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Tag: europe

  • Special Report: Nigeria’s influence on Europe’s football transfer market

    Special Report: Nigeria’s influence on Europe’s football transfer market

    By David Oladele and Babatunde Ogunrinde

    The 2025/26 European football season has opened with Nigerian players commanding attention. From blockbuster transfers to careful career moves, their influence cuts across all levels.

    Nigeria’s footballing diaspora has never been stronger. Players of Nigerian heritage are now considered strategic assets for Europe’s leading clubs, shaping recruitment and competitive strategies.

    Eberechi Eze produced the summer’s biggest headline. Crystal Palace’s creative midfielder was courted by Tottenham but eventually joined Arsenal in a deal worth up to £67.5 million.

    Though of Nigerian parentage, Eze represents England internationally. His arrival at Arsenal alongside Bukayo Saka promises one of the Premier League’s most exciting attacking partnerships.

    Arsenal hijacked Tottenham’s pursuit with a higher offer. Eze, an Arsenal academy product and boyhood supporter, was unveiled with the club’s iconic number 10 shirt.

    Tottenham’s disappointment was obvious. Yet manager Thomas Frank insisted his players remained focused. Analysts criticised Spurs for failing to act decisively during the crucial negotiations.

    Ademola Lookman faced a different outcome. Inter Milan attempted to sign him but withdrew after refusing to match Atalanta’s valuation. He remains central to Atalanta’s campaign.

    Lookman continues attracting interest from Arsenal, Napoli and several Premier League clubs. With the window closing on Sept. 2, further bids may still materialise.

    Other Nigerians followed quieter paths. Chinonso Emeka, aged 23, left AS Trenčín for Dukla Prague, seeking growth in the Czech First League and long-term career opportunities.

    This route is familiar. Many Nigerians begin careers in Eastern or Central Europe before progressing to stronger leagues. It creates steady development and sustained visibility.

    Several confirmed transfers strengthened Nigeria’s footprint. Paul Onuachu sealed a permanent move to Trabzonspor. Moses Simon joined Paris FC, while Bright Osayi-Samuel switched to Birmingham City.

    Semi Ajayi signed for Hull City. Chidozie Awaziem rejoined Nantes. Henry Onyekuru moved to Turkey’s Gençlerbirliği. Benjamin Tanimu signed for Morocco’s Maghreb Fez. Adebayo Adeleye joined Volos.

    Meanwhile, uncertainties remain. Victor Osimhen returned to Napoli after scoring heavily on loan at Galatasaray. Napoli rejected a €70 million bid amid Juventus and Galatasaray interest.

    Victor Boniface’s move to AC Milan is edging closer.

    Milan and Bayer Leverkusen have agreed a loan with option to buy, though the deal hinges on extensive medical checks. Final confirmation is expected soon.

    Umar Sadiq stays with Real Sociedad but faces interest from Qatar. Ola Aina, now a free agent, is linked with Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester City before Sept. 2.

    Kelechi Iheanacho has returned to Sevilla but is deemed surplus to requirements. A summer departure is likely, with mid-table clubs considering moves before the deadline.

    Toluwalase Arokodare, Belgium’s Golden Boot winner, attracts Fulham and Manchester United. Premier League clubs must act quickly with only days left before the window shuts.

    A fresh generation of Nigerians is also emerging. Hafiz Umar Ibrahim, aged 19, impressed for Reims in France, scoring in a Coupe de France semi-final.

    Honest Ahanor, a Genoa defender, is close to a €20 million move to Atalanta. His future should be resolved before the Sept. 2 deadline.

    Norway continues nurturing Nigerian youth. Ogboji and Arierhi both signed long-term deals with Lillestrøm, continuing the Scandinavian gateway tradition for developing Nigerian footballers.

    Arthur Okonkwo, formerly of Arsenal, signed for Wrexham. The goalkeeper committed to a three-year deal and is expected to feature regularly in League One.

    Established Nigerians are already influencing early-season fixtures. Nathan Tella remains vital for Bayer Leverkusen, contributing more than 15 goal involvements across competitions in 2025.

