The Dropped Ones: Super Eagles

UP NAIJA

Messr Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has finally picked his 23 man squad for the World Cup. I will not dwell on the chosen ones well except if I want to make any comparison. I saw the the friendly the Eagles played against Scotland last week and despite not playing as well as I expected they didn’t do badly either. For those of you that always think Nigeria will beat England I hope you are convinced that there’s no way in hell that will ever happen. That is gist for another day. I think Keshi should have started Victor Moses (left to me I wouldn’t have called him up) and Mikel Obi because they didn’t have much playing time during the tail end of the season, so in my opinion they were match rusty.

The following players; Daniel Akpeyi, Ejike Uzoenyi, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Joel Obi, Nosa Igiebor, Sunday Mba and Obinna Nsofor were dropped from the provisional 30 players called up by Keshi. Now The Big Boss knows best no doubt and I respect him for his decision to drop these guys, believe me it’s not easy. You can pick a pen and paper to write out your preferred 23 and still get criticized for your choices. Like I tell my friends the person who takes a spot kick with the mouth never loses it. So we that are not directly involved think we know better.

If you read my previous post on my preferred Super Eagles 23 to the World Cup you will realize I didn’t put Chigozie Agbim but he made it, anyway we all know he won’t be playing in Brazil he’s just there to make up the numbers. Now who is Babatunde Michael? I would rather have put Ejike Uzoenyi (best player at the Nations Cup for home based players). He doesn’t have experience? Is it through watching the World Cup on his TV screen that he will gain experience? How did Enyeama become the star he is today? Paul Scholes can sure refresh our memory about that, since it was this then inexperienced Enyeama that stopped his shot from going into the net when Nigeria met England at the group stage of the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup.

Another player that was dropped that didn’t go down well with me is Nosa Igiebor. Look at the crop of midfielders we have and tell me how many are creative. What more can I say? I can’t make a case for Nsofor and I apologies for that. As for Oduamadi he plays in Serie B so if Danny Shittu didn’t make the cut for 30 then Oduamadi shouldn’t be allowed at the mundial as a player. Joel Obi has been off the radar for a while so it’s no shock for me. Daniel Akpeyi’s name just rings a bell and though I have heard some good stuff about him but in relation to the players picked he isn’t good enough to make the cut. And finally Sunday Mba, the man who won the Nation’s cup for Nigeria was also axed from the squad. I am sure he would be like why did he bother to struggle to make it to the camp. Sunday Mba in my opinion should have just remained in the local league instead of going to Europe to join a Ligue 2 side in France. I am not surprised he was dropped to be honest.

There’s no need crying, milk already spilt. We can only pray for the Super Eagles to excel at the tourney. I agree with Jose Mourinho’s prediction of Nigeria making it to the second round of the World Cup. This is Nigeria’s 5th appearance at the World Cup, they have played 14 games in the previous tournaments winning 4, losing 8 and drawing 2 with Spain being the biggest scalp taken (1998).

All the best Nigeria, GOD bless Nigeria………..

Thanks for your time people. Much love !!!

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram @dipoogun.

Saved By The Bell

Bell’s

It was one of those days when you are enjoying the lecture then in conclusion the lecturer in charge bursts your bubble by stating we were all going to be grouped for presentations that would be part of our assessment for his course titled Managing People. I was not a fan of standing in front of people to give a speech or speaking to a crowd. Even when I was made Utility prefect in secondary school, it was a task to lead the assembly or control the prep hall when it got noisy. To simply put it I like being anonymous. We were about 28 in my class and we were divided into 4 groups with my group having 6 people in it. We picked presentation topics and of all topics my group settled for this “Why is there so much fuss about STRESS? STRESS is actually good for you”. After the grouping, myself and my team members met on how to go about the project and decide when we would be meeting to work on it.

My group met almost everyday for about an hour and had longer sessions on Saturdays. We carried out intense researches and practiced for the presentation. It looked like I was getting into shape whenever I was with my group, but when I get home or when alone, thoughts of how I would fare on that day when I am to face the whole class and lecturer creeps in. I was already comfortable with my group members because we were friends before the pairing, but I was scared of fluffing my lines when I face the the whole class. This was something new for me, I was always used to being the guy in the background doing whatever it takes to make the group tick. The day for my group’s presentation, 13th December, 2010 drew closer and the pressure was getting to me. I had a chat with my bro about how I nervous and scared I was. He jokingly responded saying I should keep calm and drink Bell’s, that I wouldn’t care who’s ox was gored and I would flow fluently and smoothly come presentation day. Oh you don’t know what Bell’s is? When I was still in the world (the alcohol world), Bell’s was the best drink for me after Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels was my favourite because I could take it unadulterated, as in straight on the rocks (with ice) but with Bell’s I would add ice and coke/sprite.

So big bro was joking about me taking Bell’s but I took it to heart. By the way my group members are wonderful people, especially the babes, lol. They made me feel comfortable and it was all looking good, the transition from one presenter to the other was so cool I can’t explain in writing. I still had my Bell’s thought for the presentation day at heart and when the day came, I filled my flask with Bell’s and put it in my bag. I got to school to meet up with my group members for final rehearsals on the presentation. At about 4.40pm we were done with rehearsals and presentation was to start at 5pm. I walked out to the park to drink my Bell’s, let’s say gulp and at 4.57pm I was back in class. By 5 minutes past 5pm the class was filled with our fellow students and the Lecturer in charge. All I had in my head were my lines and what I needed to say during transition.

The topic of discussion was read out by one of the babes and each group member was introduced. The Bell’s had started to kick in there and then and when it was my turn to speak I remember I spoke but till date I can’t remember all I said or how I said it. After the presentation, I walked up to one of my friends in the class and asked how I did. His response was, Dipo I have never seen you speak so freely before, you nailed it. I was like hmmm, AA you dey scope your guy abi? I got a few handshakes with some people saying nicely done or good job. I was having none of it, the result was the only thing that could determine if my part of the presentation went well. My team and I hooked up for a short dinner and they really felt good about the presentation but I was just indifferent. Big bro asked how it went and I said I wasn’t too sure but I tried.

The results were released two weeks later and I was shocked. The group was given an A with the lecturer’s feedback going thus ” we all consistently contributed to the presentation and added value to the academic rigour of the presentation”. He also stated that “we had excellent audience interaction and discussion which contextualized the theory with all speakers confident and self assured. He mentioned that our audio-visuals were impressive. He was happy with our research and that the only down side of the presentation was that we didn’t show more detail about the impact of stress on an organization”.

You don’t believe me? Drop your email and I will forward you a copy of the result, lol. You see for me I was saved by the Bell (Bell’s) even though I still don’t have a clear memory of how I handled the presentation, the result was enough justification that I did pretty well. If I had gone in sober how would I have fared? I really don’t know but I know will stutter a bit and fluff some of my lines.

PS: This however is not an advice for anyone to take alcohol before a presentation (also termed Dutch Courage), I am just sharing one of my stories past. Besides it was a one-off thing and it worked for me then but might not work for you. Be Guided, lol.

Are you convinced I am a shy guy now and not a snob? LOL. Thanks for your time guys and remain BLESSED.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instragram @dipoogun

La Decima: Halla Madrid

I have always pointed out that I am crazy about 5 football teams on this planet, but if you have never met or don’t know me I will mention them again. My top priority is Manchester United and then the rest come afterwards. Having said that Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Juventus and Real Madrid complete my list. So its Man Utd, Villa, Newcastle, Juve and R. Madrid in that particular order. Of these 5 teams 2 didn’t let me down this season with both Juventus (Scudetto) and Real Madrid (Copa Del Rey & Champions league) winning trophies. I fell in love with Real Madrid in the year 2000, after a certain Fernando Redondo single-handedly tore my beloved Man Utd side apart. I will never forget that game, it was the Champions League quarter final 2nd leg of that season. United had managed to hold the mighty Real to a goalless draw at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and hoping to finish the job at home. We thought wrong, United was beaten 3-2 that night and like I said earlier Redondo orchestrated our downfall. The only positive for me that night on a personal level was seeing David Beckham dribble pass Roberto Carlos, lol.

Back to the crux of the post. Real have been looking for La Decima simply put as a tenth Champions League crown since their last triumph in 2002 where they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 with Zinedine Zidane scoring what is for me the best goal in Champions League history. After spending $1.2bn and waiting 12 years, Real Madrid are Kings of Europe once again. Their opponents in this season’s Champions league final Atletico Madrid were already crowned champions of Spain the preceding weekend. Real looked the better side from the onset but Atletico got into the game gradually though Real Madrid looked like they had the game covered. Oh did I mention I saw the game at Sylva Link (formerly known as The Roots) in Gbagada? Yea I did. Its always fun watching football with truck loads of people. You hear all sorts of facts or fables. Back to the game, Atletico Madrid for me are a great side, with wonderful team play and a fantastic manager. Atletico surprisingly (for me) took the lead through Diego Godin no thanks to an Iker Casillas gaffe and from then on it was all about Atleti. The first half ended 1-0 and it looked like Atleti were going to get their hands on the trophy.

The second half kicked off brightly for Real and it looked like they would get the needed equalizer. The game wore on and you wouldn’t believe how time flew, I didn’t know when they hit the 90th minute mark until I saw 5 minutes extra time being added. Well that’s how it is if a football match is interesting and its the team you are supporting that is a goal down. The yoghurt and ice I was having wasn’t helping matters as it was flowing smoothly and the gists and arguments? Priceless. Real however equalized in the 3rd minute of extra time to send the game into extra time. Even though peeps around me complained the 5 minutes extra time was too much. Wetin concern me? Na me be ref? This is no lie, I predicted the equalizer. I told one of dem dudes with me Luka Modric (obviously) would take the corner kick that led to the goal and Sergio Ramos would head home. Bang, just as I predicted. I wouldn’t say Sergio Ramos had a fantastic tournament but if I was to pick my player of the tournament from the Semi-final stage it would have been between the monster Cristiano Ronaldo and Ramos, well except for the needless yellow card Ramos picked up in the first half I think he had a wonderful game too. To cut the epistle short, Real Madrid banged in 3 more goals through a Gareth Bale (so happy for him) header, a Marcelo (love this dude) shot and a controversial Ronaldo penalty (Best player in the world toh sure) to win the game 4-1.

My man of the match without a doubt was Angelo Di Maria and not because it was Sir Alex Ferguson that handed him the award, he was a menace and the most purposeful of the lot. Those that were saying Ronaldo didn’t turn up or doesn’t turn up in big games and those that think Bale is also like that should understand that these so called big players bring something special to their team when the chips are really down. Ronaldo was clearly camera shy (not noticed) in the game and Bale fluffed 99% of the chances he had, but they were eventually counted after 120 minutes. I am so happy for Real Madrid fans especially the few true ones I know (Spikey, Damouche, Chips, Gbengene and Owobo). The La Decima was truly deserved and not forgetting to give special mention to the Atleti side for the beautiful season. Diego Simeone has really done a wonderful job of building this team and making them a force to be reckoned with world wide though I still fault him for starting Diego Costa on the night. I wish Atleti all the best and hopefully they would conquer Europe (win the Champions league)very soon.

I cannot categorically say what Raphael Varane did or said to Diego Simeone but truth be told, he shouldn’t be rude to a legend of the game.

Halla Madrid.

Thanks for your time and please do have a wonderful week. BLESS!!!

Louis Van Gaal: King Louis

King Louis

We all know David Moyes was sacked in April and a list of possible replacements breezed in from all angles. Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp was linked to the Old Trafford’s managerial hot seat so was Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Louis Van Gaal. All these listed managers distanced themselves from the job but one particular name (Louis Van Gaal) refused to go away. No disrespect to David Moyes though, I just think he wasn’t right for the United job, yea I have always said it knowing well that I wouldn’t be heard. I am just a fan based in Nigeria and the best I have done is buy merchandize, scream when we win, feel low when we lose, thank GOD for a draw and gist about my beloved team. Like my man Stan will say, Dipo shey dem dey pay you money ni? Lol

Anyway before I digress, the worst kept secret of recent times has finally settled in. Yea the appointment of Louis Van Gaal as Manchester United’s new Manager is this year’s worst kept secret, just like Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea was last season’s own. Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal aka Louis Van Gaal, O.O.N (Order of Orange-Nassau) is the present National team coach of the Netherlands and he has agreed to join my beloved Red Devils in a 3 year deal after the World Cup holding in Brazil. Louis Van Gaal (pronounced Lu Wi Van Hal) is good at what he does no doubt and his rich CV speaks for him. He has won trophies in the Netherlands with Ajax and AZ Alkmaar, in Spain with Barcelona and in Germany with Bayern Munich. His most successful reign is arguably his time at Ajax where he won the Champions league, League, UEFA cup, Super Cup, KNVB cup, Intercontinental cup and also the Johan Cryuff Shield which is like the English Premiership’s Community Shield.

What’s my take on Van Gaal’s appointment? I think it’s too early to start raising my expectations. We all thought Moyes was going to be an instant hit with the club, not necessarily win a trophy but at least remain in the class of the top four. That’s history now, sure he was well sorted and he should get a job in no time with the Celtic manager’s seat vacant but with his recent bar fight, his chances could be hampered. Though my guess is he would replace the next big Manager/Coach casualty in England before the turn of the new year. My fear with Van Gaal is when he was at some of the clubs he coached if he didn’t fight with a player today, he is in conflict with a member of the board or having a go at the media. A warning to him is the English press would always get under his skin directly or indirectly I just hope he can deal with it. I sincerely hope he recruits the right players to lead the United revolution. I believe in his abilities and coupled with the fact that he has a personnel that scouts the opposition ahead of games is a plus for me, though na still Man Utd money e dey chop. I am not expecting him to win the Premier League though he has been able to win league titles at the first time of asking with Barcelona in 1998 and Bayern Munich in 2010 but a top four finish is a must, FA Cup a good start and if he ends up with the Capital One cup in his first season then I might just be fully won over to his camp.

This 62 year old coach has won a total 16 trophies with all 4 clubs he has managed winning the Champions League (I know I have said this before) with Ajax in 1995 defeating the almighty A.C Milan. Our own (Nigerian born) George Finidi and Nwankwo Kanu played big roles in that successful year for the Dutch man. Big Up Naija, hehehehehehe.

Ryan Giggs retired just before Louis Van Gaal was named United’s manager. Who was he fooling? The moment he flew to see Van Gaal in Holland and Van Gaal agreed to make him his assistant, we all knew he was going to hang his boots. Van Gaal will never use a 40 year old man in his team. I must say I appreciate Ryan Giggs, his time at the club was a huge success winning over 40 trophies in a 24 year spell with the club, but I think he should have retired much earlier. So next up for him is to be assistant manager to Van Gaal which I think isn’t a bad idea, judging that the likes of Mourinho also learnt a few tricks (might not be directly) from King Louis. I just wish Van Gaal could have added Paul Scholes to his backroom staff *sad face*.

Welcome to Old Trafford King Louis, a successful reign we wish you………………….. From all UNITED fans (I guess).

Glory Glory Man Utd, Glory Glory Man Utd, Glory Glory Man Utd as the REDS go marching ON ON ON ON.

Thanks for you time people, stay BLESSED and do have a wonderful weekend ahead.

9 Years A Slave

ARSENAL 2014

Never mind about the post title. Just needed something catchy and I hope I caught your attention. 9 years a slave is dedicated to two of my brothers, Sir Greg and Damz Baba. Two true Gooners I have known all my life, two Gunners who’s faith in Arsenal (no thanks to Wenger’s tight fists) wavered at some point but still rose and stood tall. Trust me you don’t want to be in the same room with these dudes when Assnal plays badly. I am sure if the living room Televison could act on its own, it will never come on whenever Damz tries to turn it on. I understand how these wonderful men feel, because it’s not easy for you to burn money on your team’s merchandize and end up trophyless at the end of the season. They endured 9 years of barrenness with Arsenal. There were times they wanted Arsene Wenger out but you know when you speak at the point of anger, you really don’t mean what comes out of your mouth. These guys despite Arsenal not winning any trophy will still verbally frustrate those of us that supported teams (especially Manchester United fans) that have medals or trophies to show for a productive season………………… GREAT MEN.

To other Assnal fans, I acknowledge you and your patience finally paid off this day the 17th of May, 2014 when your team won the FA Cup to equal Man Utd’s record of 11 FA cup trophies. I apparently didn’t really watch the game live because I was driving and I was seriously hating on my friend who was in the car with me watching the game on my Walka. He was screaming and enjoying the game while I focused on getting us safe to our next destination. I brought the car to a halt at my friend’s place. She packed lunch for me because I told her I was craving jollof rice at the time. A bottle of fruit wine accompanied the meal. The next stop was my daughter’s place, yea you remember her right? The gorgeous Debs, I knew I wasn’t going to get a glimpse of the game though because I had missed her. Like a loving and considerate daughter she is, she allowed me catch the remainder of the first half. The first half ended 2-1 in favour of Arsenal’s opponents which happened to be Hull City. After the first half I promised to check on her the next day and she was happy. I left her zone after saying hello to one of my brothers and a high school friend of mine just before the second half would kicked off. I was hoping I would meet Damz at home but he wasn’t in the house so I continued watching the game with big bro and my friend. Though I didn’t really pay attention. Arsenal eventually won the game 3-2 ending their 9 year wait of winning a meaningful trophy, yes a meaningful trophy not that Emirates cup which they hardly even won after a while.

Trust me, I had not seen Damz this happy in a long while, he wasn’t half as happy as this when he made his first class in Uni (he went to Naija’s best school, go figure) compared to this triumphant night, forget the opposition. Immediately he sighted myself and Phammo at the Ozone lounge, he was screaming at the top of his voice, saying 9years drought ended, 9 years this, 9 years that. He wasn’t alone though, he was with a mutual friend of ours (OmoOba Artistry). They both saw the game at the lounge and they narrated events of the game to us telling us those that played well and those that should be arrested for poor performance making particular reference to Poldolski and Ozil. They danced, screamed, threw jibes and tickled us, lol. It was allowed because they had forgotten what it meant to win a trophy. My 8 year old nephew had never witnessed an Arsenal fan celebrate a trophy and Damz was quick to point that out, hahahaha. I couldn’t even relate to what Damz was feeling because I support a team that barely goes trophy-less over a year not to now talk of 9 years. So Damz decided to spoil me and a couple of friends and we headed to a joint around the area, where he bought drinks and stuff to chew on that would go down well with the drinks.

