CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS OF NON-FOOTBALL SPORTS, NFS

In the last twenty years, Nigeria has not won any major football competition. In these last twenty years, Nigeria and indeed corporate Nigeria have invested massively in football thereby sustaining that old assumption that football is the only sport that promotes, unites us or that it would help sell our goods and promotes our political and corporate image.

(2) That has not been the case. Instead of that massive investment to yield the anticipated dividends, three things have happened:

(i) we are mostly hypertensive when our football team plays – notice too, that our football teams (male and female) were not at the World Cup in South Africa nor at the London 2012 Olympics respectively and in Russia 2018 Nigeria did  not go beyond the group stage.

(ii) investment in football has not always sold any goods and services, and

      (iii) Nigeria has unwittingly enriched only the practitioners and those who run football with our massive investment.

     (iv) other sports like Boxing, Athletics, tennis, golf, hockey, swimming and weightlifting have brought Nigeria glory , fame and laurels http://saharareporters.com/2017/05/02/nigeria-and-britain-fight-over-who-claims-anthony-joshua-world-heavyweight-boxing, https://www.pulse.ng/sports/dtigers-nigeria-beat-caf-114-69-to-qualify-for-fiba-world-cup-id8860280.html, https://www.pulse.ng/sports/other_sports/d-tigress-nigeria-beat-argentina-75-70-in-2018-fiba-world-cup-id8901131.html, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/nigeria-sports-news/279930-table-tennis-aruna-quadri-makes-history-to-win-first-nigeria-open-title.html, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/278853-asaba-2018-okagbare-in-action-as-nigeria-wins-three-more-gold-medals.html

(3) But there are corporate bodies like yours that have invested in other sports apart from football. Or perhaps you want to invest in non-football sports either as an expression of your corporate social responsibility, CSR, or you desire to promote your goods and services with sports like basketball, boxing, polo, golf, hockey, swimming, weightlifting and etcetera?

(4) Bob MajiriOghene Communications wants to work with you on this.  We want to collaborate with you. However, we can only support and partner with you only if you let us help you tell everyone what you want to do, what you have done, and what sport, apart from football you are keen to support either as an expression of your CSR, or as a tool to promote your brand or your company or institution. As the 2019 elections draw near, this opportunity gives emerging political figures the chance to brand themselves to the teeming young voters out there as a great investor/supporter of non football sports, NFS.

(5)Bob MajiriOghene Communications, a foremost media organisation/consult will collaborate with mainstream media to tell/present stories about corporate institutions and individuals that have supported non-football sports as an expression of their CSR, or want to use that publication to sell their brand or score a crucial political point. These features will run weekly.

(6) To participate, simply send us your corporate profile or bio or photos or and arrange to send us to any location that eloquently expresses your involvement in any NFS. All you need do is pick up the bills for placing your involvement in non-football sports on the newspaper and a token as our editorial fee which you pay AFTER your NFS has been published. 

(7) We want to congratulate you on/for this key decision to promote and sponsor a NFS, and include your organisation or person in the role-call of the who-is-who in the development of NFS in Nigeria.

(8) For further details, please call Bob on 08156171133, +2349092194428 or email: majirioghene@yahoo.com, majirioghene@gmail.com or Austin Oboh, assistant editor (Daily) Daily Independent Newspaper, Lagos, on 08056381188, 08094847369.

DEVELOPMENT MATTERS - Who will tell this to Obaseki?

Towards the end of last month, and early this month of September, I plied the Benin-Auchi road. The first was to Abuja while the second was to the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Apart from the fear which grips your heart when you suddenly find yourself head to head with an oncoming vehicle because the driver is trying to evade a dangerous pothole, there is the general sense of dismay at the imagery which this road has with our direction as a nation. Investigations reveal that this is a Federal road, and the chap at the Federal House of Representatives in whose jurisdiction this road falls has assured that the contract for the repair, rehabilitation of the road has been awarded. He said the contractors are waiting for the rains to subside to resume repairs.

And that is where the shame really starts – not the fatigue or deaths from ghastly accidents on these roads – no, not from any of these.At this point in the life of our country, nobody who values the importance of the lives of her people, and the special place that our roads have in alleviating poverty should give this kind of excuse. 