    Calvin Bassey anchors Fulham’s defence in the Premier League. His strong displays underline Nigeria’s depth in defensive as well as attacking positions across Europe.

    Samuel Chukwueze is regaining top form with AC Milan. His pace and dribbling have restored confidence, following an inconsistent spell earlier in his career.

    Maduka Okoye, now Udinese’s first-choice goalkeeper, is rebuilding steadily after suspension. His determination reinforces Nigeria’s growing influence between the posts in Serie A.

    These developments shape Nigeria’s national team outlook. Dual nationality challenges persist, exemplified by Eze’s England commitment, alongside Bukayo Saka and Tammy Abraham’s choices to represent England rather than Nigeria.

    Stars like Osimhen, Lookman, Tella and Bassey sharpen abilities against Europe’s toughest opposition each week. Their form remains crucial for Nigeria’s upcoming tournaments.

    The 2025/26 season confirms Nigerian players are central to European football. They influence record transfers, consistent performances and future planning, both at club and international levels.

    With the window closing on Sept. 2 in Europe’s top leagues and Sept. 15 in Turkey, there remains time for more Nigerian moves to unfold.

    Whether through headline-grabbing deals, steady progress in lesser-known leagues, or promising youth breakthroughs, Nigerian footballers embody resilience and ambition. Their presence continues reshaping European football’s direction.

  • While violent killings continue, Tinubu governs Nigeria remotely from Europe

    While violent killings continue, Tinubu governs Nigeria remotely from Europe

    Despite the ongoing violence and widespread killings in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu continues to manage the country’s affairs remotely from Europe. Recently, while in France, he met with U.S. State Department Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, remotely inaugurated a census committee, and condemned recent gunmen attacks in Plateau that killed nearly 100 people.

    In a statement issued Thursday, Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that the president remains fully engaged in Nigeria’s governance, despite being outside the country for nearly two weeks. Tinubu, who traveled from Paris to London, has maintained constant communication with key government officials and has issued directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats across Nigeria.

    Onanuga emphasized that Tinubu’s absence is temporary, in line with a previously communicated timeframe of about two weeks. He assured the public that governance continues without interruption, and that the president will return to Nigeria after the Easter holiday to resume his duties at Aso Villa.

    While the Presidency has not clarified the specific purpose of Tinubu’s stay in Paris and London, the president’s absence has sparked criticism, particularly from opposition figures. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi have questioned why Tinubu remains abroad while Nigeria grapples with escalating insecurity. Atiku, in particular, criticized the president for staying in France amid the violence in Plateau and Benue states, arguing that Tinubu should return to address the country’s worsening security situation.

    Atiku stated that there is nothing Tinubu is doing in France that couldn’t be done in Nigeria, and labeled the trip as a vacation disguised as official business. He argued that the country is facing a national crisis, and the president’s absence reflects a lack of empathy and patriotism.

    Similarly, Peter Obi called on the president to return to Nigeria to confront the growing insecurity, pointing out that over 150 Nigerians have died due to violence in the two weeks since Tinubu left. Obi emphasized the importance of securing citizens’ lives and urged Tinubu to cut his trip short and address the crisis at home.

    As violence continues to go out of control across Nigeria, many Nigerians feel that their government is failing in this fundamental role.

    The killings in Plateau and Benue States, as well as the continued insurgency in the North East, are stark reminders of the deteriorating security situation. Armed groups continue to terrorize rural and urban areas, and many Nigerians live in fear as attacks on civilians, including women and children, become more frequent and brutal.

    In regions like the Niger Delta, pipeline explosions and attacks on oil infrastructure have further fueled instability, while in the South East, abductions and targeted killings have become commonplace.

    For Nigerians who are witnessing these tragedies firsthand, the president’s absence from the country at such a critical time feels like a betrayal. They see it as a failure of leadership.

    While virtual governance and remote decision-making may be effective in certain circumstances, many believe that the current crisis requires the physical presence and immediate intervention of the country’s highest office.

    President Tinubu’s current remote governance approach, while ensuring that some directives are issued and some tasks are managed from abroad, has raised concerns about his leadership style. Critics argue that it is simply not enough to govern from a distance while the country is facing such unprecedented levels of violence and insecurity. Leadership in times of crisis requires physical presence, accountability, and decisive action.