It was a FANTASTIC day for Damz and sad I wasn’t where Sir Greg was, would have loved to see his reaction after winning a trophy. OmoOba and Damz entertained us though with some dance steps and this really showed how excited they were, all Damz blabbed about all through was the game, stating how Arsenal hardly ever bounced back whenever they were 2 goals or more down. He was madly impressed with Aaron Ramsey, a player he couldn’t stand this time last year, lol. He gave Laurent Koscielny a mention too, Arteta and Sanogo were also in his good books on the night not forgetting to point out Wenger’s tactical nous when he brought on Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky in extra time. In his words, Wenger is a GENIUS.

Massive shout out to my Arsenal friends, especially those that I met the season after their last FA Cup win. People like Ponche, Istubee, Serrutti, Larry, Femten and those I met afterwards most especially Moyo P, GW and many others I can’t remember now. You guys can finally have some peace from my sticks or disses. CONGRATULATIONS.

Yea the post is titled 9 years a Slave because it’s been 9 years true Arsenal fans have witnessed football success, now they have been freed from the trophy drought. I know many fans that have dumped or abandoned the club. Congrats again to Arsenal and their fans world over.

Now our focus is turned to the biggest final in club football. The UEFA champions league final between Real Madrid and the newly crowned kings of Spain, Atletico Madrid. My money is on Real though, because they are one of the other four teams that excite me in football. Hallaaaaaaaa MADRID !!!!!!!!

Thanks for your time guys, and do have a fabulous week filled with blessings from the ALMIGHTY.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram @dipoogun

My EPL Team of the Year

Hi guys, the most exciting league (English Premiership) in World football came to wonderful climax on Sunday. Man City became champions for the second time in 3 seasons with Liverpool finishing two points behind them, Chelsea coming in third and Arsenal grabbing the final Champions League spot. Everton had a wonderful season finishing fifth and Tottenham Hotspurs grabbing the sixth position to ensure they join the Toffees (Everton) in the Europa league. The final Europa league slots will be handed to Sunderland for being runners up to Man City in the Capital One Cup and Hull City for making it to the FA Cup final. My beloved Man Utd was unfortunate not to make it to Europe. How do I feel? I was over the moon, what’s the point playing in the Europa league that will drain my boys of their strength and still end up not winning? I think we should focus on rebuilding the squad and maybe come back strong like Liverpool did this season.

Speaking of Liverpool, it’s next season they will know it’s not easy fighting on all fronts when they play in all competitions, unlike this concluded season where it was only domestic football they played all through. I doubt if they played up to 42 games in total this past season. We all know Luis Suarez was crowned Professional Football Association’s player of the year and Football Writer’s player of the year but for me the player of the year was “Yaya Toure” without a doubt. I will give him the award all day everyday and three times on Sunday. That dude is a monster, as in u can’t muscle him off the ball or dribble past him. In fact he hardly makes mistakes when he’s with the ball. Luis Suarez no doubt had a fine season, come on he’s top scorer and remember he didn’t play the first five games of the season and he still amassed 31 league goals equalling the records of the great Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo set in the past.

I saw the EPL team of the season but I don’t agree with it in entirety so I have decided to come up with mine though I don’t think there’s much of a difference.

Find my list below:

1. Petr Cech
2. Pablo Zabaleta
3. Leighton Baines
4. Yaya Toure
5. Gary Cahill
6. Per Metersacker
7. Aaron ‘Rambo’ Ramsey
8. Daniel Sturridge
9. Luis Suarez
10. Steven Gerard
11. Eden Hazard
12. David De Gea
13. Branislav Ivanovic
14. Laurent Koscielny
15. Adam Lallana
16. Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero
17. Wayne Rooney
18. David Silva

First XI

Formation : 4-3-3

1. Petr Cech
2. Pablo Zabaleta
3. Leighton Baines
4. Yaya Toure
5. Per Mertersacker
6. Gary Cahill
7. Aaron Ramsey
8. Daniel Sturridge
9. Luis Suarez
10. Steven Gerard
11. Eden Hazard

Coach: Tony Pulis

There you have it. My English Premier League’s team of the season. Yea Tony Pulis is my own manager of the year because he led Crystal Palace to a remarkable 11th position when most of us thought they would be relegated. I picked my team based on the Fantasy League I played with my peeps. I wonder how I will cope before the World Cup starts. Anyway there’s still the title decider in Spain to look forward to, the Europa league final and wait for it………… The big one, the Champions League final coming up in Lisbon Portugal between Real Madrid (my favourites for the trophy) and Athletico Madrid (under dogs). Real Madrid are closing in on La Decima (10th Champions League Title) and I know this is their year after waiting 10years. We also have friendly games in preparation for the World Cup.

Thanks for your time……. stay BLESSED !!!

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram dipoogun.

My Preffered 23: Super Eagles

Back with my preferred 23 to the World Cup series and this time the Super Eagles of Nigeria is the team in focus. I am a big Stephen Keshi fan and since the Big Boss took the reins of managing the Super Eagles I have been following the team keenly. I have come up with my list of players that should make the final cut for the World Cup holding in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, 2014.

Find my list below:

1. Vincent Enyeama (Goalkeeper) – Lille
2. Austin Ejide (Goalkeeper)- Hapoel Be’er Sheva F.C
3. Dele Alampasu (Goalkeeper) – Unattached
4. Efe Ambrose (Defender) – Celtic
5. Geoffrey Oboabona (Defender) – Çaykur Rizespor
6. Elderson Echiejile (Defender) – Monaco
7. Kenneth Omeruo (Defender) – Chelsea/Middlesbrough
8. Joseph Yobo (Defender)- Fenerbache/Norwich City
9. Solomon Kwambe (Defender)- Sunshine Stars
10. Odunlami Kunle (Defender)- Sunshine Stars
11. Azubieke Egwueke (Defender) – Warri Wolves
12. John Ogu (Midfielder) -Academia de Coimbra/Portugal
13. Mikel Obi (Midfielder)- Chelsea
14. Sunday Mba (Midfielder)- CA Bastia
15. Nosa Igiebor (Midfielder)- Real Betis
16. Ogenyi Onazi (Midfielder) – Lazio
17. Fegor Ogude (Midfielder)- Valerenga FC
18. Reuben Gabriel (Midfielder) -Kano Pillars
19. Ejike Uzoenyi (Forward)- Mamelodi Sundowns/Enugu Rangers
20. Emmanuel Emenike (Forward) – Fenerbache
21. Osaze Odenwingie (Forward)- Stoke City
22. Ahmed Musa (Forward) – CSKA Moscow
23. Nnamdi Oduamadi (Forward)- Milan/Varese

First XI
Formation: 4-4-2

1. Vincent Enyeama
2. Efe Ambrose
3. Elderson Echijele
4. Ogenyi Onazi
5. Godfrey Oboabona
6. Kenneth Omeruo
7. Ahmed Musa
8. Nnamdi Oduamadi
9. Emmanuel Emenike
10.Mikel Obi
11.Osaze Odenwingie

Yea I know your Victor Moses ain’t there and probably wondering why Joseph Yobo is on this team blah blah. Yobo’s experience is key and I can place bets on my life he has had more game time than Victor Moses this season despite his injury problems. Alampasu is unattached but he is listed. Well Alampasu with or without a club is better than Chigozie Agbim and who knows he might have a club I don’t know of but he is third choice goalkeeper for me. Remember guys I am not a die hard Super Eagles fan, I only started following them closely again when Samson Siasia was first given the job and now that Keshi is in charge I don’t really have a choice but to have a soft spot for them. So pardon me if my list doesn’t go down well with you. Please don’t have my head for lunch o. I also hear the provisional list to the World Cup would be released today.

Thanks for your time and enjoy the rest of the week……….. BLESS !!!

Follow me on twitter @dipoogun and instagram dipoogun

My Preffered 23: 3 Lions of England

Well those that know me know my number one football nation is the English National team also known as the Three Lions. I will also like to state that during the 2014 World Cup holding in Brazil from June I will also be closely monitoring the progress of the host nation (Brazil) and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. I want to share what I feel should be the team representing England at the World Cup and I should do same for Nigeria and Brazil in subsequent posts.

Find my list below:

1. Joe Hart (Goalkeeper) – Man City
2. Ben Foster (Goalkeeper) – Westbromwich Albion
3. John Ruddy (Goalkeeper) – Norwich City
4. Glen Johnson (Defender) – Liverpool
5. Ashley Cole(Defender) – Chelsea
6. Leighton Baines(Defender) – Everton
7. Gary Cahill(Defender) – Chelsea
8. Phil Jaglieka(Defender) – Everton
9. Joleon Lescott(Defender)- Man City
10. Steven Caulker(Defender)- Cardiff City
11. Phil Jones(Defender) – Man Utd
12. Steven Gerard (Midfielder) – Liverpool
13. Frank Lampard(Midfielder) – Chelsea
14. James Milner(Midfielder) – Man City
15. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Midfielder) – Arsenal
16. Adam Lallana (Midfielder) – Southampton
17. Raheem Sterling (Midfielder) – Liverpool
18. Michael Carrick (Midfielder) – Man Utd
19. Ross Barkley (Midfielder) – Everton
20. Wayne Rooney (Striker) – Man Utd
21. Daniel Sturridge (Striker) – Liverpool
22. Rickie Lambert (Striker) – Southampton
23. Danny Welbeck (Striker) – Man Utd

First XI
Formation: 4-3-3

1. Joe Hart
2. Glen Johnson
3. Leighton Baines
4. James Milner
5. Phil Jagielka
6. Gary Cahill
7. Oxlade Chamberlain
8. Rickie Lambert
9. Daniel Sturridge
10. Steven Gerard
11. Wayne Rooney

Yea my team isn’t fantastic, yea Joe Hart has been calamitous, our defense isn’t tight, our midfield is filled with old and inexperienced players and our strike force is just manageable. We also lack wingers but not to worry Milner, Oxlade and Sterling can handle it with Gerard, Rooney and Sturridge helping out when the need arises. We would surprise y’all by winning the World Cup come July. I would have loved to include Jay Rodriquez in this squad but he might not make it due to injury. I should have put Andy Carroll in because of his frame and if you remember what he did against Sweden in Euro 2012 sure you wouldn’t argue, lol. What we are not hearing is that Theo Walcott might be going to the World Cup. Remember what happened when David Beckham damaged his metatarsal in the UCL game against Deportivo La Coruna prior to the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan. He was put in an Oxygen Tent for speedy recovery and it worked.Same was done to Wayne Rooney when he had same injury in a game against Chelsea weeks before the World Cup of 2006 hosted by Germany.

I believe Beckham’s injury was intentional because the man behind the tackle was an Argentine (Aldo Duscher) and England were scheduled to play Argentina in a group game at the 2002 World Cup. Anyway I hope Walcott can make it to the World Cup because he’s a very important member of the squad. Its sad Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey didn’t make this team for obvious reasons. I wish Morgan Schneiderlin was English, very fine player.

Watch out for my preferred Nigerian and Brazilian team. Thank you very much for your time and enjoy your weekend…… BLESS !!!

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram dipoogun

April’s Best 10 and April’s Worst 10

Hey guys, sorry this post is coming late. Should have put it up a bit earlier but was caught up with different activities and also there was the issue with http://www.dipoogun.com. April was kinda interesting on a personal note and without further ado I present to you my best 10 and worst 10 for the month of April.

Best 10

1. RED 2 (Movie) - I saw this movie 6 times in March and I have seen it twice in April already. Bruce Willis killed it for me, who would have thought a 59 year old could pull off those moves. The action scenes were mad and the driving stunt with Catherine Zeta-Jones was sick. If you haven’t seen it, please do. 10/10 rating for me. I saw other nice movies in April and they were Law Abiding Citizen, 12 Years a Slave, Losers and Olympus Has Fallen. I sure enjoyed them all.

2. Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography (Book): Was able to read this book twice. Sir Alex Ferguson is clearly the best football manager ever. This book is really interesting, well if you are a football lover you will agree.

3. Bother You (Song): this song by the Koko Master aka D’banj aka Dapo Oyebanjo is the soundtrack to the movie Half of a Yellow Sun written by Chiamanda Adichie. Nice song though a lot of you might not agree but I love it and I can listen to it over and over again.

4. Bruce Willis (Actor): definitely had to be him. He is one of three of my favorite action heroes with the others being Jackie Chan and Jason Statham. I have been a big fan of Bruce Willis since his Die Hard and Last Man Standing days. Hell of a Great Actor and I was glad he rejected the role in Sylvester Stallone’s Expendables movie. The over 60 Movies which this German born Bruce Willis has featured in have grossed over $2.5bn which makes him the 9th highest grossing actor in a leading role. He was in the popular series Moonlighting of the 80s.

5. Helen Mirren (Actress): this British born Academy award is a beauty I can glare at all day. I have a serious crush on her though she’s 68 you need to see pictures of her when she was much younger………. Sigh. The way she handled the guns in the movie RED (1 & 2) was amazing.

6. Liverpool (Soccer Team): this might shock some of you just as it’s a shock to me. Sentiments aside this Merseyside team was the most in form side in Europe for the month of March through April. A very good side and this might be their year in terms of winning the Premier league though I hope not and sincerely want Chelsea or Shitty to win the title not that I like them either. Chelsea is no threat to my beloved Man Utd in terms of titles won but Liverpool is just 2 shy of United’s 20. Yea call it beef and I will gladly eat it.

7. Adam Lallana (Footballer): surprised? you shouldn’t be. This lad has been the reason Southampton’s season has been good. A call up into the English national team for the World Cup wouldn’t be bad at all.

8. Tupac (Musician): my man Phammo came through as always. He got me Tupac’s ‘All Eyes on Me’ (The double album) and I have not had enough ever since. One of the best albums ever made by one of the greatest rappers ever. Tight tracks like 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, Scandalous, All Eyes on Me, Life Goes On, Hearts of Men and Ambitionz as a Ridah to mention a few.

9. Suits (Series) : I haven’t seen much TV series but from the ones I have seen Suits sits conveniently at the number two spot just after Entourage, well till I re-evaluate hahahaha. It’s a law oriented TV series and a must watch. My favourite character is Harvey Specter but would give an arm to be with Donna. She’s a stunner #OkBye.

10. Best Quote : my quote of the month is from my one time favourite rapper (DMX). Its from one of his songs in the album “Its Dark and Hell is Hot”. The quote goes thus “There’s a difference between doing wrong and being wrong”. Some deep stuff yea? Thought so too.

Worst 10

1. None (Movie): I saw 5 movies only this month. RED 2, Law Abiding Citizen, Olympus Has Fallen, Losers and 12 Years a Slave. All five were interesting.

2. None (Book): Just read one which was Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography. I am presently wrapping up another one though but will reveal it next month.

3. Johny (Song): this by far is the worst song I have heard, maybe since my existence sef. Chai

4. None (Actor): I really enjoyed watching the main characters of the movies I saw this month.

5. None (Actress): none that I can think of.

6. Manchester United: sigh my beloved team has been steady falling hands, but hopefully things will get better with the ousting of David Moyes by the Class of 92 (Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville). Yea I used the line ousting of David Moyes by the class of 92 because I saw it coming and this was just after Man Shitty beat my team in the Derby. I will explain later. lol. I feel for Messr Moyes but I just felt he wasn’t right for the job, Anyway Manchester United manager role don enter hin CV already.

7. Maroune Fellaini (Worst Player): can they sell this dude already? He should have just left with Moyes….. Sigh

8. Yemi Alade (Musician): I mean what kind of song is that Johny song? Shizzy, to make matters worse Sound City plays it everyday and three times on Sundays. Sad my African King of Comedy Bovi made an appearance.

9. Arrow: I don’t know what its all about and I don’t care.

10. Worst Quote: I have been hearing this all my life but never been a believer of it. The quote goes thus “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are”. Heard it again recently and to me it’s bollocks, I don’t know what your take is.

Thanks for your time. Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram dipoogun

Newcastle and Bayern

The Friday before the Newcastle game is a day I will not forget in a hurry. It was the 4th of April, 2014. A colleague asked if we could beat Newcastle and I said yes without thinking twice. A barrage of voices responded saying if Newcastle beat us they would frustrate me with taunts and banters. What did I say in return? I confidently said ‘the season Newcastle beats Manchester United home and away is the season I will cease to be a Manchester United fan’. What was the final result? 4-0 in favour of my beloved Man Utd. We didn’t have Rooney on the day but it didn’t Mata cos Mata stepped up. Oh Kagawa, player toh bahd and Adnan Januzaj baller of life. Quote me anywhere ‘Aston Villa and Newcastle (two of my favourite English teams after Man Utd) will never beat my Manchester United home and away’. My boys looked prepared for the Bayern Munich game, well so I thought.

Bayern looked beatable because we managed to play a 1-1 draw with them in the first leg. They eventually beat Man Utd 3-1 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League 4-2 on aggregate. Kagawa again was brilliant. It was sad to lose out but that Bayern side is currently the best side in Europe. The Champions league semi-final match-up pairs 9 time Champions Real Madrid against Bayern Munich and Chelsea is up against Atheletico Madrid in the other tie. My prediction? I Would want to see Real Madrid come up against Chelsea or Atheletico Madrid in the final.

Back to the EPL, as the race for the title hots up so is the final Champions League spot. Everton is slugging it out with Assnal. Everton is currently 4th and I hope it remains so. Yea I don’t want Arsenal to make it to the UCL. Beef, ponmo, kidney, inu eran, whatever.

