celebrity radar - gossips

Photos: Memorable Moments Of Football Legend, Maradona

Published

4 years ago

November 26, 2020

Sahara Weekly

I first came to know Diego Armando Maradona in September 1993, when I was watching the qualifying match between Argentina and my country of Colombia for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Photos: Memorable Moments Of Football Legend, Maradona- I first came to know Diego Armando Maradona in September 1993, when I was watching the qualifying match between Argentina and my country of Colombia for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

MEXICO. Mexico DF. 29/06/1986. Mundial 1986. Diego Maradona celebrating Argentina victory of World Cup at Azteca stadium.

I first came to know Diego Armando Maradona in September 1993, when I was watching the qualifying match between Argentina and my country of Colombia for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Even though I was just a young kid at the time, I knew that Maradona, Argentina’s star player, was something special. His vision, the way he dribbled past his opponents — he was respected and adored not just in his country, but across Latin America and the world.

1980: Diego Maradona (centre) of Argentina celebrating on his team mates shoulders after winning a game. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

Maradona, who rose from the slums of Buenos Aires to lead Argentina’s national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, died Wednesday at the age of 60, according to media reports. He reportedly suffered a heart attack at his home in a suburb of Buenos Aires.

As I found out about the news of his death, I asked a few Latinos at NPR to share their memories of Maradona. For us, in our region, we take soccer as seriously as religion — and as such, we all got to experience Maradona from our countries in our own way.

ROME, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 01: Pope Francis meets Diego Maradona during an audience with the players of the ‘Partita Interreligiosa Della Pace’ at Paul VI Hall before the Interreligious Match For Peace at Olimpico Stadium on September 1, 2014 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Here is a selection of tributes from NPR staff members. These have been edited for length and clarity.

San Salvador, 29 de octubre de 2006.
El futbolista Diego Armando Maradona durante el partido en con los amigos de el Mgico Gonzlez realizado en el Estadio Cuscatln.
Foto Lissette Lemus

Santa Maradona’

Since I was born in the U.S., my first intimate exposure to the passion around fútbol was through my friend, colleague and former Alt.Latino co-host Jasmine Garsd. In fact, the very first episode of Alt.Latino 10 years ago was a collection of songs about soccer from Latin America and around the world.

But the one that made her eyes both sparkle with excitement and reflect more than a bit of nostalgia was “Santa Maradona” by the rock en Español pioneers Mano Negra. The recording includes the sonic excitement that she said she could hear every weekend living near a soccer stadium in Buenos Aires. Playing this on repeat to remember Maradona is just as good as watching him playing on YouTube on repeat. – Felix Contreras, co-creator and host of Alt.Latino.

1983: Diego Maradona of Argentina at his local ground where he first played in Argentina. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

‘A Latino ambassador to the game’

I love walking past the Diego Maradona mural outside of Napoli Pasta Bar in Washington, D.C. I always get good vibes from it and love seeing a Latino displayed on a mural in the nation’s capital. I love that in one of his final years he took a job coaching second-division soccer in Sinaloa, Mexico, and nearly led them to promotion. Shows he really cared about the sport and was a Latino ambassador to the game. – Gustavo Contreras, assistant producer, All Things Considered

Diego Maradona, 16, warms up 12 September 1977 in Buenos Aires. Maradona was born on the 30th of October 1960 in Villa Fiorito, one the poorest suburbs of Buenos Aires. Most people consider him as the best soccerplayer ever in the history of soccer. Het started playing when he was 9 years old. His first club was Cebollitas, the youthteam of Argentinos Juniors. Because of his unknown talent he soon got the nickname �Pibe de Oro�, which literally means �Golden Boy�. He played through his 15th for the youthteam. On his 16th he debuted in professional football with Argentinos Juniors. And a few months later he already debuted in the national team of Argentina. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

‘When Argentina won … we all partied so hard’

As a morenita Mexican-Colombian kid growing up in surfer-centric Southern California, seeing Maradona beat West Germany in Mexico City was huge. I’ve never met my South American family and I’ve always been aware that I was different from the rest of my very Mexican extended family, but when Argentina won, none of that mattered and we all partied so hard. That Hand of God goal against the British was the stuff every colonized country dreams of. – Nadia Grenier, traffic coordinator.