    For the people of Nigeria, the call is clear: the president must return to Nigeria immediately, face the ongoing crisis head-on, and demonstrate true leadership by addressing the rising tide of violence that threatens  the nation.

  • Halt importation of fake fuel to Nigeria now, professionals in Europe urge Tinubu

    Halt importation of fake fuel to Nigeria now, professionals in Europe urge Tinubu

    The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe (ANPE), has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgent national importance, stop the dumping of tainted Petroleum Products, otherwise known as fake fuel, being imported into the country.

    Tinubu is the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources of the most populous African country, Nigeria, and a major player in oil production in the world.

    Despite being major oil producer, Nigeria still battles with importation of refined products, which over 150m end users largely depend on. The nation’s refineries – Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt have remain in comatose, despite the many interventions of the present administration in billions of dollars.

    Aside the allegation of frustrating the only viable local refinery, Dangote, the oil cabals have also been accused of encouraging importation of off-spec and adulterated products into the country, the allegations National Assembly Joint Committee is currently investigating.

    In a press statement signed on Wednesday by the Global President of ANPE, Mr. Solomon Ola, the Nigerian Professionals in Europe are calling on President Tinubu to cause an urgent investigation of the recent trend of infiltrating the Nigeria’s market with product capable of putting lives of the people in great jeopardy.

    The group warned that, “Importation of the sanctioned-tainted petrol into Nigeria would no doubt have diplomatic consequences, bearing in mind the sanctions that the Price Cap Coalition, comprising the European Union, the United States, the G7, and Australia, imposed on Russian-sourced crude and petroleum products”.

    The statement read, “The Association of Nigerian Professionals in Europe (ANPE) has followed developments in Nigeria’s petroleum industry with concern, given the absurd positions being canvassed by some stakeholders regarding the safety of the country and citizens regarding the quality of products being retailed.

    “ANPE has consequently decided to urge President Bola Tinubu, as a matter of national interest, to use his mandate as the country’s chief executive to halt the designation of Nigeria as a dumping ground for foreign-sourced tainted, adulterated, and questionable petroleum products.

    “We are sad and alarmed by recent developments in Europe, from Russia to Malta and every part of Europe, our home country has become a lucrative destination for the dumping of adulterated petroleum products such as PMS popularly known as petrol, which industry experts have tagged as fake fuel.

    “Our association is concerned that the petroleum products in question are still being dumped in Nigeria even after industry experts have warned about their substandard nature, which poses material and economic risks to Nigerians whose vehicles and equipment could be damaged by dirty fuel.

    “Fake fuel also has negative implications for the environment in addition to the associated dangers that the fumes from these products pose to public health, a situation that the Nigerian government would find exceptionally challenging since such a health burden would further stretch already lean public finances.

    “Importation of the sanctioned-tainted petrol into Nigeria would no doubt have diplomatic consequences, bearing in mind the sanctions that the Price Cap Coalition, comprising the European Union, the United States, the G7, and Australia, imposed on Russian-sourced crude and petroleum products. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Price Cap Coalition forbids transactions on crude oil and petroleum products of Russian Federation origin unless they are transacted at or below $60, a price band that the products imported into Nigeria routinely violate even when the products are of Russian origin.

    “A third concern for our association is the absurdity of importing relatively pricier petrol into Nigeria when more affordable and quality options are available from local refineries. This insistence on flooding Nigeria with bad petrol is equally bad for the economy. It is actively sabotaging President Tinubu’s economic policy.

    “Things have gone so awry that Nigeria has become the toast of European companies peddling these products, which cannot be sold in other African countries such as Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo, South Africa, Angola, Kenya and others. The collaborators of these European firms back in Nigeria collude to force these products on citizens of our dear nation for the sole purpose of profit-making.

    “ANPE is consequently alerting Mr President and calling for caution while demanding that he directs the relevant authorities to urgently investigate and stop this illegal trade that places the nation and citizens in jeopardy”.

