Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Osasuna on Sunday saw Zinedine Zidane further cement his legendary place in the club’s history.

The victory was his 88th in La Liga – taking him above Jose Mourinho into third all-time for the most wins in the Spanish top flight as Madrid boss.

Only Miguel Munoz, who managed the club for 14 years between 1960 and 1974, and Vicente del Bosque have won more league games as manager at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Things didn’t initially seem to be going to plan for Madrid at the Estadio El Sadar, as Unai Garcia put Osasuna into an unexpected early lead.

Goals from Isco and Sergio Ramos turned the game on its head before the interval, with late strikes from Lucas Vazquez and Luka Jovic making the game safe.

Ramos was making his 440th Madrid appearance in the league, moving into fifth place in the club’s all-time league appearance list surpassing Fernando Hierro.

The result sent Madrid six points clear at the top of La Liga, with second-placed Barcelona facing Real Betis on Sunday evening.

Jovic’s goal, a thumping finish on the half-volley, will have come as a relief to both Zidane and the Serbian forward.

It was just his second strike since joining Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, and Zidane will be expecting him to kick on from it.

“I'd like him to score, but he'll get there if he keeps working,” he said recently.
“He's young, he's just arrived and the good thing is that he's in a team where there are a lot of big players and he has to adapt.

“The delicate moment will be good for him – when he finally scores, everything will change.”

Zidane’s record underlines the remarkable success he achieved in his first spell at the helm, which he will be hoping to replicate in his second.

His hat-trick of Champions League wins has already established him as one of the club’s most successful coaches in their history, though he will be keen to add to the solitary league title he won in 2016-17.

However, he has some way to go before catching the great Munoz. Though he only won two European Cups, Madrid won a record nine league titles under him in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Unai Emery felt Arsenal were "on a downward slope for two years" prior to his arrival and slammed the attitude of star men during his time with the Gunners.

Emery was sacked last November after just 18 months in charge at the Emirates Stadium following the London club's worst winless run since 1992.

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss insisted he stopped the rot after replacing Arsene Wenger, but believed the attitude of some key men left a lot to be desired.
Emery felt he would have made Arsenal a force if he was given more time in the role.

"Arsenal was a club on a downward slope for two years when I arrived," the Spaniard told France Football.

"We stopped that slide and even started to straighten the club out with a Europa League final and fifth place in the league, only one place behind Tottenham, even though we only took one point in the last five games.

"We had Champions League qualification in our hands and it went wrong at the end. But it was a good season and we had the idea to continue this progress.

"But we lost our four captains: [Laurent] Koscielny, [Petr] Cech, [Aaron] Ramsey and [Nacho] Monreal.

"We were missing personalities for this season to stay on track, and some stars did not have the right attitude and asked for more than they gave.

"Considering all that, it would have taken more time to transition successfully into the new Arsenal that I wanted."

Arsenal are unbeaten in seven matches under Emery's replacement Mikel Arteta, though four of those contests have been drawn.

Odion Ighalo will be in the Manchester United squad for the Premier League clash with Chelsea next Monday despite missing a training camp in Spain due to fears he could be denied re-entry into Britain if restrictions against the outbreak of Coronavirus are tightened.

The 30-year-old Nigerian international striker joined United on loan until the end of the season on deadline day last month from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.

The British government called the novel coronavirus a "serious and imminent threat", and said anyone with the disease can now be forcibly quarantined if they are deemed a threat to public health as the number of cases in Britain doubled to eight.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak surged past 1,000 on Tuesday.
Most cases overseas have involved people who had been in Wuhan, the quarantined central Chinese city where the virus emerged late last year, or people infected by others who had been at the epicentre.

United said Saturday in a statement that Ighalo had been left out of the Spain squad to avoid any potential problems related to the killer virus on re-entry to Britain.

However, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told the club's website Ighalo will be in the squad for a match that could have a crucial bearing on who finishes in the top four this term and qualifies for the Champions League next season.

"Yeah, he is going to travel with us," said Solskjaer.

"We want to integrate him as quickly as we can because, of course, he is desperate to play for us."
"We will just see his fitness work this week and I think we will get him sharp.

Former Super Eagles winger, Victor Moses, has been hailed by Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte following his performance during the Milan derby that ended in a 4-2 victory for the Nerrazurri.

Moses, who joined Inter during the January transfer window, played just 10 minutes of the game, but his input was commended by the Italian manager.

“Both Ashley Young and Victor Moses, because they are wing-backs, don’t need quite so much guidance in training.