It means that our people will continue to suffer and die just because of ordinary rainfall!  In other parts of the world where government places a premium on the lives of her people, they defy/harness/subdue the elements. They spare no expense and do everything in their power to make the lives of their people meaningful. Is the extra cost of repairing a road during the rains more than the lives of those which we stand to lose by waiting until the rains are done pouring?

If you regularly ply this road, you might just notice that a very good reason for its bad state is that it sustains a vibrant inter-state commercial enterprise. The lorries bring in watermelon, fish, chicken, onions, beans, yams, cows and fruits into Benin City from the North – and return empty. Some persons told me recently that they return empty because the comparative advantage of the ‘trade’ between Edo/Delta states and the North is tilted very much in favour of the states in the North where those agricultural produce come from. What this means is that while the states in the North where those agricultural produce come from smile to the banks from selling their goods within Nigeria, our people in Edo/Delta are generally laid back, as oil producing states ‘enjoying’ oil wealth.

What to do? At the short-term, the government must fix that road, rain or no rain, and then begin to look for ways of taxing those Northern traders. Governor Obaseki might want to also visit the Edo ADP premises and the roads around there to see how beautifully abandoned the place is. The one leading to Ekenwan road from the Airport needs attention sir. In the long term, the governors of Edo and Delta states, and indeed those of the entire Niger Delta Region may want to embark on a peer review programme to the North to ascertain how the North suddenly became the food supplier of the Niger Delta and the South-South states of Nigeria.

Rave Reviews for PATHWAYS FOR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATORS

Those who already have a glimpse of Bob MajiriOghene Communications' newest title PATHWAYS FOR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATORS, have availed us pre-production reviews. We will share these reviews here as an appetizer to a document which seeks to help both newbies and the veteran hone their communications skills with a bias for development;''

Here goes:

Critical Reviews

Lekan Otunfodunrin, Online editor, The Nation Newspaper, Nigeria. - Generally, I think it is a welcome resource for professionals in this sector and students who need to learn about the skills required for development communications. There are adequate examples illustrating the points made in the sections.

Sam Kargbo, executive director, Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative, CERLSI.  - This is a work for posterity. Strong analyses. I recommend it to budding as well as established development communicators.

Emmanuel Okunmwendia, editor-in-chief, Alltimepost, USA.  - This book has filled the void often found with documentation from development organisations from Nigeria and Africa.

Dr Emman Shehu, director, International Institute for Journalism, Asokoro, Abuja - Etemiku charts a course in development communications with Pathways...

Betty Abah, executive director, Centre for Children’s Health, Education, Orientation and Protection CEE-HOPE - Powerful…I took time and read everything…so rich in information! Kudos!

Tony Abolo, media consultant & CEO Tonbole Production – This is a rich contribution to Development Communications. It is a hands-on and professional perspective which makes it easy for any newcomer to find a way to handle the task of development communications and make a tremendous success of whatever the assignment is.

Simit Bhagat, Program Officer Asia at Thompson Reuters Foundation – Like its name, this is a pathway for new and experienced hands in the development sector…very well written.

Jennifer Onyejekwe, communications advisor, Chemonics, Nigeria - As democracy becomes more entrenched in developing countries, the importance of the work done by communication for development professionals heightens. This book provides the necessary guide to new entrants in the communication for development field and a refresher to the old hands. A good read!

   

Bob MajiriOghene Communications introduces new title!

Our editor in chief Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku is an author of books for children. His debut, Mamud & the Moringa Tree was a best-seller. It is a book for children aged 5-14. It is a story about a boy's friendship with a tree. The theme focuses on the symbiotic relationship that exists between man and nature and between nature and man. It carries an appeal for people to stop chopping down trees for their energy needs. The book also highlights the nutritional properties of the Moringa tree.

https://amab.com.ng/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=683

The latest, Spikey…story of an African dog is an intriguing story of the radical change which took place in the character of an African dog after its owners showed it care and love after it became sick to the point of death. The manuscript is being prepared for publication with gray-scale illustrations to resolve the theme and bring out the essence of our relationships for nature and our four-legged friends. The book will be good for children from ages 9 – 12.

You can book your copies in advance from Bob MajiriOghene Communications, +2348156171133

BM Communications Brochure

This is our brochure for information and enlightenment purposes. Kindly get in touch with us for all editorial services
majirioghene@yahoo.com, +2348156171133