  • WHO expresses concern over significant decline in condom use

    WHO expresses concern over significant decline in condom use

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over a significant decline in condom use among sexually active adolescents since 2014, leading to a surge in unprotected sex and associated risks.

    In a statement on Thursday, a new report from the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe, said the data revealed a worrying trend of decreased condom use.

    According to the report, the decreased condom use is putting young people at greater risk of sexually transmitted infections, unsafe abortions, and unplanned pregnancies.

    “The report, based on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, surveyed over 242,000 15-year-olds across 42 countries in Europe, central Asia, and Canada between 2014 and 2022.

    “The findings indicate a pervasive decrease in condom use, with the proportion of sexually active adolescents using a condom at last intercourse falling from 70 per cent to 61 per cent among boys and 63 per cent to 57 per cent among girls between 2014 and 2022.

    “Furthermore, nearly a third of adolescents reported using neither a condom nor the contraceptive pill at last intercourse, with socioeconomic differences also playing a role.

    “Adolescents from low-income families were more likely to report not using protection than those from more affluent families,”it said.

    Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, attributed the decline in condom use to a lack of comprehensive sex education, which had come under attack in recent years.

    He emphasised the importance of equipping young people with the right knowledge to make informed decisions about their sexual health, ultimately safeguarding their overall well-being.

  • Mpox: Sweden reports first case of variant outside Africa

    Mpox: Sweden reports first case of variant outside Africa

    Sweden’s public health agency has confirmed the first case of a contagious new variant of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outside the African continent.

    The individual contracted the infection while visiting an area in Africa where mpox Clade 1 is currently experiencing a significant outbreak.

    Clade 1 is considered more severe, with a higher risk of mortality, and is primarily spread through close household contacts, often affecting children.

    In contrast, Clade 2, which was previously detected in Sweden in 2022, is milder and mainly spread through sexual contact.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, with at least 450 reported deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and further spread to central and east Africa.

    Mpox is transmitted through close contact, including sex, skin-to-skin contact, and respiratory droplets, causing flu-like symptoms, skin lesions, and potentially fatal complications, with a mortality rate of 4%.”

  • Europe at work, please don’t disturb – By Owei Lakemfa

    Europe at work, please don’t disturb – By Owei Lakemfa

    THE on-going right wing shifts in European parliamentary elections give the impression that there are seismic shifts in the plates of its politics. Please don’t worry yourself. There are no possibilities of earthquakes. These are mere rumblings in the belly of its body politic.

    It is said that Europe’s far-right gained historic grounds in the elections, but the lesson for us in the underdeveloped countries is that it is better to view the right parties as becoming essentially the same. The lines between the right, centre right and far right, are becoming blurred.

    Yes, the so-called far-right made political gains in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and France. But also, some centre-right politicians made moves to the far-right, especially to fight against migration.

    In France, for instance, tougher legislation was passed in December 2023 against migration. President Emmanuel Macron who claimed to have been fighting the far-right in his country over the years, was on the same page with them. He rationalised his anti-migration shift as “a shield that we needed”.

    But that did not shield him and his party at the European polls. Expectedly, the National Rally in France made gains at the expense of President Macron. Also expectedly, Macron switched into panic mode. Dazed by the defeats, he called legislative elections in France this month; three months early. Don’t mind the gambler.

    In Germany, the right wing, Alternative for Germany, AfD, beat Chancellor Olaf Schoz’s centre left Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the elections by 16 per cent.

    Although the far-right made gains, its 150 seats in the European parliament of 720, does not amount to any dramatic shift; what it does is to announce that significant populations in Europe are beginning to shed their toga of human rights and liberal disposition.

    Before the elections, Europe which is never tired of talking about partnerships and shared prosperity with Africa, Asia and the Middle East, had been quite busy virtually criminalising migration.

    To be sure, they are not opposed to European migration or continued occupation of other parts of the world. Just last month, France violently put down protests in New Caledonia, a colony in in the South Pacific. France does not only want a continuation of the so-called right of its citizens to migrate to that territory, but also, the French parliament voted that recent French arrivals in the territory would have the right to vote in provincial elections. The simple plan of France is to flood the colony with its citizens and eventually in “democratic elections” out-vote the indigenes and, transform the colony to a full French territory.