“Plus Moses already played with me at Chelsea,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
Moses has played three games so far at Inter and his contributions to his team’s performance especially his assist in the Milan derby has attracted the headlines.

The former Nigeria international joined Inter from Fenerbahçe in January 2020 in a loan move which could see him being retained permanently.

The family of the late Clement and Toyin Okhide, who were killed in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State on Tuesday, has appealed to the media to refrain from purveying wrong information on the incident and allow it mourn its dead.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the Okhide family was thrown into mourning when its 23-year-old son, Michael, allegedly stabbed his parents to death.

But the family in a statement on Tuesday urged the media to refrain from sensationalism in the reportage of the matter, especially where such reports were based on inaccuracies.

The family in the statement signed by the children of the deceased–Dr Abiola Odeyinka, Miss Ayooluwa Okhide and Master Stephen Okhide– described the incident as sad and traumatic for the family.

It pleaded for public support and empathy at the trying and difficult period for the family, saying the challenge of drug abuse and mental illness was rife and required collective action to tackle it.

” This is a sensitive matter for us as we mourn the loss of our dear parents who loved us and gave us the best support any child could ever desire.

“Once again, we are pained by this occurrence and we passionately urge the media and general public to desist from further sensationalising this occurrence,” the statement said.

It would be recalled that the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, had said a manhunt had been launched for Michael, adding that the corpses were evacuated to the Isolo General Hospital.

“On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, around 6.00 p.m., I was alerted that a young man, Michael Okhide, 23, had killed his father, Clement Okhide, 60 and suspected to have seriously injured his mother at No 6 Akeem Gbadamosi Street.

” When our men were mobilised to the scene, we found Clement dead in a pool of his blood in the kitchen.

” Blood was also seen all over the kitchen and a thorough search of the house led to the discovery of the remains of Clement’s wife, Toyin, 50, in one of the locked-up rooms upstairs.

“Two corpses were recovered and deposited at the Isolo General Hospital’s mortuary. The assailant equally stabbed his sister, Mary, in the stomach and on the hands.

”She has visited the Ejigbo Health Centre where she received treatment. A manhunt has been launched to arrest the fleeing assailant,” he had said.

The First Lady Aisha Buhari, has met with her predecessor, Mrs Patience Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja and shared experiences on issues relating to women’s development in the country.

Mrs Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday on her tweeter handle.

The first lady said, their discussion centred on issues affecting the growth and development of women in the country, especially girl-child education, women’s participation in politics at local level.

“Yesterday, I received my predecessor, Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan at the State House.

“We discussed my efforts with regards to greater involvement of women in politics and participation of women at lower level of governance.

”We also discussed girl-child education and her pet project “Women for Change,” she tweeted.

She expressed the need for spouses of Nigeria’s former leaders to always keep-in-touch and share experiences for the betterment of women and children in the society.

”I got to hear her experience during her tenure and listened to her perspectives on issues affecting women and children in the society,” she said.

Mrs Buhari expressed her deepest gratitude to the former first lady for the visit.

”It was really nice having her around and I look forward to having more of such moments,” she tweeted. (NAN)

..Says title a handshake across the Niger

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has been conferred with an Idoma traditional title, OyiIhotu K Idoma (the cherished son of Idoma land) in Otukpo, Benue State.

According to a statement issued by the Secretary, Idoma Area Traditional Council, Mr Joseph Adah, the governor described the award as a handshake across the Niger.

The Paramount ruler of Idoma kingdom, OchIdoma IV, Dr Elias Obekpa, while conferring the title on Dickson at the OchIdoma Square, said that the honour was in appreciation of his kind gestures toward the Idoma people.

The governor, who hails from the Izon Kingdom, was also adopted as proud son of Idoma kingdom by the Idoma Area Traditional Council.

It is to demonstrate our appreciation for the cordial relationship that has existed between our people and the people of Bayelsa state, he said.

He said Dickson had appointed an Idoma man and current lawmaker, representing Ado, Okpokwu, Ogbadibo Federal Representatives, Dr Francis Ottah Agbo, as special adviser on media relations and later, Chief Press Secretary.

He added that the governor also appointed Mr Steven Ekoja, another Idoma man as his Special Assistant.

He also appointed an Idoma man, Innocent Adaji as his Chief Driver and Mr John Adaji as his Farm Manager while some of his cooks are of Idoma and Tiv extractions.

Dickson also appointed a Benue Police Officer, late Insp. Ameh Ogbeh as his Escort Commander.