Jan 1981: General view of the scoreboard showing that Diego Maradona of Argentina has scored during a match. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA – NOVEMBER 10: Diego Maradona, head coach of Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, gestures before a match between Aldosivi and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata as part of Superliga 2019/20 at Estadio Jose Maria Minella on November 10, 2019 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. (Photo by Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images)

Photos: Memorable Moments Of Football Legend, Maradona

Argentinian midfielder Diego Maradona (C) dribbles past three English defenders on June 22, 1986 in Mexico City during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Argentina and England. Maradona scored two goals, the first one with his left hand as he jumped for the ball in front of goalkeeper Peter Shilton, as Argentina beat England 2-1. (Photo by STAFF / AFP) (Photo by STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Candles are placed next to a picture of soccer legend Diego Maradona outside the San Paolo Stadium in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. Diego Maradona has died. The Argentine soccer great was among the best players ever and who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity. He was 60. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

MEXICO. Mexico DF. 29/06/1986. Mundial 1986. Diego Maradona celebrating Argentina victory of World Cup at Azteca stadium.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – NOVEMBER 25: A jersey of Argentina with number ten and a black ribbon hang in a balcony of La Boca after the news of the death of Diego Maradona was known on November 25, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Diego Maradona, considered one of the biggest football stars in history, died at 60 from a heart attack on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. (Photo by Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images)

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – JUNE 22: Argentina player Diego Maradona outjumps England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score with his ‘Hand of God’ goal as England defenders Kenny Sansom (top) Gary Stevens (c) and Terry Fenwick look on during the 1986 FIFA World Cup Quarter Final at the Azteca Stadium on June 22, 1986 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Allsport/Getty Images)

NPR

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Politics

Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli a Colossus at 60 -Dr. Odesanya Olumide

Published

5 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli a Colossus at 60
-Dr. Odesanya Olumide

The earth received a gift from the superior Universe at the birth of a shinning little star in the Center of Excellence, when a little bundle of joy was bequested to the Alli family in person of Taofeek Adeyemi. Little did they know then that this little star will twinkle around the world.

Hon (Aremo) Taofeek Adeyemi Alli was born three score ago and from the time of his foray into life at full speed, every fiber in him is pointing to the direction of help to humanity. His philosophy of life is live and let’s live. His forage into politics saw him grow from the very grassroots of the Nigerian political sphere, from the ward even to the very top where he is now and to other pinnacles that his aspirations will be.

Before being elected as the Federal Honourable representing Mushing 1 Federal Constituency, he has had his hand in every pie of the grassroot politics. He was the Honourable Councilor; Leader / Speaker Mushin Local government 1999-2002. From this platform he grew to become the substantive Executive Secretary and later Executive Chairman of Odi-Olowo/ Ojuwoye LCDA from 2004-2014. The developments recorded in these tenures still speaks till now.

In another capacity, he served as the Chairman Advisory Committee of both Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA, 2015-2018. So to say, he grew through the ranks and files of the political sphere in Nigeria, it’s not an exaggeration.

In the same vein, as Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli was achieving his feats in the political sphere, he is also imprinting his marks in the business world, which is evident in the visible successes in all business that he engages in.

To say that Nigeria is blessed with a loaded Member of the House of Representatives in Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli with his vast experience and acumen is not a farce and from his presence in the Green Chamber of the legislative arm of the Nigerian Government, the people of Mushin 1 Federal Constituency have seen a qualitative and transparent representation in him.

To commemorate this Diamond Jubilee beyond the winning and dinning, Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli is commissioning a New Ultra Modern Hospital Complex, with state of art equipment for the good people of Mushin 1 federal Constituency and Lagos at large.

In Hon Taofeek Adeyemi Alli, Nigeria has seen a pool of knowledge and wise counsel both for the generation ahead of him and the generation behind him. His feat has been felt by every members of the House of Representative, both in the committee that he had served and serving, and both the opposition and colleagues have seen in him the yearning to move Nigeria forward. Hon Adeyemi Alli many happy returns.

Courtesy;
Dr. Odesanya Olumide, fipr, fipra, frpa.
Sahara Weekly,
UK Correspondent.

celebrity radar - gossips

Emerging Facts On Why Ngelale Was Allegedly Booted Out Of Office

Published

7 hours ago

September 8, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Emerging Facts On Why Ngelale Was Allegedly Booted Out Of Office

Interestingly, more details have emerged regarding why Ajuri Ngelale, the spokesperson of President Bola Tinubu, was sacked on Saturday.

While Mr Ngelale said he was stepping aside to deal with medical matters affecting his family, several reports revealed that he left the position after he became suspicious that he could be humiliated out of office.

Insiders alleged that among many sins including his arrogance, acrimony with other appointees and civil servants, a list of immediate issues are:

1. He asked Julius Berger to affix a bold Coat of Arms in his residence during a massive reconstruction work on his residence. DSS got wind of it and it was seen as treasonable and reported by CSO to the President. They (his benefactor) pleaded on his behalf that he was ignorant and they let it slide.