    So, while Europeans think they have the right to freely migrate to other parts of the world, their political leaders are using any means possible, including criminality, to keep people from the underdeveloped countries from migrating to Europe. This includes consciously letting would-be migrants who can be saved, to drown in the turbulent seas. The Italian government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has a policy of denying ships with endangered migrants, safe harbour. It is a crime in that country for a ship with rescued migrants to rescue other migrants from the waves no matter the danger they face.

    Greece has been more audacious by sinking migrant vessels and hiring undocumented migrants as police auxiliaries to attack, torture and force back migrants into Turkish borders.

    Europe has been quite busy perfecting policies of denying migrants their fundamental human rights by paying third parties to do the dirty job. For instance, the Rapid Support Services, RSF, which has been primarily responsible for the genocide in Darfur since 2003 and, is engaged in war crimes in its on-going battles against the regular Sudanese military, has received millions of Euros from the EU. They are payments to stop, by the use of brutal force, Sudanese, Somali, Eritrean and Ethiopian migrants from travelling to Europe from Sudanese soil. With such funds, the RSF buys arms and continues to carry out war crimes against the Sudanese. There are now over 10 million displaced Sudanese and double that number in need of urgent food aid. The EU had, in order to fund the militia, branded the RSF killing machine as a “border force”. As recent as Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the British Foreign Office was in secret talks with the RSF allegedly to persuade it to allow peace to reign.

    In Euro-Asia, the EU under its March 18, 2016 Pact with Turkey, agreed to pay the latter, six billion Euro to accept migrants forced to leave Europe, especially Greece. The job of Turkey is to force such migrants into mass concentration camps and shut the gates of Europe against them. Additionally, Turkey is given the task to stop fresh migrants, especially from Syria, reaching Europe. One of the carrots dangled before Turkey was accelerated EU membership. Interestingly, this has failed to materialise eight years later. However, with massive crackdown, the flow of migrants into Europe through Turkey was reduced by 95 per cent in two years.

    Taking advantage of the near-anarchy in Libya, Europe pays the Libyan ‘government’ to keep migrants by force from reaching Europe. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed on February 2, 2017, the Italian government funds Libya to secure its borders and prevent migration.

    The EU offered Tunisia, 105 million Euro for “border management” in a so-called partnership programme. This money is simply a contract for the Tunisian government to stop migrants from crossing to Europe from Tunisian territory.

    One of the EU’s most successful outsourcing of brutality on migrants heading to Europe, is the business deal with Morocco. In exchange for substantial EU financial payments, Morocco in 2023 stopped 75,000 migrants from reaching Europe. It has also tried to use the migration gambit to join the EU as a member. But the latter rejected the Moroccan application on the basis that it is not an European state.

    In the case of Britain, it signed an April 14, 2022 “Asylum Partnership Agreement” with Rwanda. Under this, thousands of migrants are to be deported to that African country for a fee of $146 million. But the July 4, 2024 election in Britain has caught up with the deportation plans. So, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the forced deportations will come after the elections.

    In its own case, Australia in Oceania has been quite busy honing anti-migration policies. It out-sourced migration to Papua New Guinea where vast detention camps were established. Before these open prisons for migrants were closed, some had spent up to five years in detention.

    What the European parliamentary elections tell us in Africa is that the gloves are coming off. There will not just be tougher migration to Europe, but tougher times for non-White people, even if they are European citizens.

  • Chelsea boosts European hopes after thrashing West Ham

    Chelsea boosts European hopes after thrashing West Ham

    Chelsea kept up their electric goalscoring form at home and boosted their hopes of European football with a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday.

    Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now scored 22 times in their last six Premier League games at Stamford Bridge.

    There was a fluency to their attacking play that could well have yielded substantially more than the goals they put past the hapless visitors on Sunday.

    Chelsea were three up at the break with Cole Palmer netted the 21st league goal of his debut season in West London, steering a loose ball into the corner, thereafter Conor Gallagher volleyed home.

    Noni Madueke headed the third near the end of an excellent first half, before Nicolas Jackson took his tally for the season to 13 in the league with a brace after the interval.

