Breaking: Former Super Eagles Coach Christian Chukwu Passes Away

Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, has passed away at the age of 74. Chukwu who also captained the Super Eagles in his playing days died earlier today, information reaching The Eagle indicates. Details of his passing on has not been clear as at the time of filing in this report.

An Nigerian sportsman, his time as captain of the national team, then known as the Green Eagles, saw the country winning the African Nations Cup in 1980.

The squad had great and talented players like Segun Odegbami, a.k.a The Mathematical Odegbami; Henry Nwosu, Silvanus Okpala, Aloysius Atuegbu and Muda Lawal to name a few Chukwu who was also nicknamed Chairman Church due to his confident charge of the Eagle’s defence area, was a member of the Nigerian squads that that finished runners’ up in 1976 and 1978 before eventually lifting it in 1980.

The victory was over Algeria, and came via a resounding 3:0 victory

Opay; The Only Fintech Awarded at The Leadership Awards.

Opay, short for “Opera Pay,” started as a bold idea from Opera Software, the company known for its popular web browser, and a group of Chinese investors who saw the potential in Nigeria’s growing digital economy. They launched Opay in June 2018, with a mission to help millions of Nigerians who didn’t have easy access to traditional banks. But they didn’t just launch their banking solution immediately. They had a strategic plan to win over Nigerians first. Opay began by offering services used by everyday Nigerians and offering them at crazy discounts. They introduced ORide, a ride-hailing service with unbeatable discounts, making it an instant hit in Lagos, where traffic is a daily struggle. People quickly started using ORide as a go-to option for getting around and enjoying more affordable rides. But Opay didn’t just stop at ride-hailing.

They rolled out other services like OFood, a food delivery service, and OBus, a bus-hailing service, all offered at great discounts. These services weren’t just about making money; they were a strategic move to get Nigerians hooked on the Opay app for everyday needs. By offering these services at low prices, Opay quickly built trust and got millions of Nigerians on board. Once Opay felt it had earned the trust of millions and had a solid user base, it shifted gears. They began to phase out initial services, like ORide and OFood. But this wasn’t a sign of failure. It was all part of the plan. By then, Nigerians were already familiar with Opay and trusted the brand. Opay focuses on what they originally wanted to do—become a leading digital bank in Nigeria. With its established reputation and large user base, Opay was perfectly positioned to take on the digital banking space, and the ordinary Nigerians had no other option but to follow along, the super app they have come to love. Opay’s success can be attributed to its relentless focus on innovation and understanding the Nigerian market. The company’s mobile wallet quickly became a go-to solution for millions of Nigerians who needed a reliable and accessible means of making payments, transferring money, and accessing financial services without a traditional bank account. By 2022, Opay had over 30 million users, 500,000 agents, and 100,000 merchants, and had processed billions of naira in transactions, making it one of the most significant fintech players in Nigeria.

My Train Ride Experience

Story & Pictures BY GBEMILE OLUWATOSIN

What kind of experience would you expect on a train ride from Lagos, the famous centre of excellence, to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and back? If you said, unforgettable, you are right, but it now depends on whether it is negatively or positively unforgettable.

It wasn’t a journey undertaken in the notorious old train coaches, but one done in a modern train.

It was a Sunday and the Yaba main terminus the takeoff point, and the motivation was to cut off the huge traffic that normally awaited road travelers.

The class was economy and this cost N2, 600.  from the interior of the train, down to the conduct of the ticket and station officers, one could say that there is hope for Nigeria, that is if the same thing that I experienced could be applied in other sectors of the society.

I can say, that of all the projects of President Muhammadu Buhari, there is at least one that is really working.

And that is, if the railway station business would still be handled by the Chinese in the years coming.

To say that I sincerely enjoyed my journey to and fro, Lagos to Ibadan, Ibadan to Lagos is merely stating the obvious.

It was as if I was out of the country.

Sighting the topography from out the window alone was interesting, the scenery was soothing. indeed “The land is green” as sang by TY Bello readily came to my mind.

There were many aspects of my experience that supported the phrase that the Nigerian land is green one, and that secondly, it was an unforgettable train ride.

In fact the security arrangement  inside the train and the stations at each of the stops, was topnotch; one could notice the presence of security men all over.

This was noticed right, from Babatunde Fashola Station, Agege, through Professor Wole Soyinka Library Station Papalanto, to Omi Adio station down to Moniya Ibadan, security men guided the journey all through

As a passenger you had options which class to join –  First Class, Business Class and Economy or Standard Class.

The good thing was which ever, you had good working air conditioner. I will advise that you arm yourself with a thick cloth to keep the cold abay, should you desire to travel by the train.

No trading is allowed so you come in with your prepared food. In other words,  there no “Driver please I want to buy dodo ikire or screaming of mum sha kin mu agbado wa” All you would be seeing throughout your journey is green vegetation once you have escaped the sorry sight of shanties around Agege.

It was exactly, at 8.00 am, that the unforgettable train ride began; it waited for nobody, which means that virtually everybody traveling to Ibadan was already on ground before 8am all checking-in their luggage immediately tickets were bought. This meant also that the issue of racketeering tickets or hoodlums hoarding the tickets would not arise.

At the dot of 10:30am, we arrived Moniya Station, Ibadan.

And to that extent, one was able to meet his appointments, conclude them in good time, ready to embark on the return journey.

We left Ibadan 8:am and arrive the Babatunde Fashola Station, Agege, 10.20am, with the train continuing to its final destination of  Alagomeji, Ebute Metta, and there was every assurance that it would get there by 10:30am.

Having experienced it myself, I can now categorically tell that you could go to Ibadan today and return back to Lagos same day. Leaving here 8am, you are sure of getting to Ibadan in good time, transacting your business and still be able to join the 4:00pm coach back to Lagos; by 6:30 pm, you are cooling off in Eko.

Honestly, it has shown that we could be good in implementing multi-billion projects; the problem however would come in maintenance. I am just hoping that the lack of maintenance culture would not mar this unforgettable train ride, 20-40 years down the road.

IS THIS LAND GRABBING OR WHAT?

Maroko gone, Otodo Gbame gone, now Makoko, Ori Oko, Ebute-Metta, Yaba is about going?

It happened May, 10, 2018, but I visited the place on Sunday, May 13,2018 even since then I've been sad and downcast.

Here are the pictures has promised on my facebook newsfeed.

The hole was as a result of spray bullet, by the Taskforce official of Lagos State.

Lagos Youths Protest Against Police Brutality.

Random shot of Ogba Youths protesting along Ifako-Ijaiye, Ogba Lagos.

PHOTO CREDIT: Gbemile Oluwatosin.

Honestly, I hope this protest is not lossing FOCUS, the President need to address this issue once and for all.

#Goodgoverance

#BBC

#CNN

#AFP

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Ambient Darkness

Night environment sometimes looks scary, but with good ambience there's an atom of beauty and relaxation. So when next someone asked you how was your night, just reply with the word "It was beautiful" just like the above image.

Photo Credit: Gbemile Oluwatosin.