The paramount ruler lauded Agbo for keeping him informed about the goodwill shown to his Idoma subjects by Dickson.

He enjoined his sons and daughters outside Idoma land to always draw the attention of the palace to similar gestures.

He also used the occasion to call on well-meaning individuals and organisations to invest in Idoma land, assuring that the Palace would not hesitate to honour others who have shown kindness to his subjects.

Responding, Dickson applauded the OchIdoma and all sons and daughters of Idoma land for the honour done him and the Bayelsa people.

The governor who also stressed the need for more handshake across the tribal divides in the country, advocated for unity among people in different areas of the county.

Instead of dividing and tearing us apart, instead of promoting sectionalism, instead of promoting policies that tend to divide and separate our people, we should emulate the Idoma Traditional Council by building people together instead of tearing them apart.

We need more handshakes across the Niger. I therefore urge all of us to close ranks in this country. This award will strengthen the bond between the Ijaw and Idoma ethnic nationalities.

Your son, my friend, the Hon. Francis Ottah Agbo has a dual identity of being Ijaw and Idoma and has done well at the National Assembly, and I thank you all for supporting him, Dickson said.

On his part, Agbo who facilitated the award said he did so to prove to the world that the Idoma people are grateful people who would always appreciate every kind gesture extended to them. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Wife of the Governor of Kaduna State, Hajia Asia El-Rufai, has called for active involvement of women in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the country.

El-Rufai made the call at the opening of the 2nd Leadership in Counter Terrorism and Violent Extremism Course of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), on Monday in Abuja.

NARC is running the four-day course in collaboration with Peace Building Development Consult (PBDC) for military, security agencies and Civil Society Organisations involved in counterterrorism and extremism in Nigeria.

She said that it was important to integrate women in the security apparatuses in the fight since they form the bulk of the victims.

El-Rufai also stated that women always had insights into the cause of violent extremism because of their closeness to the boys and men that actually get involved in extremism.

According to her, unless you involve a woman and get an insight on how her child has developed overtime, you may not be able to understand what pushes somebody to put on a bomb in his body, take his own life because he wants to send a message.

Why would somebody do that? So, women need to be involved at all stages because, one, they are the ones that day in day out are involved with the young people whether they are male or female.

They are the ones that share during their normal interactions with one another, they hear things and when they hear these things and they dont have avenue to inform, they may not be able to prevent anything.

We also must effectively involve women in trainings in early warning mechanism. The child must be taught from the basic of the critical reasoning and thinking.

Education remains the only way we can stop them from getting involved in extremism. Religious teaching should be first taught at home properly in order to discourage children from adhering to bad teachings, she said.

El-Rufai, who is the National Coordinator of Society Against Violent Extremism (SAVE), further advocated that the various CSOs involved the fight against terrorism and violent extremism must be thoroughly trained to understand the issues.

She said that some of the CSOs that are involved in countering extremism were not doing so because of their love for humanity but because of the money involved.

According to her, a lot of people that have no idea about what violent extremism is, who are just there to make money were the ones that were mainstreamed into this fight without good knowledge.

My advise is this, donor agencies need to make sure that who ever they sponsor, give grants to fight this are people that are actually knowledgeable in this.

It requires insight of the human mind, of the working of communities, it requires knowledge about what affect people, it requires empathy.

Are you somebody that is empathetic towards the sufferings of people because unless you have these qualities you wont be able to do anything that would make positive result in the lives of people that you claim to affect, she said.

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, represented by DIG Mike Ogbizi, said that leadership of various security agencies must see the need to liaise and cooperate to effectively tackle terrorism and violent extremism.

Adamu also called for good governance at all level by providing infrastructure and create jobs for the youths in order to discourage them from getting involved in crimes.

He said that the course was imperative towards developing measures to counter the menace of terrorism and violent extremism.

He also called on the religious bodies to always preach message that would not provoke violence and encourage extremism.

It should be known that the war against terrorism is not for the security agencies only but for everybody including the media, he said.

The Director General of NARC, Maj.-Gen. Wahab Garba (rtd), disclosed that the tendency of the course was to look at how to develop the leadership capacity of the troops who are fighting the terrorists like Boko Haram.

Garba explained that it was important to bring together, the middle cadre from the military, other security agencies and NGOs so as to look at what the issues were with a view to providing solutions.

We are too engrossed with what is happening in Nigeria but around us is not getting easier because along the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea, every where is boiling, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Source: NAN