    Chelsea climbed to seventh after recording back-to-back league wins for the first time since January, and there is increasingly the feeling that, after a difficult start, the players are responding to their head coach’s methods.

    For David Moyes’ Hammers, this was a calamitous display, eliminated from Europe and now all but out of the race to qualify again next year,

    It was hard to avoid a sense of a promising season petering out as the Chelsea goals flew past Alphonse Areola and their players came to look more and more dejected.

  • Nigerian players should consider playing in Saudi over Europe – Amunike

    Nigerian players should consider playing in Saudi over Europe – Amunike

    Nigeria assistant head coach Emmanuel Amunike has advised Nigerian players to consider the Saudi league over European clubs.

    The Saudi league has already become a thorn in Europe’s top divisions as clubs like Al Nassr, Al Hilal, and Al Ittihad managed to convince some of the world’s best players to leave for astronomical money last summer.

    And Amunike doesn’t agree with all the criticism and scrutiny towards the Saudi Pro League in Europe.

    Speaking about the growth of the Saudi league, former Barcelona attacker Amunike told Tribal Football: “Saudi football has changed a lot and I think the Saudi people deserve to be respected and they have the right to change the narrative of football over there.

    “I disagree with the idea that Saudi’s can come to Europe and buy European clubs, but they can’t invest in their country to change the narrative of their football.”

    Nobody has benefited more from Saudi’s money than Newcastle United who were brought by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund the PIF in 2021. There is a point to be made that the Premier League sanctioned that takeover so they can’t complain about Saudi clubs coming in for their stars to help grow their own league.

    Amunike continues to emphasise his support for the Saudi league by admitting that he wouldn’t discourage players in Nigeria considering playing in Saudi over Europe.

    He said: “If a player comes to me to ask me about going there {Saudi Arabia} I would say to them ‘why not if it is the right project for you’”.

    There is every chance Saudi’s unlimited wealth will come knocking on Europe’s door again this January transfer window, but it is also possible that before long they will start looking to convince talents from around the world to join their ever growing league.

  • Nine Nigerians who tried to ‘escape’ to Europe repatriated

    Nine Nigerians who tried to ‘escape’ to Europe repatriated

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Tuesday in Ikeja received nine repatriated Nigerians who attempted to stow away to Europe through The Gambia.

    Comptroller of the NIS at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Mrs Adesola Adesokan, advised Nigerians against stowing away to Europe.

    Speaking with newsmen on the development, she described stowing away as a death trap into which many Nigerians had fallen and had lost their lives.

    Adesokan said the nine stowaways received on Tuesday were handed over to immigration officials by officials of the Gambian Immigration Service.

    She noted that two of the stowaways almost drowned in their bid to evade arrest, but were rescued and taken to the Nigeria High Commission in The Gambia.

    She added that the High Commission processed emergency travel documents for the nine stowaways to be repatriated to Nigeria, but were reluctant to return home.

    “Nine Nigerians were sent back by The Gambian Immigration Service after attempting to stow away through the sea.

    “Two of them almost lost their lives because they could not swim after jumping into the sea to evade arrest.

    “Security officers were able to rescue them; put them in the boat and took them to a hotel where they were given food but, they vehemently resisted plans to return them to Nigeria,’’ she said.

    Adesokan added that the stowaways demanded money from the Gambian immigration service as a condition to return to Nigeria.

    “They were eventually taken to the Nigeria High Commission in Banjul, which persuaded them and issued them emergency travel documents so they could return to Nigeria,’’ she said.

    She advised those planning to engage in irregular migration to desist and follow the right channel and also called for value reorientation.

    She stressed that irregular migrants eventually got caught and deported, adding that some ended up doing odd jobs.

    Adesokan noted that the stowaways were young Nigerians between the ages of 21 years to 30 years.

    Also speaking with newsmen, the returnee stowaways expressed regret at their action and claimed that they were lured into the voyage by friends who luckily made it to Europe through the same route.

    One of the stowaways, Abdul Yakubu, said that he was selling noodles and fried eggs on Lagos Island before he was cajoled to embark on the trip.

    Yakubu said he lost N70,000 which he paid to the man who introduced and boarded him on the ship.