2. The one that allegedly broke the camel’s back was that he allegedly collected a 50k USD bribe from Hope to insert his name on the China trip. The President had blacklisted Hope after the EDO primaries disaster. When he was questioned by COS, he was rude and said he’s only answerable to MR P. He was reported and Mr P asked for him to be sacked. His benefactor only intervened for him to be given safe landing. After much tears and begging, they let him step down and draft that fabricated statement.

Furthermore, it would also be recalled that according to a report by FIJ, Ajuri Ngelale, the broadcast journalist who made a name for himself with his eloquence and sonorous voice, did not resign as special adviser to the president on media and publicity to tend to a “vexatious medical situation” in his family as he claimed.

Instead, FIJ understands, he was fired by the presidency and only allowed to publicly resign after his repeated pleas for a soft landing.

Ngelale, who was also the special presidential envoy on climate action, stunned Nigerians on Saturday morning when he announced his abrupt exit from office, citing “medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family”.

A FACE-SAVING COVER-UP

“On Friday, I submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President informing my office that I am proceeding on an indefinite leave of absence to frontally deal with medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family,” Ngelale wrote.

“While I fully appreciate that the ship of state waits for no man, this agonising decision — entailing a pause of my functions as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity and Official Spokesperson of the President; Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was taken after significant consultations with my family over the past several days as a vexatious medical situation has worsened at home.”

He said he looked “forward to returning to full-time national service when time, healing, and fate permit”, and respectfully asked “for some privacy for my family and I [sic] during this time”.

But multiple highly-placed sources in and around the presidency told FIJ on Saturday afternoon that Ngelale’s exit was not triggered by a family health emergency, but rather his loss in a power tussle with Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.

LONG-RUNNING FEUD WITH ONANUGA

FIJ understands that following the election of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president in 2023, Ngelale did not exactly hit it off with Onanuga, largely because having been in government before Onanuga — President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ngelale his senior special adviser on public affairs in 2019 and he served in this position until the end of Buhari’s tenure — he considered himself Onanuga’s boss.

Ngelale, 38, began his career with the Africa Independent Television (AIT) in the 2000s, while Onanuga, 67, a former Managing Director of the News Agency of NJigeria (NAN), began his career in the 1980s. There was one problem, though: while Ngelale was special adviser on media and publicity, Onanuga was the special adviser on information and strategy.

FIJ understands that civil servants found the roles confusing. This was nothing like in the Buhari administration when Femi Adesina was the special adviser on media and publicity and Garba Shehu the senior special assistant on media publicity. In the latter case, everyone knew Adesina, as SA, was senior, while Shehu, as SSA, was subordinate.

Ngelale and Onanuga both had special adviser roles; and the profolios seemed similar. However, by design, the civil service structure of the villa reported to the SA media, and that was Ngelale.

“Ngelale considered himself untouchable because he had the backing of the president’s son Seyi and Femi Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff,” one source who asked not to be named for fear of retribution told FIJ.

“He was fired; I became aware of this on Tuesday, but I won’t rule out the possibility that it happened earlier. When he got the letter, he started to plead to be allowed to resign as a soft landing. He was eventually given a soft landing, which is understandable. News of his sacking in public would have thoroughly embarrassed not just Ngelale but the presidency too.”

Although this source expressed regrets that things eventually got to a head, they conceded that there was no other way out, given Ngelale’s unwillingness to discuss his long-drawn-out feud with Onanuga when the opportunities were presented to him.

“The Ngelale-Onanuga feud was no secret in the villa, so several top appointees and cabinet members attempted to intervene at separate times; and while Onanuga was open to peace talks, Ngelale wasn’t,” the source continued.

“For example, Mohammed Idris Malagi, the minister of information and national orientation, called for talks four times. Onanuga was willing to attend but Ngelale snubbed them all, always claiming he was busy.”

‘BLOCKING ONANUGA’ FROM HAVING AN OFFICE

Civil servants who asked not to be named, as well as a source familiar with presidency happenings, told FIJ that Onanuga, despite being formally appointed in October 2023 “was a squatter in the presidency and did not have an office of his own until just a few months ago”.

“When Onanuga was appointed, he had no office. He was squatting in Tunde Rahman’s office,” said one of the sources. “It was just recently that he eventually got an office that belonged to either Wale Edun or Zacheus Adedeji when they were still advisers.

Rahman, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, was appointed in July 2023 — three months earlier than Onanuga’s appointment.

These were people who had been with Tinubu for decades, unlike Ngelale, so how did Ngelale become so powerful that he got appointed earlier, blocked Onanuga from having an office to himself and all the aforementioned appointees could not fix Onanuga an office?