Thanks for your time guys and please bear with me as I try to bring http://www.dipoogun.com back to life. Bless y’all.

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My Top Ten Naija Albums Ever

Hey guys, I trust you guys are doing well. I am so sorry for the long break. I have been having issues with my new web page (www.dipoogun.com) and my web developer guy hasn’t been available. I have decided to use this medium to reach out to you guys for now. I am so sorry guys and thanks for the continued support and patience.

I love music no doubt but y’all know footy is my thing right? I thought you knew, anyway now you know. I love music and I am happy with the rate at which Naija songs are accepted world over. It’s a good thing though and if you ask me who my favourite artiste is at the moment I can’t help but say Olamide. I have heard all types of songs from Nigerian artistes and it’s hard for me to narrow down my top ten Naija albums but I needed to come up with a list. I expect to get chewed, shredded, lacerated or merked up for coming up with this list but it’s my list and strictly my opinion.

Find my top 10 Naija albums ever below counting down from number 10 to number 1:

10. C.E.O; Chief Executive Omoita (DaGrin): one of Naija’s best rappers ever despite having his career cut short no thanks to death. This album surely is one of the most popular albums ever made in Nigeria. He was so good all artistes in Nigeria wanted to do a collaboration with him. This album is a classic and a must have (had). My favourite song on the album was idi nla featuring LaLa but there were other monster hits like Kondo, PomPom and Thank GOD to name a few.

9. Independent (Faze): this album was my Naija album of the year when I was on IT. I listened to it when I left the house in the morning, during lunch break, whenever I was free and on my way back home it was this same album. I loved kpo kpo di kpo, Alphabetical Love, Tattoo girls and my brother.

8. Grass to Grace (Tuface): I respect this man popularly called Tu Baba a lot, his exploits in the Nigerian Music Industry speaks for him. This album is an album that was a favourite in my home and hall in school. Not bad at all. My favourite song on the album is See Me So but there are other hits like True Love, I dey feel like, E be like say, For Instance and If Love is a Crime.

7. Gongo Aso (9ice): This is by far 9ice’s best work ever. All songs from beginning to end were lovely. My personal favourite on the album is Photocopy. I can listen to this album all day non stop. Other hits include Wedding Day, Gongo Aso, Party Rider and  Bachelor.

6. We, Me and Abami (Lagbaja): a masterpiece from the masked one, a three in one album. He featured the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in the Abami album. Songs like Gra Gra, Vernacular, Put Am Well Well, Konko Below, Suurulere and Nothing For You made this album a super hit at the turn of the new millennium.

5. 7 Degrees North (Sunny Ade): Truth be told the album title sold this album to my soul. I just love the title and if I am right King Sunny Ade got Nigeria’s first ever grammy nod with his ODU album. 7 Degrees North had the popular Merciful GOD in it, Appreciation, Solution and Sijuade.

4. Baddest Guy Ever Liveth (Olamide): Olamide aka Baddo aka Baddo Lee has surely snatched the crown of best rapper in Africa from who ever held it. Mad delivery, sensible lyrics and beats that are always on point. I have been a fan of this dude since he released Rapsodi his debut album. Hits on this album are Turn Up, Durosoke (my niece’s favourite off the album), eleda, Anifowose, Scammer, Position Yourself to mention a few.

3. C’est Un African Thing (Lagbaja): Omo oba mukomuko is one hell of a creative musician. I always went to his Motherlan’ whenever I could all thanks to my big brothers and cousins. He handles the saxophone like its a new bride (does that even make any sense?lol). I will never forget when he woke me up blowing his sax to the tune of Ese Ese o Ese o e wa ma lo (thank you, thank you, thank you, you can now take your leave). This album was a favourite at some point in the house. I loved baby Tani ko fe wa, Coolu temper, Africalypso and owo Eko to mention a few from the album.

2. Entertainer (D’banj): if you thought I would make a list without D’banj on it then you have to be joking. This guy killed the album and yes Don Jazzy played a big part no doubt, but if a song flops we won’t remember who the producer was. My favourite song on the album is Suddenly which happened to be my favourite Naija song for a long time. The album also had tight hits like gbono felifeli, fall in love, entertainer and OLORUN maje.

1. Lag Style (Trybesmen): some say the Remedies put Naija hip hop in the spotlight but for me Trybesmen comprising of eLDee the Don, Kaboom the Detonator and Freestyle the Shogun made Naija hip hop blow. I got hold of this album thanks to my big bro just after I finished high school. This album had mad hits like shake bodi, trybal marks, shake bodi (remix) and asiko laye. Love it.

Thanks for your time and remain BLESSED !!!

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That Bottle Of Vodka

It was the 7th of November 2011, O’Larry’s birthday precisely. After speaking with the celebrant to wish him a happy birthday and praying for him he invited me over for his birthday gig at the world famous Elegushi beach. I agreed to go and got dressed in my old faithful (my most priced Man Utd jersey at the time), a pair of shorts, yea I know I love flaunting those long sexy legs and a pair of Adidas slippers. I am never late for events and when he mentioned that I be there at 3pm I decided I would leave home at 3.30pm (yea I left 30mins later than I was to get there). I know my friends well, African timers extraordinaire ni won. On my way I bought me a bottle of vodka should in case I get there before the others I could start a little party on my own.

I got to Elegushi at 4pm and I was still the 1st person to get there (not the 1st to get to the beach o) though the celebrant and others started arriving about 10mins later, so you see my strategy worked. On seeing the truck loads if drinks the dude shipped in from Shoprite I quickly dumped my vodka in the car. As we were icing the drinks the fear of the LORD gripped me. There were all sorts of drinks; Baileys, all shades of champagne, vodka of different nations, Hennesy (VS and VSOP), light drinks et al but sadly the best drink in the world then (Jack Daniels) wasn’t available. Yea I stated then because I am alcohol celibate remember. We had loads to eat too.

Now like I said the fear if the LORD gripped me when I saw the drinks, but really what brought that fear was the drinks were so much it would go round if we had 3 bottles of whatever we felt like having and we would still have enough to throw a little party the next day. Now I couldn’t take champagne because I hated it, I couldn’t take Henessy because I had won a wager 2 days earlier. A cousin said I couldn’t finish a bottle of Hennesy all by myself, well I did and it was no biggie for me. So I settled for Absolut vodka (raspberry flavour). I shouldn’t have really. I took the drink so hard and silly me thought it was another drinking competition. I should have just taken what I could and left the rest for the devil. Abi?

Yea did I mention I went with a friend? Anyway I did, I also wore frames too (lol) and remember the bottle of vodka I went with? Glad you did. So my friend drops me off at home. I got into the house high as a kite. Who wouldn’t be high after a bottle of Absolut vodka. I headed straight to my bed and in no time I was asleep.

I woke up at about 4am and tried to replay the events of the previous day. I was trying to recollect how I got home because the last I remembered was me dancing with one babe like that (yea I no sabi dance). All of a sudden I remembered I had a bottle of Vodka and I started searching for it, I didn’t find it but I found my frames neatly tucked in its case. I was trying to figure out where I put the bottle of vodka but no luck.

To cut the story short, I am still searching FOR THAT BOTTLE OF VODKA till date.

This is a crappy post yea? Well I wrote it because I didn’t have my key to get into the house. So the 30 minutes I spent waiting for my bro I decided to entertain/bore you guys (you choose, lol).

Thanks for your time. I hope you are having a nice week? Stay Blessed.

Please follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram dipoogun

Go Go Shake & Juan Mata

I saw my team being taken apart by a resilient Chelsea side in the league with the Lion King, the original Lion King Samuel Eto’o scoring a hatrick and we also got bundled out of the Capital One Cup by Sunderland via penalties. I wonder how a team loses 4 penalties. All hope for 4th place and another silverware this season, yes another silverware (google is your friend) faded in 3days. As in we went from a possible quadruple of titles to zero. Funny how they still call us defending champions despite languishing in 7th position. Well I can take joy from that till May.

Just before the Sunderland game I had heard rumors of David Moyes going after Juan Mata and wasn’t that fascinated well until after the loss to the Black Cats. I got to work the next morning and presenters of the best sports program in Africa (The Sports Express crew) mentioned the Mata matter (ain’t no Rhymester A tho). The news brought about me bringing the go go shake dance back. Immediately the Sports Express crew confirmed Man Utd were in talks with Chelsea over the purchase of Mata I did the Go Go Shake which got my colleagues laughing. You know now, a long man doing the Go Go Shake. I told them if we buy Mata then I would always do the Go Go Shake as my entry move into the office. Now we have our man and I always keep my word. My colleagues even called me after they heard the deal was confirmed.

Now let me critique a critical situation. Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points for the New York Knicks on Friday but that doesn’t guarantee the Knicks a championship ring just as our capture of Juan Mata won’t guarantee us a place in the top 4. What am I saying in essence is Messr Moyes should spend this bread and buy other quality players. I hear there are on going talks to tie Rooney down till the end of the of his career, not a bad idea but should we focus on that solely? Well always I am concerned for my beloved team and I won’t stop talking till I have my Man Utd back.

Silly title for the post? I thought so too. Lol

Thanks for your time peeps and sorry for bombarding you with posts. Love you guys muchos.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun …… Remain Blessed.

The Egg Guy

This post isn’t an attempt to be funny but it’s for the general public and car owners, yes car owners because you sure give people rides or lifts and those of us that move about via Mass Transit should also read this post. It’s is for our benefit and I am sorry this post is coming many years after my experience. Did I get you glued to your devices? I sure did, hahahahahahaha.

The 1st semester of my 2nd diploma year had me going for lectures just twice a week. I had classes Mondays and Tuesdays from 11.30am to 2.30pm which meant my weekend started on Tuesday afternoons. On a Wednesday morning I was lying in my bed watching a movie when the almighty PHCN struck. I started anticipating my next move, because I was bored stiff. I decided to go to Lagos since I wouldn’t be having lectures till the following Monday.

I got to the garage and was lucky to find a front seat in the bus (got long legs). I sat with a cutey (didn’t toast her o) and before we took off one dude decided to buy boiled guinea fowl eggs. He bought 6 and I am not exaggerating. The journey started and those that had music playing devices were listening to music and the already acquainted people were gisting while I brought out my FIFA magazine to read (I am sure the babe must have been cussing). As the journey progressed some offensive smell floated around in the bus. At this time the egg man had finished his eggs and though it was obvious he was the one killing us softly I wondered why nobody said anything. We got to Sagamu and the same dude bought egg roll (yea you posh guys call it scotch egg). Anyway he bought three and he ate all and I know you will find this hard to believe.

The journey went on and the guy kept on giving us silent missiles that could take down the whole of Sudan. We endured and even with all windows opened things didn’t get any better. At this point we were thanking GOD there wasn’t traffic. We begged the driver to go a little faster. We approached Berger and those that were to get down at Berger were glad screaming o wa o wa oooo (we are at our stop o). Some dudes that weren’t meant to drop at Berger too dropped just to get home alive. I was disgusted when I looked back and found out that Captain Pollution wasn’t getting off the bus. Now to make matters worse, the clown wanted to buy more eggs at Berger, immediately he called the egg seller, the rest of us in the bus (unrehearsed) screamed no you are not buying any more eggs, do you want to kill us? The driver said e file elede ni (leave him, he’s a pig). The egg man at this juncture was ashamed and kept quiet till the rest of the journey. Yea the rest of us made it home alive.

Like I said earlier this post wasn’t meant to be funny. Oh why did I state it’s for the general public? Yea just wanted to be silly but really would you want to sit next to the egg man? No? I thought so too.

Thanks for reading guys and do have a lovely week ahead. GOD bless.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram dipoogun

HOMOPHILE ESCAPE

A friend of mine from my Uni days sent this post to me. It’s his personal experience and he has asked me to share it with my peeps.

Homosexuality has being the main gist about town over the past few days since the bill was passed to law with different people having different opinions about it. So I bet you will know my stand after reading my story…… my experience.

2008 when I was having my youth service, I had an experience that made me admit that Homosexuality exists in our society. I was a Batch A corp member posted to a village in Ogoni land in Rivers State. Just like most corp member in my batch, I registered for the NIM programme and my study center was in Port Harcourt so I had to travel down every weekend for lectures. A few months later, some batch B guys joined us and one of them was a Port Harcourt (PH) based dude who owns a boutique which he claimed he can’t leave in anyone’s trust. This dude walked up to me, we chatted and he asked that I be his eyes in the school we were serving in… no biggie na, normal tin.
Just like in Lagos, there was(is) always sanitation exercise every last Saturday of every month. In order not to miss lectures I decided to crash in PH so I called this my guy and explained my situation to him and he gladly asked me to come over sending his address to me via SMS. It was not difficult locating his boutique on Elekahia road; we spent some time there and closed at about 9pm. His house (a self contain) was not far from the shop so we just strolled home and on getting there, he introduced me to a friend of his. I noticed this guy was acting and talking girl-ish, I just shrugged it off and settled with the bowl of eba and egusi the guy prepared. My guy discharged his friend and he promised to be back early the following morning.
Normal guy parole sharply I tucked my side bag somewhere, and stripped down to my boxers short and t-shirt…I was feeling relaxed. We were both on his bed and gisting into the night about so many things; growing up, school life, games we guys play, career, views about NYSC etc. Few minutes to mid night, I noticed this guy was trying to pull me closer, run his hands all over me, and murmuring some words I could not hear and a lot more. I felt my heart skipping beats, I was startled and I am sure he could feel my body shaking too…a whole lot running through my mind in a split second, feeling another man’s beards next to my cheeks, how do I escape as the apartment has a burglary proof already locked, do I shout for help? What if this gets into a fight or struggle how do I escape? My b*tt hole!!! *sobs*

So I summoned courage, asked him to chill so as to get myself together. I got off the bed and was fumbling with my phone. At about 12:02am I started my mid night call ritual (was more of a normal thing by then as that was how we kept abreast with the civilised world in that village). I talked for hours and before I knew it, I could hear him snore. Faster than Usain Bolt could be, I raced to pick my jean, wore it and belted so hard that I could feel it hurting my tummy. I lay on the rug, could not close my eyes and didn’t have my bath in the morning also; I only washed my face and brushed my teeth (fear of not being busted in the bathroom). The other guy came just few minutes after 6am and I just used that opportunity to leave, at least before sanitation started at 7am. The whole event was on repeat in my memory all through that day….myself and this guy hardly talked afterwards.
Maybe we see this act as a disease in this part of the world as we stigmatise whoever is presumed to be gay/lesbian, won’t blame anyone who try not to associate with homosexuals as we are presumed to have high morals and cultural values but the truth is Homosexuals live amongst us. Maybe we will tolerate them over time but to me it becomes a crime when you try to harass/force/impose your own sexual orientation on others, just like that friend of mine tried to do with me. This can be likened to “Rape” and since this inhuman act is punishable under the laws of our country, I see no reason why homosexuals who harass people of different sexual orientation should not be punished too.

I don’t really care about what anyone does in the confines of his room/house but it’s an eye sore seeing 2 men/women expressing sexual desires in public places and that’s why I am in support of the “Anti Gay law” but again we need to thread this ground carefully, my opinion is that we prosecute those who express this act publicly and those who harass or force other people of different sexual orientation into mating with them….thats RAPE, not that we witch hunt anyone for our own gain.

Thanks for taking out time to read this, comments well appreciated.

My First Experience

He told me it would be fun, to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to it until she said Dipo you will love it. I still didn’t believe despite being cajoled by a lady. I came up with a flimsy excuse of baby sitting Fifi because her parents had an event later that day. She came back to me to tell me I would really enjoy it since it would be my first EXPERIENCE. Get your mind out of the gutter I was talking the Christian Gospel program hosted yearly by Pastor Paul Adefarasin tagged Experience. He brings in foreign gospel artistes and blends them with our local gospel acts. This year (2013) had Donnie McClurkin, Don Moen, Cece Winans, Tye Tribbert, Yolanda Adams, Micah Stampley as some of the foreign acts while my best Naija gospel artiste Eben, Frank Edwards (for a second I thought he wasn’t Nigerian until he performed), Midnight Crew, Sammie Okposo, Kingsley Ike, Mike Aremu and a few others were the Nigerian performers lined up for the event. So sad my Lara George didn’t make it this time (I love her so much).

After about an hour, I gave in. I decided to tell SO & Bimps who tried to convince me earlier that I would go for the Experience with them. Been a while I had gone out all night so I was so sure of snoozing. We left from the office at about 6.30pm and got to TBS before 7pm. 4 of us apparently left from the office. SO,Temz, Bimps & myself but we met one of Bimps’ friend on our way in. We bought, gum, hankies, drinks and snacks when we got there so we wouldn’t need to step out of TBS till we were ready to leave (we thought wrong).

The event didn’t start till like past 8pm I think but the place was packed, as in it felt like the whole of Lagos was there at the time. I can’t remember who performed first that night but I must say I was wowed by the performances on the night. At about 1am hunger struck again so myself and SO decided to walk down to City Mall to get sharwama for the crew. It was funny seeing boys block girls (toast babes) while in such a gathering but who am I to judge? We got our sharwama and walked back to our seat. It was fun I must confess and I will make sure I attend this year’s Experience even though my wallet was stolen. We were also entertained by some girls that sat in the row ahead of ours. They were really showing us steps I had seen only on TV. Not that we didn’t dance too though and yes I snoozed a bit.

My top performers on the night were Donnie McClurkin (this man has mad energy) and he even sang a local song with Frank Edwards, Don Moen was pure class, Eben didn’t disappoint too as he sang my song of the night (IMARAMMA). Cece Winans killed the show (she got me standing throughout her performance), Midnight crew were on on point and Tye Tribbet? He was simply amazing and he even sang a song that really touched me (if he did it before). We left before the show was over though so we didn’t listen to Mike Aremu & the rest perform. Truth be told at that point we were just waiting for Donnie McClurkin to perform so we could leave.

Thumbs up to Pastor Adefarasin for always bringing these people to town.

