear maker. Given that kind of money, I'm absolutely certain that we'd have gotten good value for money from within the country, and at the same time, we'll have created employment opportunities for a large number of unemployed people in the country, also creating a good brand for ourselves. Renowned Musician and son of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Seun Kuti has also in the past criticized our over-indulgence of foreign brands. We all know that there are lots of our indigenous manufacturers who can't be trusted because they are so corrupt and inefficient, but at the same time, there are so many others who do their work so well that they can actually compete with the foreign brands if given a chance. Now, there are so many brands from which you can be sure you're getting a very good quality. We know we aren't up there yet, but with a good market, our people will surely deliver.

   We are Nigerians, let us buy Nigerian and move Nigeria forward. Let's do away with our over-dependence on foreign brands and start patronising our own. This change of mentality is required, so we can stop seeing ourselves as inferior to the foreigners who produce these brands, and then the future would certainly be better for our child

OCTOBER INTERNATIONALS; WHO REPRESENTED THE SUPER EAGLES

     For avid football fans, the month of October 2020 was a breath of fresh air as they were finally able to see their darling national teams line up again following a hiatus of almost a year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

    With the Super Eagles of Nigeria, it was no different as players were called up for two friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia on the 9th and 13th of October, respectively. For the sake of the players called up being foreign based, the friendlies were held in Austria as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. A number of regulars were however missing due to various reasons. Midfield anchor, Wilfred Ndidi was injured while playing for Leicester City in the Premier League, Oghenekaro Etebo was injured playing for Galatasaray, Francis Uzoho is yet to recover from the Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury he suffered, Joe Aribo was injured while playing for his Scottish club, Rangers, and Victor Osimhen could not make the trip from Italy due to fears of a possible Coronavirus outbreak in Naples.

    A squad of 26 players convened in Austria for the friendlies. The squad list in full;

Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands); Dele Alampasu (Ventspils, Latvia); Matthew Yakubu (SKF Sered, Slovakia); Tobias Lawal (LASK Linz, Austria).

Defenders: William Troost-Ekong (Watford FC, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Rangers FC, Scotland); Semi Ajayi (West Brom, England); Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista, Portugal); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Ola Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany); Tyronne Ebuehi (SL Benfica, Portugal)

Midfielders: Mikel Agu (Vitoria de Gunimaraes, Portugal); Samson Tijani (TSV Hartberg, Austria); Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, Denmark).

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr SC, Saudi Arabia); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins de Bordeaux, France); Cyriel Dessers (KRC Genk, Belgium); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal CF, Spain); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Paul Onuachu (FC Midtjylland, Denmark).

    A couple of new faces had joined up with the squad, and young and promising players came through. Goalkeepers Tobias Lawal, a 20-year-old keeper from LASK Linz who was on the bench when his club faced Manchester United in the Europa league last season and Matthew Yakubu, a 21-year-old were called up as the goalkeeper uncertainty which has been with us since Vincent Enyeama retired looked to be solved. 18-year-old midfielder, Samson Tijani, who captained the Nigeria U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 World Cup in 2019 was also called up. 25 year old Dutch-born striker, Cyriel Dessers, who was the highest scoring Nigerian in Europe last season was also called up, Zaidu Sanusi, a 23 year old left back was also called up to shore up the defence, as was 25-year-old Kevin Akpoguma, who captained the German U-20 national team as they beat a Nigerian team containing Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi at the 2015 U-20 World Cup. Twenty-two-year-old saucy winger, Chidera Ejuke, who made waves at Heerenveen in the Netherlands also got called up. Also, midfielder Frank Onyeka, 22, who appeared prominently as FC Midtjylland made the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever, was invited.

    In the games against Algeria and Tunisia, it was evident that this was a side missing many of its key players, as the team struggled to find any rhythm and play in sync for most of the games, due to the fact that they had only about 11 days to acclimatize, train, and play together. It was thus understandable when the team played out a 1-0 loss to Algeria, and a 1-1 draw against Tunisia four days later. Chances were at a premium in both games, and only one goal was scored. In spite of a barrage of changes by coach Rohr, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye started and completed both games and looks to have secured the number 1 shirt following a pair of solid performances, with the highlight being in the second game against Tunisia when he had to make a brilliant stop to tip the ball over the bar late in the game after a cross almost caught him off-guard and the ball looked destined for the back of the net. Kevin Akpoguma also gave a decent account of himself in both games, and Chidera Ejuke showcased some of his impressive dribbling and close control against Tunisia. Zaidu Sanusi started both games at left back, and Frank Onyeka was also handed his debut, as was Samson Tijani. Overall, it seemed a positive outing as the players got to know each other, and they played some aesthetically pleasing football at times.

    Looking at these friendlies, we learned that the Super Eagles have enough quality to last a long while. For every aging player, there are two or three hungry young players waiting in the sidelines. The sky really is the limit for this team.

FREEWILL! MY #ENDSARS STORY

    “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear”- Aung San Suu Kyi.

     In Nigeria, police brutality has been a huge issue from time immemorial. Currently, the police force which ought to be a beacon of hope and security has turned into a nightmare for the citizens, and its officers are seen as devils and lunatics armed and roaming the streets while perpetrating acts of lawlessness and unleashing terror with no fear of consequence or regard for justice. Spearheading these acts was the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). These men (or animals) perfected the act of terrorizing innocent and well-meaning young Nigerians to satisfy their savage thirst for blood, and get them wads of cash.

