{"id":827,"date":"2018-11-09T13:45:31","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T13:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/?p=827"},"modified":"2019-05-07T22:57:51","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T21:57:51","slug":"an-evening-with-amaju-pinnick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/an-evening-with-amaju-pinnick\/","title":{"rendered":"An evening with Amaju Pinnick!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday night, Amaju Pinnick was initially a reluctant guest on\u00a0The Sports Parliament<\/b>, a weekly television show that I anchor on NTA alongside sports gurus drawn from a pool of 18 members that constitute the parliament.\u00a0 By the time the program ended at midnight, he had become a happier man. Unknown to him, the parliament had invited him, not to criticize, castigate, or even question him, but to, unsolicited, celebrate and recognize a man that had gone where no one else had in the history of football administration in Nigeria.\u00a0 Personally, I had not seen, met or even spoken to him since we parted on the night of Nigeria\u2019s last match at the 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. How everyone harried, hurried and unceremoniously departed Russia after the match was the reason why I could not see him to thank him for giving me the opportunity of being an integral part of the NFF\u2019s plans in Russia 2018. He gave me direct access to the players and their technical crew, and made me one of the two unofficial motivators of the team, getting me to speak with the players before their last two matches in an attempt to inspire them to perform better.\u00a0 Whilst everyone else scrambled out of Russia and out of the championship, Amaju Pinnick remained to complete his international assignment as a member of the organizing committee of FIFA for the championship, playing the role of match commissioner in several of the matches after Nigeria\u2019s exit. So, we did not meet again until\u00a0last Thursday night<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0On the show, I had the opportunity to thank him publicly, live on television with 60 million Nigerians watching. After the program, I urged him to hang out with the Parliamentarians if only for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Our after-the-show outings every Thursday night have now become a ritual. Parliamentarians look forward to the pepper-soup, the chilled drinks and conversations as much as they do the program itself, one that is growing increasingly in popularity, impact and influence in Nigerian sports.\u00a0\u00a0Last Thursday night\u2019s show was special with Amaju appearing on the show.\u00a0 No one knew I had arranged a special surprise for him, a testimony delivered live on the show via telephone of his humanity and philanthropy by one of the recipients of his generosity, 16-year old Tosan Edukogho, a final-year student and now head boy of SOCA (Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy) who is enjoying his sixth year of full-academic scholarship offered by Amaju Pinnick through his Foundation.\u00a0\u00a0During the program, Tosan joined us via telephone, acknowledged Amaju\u2019s role in his life and thanked him.\u00a0 Amaju was on the verge of breaking down emotionally by the total unexpectedness of the whole thing but held himself back. The evening\u2019s show turned out to be an acknowledgement of Amaju Pinnick\u2019s contribution and unprecedented accomplishments in football administration.\u00a0\u00a0Without question, after his return for a second term as President of the Nigeria Football Federation, added to his election as First Vice President of CAF, the Confederation of African Football, and his automatic seat as member of FIFA\u2019s Executive Committee, he now stands alone and atop the table of the most successful football administrators in Nigeria\u2019s history.\u00a0 After the show, he agreed and we took him along to our \u2018after-program joint\u2019, a small beautiful lounge and eatery on Karimu Ikotun Street, on Victoria Island.\u00a0\u00a0The evening turned out to be a great experience for all.\u00a0\u00a0Segun Agbede was right. Amaju is an interviewer\u2019s delight. You only need to ask him a question and he will provide you with answers to all other unasked ones.\u00a0\u00a0So, we gathered – Godwin Dudu-Orumen (the Encyclopedia<\/i><\/b>), Segun Agbede (the Pundit<\/i><\/b>), Onome Obrothe (the Maverick<\/i><\/b>), Lookman Ogunwolu (the\u00a0Bet master<\/i><\/b>), Helen Odeleye (the Boss<\/i><\/b>) and I (the Speaker<\/i><\/b>) – around the best goat meat pepper soup, the chilliest drinks you can imagine, and exclusive insights you can\u2019t find anywhere else, tastefully listed here:<\/p>\n