Soccer 2013: Nigeria celebrates, hosts victorious SuperEagles as African champions

Special to USAfrica multimedia networks, Houston.                                                                @Twitter.com/Chido247, Facebook.com/USAfricaChido n Facebook.com/USAfrica247

USAfricaonline.com: Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, soccer enthusiasts and  leaders of the most populated country in Africa will host the Super Eagles in Abuja on Tuesday February 12. It will be a national bash/party set to celebrate their winning the Africa Cup of Nations championship earlier today via 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.

Nigeria’s history-making goal was scored by Sunday Mba (from the Rangers of Enugu) giving the country its third Africa Cup of Nations title.

The victory also moved Nigeria’s coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi as the first Nigerian coach to win the championship as well as being the second person in African soccer history to clinch the trophy as a player and subsequently as a coach.

After his team beat Burkina Faso, Keshi noted that despite the meaning of the latest achievements, “It’s not for me alone. I hope more African coaches will get to this position and make their country proud.

A statement from the presidency in Abuja notes that the President
“thanks coach Stephen Keshi and all members of the team who have worked very hard…to make Nigeria the proud champions of Africa once again after 19 years of setbacks in the competition.”
With a sense of optimism, Jonathan adds that “having conquered Africa, the new Super Eagles can go on to achieve even greater glory at the World Cup in Brazil next year.”

But the challenge for Nigeria is sustaining a steady culture of training and long term strategies rather last-minute, fire-brigade approach to competing in the world’s most popular game of soccer.                                       • By Chido Nwangwu, Founder & Publisher of Houston-based USAfrica multimedia networks since 1992, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com;  CLASSmagazine, the USAfrica-powered e-groups of  Nigeria360, IgboEvents, UNNalumni, and the pictorials site PhotoWorks.TV

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WHY I CELEBRATE THE LIFE AND WORKS OF NELSON MANDELA. By Chido Nwangwu  https://usafricaonline.com/2010/07/15/mandela-why-i-celebrate-his-life-works-by-chido-nwangwu/

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Nigeria’s Federal Republic of Insecurity. By Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfrica, USAfricaonline.com and the Nigeria360 e-group. https://usafricaonline.com/2011/12/17/nigeria-federal-republic-of-insecurity-by-chido-nwangwu/ : IF any of the Nigerian President’s 100 advisers has the polite courage for the extraordinary task of reminding His Excellency of his foremost, sworn, constitutional obligation to the national interest about security and safety of Nigerians and all who sojourn in Nigeria, please whisper clearly to Mr. President that I said, respectfully: Nigerians, at home and abroad, are still concerned and afraid for living in what I call Nigeria’s Federal Republic of Insecurity. FULL text of commentary at USAfricaonline.com https://usafricaonline.com/2011/12/17/nigeria-federal-republic-of-insecurity-by-chido-nwangwu/