SPORTS

Ghana wins Under-20 World Cup for first time, beats Brazil in shootout By Jerome Pugmire (CP) – Special to USAfricaonline.com CAIRO, Egypt — Ghana held on with...

Nigeria is a nation whose ugliness is increasingly troubling! Nigeria’s Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili has implicitly accepted that there is something wrong with Nigeria’s image. She hardly accepts that there is something wrong with Nigeria. Trivializing her pet project to a matter of perception as she is doing with her usual zeal and outspokenness rather than accepting the obvious is very unhelpful. The poignancy of such artistic endeavors like District 9, which has been described as “a science-fiction morality tale” ought to be seen as an effort not only driven by mercantile interest, but also an effort to employ art to deliver the message to the so-called Nigerian leaders, past and present of the incalculable harm they have done and continue to do their country and its inhabitants. But are they listening? I have doubts.

'Hosting the Olympic Games should not be a privilege for rich countries,' Lula said recently in New York. In that sentence, the Brazilian synthesized all his shrewdness, in the effort to help Rio de Janeiro get past Chicago - as well as Madrid and Tokyo - in the race to host the 2016 Olympics. The world's tenth-largest economy, Brazil is not a poor country, although it is inhabited by legions of poor people. But playing the 'third world' card still pays off at an IOC in which anti-US feelings are rife even in the 'Obama era.'

Current FIFA World Player of the Year, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, is not on the list, and Portugal is in grave danger of missing the World Cup. Across the Atlantic, Lionel Messi of Argentina, considered by many to be the best soccer player in the world, also has missed the list, as his side has slipped from contention. Also, it’s no coincidence that all of the players on this list are on successful squads. Cesar’s Brazil, Lampard’s and Rooney’s England, Villa’s and Joan Capdevila’s Spain and Andre Ooijer’s and Joris Mathijsen’s Dutch teams have all already qualified for South Africa. Bocanegra’s U.S. side is currently in first place in the CONCACAF region. Bastian Schweinsteiger’s German team is atop Group Four in Europe, followed closely by Konstantin Zyryanov’s Russian side.

The U.S.-sponsored, leading international christian education college/seminary in Africa and an affiliate of the University of Nigeria (UNN), WATS, during its 20th Anniversary events May 20-23, 2009, in Lagos, awarded two of its first honorary Doctor of Humanities degrees to the Founder of the USAfrica multimedia networks and data mining corporation Chido Nwangwu, and retired Gen. Samuel L. Teidi, member of the Board of Directors of one of Africa's largest corporations, Dangote Flour Mills....