    Another stowaway, Daniel Vincent, said they did not take any food or water when they boarded the ship at Tin Can Port in Lagos because they thought Europe was a three-day journey by sea.

    Vincent said he was shocked to realise that he had not left the shores of Africa when they were detected by the ship’s crew members and handed over to the Gambian immigrations service.

  • Nigerian ballers lighting up Europe with flair and tenacity

    Nigerian ballers lighting up Europe with flair and tenacity

    While European football often grabs the headlines, a band of talented Nigerians are crashing the party and stealing the spotlight. From the Prem to La Liga to the tippy-top of Italian football, these Super Eagle superstars are soaring to new heights. Grab a smoothie and let me dish you the essence on these heroic hotshots carrying the Naija flag far and wide across the old continent.

    Nottingham’s Newest Hero with the Unstoppable Shot

    First up is a guy named Taiwo Awoniyi. This Forest striker came out guns blazing, terrorizing defenses and smashing in goals for fun. But disaster struck when he limped off injured playing for Naija, leaving the fans shaken and stirring. Thankfully Awoniyi’s injury wasn’t too serious, just a knock – but his absence underscored how pivotal this Nottingham resident has become. Since returning, he’s been back with a vengeance – defenders duck for cover when Awoniyi winds up his cannon of a right leg with 4 goals in 10 Prem appearances! Since he’s so influential and lethal there’s an opportunity to place some bets on Forrest’s performance. Check the 22bet review at the link and choose the respected bookie wisely.

    Asisat, the Goal-Scoring Queen of Catalonia

    Shifting gears to Spain, the phenomenal Asisat Oshoala is literally flipping the script on what African women can achieve in football. The Barcelona Femení dynamo pulled off an audacious solo goal against Benfica – collecting the ball on the wing, roasting two defenders, and coolly slotting home. Lady Asisat has been on a crazy goal streak all season, her lightning runs and composed finishing blowing fans’ minds. With ruthless determination, our girl is not just competing at the highest level but completely owning it. Yaass queen!

    Samuel’s Spellbinding Runs Dazzling the Rossoneri

    Meanwhile in Italy, Samuel Chukwueze has been captivating audiences with his bamboozling runs and wizardly vision for AC Milan. His crafty backheel assist against Lecce left mouths agape across the peninsula. Now back from injury, if Samuel brings more of that sauce, Serie A defenders best beware! When this Super Eagle takes flight down the wings, no one can catch him – the only way to stop him is by fouling him; ask Salernitana!

    Porto’s Rock Solid Defender Bangs in Goals Too!

    And last but not least, representing Portugal is the dependable Zaidu Sanusi. This Porto left back machine has long kept things locked up tight at the back with his combative tackling and positional mastery. But recently, Sanusi smashed in a brace to inspire a comeback victory, revealing a new devastating side to his game. So not only is he an immovable object in defense, now he’s suddenly an unstoppable force in attack too! Established European sides better buckle up, because this man can do it all.

    Nigerian Flair Uplifts the Beautiful Game

    What’s beautiful about all this Nigerian success is that they play with such vibrant self-expression and sleek technique. When Nigerians ball out in these glitzy leagues, they give the world a taste of that buttery smooth Naija flavor. The way they caress the ball with such finesse and burst forward with improvisational flair adds artistry and variety to the modern game. These globetrotting Super Eagles make football more captivating for all. Their courageous efforts are bridging cultures one nutmeg at a time.

    Taking Naija Football to New Heights

    Individually they shine bright, but together these rising stars are illuminating a path for Nigerian football to ascend to unprecedented heights. Their continental conquests are driving up the value of Nigerian players worldwide. This will incentivize more investment back home in unearthing and polishing the next generation of raw talents. Down the line, Nigeria’s improving developmental infrastructure combined with the exposure these pioneers are gaining spells a very promising future for Naija football.

    The infusion of European tactical sophistication and higher intensity training will undoubtedly level up the Super Eagles too. As these ambassadors return from foreign leagues armed with cutting-edge knowledge and big game experience, watch out – a New Dawn for Nigerian football is on the horizon!