Thanks for your time as always guys. I hope I have been consistent enough? Love you peeps scatter and no babe has stepped up to be my baby mama o, lmao. Take care guys and remain BLESSED.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun.

My Best Eleven For 2013

I think football has started flowing in my veins again. 4 of my last 6 posts have been football oriented. I saw the Glo CAF awards and the Balon D’or and I was like heck if everyone has a list even unpopular Dipo can make a list. So I have decided to put up my best Eleven of the year 2013. I had issues picking between two players in some positions while I didn’t even think twice in some other positions.

Find below my Eleven:

1. Manuel Neuer (Goalkeeper): a difficult choice for me. Would have put Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus but Neuer of Bayern Munich was all shades of class last season. He was instrumental in Bayern’s dominance of Europe and the world at large. They won the German Bundesliga, The Champions League, The DFB Pokal and the FIFA world club cup. Enough said right? I thought so too.

2. Phillip Lahm (Right Back): the captain of the all conquering Bayern Munich side. He can play in both full back positions and he is sometimes deployed to play as a defensive midfielder. Great crosser of the ball too and he hit double figures of assists a couple of seasons back. Very consistent fella.

3. David Alaba (Left Back): now this is a jammer. A player on my wish list and I can’t but hope Man Utd would sign him though he was once quoted as saying he would fancy a move to Assnal in future. I was shocked he didn’t make the FIFPRO XI, I mean what was FIFA thinking? Can strike the ball well and scores really important goals.

4. Thiago Silva (Center Back): this Brazilian player is a beauty to watch. A strong defender and a leader on the pitch. His move to PSG was something I criticized at first but later I was like what’s my own, after all he helped destroy a Milan side I don’t like (no offense big bro) by leaving them.

5. Matt Hummels (Center Back): it’s a shame no player from last season’s Champions league losing finalist side (Dortmund) made the FIFPRO XI. Hummels for me is pure class. I was going to pick between him and Madrid’s Sergio Ramos but he got the nod because he played in the UCL final. Though blighted by injuries but on his day you don’t want to mess with him.

6. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Holding Midfielder): I can go on and on about this dude. I always prayed for my team to bid for him. He was the pivot and engine room of the Bayern side that cruised past teams everywhere they went last season. He is out of this world, a ball distributor extraordinaire.

7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Right Winger): the best player in the world by a long mile. I honestly shouldn’t be putting him on this side of the pitch but come on anywhere Ronaldo plays from he sure would get more goals than the strikers he plays with ( confirm with Kareem Benzema or even Gonzalo Higuain). Glad he was crowned best player in the world and hope he wins it again and again.

8. Robert Lewandoski (Support Striker): a striker extraordinaire, a pest for defenders and remember what this player that presently plies his trade with Borrusia Dortmund did to Real Madrid in last season’s Champions league? Let me remind you, he scored 1,2,3, 4 goals against the mighty Madrid. He has signed for Bayern Munich and would be joining them in the Summer of 2014. You know what that means? Bayern will have the best team in the world. Well on paper.

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Striker): Ibracadabra is surely one player defenders world over would hate to play against but would love to have in their team. My typical kind of player; strong, ability to take shots from distance and skillful. What else do you want? I didn’t have to think twice to put this guy in my team of the year.

10. Andreas Iniesta (Playmaker): I am sure you guys would be wondering what this guy is doing on my list. Well for me he is the best creative player in the world, a little dip in form towards the end of the year but who doesn’t lose form? Only GOD. Enough said.

11. Arjen Robben (Left Winger): in my post about Cristiano Ronaldo finally winning the Balon D’or I was of the opinion that Robben should have made the top 3 and not Ribery. He was a thorn in the flesh for fullbacks. I was shocked he didn’t make the FIFPRO XI.

There you have it, my team of the year 2013. Notable mentions are Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Gustavo, Mario Goetze, Lionel Messi, Edison Cavani, Thomas Muller, Radomel Falcao. Messi didn’t make my first eleven? I know I would get criticized for that but he doesn’t really excite me and it’s my list remember, hahahahahaha.

Thanks for your time guys and feel free to criticize the list. Please remember your comments mean a lot to me and you don’t have to be selfish so share the post with your friends. You can also chip in your advise in making me do better with my posts.

You can follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram dipoogun

Maradona or Pele?

Before the Balon D’or winner was announced on Monday night I had already bragged about how Cristiano Ronaldo would be named the best player on earth at the office (Yes I gave so many reasons why he should win it). Well the rest they say is history. Now to the story at hand. Who really is the best player of the 20th century, as in the best player to ever play the game? Some people would pick Pele while some would tilt it Maradona’s way. Neither of the two players for me and that’s me being honest. If I was holed up in a corner and asked to pick one of the two of them who would I pick? It’s not a tough ask in my opinion, I will definitely pick Maradona all day everyday.

Edson Arantes De Nascimento aka Pele was a great player no doubt but I wasn’t born in his era, I only saw clips and heard stories and if he can score over a thousand goals in his playing career, then football must have been way too easy then. He won 3 World Cups with Brazil which is very commendable to be honest. In the case of Diego Armando Maradona, I was lucky to watch him play even though I was forced by my immediate elder brother back then. My belief as a little boy was why should I be watching those men play on TV when I can as well knock the ball around with my friends. The first Maradona game I saw was Argentina versus Italy in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup (Bear in mind I didn’t see this game live) which Italy hosted. Maradona was pure class and despite going a goal down, the Argentines led by the little Maradona kept pressing forward and got an equalizer through Claudio Cannigia (Nigerians would probably never forget this dude). That was the first time the Italian defense was breached in the tournament. Argentina won the game 4-3 via penalties though they went on to lose in the final to Germany. From that moment Maradona became the player to watch for me (he was already the player to watch for people born in the 60s/70s). And please google Maradona’s goal against my beloved England in the Mexico 86 World Cup. Not the hand of god goal o, the one where he dribbled past 5 English plays. Oh my GOD great goal.

Now we all know Maradona for me was a better player than Pele. Who was a better player in your opinion? You can respond by dropping your comments in the box.

Thanks guys, hope you had a great holiday? Mine was just there jare though a friend came over and I played with the amazing Fifi too.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Finally

Cristiano Ronaldo shed tears of joy after receiving his second ever Balon D’or. Genuine tears in my opinion, he worked hard for this prize and he truly deserved it. He left my beloved Man Utd for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a record fee of £80m. At the time he seemed over priced but now it looks like he was under-valued. He has been so consistent with his goal scoring for the Madrid side that he has scored more goals than the games he has played (230 goals in 223 games in all competitions) and he isn’t a natural born striker.

Some people will argue that Ronaldo didn’t deserve the Balon D’or because Messi was injured, they will say he didn’t shine till towards the end of the year and that Madrid didn’t win any trophy last year. Well valid points for the sake of argument but I am glad we all saw the Glo CAF awards and you saw that it wasn’t by gathering all the trophies but strictly by individual brilliance. So I put it to you who was better than Ronaldo last year? Please don’t tell me because Messi was injured blah blah blah, at least he got injured towards the end of the year or that Franck Ribery won this, this, this and that for Bayern. The only thing Wesley Sneidjer didn’t win in 2010 was the World Cup but he got to the final having a superb tournament and a wonderful club season winning a treble with Inter Milan. Hmmmm what did Messi win that year again o? Oh ok the Copa Del Rey lasan and he was crowned best player in the world despite his country Argentina being bruised, battered and brushed in a quarter final match of the 2010 World Cup by Germany.

I was shocked when I heard Ribery made it to the top 3. I think Arjen Robben was a better player for the all conquering Bayern Munich side that won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal cup, Champions league and most recently the world club cup. Anyway that’s that, glad Cristiano won the Balon D’or and I know he can still win it three more times. On twitter I put a tweet up saying “Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo………. 3 more Balon D’or to go”. Yea call me a dreamer. Anyway the tweet hadn’t even been posted before one of my brothers responded saying “did TB Joshua predict Messi’s death”. I don’t care if people think Messi is better than Ronaldo, we all can’t be on the same ship. Let’s see what happens when Xavi & Iniesta no longer exist and I don’t mean if they die, I meant when they leave Barca.

The FIFPRO XI is a list I will never agree with. Four players from Barcelona? Come on that’s so unfair. Bayern’s David Alaba didn’t even make the cut and he had a better season overall than Dani Alves did. Barca surely had more players on the FIFPRO XI than shots they could muster (forgive me if that word isn’t appropriate) against Bayern Munich in both legs of their Champions League match up. Remember Bayern won 7-0 on aggregate.

Now that’s what a football award ceremony should look like, not because Ronaldo won but compared to our CAF awards I think only one artiste performed at the Balon D’or. The CAF awards was like a Star Quest concert in my opinion……. Sigh though I won’t lie I enjoyed D’banj and Lagbaja’s performances. Seriously what was the billboard that accompanied every award recipient’s plaque?

Thanks for reading guys. Happy Eid El Maulud and remember to sip easy whether it’s booze, soda or water. Much love.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram dipoogun.

Sunday The 12th

My friend : Dipo
Me: yes bro
My friend: did u see Shile pass by
Me: I think she went that way

My friend returns after 5 minutes of searching for Shile without finding her and accuses me of lying to him. He was like I asked if you saw Shile and I answered by saying she went one way. I told him I remember telling him I ‘think’ (think being the key word) she went that way which clearly meant I wasn’t sure. I mean the word think means not 100% being sure about a certain thing (correct me if I am wrong).

Now I have been defaulting on one of the things I promised I would be doing this year. I said when I saw a beautiful girl/lady/woman I would walk up to them and tell them how good they look. I saw this chic in church today, it was the first time I was seeing her in church. She is a stunner (should I have used was?) and I said to myself that I would tell her after service how good looking she was. I was just looking in her direction during service and I am sure if ogling could kill, I would have killed the babe. You need to see how I took to my heels after service. Maybe I will tell her tomorrow, hahahahaha.

I so much love my aunt, the best caterer in the world & my mummy. She just called me this evening and asked me to come over and pick up ready made meals for the house. She asked if I was busy when she called and I was going to say I was but she didn’t let me even talk before she said I should come for the food. When I heard food I said to hell with the Stoke City versus Liverpool game I was watching and dashed down to Gbagada with my bro. Yes I know I love food. Choi fried rice, jollof rice, curry soup with orisirisi in it, efo, moinmoin, snail & salad. GOD punish jogging tomorrow morning (just joking, will still do my over 5km tomorrow).

My little roommate Fifi made my weekend as always. The girl is so exciting, funny and she has this contagious smile. Even Phammo my friend couldn’t help but smile whenever she dashed in on our convos. I call her my roommate because she dumps all her stuff in my room, hahahaha. We even took pictures together (check them out on Instagram @dipoogun). Oh you guys thought Man United made my weekend? Nah it was Fifi though I had told them in the office on Friday there was no way we were losing to Swansea. Suarez in a phrase? Second to Ronaldo. Dude has scored 22 goals in 15 league games. I just hope he doesn’t bite anybody before the season is over.

I have this weird story but not sure if I will ever post it. This article will determine that though, so guys you know what to do.

You guys should have a fantastic week ahead. Stay blessed and thanks for always being there.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun

Was Mikel Robbed?

For a minute I thought the GLO CAF awards was a hoax after Yaya Toure was named African Player of the year. I took to twitter to vent and some of my friends agreed Mikel deserved it while some didn’t agree. Let me be clear about my thoughts on this issue. If I was a football manager and asked to acquire the services of one of Mikel or Yaya, without blinking I will pick Yaya. I am not a fan of Mikel and I would love Yaya Toure in my team, I will pick him over Mikel everyday and even 3 times on Sunday.

Now I usually don’t look forward to these awards anymore and I didn’t even know Yaya Toure won the award in the last two years before picking up a third award last night. We keep changing standards when it comes to these awards and now I am beginning to think only French speaking players will continue to win this award for a long while. Since my day one of watching football it is players from a tournament winning teams that are crowned or named best player of that particular year.

In the year 2013, Yaya’s team didn’t make it out of its Champions league group unfortunately for Mikel too his team crashed out of the group stage but dropped into the Europa league and his Chelsea side won the tournament with him playing a vital role. Yaya’s team was beaten by Wigan in the FA Cup final and Mikel’s team didn’t make it that far. Now Mikel won the the Orange African Cup of Nations with Nigeria and even beat Yaya’s team (favourites for the trophy) in the quarter finals. Mikel bossed the midfield in that particular game, yes he did and was named amongst the best players of the tournament. I can’t even believe I am fighting for Mikel, I don’t like him and I hate his team but hey I am trying to be objective. If Messi was named player of the year in 2010 then anything can happen jare.

I knew Mikel wasn’t going to win the award after Nigeria had cleared almost all the categories they were nominated in and the moment Sunday Oliseh (one of the hosts on the night and ex Nigerian International player) said no heart attacks. I also had a problem with the Selected African XI. Come on no Nigerian in defense? Geoffrey Oboabona was a monster (ask Drogba).

I wouldn’t say Mikel was robbed but the standard for football awards generally have dropped drastically. Shout out to D’banj for a wonderful performance and Lagbaja too killed the show with his performance. I will like to pardon P-Square for their performance, I think Mikel not winning (I hear he is their friend) the player of the year award affected them in a way. The P-Square I know would have done better.

Thanks for your time and do have a wonderful weekend.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun.

Thursday

I don’t know if it’s only me but there’s that one thing or couple of things you don’t like for no reason in particular. You just don’t like them. Thursday is one of those things for me. I don’t have any love whatsoever for this day well except if it’s a huge pay day.

I so much dislike this day that it’s evident in my appearance, I wear my least favourite clothes (including under wears) on this day. Now I can’t trace when my hatred for this day started but I know it replaced Monday on my hate list. Oh it could be when I had my first carry over in Uni. Thursday wasn’t the day I wrote the exam but the day I received the result of that exam was a Thursday. I will never forget that course (GRP 204). It was Statistics (I hate figures, except money related figures going into my pocket). Carry over? Yes I did have carry overs, 3 of them in my entire Uni stay (diploma n bsc combined) and they were all in my 200level. I never bragged about being very brilliant or did I? If my birthday falls on a Thursday it would sure be a good day though but I would push my engagement day to Friday (if ever the lucky girl walks by, lol).

Just saying anyway, love you guys. Follow me on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun

I Want My Man Utd Back……………… Sigh

All I hear is Man Utd this Man Utd that, I don’t even know what the issue is anymore, I have blamed Moyes, Woodward, the players and even Ferguson at some point, yea Ferguson. Fergie was given the liberty to pick his successor and he picked Moyes. I respect Moyes and when he was at Everton I also thought he did well on a slightly lean budget. Now to compare Moyes with Ferguson is a no brainer because before joining United Fergie had conquered Europe with Aberdeen FC beating the likes of Real Madrid and also breaking the stronghold of the old firm winning the Scottish Premiership ahead of Rangers and Celtic. He achieved this feat before he was 50 and Moyes is 50 years old at the moment with just one winners medal which he won as a Man UTD manager. I know Man Utd haters will say the Community shield he won this season is just a tray. Go to the German Bundesliga and you will know what their League trophy looks like (very cute tray).

I am not asking for David Moyes’ head but I want the Man Utd I started supporting thanks to Complete Sports, Big Doz and Big Yomz back in 1994. The Man Utd all teams in the EPL feared and desired to be like. The Man Utd that have a never say die attitude, the Man Utd that will still boss the game even if they were 2 goals down and the Man Utd that doesn’t need to go all season unbeaten but will assure me of a trophy. Yes that’s the MANCHESTER UNITED I want back. Damz asked me a couple of months back (he still asks once in a while) how it felt being a Man Utd fan with the situation we are in and I could only mutter things will get better, I doubt if he ever heard whenever I said that (na lowkey voice I use). If you ask me that question right now I will say all I want is fourth spot come May. Big Yomz said he hopes we don’t make 4th place so Moyes could get the boot. I know how he feels because if we come 4th, we would obviously be happy and forget that we don’t like Moyes or something. The jollof rice and turkey my aunt served me at the time Yomz made the statement made me forget to drag the argument.

I will still blame Ed Woodward or whatever the clown we call our oga at the top because he has been the one in charge of transfers. Well there’s not much to say about this the dude. Now verdict is Moyes will eventually get boot if we don’t make fourth spot because we wont be getting out of the Mullah UEFA gives to Champions League qualifiers and if the shareholders don’t get their dividends or is it profit or their investment’s worth. David Moyes, Ed Woodward this is a personal plea, I have lost all patience and come on those Assnal fans that have been silent for 9 years (though they would still end up trophyless this season) have been taking shots at me. Please I want my MANCHESTER UNITED back.

Thanks for reading peeps. Stay Blessed.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram dipoogun (changed my Instagram id).

My Last Post Ever

Hey guys, happy new year again. May the blessings that come with 2014 locate you all in JESUS name (Amen). No your eyes aren’t deceiving you, this is my last post ever. I think I have lost the mojo. And I know you guys agree. So I hope you guys would stick to your new year resolutions, I will try to stick with mine.

I read somewhere that Lionel Messi was named best player of the group stage of the UEFA champions league. I mean where is the fear of GOD? I really wonder what Cristiano Ronaldo has to do to get the respect he deserves. He broke the record of the most goals scored in the group stage and you name a Messi as best player of that round? I don’t care if Messi scored 6 goals from 7 shots on target. Was it Ronaldo that limited him to that or was it Ronaldo that got him injured? Well that being said, I hope Ronaldo is crowned player of the year with him receiving the Ballon D’or. The best player in the world award isn’t something I really look forward to any more since Cannavro won it in 2006. I thought Pirlo deserved it. 2007 I was okay with Kaka winning it, Cristiano Ronaldo deserved it in 2008, Messi was a worthy winner in 2009 but I disagree with him winning it in 2010. Wesley Sneidjer for me was the best player in 2010. 2011 Messi surely was in a class of his own and he truly deserved it but 2012? Nah it should have gone to Iniesta. Then we fall back to who the hell is Dipo to be saying one player deserves it or not. This year I think C.Ronaldo should be named player of the year and not Ribery (Robben was a better player) or Messi but bearing in mind Sepp Blatter’s remarks about Ronaldo, it sure isn’t looking likely.

