{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mathematical 7","provider_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7","title":"The Story of The International Sports Academy! - Mathematical 7","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"973L2CXG3J\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/the-story-of-the-international-sports-academy\/\">The Story of The International Sports Academy!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/the-story-of-the-international-sports-academy\/embed\/#?secret=973L2CXG3J\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;The Story of The International Sports Academy!&#8221; &#8212; Mathematical 7\" data-secret=\"973L2CXG3J\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/soca_logo-e1559907292267.jpg","thumbnail_width":265,"thumbnail_height":311,"description":"On Thursday, November 9, 2017, it shall be 10 years since the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy (SOCA) started operating as Nigeria\u2019s first multi-sports, full-fletched, co-educational secondary school. On that day parents, family, friends, corporate Nigeria, the media, stakeholders in sports and in education, as well as the general public shall assemble in the campus of the institution in Wasimi Orile, to join in the celebrations that will mark the 10th anniversary of the sports school.   There is a story that must be told of the school that has become an excellent demonstration of the power of a dream. It will serve young people well to listen and learn from experiences that have become the fuel that can drive their dreams and lead them into a new world of discovery and creativity, appreciating the wonder and beauty inherent in the observance of how a little seed was nourished and has now grown into a forest of trees! I remember how it all started with the disappointment of finding myself at the end of losing an election for the chairmanship of the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, in Kano in 2004, losing most of the little money I had worked hard for, and wasting valuable time chasing an election I stood no chance of winning. On the eve of the highly controversial election that had no backing of the sports ministry, I checked my financial balance and realized how expensive naivety could be. I had been massively na\u00efve, assuming that my fame as a football player decades before and my advertised experiences in sports administration and in the business of sport stood me in good stead to garner the votes that would make the elections a walk-over in my favour. After all, in addition to my relatively successful career in football, I had a rich trove of experiences in the media, in athlete management, in pioneering the sports business in Nigeria, and in sports management after retiring from the game as a player.   Under normal conditions, those would be unmatched credentials, enough to secure votes and stroll unto the pinnacle of football administration in the country. Little did I realize that the world of sports politics is a different universe, with rules of engagement different from the rules in sports, the former always suffering the shifting tides of personal interests and changing dynamics. In this new planet, things worked differently. Everything here was under the full control of the most powerful man in Nigerian sport at the time, the remote puppeteer, directing the shape and form of sports administration from his exalted seat in the sports ministry, a man who held Nigerian sports by the jugular for decades, a person without whom nothing and no one could succeed in Nigerian sport - Amos Adamu.   On the eve of the Kano elections, along with a few other members of the electorate that had been called up by their various State sports commissioners, or governors and instructed to boycott the elections and to return to Abuja where another election was being organized under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports, I could sense the onset of a season of crisis. For me, that had no support from any powerful forces in government, and completely unable to penetrate even a single voter I realized too late that I was merely chasing shadows. I needed to count my losses, lick my wounds, and move on with my life to other things. That\u2019s how Kunle Raji and I drove away from Kano and headed back to Lagos via Abuja without actually waiting to participate anymore in the elections that had been designed to stop Ibrahim Galadima by all means by executing a strategy scripted by the sports ministry under Amos Adamu. What was uppermost on mind was how to get away from that tense environment and return to the sports school project that I had had to set aside for the elections."}