    SARS was originally formed to combat crimes involving the use of firearms as in kidnapping, armed robbery and car theft, among others, but these men began to act like criminals, with a long list of crimes they committed. These men continued to evade justice and they did not pay for their crimes. In recent years, the crimes of these officers rose to an alarming peak, with blatant extortion, routine kidnapping, and extrajudicial killings fast becoming their Modus Operandi. Almost every young Nigerian has a tale to tell about the brutality of the Nigerian Police Force, especially the SARS unit. Personally, I have not had any encounters with these dreaded agents of doom, but a number of my friends and associates have, and they have been unpalatable experiences.

    A lot of innocent Nigerians have paid the ultimate price due to the brutal nature of our police. Some of them are;

Kolade Johnson; He was killed on the 31st March 2019. His offence? He was returning home from a football viewing center where he had just watched a game, and a SARS officer, while attempting to arrest another individual as an internet fraudster on the basis of his dressing shot him, truncating his life. He left behind a child and parents. For the officer in question, it has probably been business as usual, with only a slap on the wrists.

20-year-old Ifeoma Abugu was a youth corps member when she was arrested in place of her fiancée at his residence in Abuja. She was sexually assaulted and died in custody barely a day after she was arrested. Her killers are roaming the streets till this day, and have probably orchestrated another couple of killings.

Ayomide Taiwo was a 20-year-old fashion designer. He was attacked by a drunk SARS officer for refusing to give him a bribe. He was hit in the head with the butt of the rifle carried by the officer, causing him to fall off the motorcycle on which he was travelling. He slipped into a coma, and died after 6 days.

Sleek was another vibrant young man killed at the hands of these lawless officers. His offence was that he refused to unlock his phone for them to access it. He was shot and killed subsequently.

Tiamiyu Kazeem was a 21-year-old professional footballer. On the 24th February 2020, SARS officers tried to forcefully take him into custody. He was pushed from their vehicle and got run over by an oncoming vehicle.

Matthew Onovo was a 22-year-old student in 2008 when he was shot and killed by policemen despite being unarmed.

Chibuike Anams was a 23-year-old student. He was shot while trying to escape after the police raided a bar where he was out with his friends on July 24th 2009.

Tina Ezekwe was barely 16 when she got hit by a bullet from a drunk police officer who was attempting to disperse a crowd that had formed when he opened fire on a bus driver who refused to give him a bribe. This was on May 26 2020. Tina died shortly after.

   These are a few of the victims of this madness, and a number of police officers and police stations have been indicted following documentation by social media users. Thinking about the number of unreported/hidden murders carried out by these men is scary, to say the least. There may be hundreds, if not thousands of dead bodies in shallow graves around the country. A station that stood out for its notoriety was the Awkuzu SARS unit in Anambra state, some 30km from Awka, the state capital. It was reported that this station was in honesty a slaughter-house where people got killed indiscriminately and buried in shallow graves or thrown in a river. It was reported that a father once went in search of his son who had been killed, and the man was directed to the river where tens of bodies were floating!

   At a point, the name ‘SARS’ drove fear through the hearts of every young Nigerian because no one was safe from these trigger-happy psychopaths. At this point, it became a case of when, and not if the Nigerian youths would initiate an uprising against these monsters in uniform.

    The ENDSARS movement started out as an online hashtag on the popular social media platform, Twitter, but some young Nigerians took the protest to the next level. These people hit the streets on the 8th October 2020 and about 56 of them defiantly spent the night outside the Lagos State House of Assembly complex, where they requested to see the governor of the state. These people faced intimidation from the Police Force, but remained resolute until eventually, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa attended to them. This birthed other peaceful demonstrations around the nation, and the youths demanded an end to the madness going on in the nation.

    #EndSARS had become a rallying cry for the government to abolish the rogue unit in question, and institute widespread police reforms. Unfortunately, as the protests went on, a number of innocent protesters were killed. On the first day of the protest in Ogbomosho, an innocent bystander, Jimoh Isiaq was shot and killed by an officer of the police force. 7 more people got killed in this same town over the course of the next two days of peaceful demonstrations. At this point, I began to fear for a complete breakdown of law and order, and a descent into anarchy. But to my utmost satisfaction, the youths refrained from descending into anarchy, even after 4 more people were killed in Lagos. A number of protesters also got brutalized, most notably Ojabodu Ademola, who developed a cerebral edema after his encounter with the police. These events further revealed the complete disregard for Human Rights by the Nigerian Police Force.

   Till date, these youths have faced numerous obstacles, including attacks by paid thugs and policemen in full combat gear, but have remained resolute and surmounted all of these obstacles. This tenacity began to bear fruits when on the 11th of October, the President of the country announced an end to the rogue unit, and following further protests by the youths who presented the government with a 5 point agenda for the police reforms, in Lagos state, 4 officers responsible for the shootings of unarmed protesters were apprehended and given orderly room trials. These officers are; Inspector Ekpoudom Etop, Inspector Bagou Michael, Sergeant Nnamdi Majura and Seargent Akinyemi Benson. Also, a trust fund was set up to compensate victims of these men. In Anambra state, one of the frontrunners of the Awkuzu SARS unit, CSP James Nwafor (Rtd.) was also relieved of his duties as SSA to the governor and is currently facing arrest. At this point, the government has no option but to listen to the people and bow to their will, because the power of the people is always greater than the people in power.

    Finally, the Nigerian people have achieved freedom from their own prisons, they have found their voices and spoken as one. The youths hitherto referred to as “phone-pressing” and lazy have found something worth fighting for, and fight they have.