I am supposed to write on my sporting moments of 2013, something crazy I did and possibly my excerpts from the movie 2013 on a more personal note but hey I said I wasn’t writing or posting anything again. This new year I want to be a changed man, do stuff I wouldn’t ordinarily do before. Like taking off my shyness costume and actually walking up to a girl to tell her she is beautiful or actually asking for directions from people or having a proper conversation with elderly people and not the hello/goodbye attitude I have with them. Yea I know I am weird but remember some mothers do have them. This isn’t my new year resolution o.

I think this year would be a fun year though, I want to get a job as a PR person, an OAP (really really want this), I want to work with a good football manager. Let me stop there because I wouldn’t finish today if I went on about what I would love to do with my life. I also want to be a father, yes this year so if any babe is ready holla (lmao).

This post is disjointed right? My bad, some posts might come up this way. Oops I thought I said I wasn’t putting up any more posts on my blog after this. Come on, I was only kidding. Thanks people and enjoy the rest of the year. Lovely week ahead.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram swizz1swizz2

The Last Piece Of The Year

Hey peeps, trust you are gearing up for the new year. I wasn’t going to put a post up again this year but I just decided to bore you guys as usual. I am not so into having new year resolutions but trust me I respect those who always have new year resolutions and keep them. I hate making promises because to speak is easy but to do is the task. My first attempt at a new year resolution was my Uni grad year, I promised to stop drinking. I was already coasting in the first month, feeling like a bad guy. I was even in Lagos then and I wasn’t falling for the temptations flirting with me.

I got back to school and traditionally (in both halls I lived) your first night back in school is always a drinking night. I had already bought a bottle of Scottish whiskey and Smirnoff Vodka for my friends that missed my birthday gig . We went to a joint for beers first and I decided to have malt because I claimed to have stopped drinking. After we finished our drinks, we headed back to our hall to sleep. On getting to the hall PHCN restored power so we decided to catch a movie. We were 7 in number, 5 boys and 2 girls (mind you, the girls didn’t drink when we went out o).

We decided to watch Reservoir Dogs (one of the best movies ever made) and as we were watching, one of the dudes asked that I bring the drinks I bought for them. I brought them out and one of the guys went out to search for soft drinks to mix the drinks with. He got lucky and came back with some bottles of coke. The other 4 guys were drinking when I suddenly came up with a silly wager. I saw this on TV though. I told one of the guys I would fill 3 disposable cups with vodka and I will just put little shots of vodka into another 3 disposable cups. The filled cups would be mine and the little shots would be his. This is the joke, I told him I would finish my drinks before he finishes his and he laughed out loud. He said it wasn’t possible and that I should just say I felt like drinking. I told him if I won he would have to drink the bottle of Scottish whiskey all alone in less than an hour and that if I lost I would take care of feeding and drinking of everyone present for a week. Yea I made more enemies than friends at this juncture. Why would they want to support me?

He agreed and I set the rules. I told him he couldn’t touch my cup and I wouldn’t touch his. He said he was cool with it. The moment I was fumbling with my first cup he had finished his first cup and he was laughing at me while I struggled to finish my first cup with his second cup already in his hand. I finished my first cup and he was still laughing at me while he clutched on to his second cup, I carefully dropped my empty cup into his third cup. Now remember the rules? We can’t touch each other’s cup. He froze the moment he realized he couldn’t touch my cup, hence he lost the wager. Yea call me a cheat, at least he should have finished his drink 1st before laughing at me, hahahahahaha. He drank till he could drink no more. So you see I couldn’t fulfill my new year resolution that year. Though I was able to stick to one of my new year resolutions of this year but won’t share that. I have set a new year resolution for 2014 but I am not willing to share that too (you can ask in private).

So let me digress, I went to E-center with a colleague yesterday. She wanted to get an etisalat sim and since it was lunch time I decided to tag along. At about 8pm at night I got a bbm message from one babe I used to toast one time. She said I thought you said you didn’t have a girlfriend and I was like I don’t follow that what did she mean. She said she saw me with one cute Alhaja at Ozone and I couldn’t help but laugh. I told her she was a colleague and married but she wasn’t having none of it. I now told her I sense jealousy and she said never that she wasn’t jealous o (if it helps her sleep better at night). Anyways I slept off (was frigging tired) when she was saying stuff I can’t put in this post. I woke up to find out I responded to her saying yago lona se mo jo Yemi my lover ni (move babe do I look like Yemi my lover). A fine girl no doubt, but as she no gree for me make she free me nah, lol.

My birthday was on Sunday 29th December, 2013 and with all the bragging of me not doing anything the usual suspects (they know themselves o) were able to force me to organize booze and the best caterer in the world, my darling aunt and CEO TYKS caterers sent lunch over. It was fun though and we all watched football and played FIFA 14. I didn’t drink o, just had coke with the best ijebu food ever, ikokore.

Thank you people for your time in 2013, you guys have been wonderful and so supportive. Lest I forget, I didn’t win the Nigerian blog awards, SisiYemmie (I respect her a whole lot) won.

I pray the ALMIGHTY grant you all a prosperous 2014. Happy New Year peeps, much love. May the good LORD forgive me as I post this from church (Amen).

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram swizz1swizz2.

December 27th

This day by miles is the best day ever, because if you were not born on this special day, I wouldn’t have had a shot at existence. December 27th will forever be cherished and never be forgotten ever. December 27th (your birthday) made December 29th (my birthday) worth looking forward to when you were alive and I can only wish you were here to celebrate today with us.

Your birthday always brought people together, it is always some sort of family/friend reunion and it being at the end of the year made people easily accessible. You loved having people around and you were friends with everyone both young and old. You are sorely missed mum but I am so glad to have been a part of you. Your gentle nature and your general attitude was admirable and I always aspire to get there. You thought me to be a considerate fellow and how loving my neighbour no matter what was key. I say a big THANK YOU to you for everything.

As you rest on with the LORD my darling mum, I trust you will keep watching over us. Love you mum and trust me no woman alive will ever take your place. Continue to R.I.P Omowunmi ‘Ju Gold Lo’ Adedolapo Ogun née Alatishe.

Thanks guys for your time. My cousin has been taking shots at me saying I have been posting consistently this week. Anyway it’s because I have had some free time this week so I seized the opportunity.

Follow @jammsc in January 2014 they are going to be tweeting $1,000 dollars worth of airtime! Yep a thousand dollars!

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram swizz1swizz2

Xmas Family Gathering: The Whispering Palms Experience

Got a call from my aunt, didn’t want to pick up because I was feeling bad for not going to see her or even calling to check up on her. I was able to gather courage to pick when she called a second time. After the usual pleasantries inclusive of the attack of not checking up on her, she instructed I cancelled all plans I had for Xmas because she had something planned. I couldn’t grumble or complain as my Xmas was being snatched from me. Xmas is like my first birthday, I usually have the day to myself after our usual family breakfast and early lunch. It was a day I saw my hommies I hadn’t seen all year through. I didn’t have a choice but to cancel all plans I had made.

The venue for my aunt’s planned gig was Whispering Palms. I had not been there in ages and a trip to Badagry was never on the cards for me but remember I didn’t have a choice. I left home with my bro, his wife, Fifi (my darling niece) and my cousin Damz at about 3.45pm on Xmas eve with the hope of getting to Whispering Palms in 3 hours. I thought wrong, the traffic was gangster, we got to Whispering Palms a few minutes to 9. My aunt and other family peeps got there like 30 minutes before us despite leaving Lagos at about 2pm (yea I don’t see Badagry as a part of Lagos, the place is far).

Not much activity that night except family bonding, gisting, eating and drinking (I took malt o). Had a lot of turkey to eat…….. Bliss. It was fun seeing Yomz and his family again after 10 months, the trip I wasn’t looking forward to was getting interesting and I couldn’t wait for the next day to continue our bonding and having fun.

Christmas morning and I was up at 6am thanks to my alarm. I kitted up for my new addiction (jogging). Myself and Damz went to the football pitch to jog. Distance covered was 4.36km (2.7miles) in 23 minutes which for me wasn’t bad, I can’t come and die. After jogging we walked round the place to have an idea of what fun stuff we would do. There was a gym, a basketball court, swimming pool and a host of other spots. After walking around for a bit, we decided to go to our room to shower and get ready for breakfast but my bro and other male cousins decided that we go play footie first. Myself and Damz were so game. We went to the pitch to burn some more calories. Guess who co-starred ? The adorable Fifi of course, she was fully kitted in her Milan jersey (rolling my eyes) and she had the first kick of the day, then signed autographs (lol) afterwards before granting us permission to take pictures with her. Let’s say she was our mascot. Official line up had Big Yomz, Fifi’s dad and SP the ghost face Mr Bonji, my humble self and Damz in a game my team won 4-3. Ok I would have said I was man of the match but Fifi’s dad nicked it with his more purposeful approach (scored a brace) but even as huge as Big Yomz was (also 6’8 tall) his runs and positioning was amazing and he also bagged a goal. SP sat in goal all through but was quite a tough nut to crack though going forward he was poor with his funny passes, hahaha. Mr Bonji was on point scoring a goal and Damz also brilliant with his pin point passes and his goal wasn’t bad. Not one to brag, I had a good game too with two goals to show.

After about an hour of footie, we went to freshen up for breakfast and after breakfast we went to ride boats (manually though), had coconut drinks and played table tennis in turns with fish and drinks flowing by the side. We went for lunch at about 3pm and when we were done, everybody faced their rooms to nap. At about 6.30pm the footballers gathered themselves again for another round of footie maintaining the same team as it were in the morning. This time the game ended in a 2-2 draw with Fifi’s dad and Big Yomz bagging their team’s goals and Mr Bonji and I getting the goals for my team. Our second goal was sorta controversial with Damz holding SP down professionally (you know what I mean) for me to get the equalizing goal that ended the game. We went to freshen up and after gisting for a while myself, Fifi’s dad, SP, Damz, Mr. Bonji and Mr. T decided to go in search of fish and drinks but we were disappointed as they were out of fish so we settled for Suya and drinks. Again I didn’t take alcohol, I had energy drinks. I didn’t want the day to end but its funny how time flies when you are having fun. Myself and Damz left the other guys at the joint to go to our room as Damz was tired and me I wanted to just catch up with those that had sent me Xmas messages and also respond to those that criticized my top 13 songs of 2013 (lmao) while lying on my bed. I must give a special shout out to my darling friend Mimi for keeping me company all day, bless you dear.

Didn’t know when I slept off, but I know I was up till about 2am. I woke up at about 6am to carry out my regular early morning ritual of jogging and this time I covered 4.19km in 22mins 47 seconds. It wasn’t a bad run though if I didn’t have too much junk to eat I would have done better. At 7.30am we were all getting ready to leave Whispering Palms and at 9.10am exactly we checked out and hit the road, to head to my aunt’s place for brunch. We got to Gbagada the venue for the brunch at 11.09 (2hrs after leaving Badagry). Correct meals from ikokore to yam pottage to dodo, beans, rice and a few others were up for grabs.

The gathering in one word? Amazing. Whispering Palms isn’t a bad place after all and not a bad place for a family getaway or reunion. Family gatherings are simply the best. The ladies also had fun and the place was also filled with other families who came there to enjoy Xmas. You could tell they also had mad fun. It was nice having a different experience for Xmas and to those that knew I would have fun, una no lie. Shout out to Rahmah, Bimps, Deyems, Q-Beats and SO.

Thank GOD we bought Olamide’s Baddest Guy Ever Liveth Album, it made the trip worthwhile to and fro. I mean all 21 tracks were on point. Fifi enjoyed the trip the most though, sleeping at the right time and waking up at the sound of Turn-up’s intro beat. My noise about Turn-up is too much abi? I can’t help it jare.

Thanks again guys for your time, I trust you guys had a fantastic Xmas. The new year shall bring us all good tidings. Stay Blessed peeps, much love. Find some pics taken at Whispering Palms below.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram swizz1swizz2

Top 13 Songs of 2013

Brace yourself for the list y’all have been impatiently waiting for. The best 13 songs of 2013 post is finally here and trust me, I took my time to compile this list though a little survey helped shape the final cut. I must say 2013 was a good year musically and the old guns (Banky W, D’banj, Sound Sultan et al) stepped up big time but the young cats (Olamide, Davido, WizKid etc) eventually gave them a run for their money. There are loads of songs to pick from and as usual I expect to get sticks from you guys if your favourite songs didn’t make the list. Last year I was taken apart for not putting songs like First of all, ihe ne me, high and so on in my top 10. I just have a feeling this year would be worse but let’s see how it goes though. Find the list below.

1. Turn-up (Olamide) – it was a tough decision picking between this song and the number two song. This is a club banger any day. It is a song that I dance to in my sleep. Olamide really had a good year. This song has makes me miss my drinking days, you know when you are high you damn the consequences and groove to whatever you hear. Not that I can dance but play me Turn-up and I will hit the dance floor immediately. The video wasn’t bad too. Amazingly my one year old niece tilted the number one position Turn-up’s way. You need to see the smile on Fifi’s face whenever the song comes on.

2. Durosoke(Olamide) - when this song was released, it was already my number one song at the time until Turn-up came into the picture. Olamide killed this track and I don’t care who’s ox is gored, this is Naija’s best rapper at the moment. “O da eyan mo, o mo baddo” . Another song Fifi loves only that she grabs the phone from me when Turn-up comes on but just dances when Durosoke is played. The video didn’t get good reviews but at the end of the day the song is what we wanna listen to.

3. Yemi My Lover (Olamide) – y’all wondering why Olamide is number 1 to 3? Its simple, he has been the most outstanding artist this year. This song is funny and since I heard it I have been searching for the Yemi my lover movie, though I am not sure if there’s any relationship between the song and the movie. I have said this before and I will say it again, if you ride a night bus listening to Turn-up, Durosoke and Yemi my lover trust me you won’t snooze.

4. Jaiye Jaiye (Wizkid ft Femi Kuti) – not a big fan of Wizkid but this song is the ish. He did justice to the beat and I am glad he was able to convince Sarz to give him the beat. Nice song, lyrics were on point and Boss man Femi Kuti was also instrumental to the outcome of the song though I didn’t really feel the video. Wizkid will surely be around for a long while.

5. Sho le (Sean Tizzle) – its D’tunes again o. D’tunes sure knows how to make a relatively unknown person become a super star. Sean Tizzle actually owns the song but trust me I will give D’tunes all the credit, can’t even count the amount of times I have written D’tunes. Oh I just did again. Good song you can buck to and a catchy hook. Sean Tizzle’s follow up singles (Mama eh, International badman and komole) aren’t bad too.

6. Feel Alright (ShowDemCamp ft Poe and Boj) – this is one track very dear to me. I can listen to it all day everyday. Boj killed the jam but Poe was the man for me. Tech and Ghost of Show Dem Camp too were on point.

7. Skelewu (Davido) – Davido will always drop that monster track that will get you to the dance floor. Not a bad song and the final video wasn’t bad too.

8. Man of the year (Phyno) - this is a jam, I mean a tight jam. This dude makes me feel like I can speak Igbo. He flows effortlessly and if you haven’t heard this track, please look for it.

9. Pull Over original and remix (Kcee) – not a fan of this dude too, but every club or party I go to someone must walk up to the DJ to request for pull over (both original and remix) or you hear an unrehearsed chant from people asking for the song be played. My take on the songs? Not bad at all.

10. Caro (Starboi ft Wizkid & LAX) – don’t know what to say about this song, but I find myself humming it every now and then. I need to stop though, hahahahaha.

11. The Kick (Wande Coal) – how can you make a list without mentioning Don Jazzy? The kick is a sick party/club jam. Wande Coal is truly a black diamond. Nice beat, good lyrics.

12. Bad Guy P Remix (LOS ft Banky W and Sarkodie)- Mr. W actually rapped on this jam and he did so well. I would say he killed the track but it would be bad if I did. The other cats on the track also dropped cool verses. Its one of the songs I listen to when jogging in the mornings.

13.Before December (T-Flava ft Blackmagic & Vector the Viper) – I hardly listened to this song when I first downloaded it. One morning after jogging I just decided to play it and since then I have been listening to it daily. Fifi also loves this song. Not popular but if you can get this song on your playlist, you wont stop listening. T-Flava is a producer, he produced Blackmagic’s fantasy that made my top 10 songs of last year.

There you have it, the best 13 songs in Nigeria for the year 2013. Notable mentions would be Wande Coal’s Rotate, Chidinma’s emi ni baller (original and remix), Bank W’s Jasi, Dr. Sid’s Surulere, Olamide’s Dope Money, Skuki’s voom va, May D’s many things, Shank’s ghetto remix, Kay Switch’s for example, Reminisce’s Government, Eleniyan, Sunkere, 2mussh remix, XP’s Calabar lo ni shan remix, Burna man oops Burna boy’s yawa dey, D’banj’s ibadi e, don’t tell me nonsense, Ice Prince’s gimme dat, Maleek Berry’s back to the matter, Kcee’s Limpopo to mention a few.

Expecting the usual stick from you guys but come on I know you would love some of the songs on this list. Thank you for reading guys. Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year to y’all. My birthday is Sunday though but sorry to disappoint the ladies and gentlemen that want a hook up (relationship) on this special day, nothing is happening this year, lol. Thanks for understanding.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram swizz1swizz2……………………. BLESS!!!

Center: Best Ponmo Ever

Before I got into Uni, I never used to eat ponmo, well maybe I had once in a year or so but it wasn’t something I ate on a regular until I gained admission into the best University in Nigeria (you should know what school it is by now). My hall was called Center For The Blessed People but right in front of the hall, there was this canteen (was because I hear they left the town already) where only rice was sold and you will wonder how the business thrived by just selling rice. I thought wrong. I wasn’t fortunate to eat at the joint during my first 3 months in school because my darling cousin always cooked before I went for classes and the canteen closed at about 1 or 2pm when I was still having classes.