As written earlier, Ngelale had the backing of Seyi Tinubu and Gbajabiamila, but a third source took it even further, saying: “It was about how he got the job.”

How Ajuri ingratiated himself with Tinubu

“During the 2023 presidential electioneering, Jumoke Oduwole, the special adviser on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), introduced Ngelale to Gbajabiamila,” said the source.

“When Ngelale got there, he met Seyi. He told Seyi he would facilitate a CNN interview during which Tinubu’s presidential ambition would be discussed. Seyi thought it was impossible, but Ngelale did it. He secured the interview on CNN. He then told Seyi the time and date it would air. Seyi promised Ngelale that Tinubu would phone him if he pulled it off. Immediately after the interview was aired, Tinubu called Ngelale.

“When Tinubu won the election, Ngelale was abroad. People told him to return home but he said no; he insisted he would get his own appointment once he arrived in the country. And that was exactly what happened: Ngelale’s appointment by Tinubu was announced days after his return to Nigeria.

“Conversely, Gbajabiamila delayed the announcement of Onanuga’s appointment for at least two months. It required Chief Bisi Akande, who originally made the case for Onanuga’s appointment, to return to Tinubu for follow-up conversations. That was when Tinubu ordered that Onanuga’s appointment should be made, and that was how Onanuga came to the villa.”

FIJ understands that villa staff and civil servants whose work related to the president’s communication strategy noticed the tension between Ngelale and Onanuga and thought if they worked with one, then the other thought they were against him.

“This meant the work of publicising the president’s progressive policies was derailed,” said the source.

“By the way, Ngelale instructed civil servants that no statement from Onanuga could go out if he had not personally cleared it. If you speak with sources across divides, they would tell you Onanuga was the more peace-seeking of the duo. But this particular order from Ngelale to civil servants annoyed Onanuga.”

FIJ understands Ngelale’s standing with Tinubu started to plummet once it was easy to pitch to the president how Ngelale’s unharmonious relationship not just with Onanuga but with the media was hindering good publicity for the president.

“He did not have a good relationship with journalists. Ask the reporters; ask the state house correspondents. And also ask editors,” added the source.

“Many people consider him disrespectful and arrogant, even the editors. You can hardly find any important editor in Nigeria who likes or regards Ngelale.”

FIJ sent a text and WhatsApp messages to Ngelale, seeking his comments, but they were not replied. FIJ also made cellular and WhatsApp calls to Ngelale’s number, but none was answered.

When FIJ repeated the process with Onanuga, the outcome was the same.

celebrity radar - gossips

Wanted Briton Reveals Why He Cant Surrender to Nigeria police

Published

4 days ago

September 5, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Wanted Briton Reveals Why He Cant Surrender to Nigeria police

Nigeria police will torture, kill me if I surrender – Wanted Briton

The British national declared wanted by the Nigeria Police Force, Andrew Wynne, has said he won’t be turning himself in because he feared for his life in the hands of the police.

The police had on Monday declared Wynne and one Lucky Obiyan, a Nigerian, wanted and placed N20m bounty on them for allegedly trying to overthrow President Bola Tinubu by allegedly financing the recent #EndBadGovernance or #Hunger protest in the country.

Wynne had denied the allegations and accused the police of not extending an invitation to him.

But reacting on Tuesday, the Force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, insisted that the police had invited Wynne and given him ample opportunity to come forward to prove his innocence.

“We have established an offence or offences against him (Wynne), and we have even declared him wanted. His accomplices have been charged in court. Let him come out. At least those people worked for him. As a good leader, a businessman, and a smart man who mobilised and organised sleeper cells to cause problems in Nigeria, he should have come out as a good leader and proven to his followers that he was a good leader. Let him come and meet us,” Adejobi said on Tuesday.

But speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, Wynne said he would not be alive if he surrendered to the police.

Referring to the case of his employee, Yomi, who he said was brutally tortured by the police for days after being arrested at the bookshop, Wynne declared that he would not let the same fate happen to him.

Wynne, a 70-year-old man, stated that if he surrendered to the police, he wouldn’t survive the year.

He said, “The police say, if I am innocent I should give myself up. I am innocent. Like Yomi, for example, Yomi is completely innocent, give myself up and be tortured?

“I mean, it’s beyond fear, isn’t it? Yomi is my son and he’s completely innocent and was tortured for three days.

“And the police expect me to come back to Nigeria and be tortured? My fear is I would not be alive. It’s not about fear of torture and being beaten up by the police, it’s fear for my life. I don’t think I would survive the year if I came back to Nigeria.”