The day I managed to eat the food, it was a big mistake. Not that the food was crap o, I thought I was buying food from a buka in Lagos. I told the lady to sell N70 rice, N30 beans, 3 pieces of meat and 2 ponmo in a bowl while I stepped out to get a bottle of sprite. On returning, I was amazed at what she served and I repeated my order and she was like yes now, that that was how she sold it. It was so much, I wasted the meal but one revelation I got from the meal though was the ponmo. The Ponmo was so on point, it was soft an had played well in the stew. You know what I mean now. When Hitler came back from class I told him what happened and he laughed his head out, he was ,like NOBODY buys rice worth more than N20 from Center and that it was the ponmo that was the attraction.

You need to see the volume of cars that park around the area just to eat in Center, people troop in from Ijebu-igbo, Ijebu-ode, Oru and Awa (if by now you don’t know my school, then sorry o). There was a day my friend came to see me and when he was about leaving my room he told me he wanted to eat at Center before heading to Lagos so I went with him. When he was placing his order, his phone rang and as picked up he was still ordering. It was his sister that called him and he said the moment he told her he was in Center she asked him to buy N200 ponmo for her. Can you guess where she called from? I will have to tell you, she was in Lagos. He said she had never eaten Center’s ponmo before because she was in Unilag but her friends in my school always gisted her about how nice the ponmo was.

My bro also came visiting one day, though he was and still is a big fan of ponmo but I had never seen him devour ponmo like he did on this day. He didn’t buy rice he just ordered for ponmos. For all you people that say ponmo adds no nutritional value to the body, well I can say same about indomie noodles too. Though as the years rolled by the Center food got expensive but it was same everywhere around town too, and it didn’t reduce Center’s fan base except when admission into the school got tougher after a while. Center was the best food joint in that town even as it was only rice they sold, you can quote me anywhere.

Watch out for the top 13 songs of 2013 this week. Thanks for reading and do have a fantastic week filled with the ALMIGHTY’s blessings.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and instagram swizz1swizz2

Introducing Jam Music

Yea I know my next post was meant to be the top 10 songs of the year 2013. I had to do this for a brother and a friend. Meanwhile it is going to be the top 13 songs of 2013 I would be posting and not 10 any more. Please bear with me.

Jam Music is the latest record label in town, founded by a close friend and brother, Bimbo Afolabi and his friend Nafike Malafa. I must say I wasn’t surprised when Bimbo told me he was starting a record label because his love for music is out of this world. Whenever we go out for drinks during our masters degree he always ensured we went to pubs that had karaoke machines so he could sing and yes he sings wonderfully well. He also is a member of the great Grace Assembly Church choir.

He has two top stars I wouldn’t be disclosing for now but he intends to recruit fresh or should I say raw talents and even upcoming acts or any interested person. If you are interested or know someone who is interested you can tell them they can win a record deal by doing a minute skit mentioning ‘Jam Music’ in it and uploading the skit on youtube or simply tweet the link to your skit to @jammsc. Winners stand a chance to win a 3 year contract with other pecks and international gigs and a surprise collaboration with big acts.

So there you have it guys, tell someone that’s knows someone to tell someone they stand a chance to win a record deal and other exciting goodies. This is the point where I wish I could sing or rap, chai.

Thanks for your time my wonderful peeps and watch out for my next post. Please follow @jammsc on twitter. Trust me, this is going to be the best record label in Naija……… #ThankMeLater.

JAM MUSIC

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A La Ponche: My Man

ponche

I met this Ponche dude officially in 2006 in Uni though I had been seeing him around but we never just had cause to get acquainted. I always say this and I have never been proved wrong, football is the best thing to have happened to man after of course our mothers. His cousin GB introduced us one evening when we went to play footie and from then on, he has been one of my closest friends.

When GB introduced him as Ponche I was wondering what kind of name it was though I knew immediately it had to be in relation with his love for alcohol. Ponche has one of the best Yoruba names I have ever heard (Akinlolu). The funny thing is the clown never introduces himself by his real name, it’s always Ponche he calls himself. His parents call him Ponche too.

The day we met we were seated watching some guys play football and we started gisting. We gisted for few minutes and the next thing he said was wo ball yi n dull me, mo fe lo mu beer jor (this football game is dulling me, I want to go and drink beer). He got up and asked me if I was interested, I told him no and he walked away. I marvelled at this dudes character. He is one of a kind. I saw him the next day and he was like I missed out on the fun of the preceding day. He said the catfish was singing Kevin Lyttle’s “Turn Me On” to him and the beer was so cold he lost count of how many he had. There was a day he went to drink one hot afternoon after he finished lectures for the day, he cracked myself and his hall mates up, giving people all sorts of names. He called one of his Friends Femi trying to live, that’s the only one I can remember for now. After making us laugh, he got up to go and have a bath and when he was done he started shouting saying who took my phone, who took my phone. I gave him my phone so he could call it, he collected my phone and walked away to call his. He came back saying it was switched off. In his words, He said Dipo the lady that talks when you make unconnected calls said the phone was switched off in capital letters (SWITCHED OFF). I mean this guy is 50 shades of insane.

Why am I writing this particular post? Well no particular reason and quite frankly this dude is a great guy no doubt and I always say if I lived my life the way this guy does I wouldn’t have any worries. He takes each day as it comes and he is one I can vouch for.

Thanks for your time peeps and watch out for my top 10 songs of 2013. I remember getting some sticks for not including Olamide’s 1st of all in 2012’s list but you guys should also remember that I said 2013 was going to be a big year for him (Olamide) and Phyno too.

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FRIDAY and SATURDAY

After work on Friday myself and Damz decided to honour a close pal who was going to propose to his girlfriend (don’t ask me when I am going to propose o). The venue was Protea in Ikeja and you know when Nigerians hear buffet, the smile on their face is usually different as in devious. Well that’s was the kind of smile myself and Damz had. There was mad traffic on Ikorodu road and our friend kept calling us because time was going and the restaurant was to close for 10pm.

We eventually got there at 9pm, and we had an hour to eat as much as we could. Damz called his friend BB to come over too and he was also running late. Myself and Damz got down to business immediately eating the orisirisi on ground from potato to mixed vegetable to chicken, fish, turkey, pork, rice, dodo, macaroni to mention a few. Did I just say a few? It’s a few because there are some things I can’t even remember that were on show. With all the bragging we just went two rounds, and it was so sad I didn’t have my favourite meal (eba and okra), to tell you how confused I was. Damz’ friend came in like 9.40 and he had 20 minutes to eat 6,500 naira worth of food. The clown had little rice and chicken which infuriated Damz. Come and see begging o. Damz was begging him to please eat more make money no waste and the guy was like he is on a diet, I mean who says that? In a nut shell the guy no gree chop more o.

We were seriously hating BB at this juncture until he said something funny, anyway it was funny to myself and Damz. So he was forgiven. Let me say this, driving a car after been a busaholic all your life needs getting used to. Apparently BB just bought his car and a few days later he took the car to a car wash. After parking the car and giving instructions to the person washing the car, he decided to take a stroll. He saw a bus and heard the conductor shouting Yaba wo le, Yaba wo le. The dude jumped into the bus forgetting he brought his car. He was almost at Yaba when he remembered he drove a car. Myself and Damz laughed till we got home. It was an interesting Friday overall and yes the babe said yes. Congrats to my man Dr. Evil and his wife to be Dimmie.

Saturday morning started with me hooking up with 2 colleagues and a friend. We were heading to Elegushi beach to work out. I mean who does that? I had nothing to lose even as weird as working out on the beach sounded. We got there and we started out by jogging and I must say jogging on the beach bare feet is tougher than maths, physics and chemistry rolled in one. Shit was difficult. We tried playing badminton but the wind didn’t help matters, we tossed volleyballs around and after that we did a bit of aerobics before calling it a day.

Had a haircut and had my bath then faced work to support our Company’s cause of screening ladies for breast and cervical cancer. It was fun talking to ladies explaining the importance of doing the screening. Ladies please go for screening and guys tell your girlfriends, sisters, wives and even mothers too to go for screening. After a while we the men disappeared to do what we enjoy best when gathered which is to watch footie. It was Man Shitty taking on Assnal at the Ethiad Stadium in Manchester. Myself and fellow Man Utd peeps had verbally assaulted the Arsenal fans by telling them how prolific Man City have been at home this season and how it was only Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku that had scored against them at home this season before the day’s game.

The Gunners were however beaten, battered and brushed. They lost 6-3 , though Theo Walcott (brace) and Per Metersacker became the 3rd and 4th players respectively to score at the Ethiad against Man City in the league this season. I can’t write off Assnal as regards the title race because they have been picking up points against the so called smaller teams which is very important, unlike one team like that. If you don’t know the team na you know o. I hope my team steps up tomorrow though because we can’t continue like this o. Van Persie out for a month? Now I have to say we are kinda jinxed. Sigh, it is well. I was going to write a post about my top ten movies but I am not sure if I have even seen 10 movies this year or even between last year and this year combined. I will come up with an idea or a post though.

Thanks for reading guys…… Stay Blessed and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram swizz1swizz2

Man Utd, Man Utd and David Moyes

Hi guys, I trust you wonderful people have been good. I need to quit apologizing and start taking action instead. I have been a naughty boy by not posting regularly right? You guys should bear with me, I will add posting regularly to my new year resolution list.

Now back to the story at hand. My beloved Man Utd team have been all sorts of poor or should I say terrible? Either way what is bad is bad and in Yoruba parlance oun ti ko da ko da. Well it’s too late to dump a club I started supporting in the 90s or a club I had the opportunity to hear a bit of its history from people I regard as role models (Big Doz and Big Yomz). And when it comes to football it’s just Man Utd for me and the others (Aston Villa, Newcastle, Juventus and Real Madrid).

I have been dilly dallying on what I think the Man Utd problem is and I have aired my views in posts past. I have even made excuses for Messr Moyes saying it’s not been his fault and that we should blame Woodward or whoever the clown handling transfer issues is. Even when he demoted Mike Phelan and Rene Mulensteen I felt it was right he brought in his crew (I thought they were knowledgeable). I didn’t know they were a bunch of senator I concur type of people.

People have been saying the players are old and that they should be replaced, I mean how old can you get in 6 months? It was this same squad that won the league last season and for me the difference between last season and this season still remains Sir Alex Ferguson being at helm of affairs last time out and David Moyes replacing him. Ferguson might not be the best in terms of man management (he sure is for me) but he handled all his squad well. Fergie is a manager who knows the team he would select for a game to be played in 2 weeks. Basically just ensure the players are fit and healthy and tell them you need to be playing well because I have earmarked you for so, so and so games. The story at Old Trafford has changed, who dare come out to criticize Ferguson as RVP and just recently Ferdinand did as regards Moyes? You sack the back room staff that has been a part and parcel of a success story only to bring in newbies that will only see things from your point of view just to keep their jobs. We are 9th at the moment and it seems all we can pray for is not to be relegated at this juncture.

Don’t get me wrong, still a Man Utd fan (till death), besides if Mr. Deji Tinubu still supports Nottingham Forest I shouldn’t be so bothered but then who doesn’t like constant success? Now I will have to change my top four predictions and I made a mistake putting Man Utd on top not because of how the season has been so far but because the last time United won the league going into a World Cup year was 1994. That’s been a while o. Yea my football superstition has come into play again. I will like to add that Sir Alex Ferguson’s biggest Man Utd mistake was not selling Jaap Stam, Van Nistelrooy, Beckham or whoever but I think it was him picking or being allowed to pick Moyes as his replacement. Football today is about instant results, nobody has time to wait.

Imagine if United doesn’t make the top four, we lose the £40m pounds that comes with Champions league qualification and the few million pounds extra that comes with finishing high up the league. With the debts on ground I doubt if the Glazers would be patient with Moyes.

This post has been my opinion and I know a lot of people will not agree with this crap I have written but it’s just my opinion and how I feel. It is safe to say the league is Assnal’s to lose even though I hate to admit it.

Thanks for reading and a big THANK YOU to those that voted for me and for those that didn’t vote for me I know y’all and Santa wouldn’t be nice to you, lol. Just teasing. Have a fabulous week filled with the ALMIGHTY’s blessings.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram swizz1swizz2

PSYCHIA

Voting is still on going in the Nigerian Blog Awards and you can vote for me (Dipo Writes aka The Swizz Memoirs) via http://t.co/5dOlFMR7dp in the personal blog category

It was a Friday night in August 2011, 9pm precisely. I just got home from the Island after a long day. My phone was ringing as I was taking the Island off oops I meant taking off my clothes. It was my man from way back that was calling me, he asked where I was and I told him I just got into the house. He said he was around my area and he asked if I was down to hang out. Hell yea I said and besides we hadn’t seen in a while.

He picked me up about 10 minutes later and when I asked where we were heading to, he said somewhere around and I was like where exactly, he didn’t respond and when I asked again he said when we get there I would see for myself. It immediately hit me Mide could want to use me for blood money or why was he keeping the place a secret? I was going to ask him to pull over so I could get out of the car but seemed it was too late as he drove into the Psychiatric Hospital (Yaba Left). Me Yaba Left? I wanted to bite him but wouldn’t that have justified the reason for being there? I thought against that move and decided to remain calm until he parked. I looked round and I actually found out there was a joint there. Mide said welcome to PSYCHIA and I smiled letting out my relief.

The bottles were flowing and as usual I was on my big Udeme. I must say this, the joint served the best catfish pepper soup I have ever tasted in the whole of Yaba Local Government at the time (because I hardly go there, though I was there recently but had power horse and grilled fish). Trust me the catfish pepper soup served at that joint opposite Forte Oil in Obalende is the best in Lagos. The obvious happened, one of my close friends, Femi called me and asked where I was. I started stuttering, how was I to say I was in the Psychiatric Hospital or Yaba Left? I told him I was around my area and he asked where exactly, I said was close to Harvey road. He probed further asking where near Harvey Road, the Udeme was already doing its work and I said I was inside Psychia, and he was like what, I just barked Psychiatric Hospital jor and the sick dude was like Dipo dem admit you ni? I responded by saying na you dem go admit for Yaba Left. I told him there was a joint there and that he should come over but he was having none of that. Mide collected the phone from me and convinced him to come over. He eventually did and saw things for himself, he also acknowledged the catfish was on point.

I don’t know if the joint has a name but I call the place PSYCHIA. The people who troop into that place week in week out cannot be quantified despite it being in a Mental home.

Moral of the story? None jare, but never judge a book by its cover.

Let me leave you with one of my favourite quotes ” one hand washes the other, both hands wash the face” (Enoch “Nucky” Thompson in Boardwalk Empire). To me it means collaboration can go a long way in making the world a better place.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. Please help your boy win the best personal blog award at the Nigerian Blog Awards. You can vote Dipo Writes aka The Swizz Memoirs via http://t.co/5dOlFMR7dp in the personal blog category. Have a fabulous weekend peeps and stay blessed.

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My First Real Police Wahala

It was one of those days when you wake up pretty early and you find it hard to go back to sleep. I wasn’t really bothered though, I had defended my project the preceding day so I was a bit free at the time playing the waiting game as regards my final BSc. result and my NYSC call up letter. My cousin called me at about 5.30am though I was kinda shocked when I picked up but it was obvious he was glad I picked up. He needed me to help him get to the bank to meet up with his friend who worked there to collect some forex for his trip to the UK (He was already checking in at the airport at the time) and bring them over to the airport. After picking up the forex, his friend gave me some naira (about 450k) to also give him because he was unable to change them into pounds. I took all the money to the airport and when I met with my cousin he asked that I help take part of the Naira to his wife and deposit the rest in his account.

I was wearing a pair combat of shorts (glad I did) and I stashed the dough in both side pockets and walked ahead to get a cab enroute Ojodu Berger. Got a cab and on getting to Ojodu we were stopped by policemen, they asked me to come down. I obliged and on seeing the bulging parts of my shorts one of the officers asked me to empty my pockets and as I was doing so another one shouted “ewooo”, asking what I was doing with such amount of money. That wasn’t even the funny part, what made me laugh was when another officer said didn’t I know I wasn’t supposed to be carrying this huge amount of money and that money over N50,000 (fifty thousand naira) should be moved about in a Bullion Van. I wanted to laugh but I held my peace because these cops could be trigger happy. They said I had to follow them to the station. One of them jumped into the cab with me and when we got to the station I settled the cab man and went in with the police men.

They took me to a room which wasn’t their usual counter and asked for my ID card. As I was bringing out my ID card I knew it was going to be a long day with these dudes. They never believe there are good guys or girls from Naija’s best University (go figure).. Greatest Nigerian Students (GREAT). The guy I handed my ID to immediately said I know say na yahoo yahoo boy na hin you be and as I was trying to convince him otherwise, another officer hit my shoulder with a baton. I asked him what my offence was and he asked me to shut up. They went through my call log and texts messages to find anything that could implicate me. I asked if I could call someone to bail me and they let me. I spoke to Big Yomz (Y’all remember him?, check articles past) and he assured me he would join me shortly.

The policemen kept telling me all sorts like how they caught scammers and the likes, trying to put some fear in me, but on seeing I wasn’t panicking one of them took me outside and asked if I was willing to get out of the mess by dropping some of the cash. I laughed this time and he asked why I was laughing, I told him I can’t drop 10kobo out of the money because it wasn’t mine and that I could only wish it was. He now said when my cousin comes I would settle him and I just smiled. He held on to both my phones. My cousin came 30 minutes later with a family friend and they asked that I relaxed where I was. They went to see the D.P.O who had just woken up when they were talking to him, he asked one of his men to go and bring me in. I still don’t know what my cousin said to the D.P.O till date but the D.P.O apologized to me and said he would deal with the officers because they didn’t report what I was charged for to their superiors. Boy was I glad, when we were about leaving I couldn’t find the dude with my phones. On getting to the exit of the D.P.O’s office I heard someone whisper in a corner stretching his palms out for some cash. It was the dude with my phone, I just shouted at him oga give me my phones jor and he gave them to me immediately, eyeing me in the process.

I don’t know if the D.P.O dealt with the officers but I thank GOD I wasn’t shot or jailed.

Thanks for reading and your boy still needs your votes o. Please vote for me (Dipo Writes aka The Swizz Memoirs) via http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2013.php in the personal blog category of the Nigerian Blog Awards. Thanks and remain BLESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and Instagram :swizz1swizz2 and mention for a follow back

Blog Link Change?????

Hi guys, I trust you are doing well. Past week has been crazy tough but I thank GOD for life. I hope you guys have been voting for me or else I will just quit writing, lmao. Sure you know I am joking. Just in case you haven’t voted, you can vote for me (Dipo Writes) in the Personal Blog category of the Nigerian blog awards via http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2013.php. I thank you guys for the support so far.

Back to the topic of discussion before I turn the post to some sort of National campaign. We were having a discussion about the ASUU strike on the day the nominees for the Nigerian blog awards were announced. I got a tweet from the Nigerian blog awards admin, immediately I saw the tweet I didn’t know I was audible when I said “it’s a lie I made the final cut of the nominations”. The lady seated next to me immediately asked what cut and I smiled saying I was nominated in the personal blog category of the Nigerian blog awards.

At that time everyone around had heard and asked for the link to my blog. That was when the trouble started o, Hahahahaha. Immediately I said http://www.theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com one of the guys said baba that one is too long nah and how the hell was he to remember. Someone said it was too difficult to pronounce and another person was like why didn’t I just use something short and easy to remember. I totally agree they all had reasonable points to be honest but it was the first time I was in that kind of scenario since I started the blog.

The blog started like a joke for me last year. I was about to sleep on a Saturday night in August when I saw a friend of mine’s personal message on bbm read her blog link. I was like so Yetts blogs? I clicked on the link and I found out she downloaded wordpress for blackberry. I was like I could download and blog from anywhere with my phone. In the process of downloading I was eager to get started and when I was to pick a link for the blog, the only thing that came to mind was to use a nickname since I just wanted to have fun blogging. I thought hard about what nickname to use and I picked Swizz. Swizz was a name given to me by my friends from high school oops sorry Secondary School. I was called Swizz because of my love for the American born music producer Kaseem Dean aka Swizz Beatz at that time. The name also fit at that time because I was just as skinny as Kaseem was. I didn’t know the name will stick and even my brothers call me Swizz and whenever I am fortunate to get a Man United jersey from them it’s always branded Swizz.

I couldn’t have used http://www.swizz.wordpress.com because it didn’t seem to send out any message so I settled for http://www.theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com to send across a message that the blog is strictly based on the owner’s personal inventory or experiences. The link sure seems long but it’s the only thing that best describes what I want to achieve in terms of posting personal issues and my thoughts on things that interest me and a good example is my football posts which is strictly post game thoughts.

Now I put it to you guys, should I change the link (I have not even found out if that’s possible though) or should I still leave it as http://www.theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com? Suggestions would be gladly received and painstakingly reviewed.

Thanks again for your time. Do have a fabulous week ahead filled with the Almighty’s blessings. Please remember to vote o. The link again is http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2013.php and I am nominated in the personal blog category. Stay BLESSED people, much love.

Follow on twitter @dipoogun and on Instagram: swizz1swizz2 and mention for a follow back.

The Weekend

I have been nominated in the Personal Blog Category of the Nigerian Blog Awards thanks to you guys. You can vote for Dipo Writes aka The Swizz Memoirs via this link http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2013.php . When you are on the site just enter your name and email address then search for Dipo Writes,click on it and submit. Thanks in advance.

My Saturday started with a trip to Unilag. I went with my cousin and family friend to play footie on the new AstroTurf they had there. It was a good work out for me and even though I was in goal I enjoyed every bit of it asides the bruises on both knees. The turn out was fantastic and the organization was very good with little arguments and commercial breaks. After 2 and a half hours of footie we went home. On getting home my cousin and I decided to chill opposite the house for fresh air before going in.

We gisted for a bit and as we were about going in, the ewa agoyin and bread babes walked towards us and my cousin was like that wouldn’t be bad for breakfast. We stopped them and my cousin went in to get sweet bowls for the ewa. It turned out that the other peeps in the house were interested. After breakfast was sorted, I had a shower before I settled to devour my meal. After the meal, I picked up my Microsoft Surface and continued from where I stopped with Shameless (a series) and in between I dozed off. My body ached so I was rooted to the room all day till evening and instead of watching footie the boys decided to play FIFA 14 (fantastic game). Oh by the way Chelsea fans the next time I hear you call my beloved Man Utd PDP you will feel the wrath of a menace. I left for my room and picked up my fone to respond to pings and tweet a little. I also harangued my latest friend into answering some questions before I fell asleep.

I woke up Sunday morning to prepare for church. I had my bath after shaving, got dressed (before nko) and headed for church, which was just 5 minutes away. On getting to church, we were told the order of the day was evangelism. I took off and headed home (GOD forgive me). Got home and picked up my system to do some work and after a while I played with with my niece before taking a short nap. I woke up to watch Totenham Hotspurs against Newcastle United and boy was I glad Newcastle won.

After the Newcastle game I braced myself for my darling Red Devils game against Assnal whilst watching Sunderland take on Man Shitty and gisting with one of the best individuals I have ever known, the great Eleba. Sunderland won by the odd goal and then came the game of the day. Man Utd were facing an Arsenal side that had not lost away in 15 games. If you follow football well you will know Old Trafford is the wrongest place to brag about records. Manchester United was obviously ready for this challenge and ex Assnal legend Robin Van Persie gave United the lead. In case you missed this Man Utd has NEVER I repeat NEVER lost a game at home in the last 220 with a half time lead. United won the game and cut Assnal’s lead over them to 5 points. The United revival continues. Arsenal remain top, Liverpool 2nd, Chelsea 3rd, Southampton 4th and Man Utd 5th. Watch out haters, we are coming for our slot (number 1).

Did I mention I have an on going wager with a lady friend? She said United wont be amongst the top 4 till the new year while I said the Red Devils would be in the top 4 by end of November. So I am not to cut my hair till we are in the top 4. I know I am going to have my hair cut by the end of November. What’s in it for me if Man Utd gets into the top 4 by then? I am not sharing o. Sorry about that but it’s a little secret between the two of us.

My weekend in one word? BLISSFUL. I went to play footie which I hadn’t done in over a year, had family around me and the best 5 teams in the world (Man Utd, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Juventus and Real Madrid) all won their respective games. Thankful to the Almighty GOD.

Thanks guys for reading as always. Please don’t forget voting starts today. I am nominated in the personal blog category of the Nigerian Blog Awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com). You can vote for me via http://nigerianblogawards.com/vote2013.php (Dipo Writes). Thanks again for being with me thus far. I know with your help I can win this award. You guys have encouraged me and being there for me. I say a big thank you again (hugs & kisses to ladies and knuckle to the men)……….. Thanks and remain blessed y’all !!!

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

GOD

Hey guys, been a while. I apologize for dulling you guys. Football has been the gist making the headlines these past weeks. Congrats to the Golden Eaglets, the lads played beautiful football in the UAE and to win the U-17 World Cup for the 4th time was a BLISS. This makes Nigeria the most successful nation in this age grade competition.

Before I move to the story of the day, let me say a big thank you to you guys for voting for me during the nomination stage of the Nigerian Blog Awards. I was up in the Sports blog category and Personal blog category and even though I made the final cut for just the Personal blog category, it’s been because of you guys and I am very grateful.

Today’s post doesn’t make me a born again, I am just trying to explain the reason why I always write GOD as GOD and not God. If you noticed in my posts past whenever I write GOD I ensure all three letters are written in CAPS. I have been doing this since my J.S.S 1 days and it always got my marks reduced in subjects I did especially Christian Religious Knowledge (C.R.K). I don’t see why I would want to write Dipo and Write GOD in the same way. It doesn’t show there’s a fear for the LORD and then we still find some people spelling GOD in small letters (god). Whenever the teacher marked my exam scripts or test scripts she always circled my GOD spelling. She called me one time and asked why I always spelt GOD in that vain and I plainly told her that GOD isn’t human and can’t be compared to us. She asked me to refrain from writing GOD as GOD and asked that I write it the way she termed the proper way (God). I told her I have heard but I didn’t stop and I haven’t stopped and I doubt if I will ever stop writing GOD as GOD.

It’s something that has become a part of me and I always correct people about how they spell the Almighty’s name. I am not saying the way I spell it is right but the utmost disrespect is spelling GOD as god like he is an idol or something. May GOD help us all and like I say it’s only GOD who knows who truly worships him.

Yea it might sound silly but that’s just me. As I have said earlier I am no born again but I worship GOD when I can (GOD forgive me) and I have the fear of GOD in me.

So guys what’s your take on this story? This is the first time I am actually airing out my view on this particular subject. It might be a silly post but I would love to hear your opinions and criticisms.

Voting for the best Personal blog commences on Monday 11th November, 2013 via http://www.nigerianblogawards.com. Please vote for your boy Dipo aka The Swizz Memoirs (www.theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com).

Thanks y’all and stay BLESSED !!!

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

My footie weekend

Hi guys, been a minute y’all heard from me right? So sorry about the break. I didn’t mean to take off like that. Hope you guys had a fab weekend? Mine was kinda complicated though, but glad it’s gone by.

Man Utd my second religion came close to giving me high bp on Saturday afternoon. We were playing Stoke City on the day and before the game I was confident of victory despite the fact that we haven’t been playing well since the season started. Come on its Stoke City nah, they wouldn’t be a tough nut to crack. I saw the game with my colleagues at a joint and the game had started before we got there. The Staffordshire side had taken the lead before we were seated through Peter Crouch. We were playing at home and it didn’t look like it. Jibes were thrown at me and my other Utd friends. It was already looking like one of those days where we would be beaten black and blue. Our saving grace was De Donut (De Gea), making point blank saves, saves you could only imagine. These saves kept us in the game and at least gave us some hope.

The Red Devils however got a deserved equalizer through Robin Van Persie and before I could settle down after celebrating the goal Stoke scored another via a lovely free kick. It was the 1st free kick United had conceded at home since 2011. Yeye record. We went into the break behind but I was still hopeful of at least a draw.

The second half kicked off with Manchester United playing more purposeful footie and looking dangerous. The goal refused to come and Stoke City switched the tempo at some point too and kept me at the edge of my seat during their moments. Rooney however calmed my nerves with an equalizer and I was asking for more. The 3points were vital if we are make the top 4 come May 2014.

Alas the Little Pea aka Chicharito aka Javier Hernandez lived up to his super sub tag and scored to give us the lead and eventually seal all 3 points for the Red Devils. Though we were lucky to still have him on the pitch as he was close to being sent off for a rash challenge on Robert Huth just seconds after coming on as a sub.

We won which was what was important to me even though we are still languishing in 8th position but this 3 points garnered could be a confidence booster for the lads hopefully. My man of the match obviously was David De Gea because we would have been merked (beaten) if he didn’t make top quality saves.

United and Juventus were the only teams of the 5 that I support who won their respective league matches with Real Madrid losing the El-Clasico 2-1 against Barcelona even though I still think Madrid was robbed of two penalties. Villa lost 2 nil to Everton and Newcastle lost the Tyneside side derby 2-1 to Sunderland. Chelsea beat Man City in the biggest league game of the weekend in the EPL with Torres stealing the headlines for miss of the day and match winning goal though I would rate him 8/10 performance wise. Yaya Toure in one word? Monster. Joe Hart has proved to be unreliable once again and I am sure this will prompt the Man City coach to shop for a new goalie in the January transfer window. Ramsey will surely make my team of the week if I was to make a list. Another stellar performance from the lad in Assnal’s 2-0 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. I didn’t get to see other games but Spurs are back in their Champions league chasing spot. At the end of the weekend Arsenal maintains top spot with Chelsea 2nd, Liverpool 3rd though level on points with Chelsea but behind on goal’s difference and alphabetically. Totenham Hotspurs 4th, Southampton 5th, Everton 6th, Shitty 7th and my darling United 8th.

I have a confession, maybe not a confession. It’s some sort of revelation but you guys will have to wait for it *tongue out*.

Enjoy the rest of the week and don’t forget there are Capital One Cup games between Man Utd and Norwich with Assnal hosting Chelsea in the big game of the night…….. Stay Blessed guys, much love.

Follow on twitter : @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

Man Utd Falls Hand Again, King Ramsey and Eto’o

For the first time in about two years I missed a Manchester United game. I missed it because it was my friend’s wedding and my one of my closest friend’s daughter was turning one. Yea another day of temptation but no I didn’t fall. The groom was even shocked I didn’t take out of the Hennessy he offered myself and Lingo (my friend that I went to the wedding with). I usually have an alternative if I have to go out on a match day, which is my walka but unfortunately the game wasn’t aired on Supersport 3.

I can’t say much about the game I didn’t see, all I knew was the result and the goal scorers. It’s sad my team are playing badly but a revolution is never easy. David Moyes might seem confused no doubt but these players are paid for a reason. Yes quality players weren’t signed and that has been clear for over a month now. If the quality we have now cannot beat the likes of Westbrom, Southampton then what happens when we face the big boys? Sigh. My conclusion on this is the boys are not willing to play for this manager (Moyes) and can’t wait for him to be kicked out. My crazy friend Ricky tweeted at me yesterday saying if Southampton are to qualify for the champions league it is games against a mid table side like Man Utd they need to be winning. Lmao, Ricky if I catch you. The game ended 1-1.

11 points from 8 games for Man Utd is so bad that it feels like a top 4 finish is unlikely. Tufiakwa, Manchester United is winning the league this season. If Assnal like make dem dey top, it’s just temporary and we know when their faltering period is. As for Chelsea they are sorta grinding out results but they are not fantastic jare and Man City? Well Manchester is RED jor not bothered about them. Spurs is another team to watch out for, they just need more time to gel. Liverpool? Initial grags is what they are doing, we all know their aim is just to topple Everton come end of the season.

The United issue is just a phase we will overcome soon. The lads will come through as time goes on. Though I still want to know if Shinji Kagawa has done anything to piss Moyes off. Stats show that with the small playing time the little Jap has had, he has created the best scoring chances. Michael Carrick however has been the player who has completed the most successful passes in the EPL with a large number of the passes attacking ones. Yea had to point that out because he is no Mikel Obi. It’s nothing to brag about but it’s worth stating.

I didn’t have to watch any of the games before I could say Aaron Ramsey was the player of the day. I was checking match scores on the internet via http://www.livescores.com whilst at the birthday gig and when I saw he scored I didn’t know when I shouted world’s best has scored again. I couldn’t wait to get home to watch the highlights and if you didn’t see the goal please search for it, find it and watch it, you sure would thank me later. Ramsey is the best player in the world as we speak. Messi ko, Henry ni. Ramsey didn’t even start the game. Couple of seasons when I said he was a fantastic player Assnal fans would laugh, now they say he is baller. Awon elenu meji. Arsenal beat Norwich 4-1 to remain top of the log.

Samuel Eto’o finally scored for Chelsea and what a goal it was. This makes Eto’o the first Chelsea striker to score in the EPL this season, except Lukaku who is on loan at Everton, Hahahahahahaha. Eto’o had a good game and he was instrumental to Chelsea getting an equalizer before he scored to give them the lead. Chelsea beat Cardiff City 4-1 and are second on the log just ahead of Liverpool with better goals difference. Man Shitty is fourth and my beloved Man United is eighth, chai.

The champions league returns on Tuesday after a 3 week break. Remember one if these three teams; Manchester United, Juventus or Real Madrid would be crowned champions come May 2014.

Thanks for reading peeps and do have a wonderful week ahead filled with truck loads of BLESSINGS…………………….. PEACE !!!

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

The 3Lions of England pick Brazil 2014 ticket

My favourite national team, the Three Lions of England bagged a spot at next year’s World Cup final beaten Poland 2-0 at the Wembley stadium in England. It was a must win match for England in order to qualify automatically for the tournament holding next year rather than go through the play-offs. Ukraine played San Marino in the other qualifier and the Ukrainians were hoping England will slip up giving them the chance to qualify ahead of them.

Both games were played simultaneously and within 35 minutes Ukraine had romped to a 3-0 lead while England was still searching for a goal. Before half time, Manchester United’s second best player so far this season; Wayne Rooney gave the Lions the lead. Yea Rooney is second best just after Michael Carrick *bite me*. The second half kicked off with the Polish lads being more purposeful and looking for that goal that would bring the English down to earth and within 22 minutes of the second half of the Ukraine versus San Marino game, Ukraine was already 7 up. England seemed to be walking on a thin rope (did that even make sense?) at this point and an equalizer from Poland could spoil everything. The Polish guys were having chances while their goalie was keeping the English lads at bay. The relief I so desired came in the 88th when the captain of the Lions scored a goal to give England a 2 nil lead and guarantee us a place in the World Cup finals. Boy I was at the edge of my sit all through the game. Glad the lads pulled through.

England join Brazil (hosts), Spain (defending champions), Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Iran, Australia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, Colombia, South Korea, U.S.A, Belgium, Costa Rica, Honduras, Russia and Italy with automatic spots at the World Cup while other qualifiers would be known sometimes in November. Teams like France, Portugal, Greece, Iceland, Ukraine, Sweden, Romania, Croatia would be paired against each other for being group runners up to determine the final four World Cup slots from Europe. Denmark were runners up too but didn’t make the play off cut because they were the worst runner up. There are other play off games to come up to give a picture of all 32 teams that would be playing at the World Cup come June next year.

England was unbeaten throughout the qualifiers and are second to Spain in terms of the least amount of goals conceded though but England played more games compared to Spain.

So there you have it, all teams I like have made it through to the finals (would do a preview on all my teams before the tournament) except Portugal and Nigeria but England is top priority. “Two World Wars and One World Cup England, England. Two World Wars and One World Cup England All The Way”.

Thanks for reading as always………… Stay Blessed

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

Rest on SOJ my bro

You left this cold world about four months ago, not in a pleasant way and I still believe you could have been saved if those clowns in the hospital had paid better attention in taking care of you. Soji you were supposed to be around now celebrating another birthday with us but GOD knows best. I will try to take solace in that.

Soji you were my brother in many ways I still can’t explain and I am so glad our paths crossed. You were a motivator and one hell of a great guy. I will always remember the times we shared together SOJ, the times we shared on the field, the times we spent watching movies (though you forced me), when we watched footie and throw banters. I could go on but instead of me saying goodbye bro, I would focus on the times we spent together.

Your Igbonla peeps miss you, your OOU friends can’t stop talking about how wonderful you were. Ekiti and Nigeria at large has lost a brilliant son and from the lyrics of the best rapper alive (go figure) “LORD forgive him we all have sinned but Soji is a good dude please let him in and if you fill in my heart that I long for revenge please blame it on the sun of the mourning……… Thanks again”

Continue to rest in the bosom of the LORD Soji Ojutalayo Omoyeni while you wake up every now and then sipping on Heavenly Champagne.

Eagles have a LEG in

Pings, calls, texts, tweets and what have you hit my phone and as a matter of fact drained my phone battery few minutes after Nigeria’s victory over Ethiopia. As at the 70th minute of the game my friends on bbm and twitter were already cursing and dissing the team and even Keshi too, while some were laughing at the team’s inability to get an equalizer after conceding a goal in the 56th minute. Some peeps even said it wasn’t a goal but to me the goal Nigeria conceded was a clean goal, a goal that would be given everyday and three times on Sunday (did that make sense?).

Nigeria scored two late goals through Emmanuel Emenike. A beautiful shot from outside the box and a penalty. The calls, pings, texts et al from my friends was as a result of my post on England’s game against Montenegro on Friday. The boys were like I must also put a post up for the Super Eagles so here we are. I have not been a fan of the Eagles for a while now but I started supporting them again when Siasia was appointed and even after Keshi replaced him I still put in my support for the team. I respected both managers when they were footballers. Keshi is really doing a good job with the team and I am so happy he is going to qualify a second team for the World Cup. Remember he qualified Togo for the World Cup though he was sacked after a poor performance at the Nations cup just before the tournament in 2006.

The Ethiopia game came alive in the second half and Mikel Obi bossed the midfield just after my favourite Super Eagles player Nosa Igiebor was brought on. Godfrey Oboabana was pure class for the Eagles and Azubuike Egwuekwe who partnered him in the heart of the Nigerian defense was fantastic, winning every aerial duel. I am glad the Eagles have the advantage needed to progress to the World Cup finals in Brazil. So I will likely have all my favourite national teams at the World Cup come next year.

Thanks for reading. Do have a wonderful Sallah break and my friends that are killing ram/cow/goat/chicken/guinea fowl/pigeon/crocodile holla at your boy o………. Stay blessed peeps.

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram:swizz1swizz2

Today

I was asked a few questions and no time to think. It was fun though, maybe because it was a lady that was asking. Remember I wasn’t given time to think before answering these questions. She was a bully jare. So bear in mind that most of the questions were answered under duress. Find the questions below:

Favourite Movie: A low down dirty shame (Kenon Ivory Wayans and Jada Smith)

Favourite Book: Doom’s Day Conspiracy (Sydney Sheldon)

Top 5 Footballers ever : Zinedine Zidane, Eric Cantona, Romario De Souza Faria Filho, Diego Armando Maradona and Ronaldo Luis Nazario De Lima

Favourite drink: Water

Favourite snack: Mr Biggs burger

Favourite car: LR 4

Favourite BIble verse : Isaiah 12: 1-6

Favourite Comedian : Kevin Hart

Favourite footballer: Andreas Iniesta

Best Basketballer : Kevin Durrant

Best Ever Basketballer : Shaquille O’neal

Best Basketball Team : Oklahoma City Thunder

Whom are you missing at the moment : My parents (R.I.P)

Favourite Naija artiste : Olamide

Favourite Foreign artiste : Jay Z

Favourite album bought : It’s dark and hell is hot (DMX)

Last movie seen at the cinema: MIB 3 *covers eyes*

There you have it. There are some questions I rushed in answering.

Thanks for your time and please don’t forget to nominate me in the personal blog category and the sports blog category of the Nigerian blog awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com). Just enter theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com in both columns of the stated categories. Stay Blessed

Follow on twitter : @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

Wednesday

I hardly take breakfast and today wasn’t different. I was hoping I would eat lunch early when an arodon kind of assignment was thrown my way. You know arodon now? I think those that went to a boarding school (not the tush schools o, though mine was kinda posh) would know what it means. Anyway back then they said it meant their journey shall never end, lmao.

As I am writing this post I am still on this assignment and below you will see my hungry face. What a sight. Well they had better have something made for me to eat tonight. Did I hear someone say it’s too late? I hope not.

Please as usual I am begging you guys to nominate me in the personal blog and sports blog categories of the Nigerian blog awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com). Just enter theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com in both categories. Thanks and remain blessed

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
Instagram: swizz1swizz2

Aaron Ramsey & Arsene Wenger

No I haven’t switched sides, I am still a Manchester United fan and I still don’t like Assnal but they play amazing football sometimes no doubt. Assnal unfortunately have 3 players (Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott & Aaron Ramsey) that I really admire and 2 of those players (Walcott & Ramsey) were or are loathed by Arsenal fans. Well certainly Arsenal fans I know detest these lads.

I am really not saying much except congrats to Aaron Ramsey and Arsene Wenger on being named the EPL’s player and manager for the month of October. Just to point out, this short post was inspired by Ramsey’s fantastic form this season. Like in posts past I still maintain Ramsey is the best player in the world at the moment.

Remember to nominate me in the sports blog category and personal blog category of the Nigerian blog awards via http://www.nigerianblogawards.com entering theswizzmemoirs.wordpress.com in the two columns. Thanks and hope the week is moving on smoothly? Stay Blessed peeps

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
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Alcohol Celibacy Continues

After a long day and frustrating end I needed something to kill my current state of mind. Stopped at the joint a few blocks from the house to have a drink. I sat down and the cute waitress walked up to me smiling. You know that smile a petrol attendant gives someone driving into the fuel station with a V6 engine? The yes I don hammer smile? It was the same smile she was flashing at me.

When she got to my table, she said hello and even asked how my day went. I responded smiling & shining my tiny teeth. She asked me what I would love to drink and answered saying Power Horse. Her smile switched to a confused look. She walked away and I know she dissed me in her mind. I laughed out loud knowing I had disappointed her. She eyed me and sent a little boy to bring my drink.

See me see trouble o. No be wetin I like I go drink? Anyway after my drink I walked up to her and tipped her (won’t give details jor). She smiled and said thank you.

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ONE MONTH AND STILL COUNTING

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I have been celibate for a month now and I took that decision not because of health issues (at least none that I know of) but because I can choose to be and I want to be celibate. Oh my bad, when I said been celibate, I meant I have been off alcohol for a month. It is now up to you to believe whatever you want to, hahahahahahahaha. When I told my peeps about the new me, some encouraged the new me, while some said I haven’t been tempted well enough *sigh*.

The last time I had alcohol was at Elegushi beach a month ago, my man Dr. Evil had a little gig to mark his birthday. I had made up my mind 2 days before that I would quit drinking just after the party was over. After church on the gig day, I lay on my bed as always watching Suits (best series out there at the moment) when my friend came over to drop the latest episode for me. We gisted for a bit then he left because he claimed he had other stuff to do when I mentioned the beach gig to him. I also left home to meet up with Dr. Evil few minutes later; rocking my latest tee (will post pictures of it later), shorts, exposing my long sexy legs (lmao) and a pair of crocs. I got to where Dr. Evil was and few minutes later, the rain started and the beach plan was looking like it would be aborted. He called his girlfriend to find out where she was and she said she was about leaving home (babes with African timing sha). To cut the long story short we had to go and pick her and her friend up. It was still raining and we were supposed to pick my friend up in VI. I called her to tell her we were running a little late because of the rain and she sounded surprised when I said rain. She said it was sunny on the Island and I said okay telling Dr. Evil what she said and his response was “beach cruise back on”.

After picking up my friend, we headed to Shoprite to get drinks and food. They got champagne (I call it sprite because it’s all gas), Baileys, juice and red wine. Yea I know I said they, I wasn’t left out because I got me a bottle of Scottish whiskey and coke. Perfect way to sign out right? We bought rice, salad, chicken, fish and went straight to the beach. Two other guys were waiting for us at the beach. We ate, drank, gisted and the rest of the gang got up to pictures by the water side while I stayed put sipping easy. They came back and we were later joined by a couple at our table, the gisting continued and after a while we proceeded to one of the joints to dance. We danced for about an hour and left the beach at about 9pm. It was when we were leaving some people were just driving in; I mean who comes to the beach at that time? I didn’t know I said that out loud and the rest of the crew just laughed. I got the message instantly.
I finished the rest of the Scottish whiskey on our way (I think) and I told Dr. Evil that was my last drink (alcohol) and the dude just laughed.

The Temptations

After the last drink on that Sunday at Elegushi, my friend Femi came over to my place the following Friday and said we should go to a pub around. I didn’t hesitate and when we got there he ordered for a bottle of big stout and I simply asked for Power Horse. He was shocked, his mouth was opened for about 15 seconds. When I was taking my Power Horse the other dudes in the pub must have been like is he ill or something. The night went by and I didn’t have any alchy except two cans of Power Horse and a bottle of water.

Next temptation was the following weekend. It was my cousin’s wedding anniversary and you needed to have seen the booze available on this day. A few of my drinking buddies were around and it was looking guaranteed I would fall into temptation (Naeto C’s ‘devil is a liar’ kept playing in my head). It was the day Man Utd was playing against Man Shitty and the boys started drinking about an hour before kick-off looking at me with disgust because I said I quit drinking. One of my cousins went as far as saying Man U would lose because I didn’t drink. We did lose though and badly but I still didn’t take alcohol. I know you are already saying I haven’t faced serious temptation but for me to resist drinking in that situation was HUGE. I had happy hour and water.

Then the man I find hard to resist a drink with came calling last week. My man Ponche (remember him?). He invited me over to his zone and on getting there he took me to our favourite joint (their turkey pepper soup is off the chains and the nkwobi is fantastic) in the area and he ordered two bottles of big stout. I told the bar man to bring one big stout and a bottle of malt. Ponche looked at me surprised and asked if I was only taking the malt for starters. I said no that I had quit drinking. He said maybe I had too much to drink the previous night and I had a hangover. I smiled, downing my pepper soup and malt whilst watching Man Utd play Westbrom on my walka. We were beaten again and I had 1 more malt and nkwobi for the road. Ponche was so livid and vowed never to invite me over again. He sure didn’t mean it but he was pissed.

I know you Man Utd fans are now saying I should resume drinking so our beloved team can return to winning ways, while Shitty, Chelsea, Assnal, Spurs fans et al would want me to stay sober. GOD dey.

What is the moral of the story? I wasn’t preaching anything jor, I just had to put a post up.

Thanks for reading and do have a wonderful week filled with blessings. Please don’t forget to nominate your boy in the sports blog and personal blog categories of the Nigerian blog awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com). ………………………………………….. BLESS!!!

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun
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The Man Utd Crisis and Aaron Ramsey

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No excuse for the past couple of premiership results, we were just classless, clueless and yeah we have a near confused manager thinking he can steady the ship. Liverpool should be ashamed losing the Carling Cup tie to us. The genesis of my beloved team’s issue was noticed last season because we didn’t play too well but grinded out results (I call that purposely soccer), no doubt we won the league thanks to the master himself Sir Alex Ferguson who has in depth knowledge of the league and always having the ability to bounce back from a terrible season. If you remember we lost the league on goals difference in 2012 and what did the then Gaffer do? He bought the EPL’s best striker at the time (not that I was overtly pleased) and the rest they say is history. We won the league 11 points ahead of our local rivals as a matter of fact like a month before the league ended. Oh it wasn’t up to a month? Person wey dem born for December 1982 still take 1 year old pass person wey dem born January 1983 abeg. We won the league on the 22nd of April 2013 and the league ended 12th of May 2013. Oh for those that don’t know the team I have been talking about as I have been using “my” and “we” like say my papa get shares for the club its Manchester United o.

I will still cut Messr Moyes aka ‘The Chosen One’ (laughing hysterically) some slack because Mr. Woodward I heard was the one handling player negotiations hence the reason we could manage to sign only Maroune Fellaini. He stalled on all transfer targets United had in the summer and negotiated terribly on players who were willing to come over to the team as in the case of the joint bid for Fellaini and Leighton Baines (28million pounds at first before a 36million pound bid was finally rejected for both players). This wouldn’t have happened if Ferguson was still around and now it feels like David Gill (previous Man Utd Chief Executive) and Sir Alex (former United Manager) intentionally left so the club could be ruined. I mean how did we let both of them leave in one summer? If top quality players like Ander Herrera, Arturo Vidal, Marcos Reus or llkay Gundogan were decently approached they would have been wonderful additions to the side.

The defence is getting worse and Mr. Moyes Rio was a year younger last year and never got to play 5 games in a row, why stress the dude now? I understand Fellaini is some sort of partner for Carrick (who for me has been the best Man Utd player over the last 2 seasons) to take off some pressure off him but he (Fellaini) hasn’t stepped up yet in any form though he had a better game than Yaya Toure in the 4-1 mauling from Man Shitty *watch the game again, hahaha*. Maybe he needs more time. Ashley Young? That dude is miles the worst player in the squad and he gets a look in ahead of Kagawa. Moyes what has Shinji Kagawa done to you? Ashley Young is just slightly better than Bebe. Nani should play more though I hate to see him and Wayne Rooney on the pitch at the same time. It looks like they hate each other and I know one day Rooney will beat him up on the pitch. Chicharito is one United player I love but its sad we have Van Persie and Rooney (for now). I hope we don’t lose the lad due to lack of playing time. The team is surely in crisis, I mean losing back to back premier league games? Come on cant remember when that happened last.

We lost 4-1 to Shitty and Rooney scored our only goal, we lost 2-1 at home to Westbrom on Saturday(1st time in 36 years) and Rooney scored our only goal again. Do we start praying for Rooney to stop scoring (hahahahaha, he shouldn’t o). There was a time Rooney had a record that whenever he scored for Man Utd, the Red Devils don’t lose (3 straight seasons) up until that day in January, 2007 at the Emirates, yeah Assnal fans you have something to be cheerful for. We still won the league that season though *tongue out*.

Aaron RAMSEY in one word? Hard to use one word so pardon me when I say awe-inspiring. The hyphen makes it a word innit? The lad for me is the best player in the world at the moment (sorry Iniesta, you are still my favourite though). You know they say whenever Ramsey scores a celebrity dies, why do I feel like whenever Ramsey scores Iniesta’s skill level drops? Just my thought though. If Assnal wins the league (which I know it isn’t possible) then Aaron Ramsey’s early season form surely has a big part in it. Remember I said Manchester United will win the league this season? I still insist on that statement.

Thanks for reading wonderful peeps, please have a wonderful week ahead and pray for Nigeria. Happy Independence day celebrations in advance, GOD bless Nigeria and everywhere else. Please remember to nominate me at the Nigerian Blog Awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com), I am in the personal blog category and sports blog category………………………………… BLESS!!!

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The Football Ivy League: Top 4 Predictions

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I have not been posting football gist lately and it is partly because of my non-football peeps. I have been watching footie though and the five best teams in the world; Man Utd, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Juventus and Real Madrid (any questions?) have been my core focus. Yea not all are doing too well but I already have a till death commitment with these 5 teams though Manchester United is top priority. As a matter of fact it’s the Red Devils and the other four. The transfer window will always steal the shine and I am glad it’s closed at least for a while, sigh. The teams that have been pretending they can spend, those that spent and those you were shocked about their spending made this particular summer interesting.

Arsenal bought Ozil and we still never hear word, Bale finally left for Madrid, Rooney and Suarez didn’t move, Spurs spent good money on top quality players (Lamela, Soldado, Erikksen, Paulinho et al), Sunderland brought in a dozen of players and it’s not yet ‘working for them’ (in Ghanian accent) as their manager has been sacked. Chelsea used the back door to get Willian under Tottenham’s nose. Oh we also bought Maroune Fellaini. Just Fellaini o but some will say and Varela too, Varela ko Varela ni *shior*. Anyway buying Fellaini or not, we are still winning the league come May, 2014. Yes I said so.

Sorry this is coming late but I will like to share my predictions as to what teams would win league titles in Europe come end of this football season (2013/2014). My prediction is spread across what I will regard as the Ivy League of football (Top 5 European Leagues)

Top 4 in the EPL
Manchester United
Chelsea
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspurs

Top 4 in La Liga
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Athletico Madrid
Valencia

Top 4 in Serie A
Juventus
Napoli
Inter Milan
Roma

Top 4 in Germany
Borrusia Dortmund
Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen
Hannover

Top 4 in Ligue 1
Paris Saint Germaine
Monaco
Olympique Marseille
Lyon

There you have it, my predictions. I promise to put up more football posts. Please let me have your view on the predictions above. Oh because Man Shitty beat us 4-1 yesterday, you think we still don’t have a chance to win the league? Wait till May.

Do have a blessed week and thanks again for reading. Please remember to nominate me at the Nigerian Blog Awards (www.nigerianblogawards.com) from today, I am in the personal blog category and sports blog category………………………………… BLESS!!!

Follow on twitter: @dipoogun

follow on twitter @dipoogun.