I will not pretend that I know much about the politics that has engulfed Nigerian football in the past couple of months.  I do not, as I have had to face my own personal challenges these past couple of months.

I surrender this page today to my boss, my brother, my striking partner and my friend, His Excellency, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, who graciously wrote the foreward to my new book, 'Me, Football and More". I reproduce it for all to read.

No one foresaw what happened.

I have always loved to write, but I never trained as a writer

I need to do this. Permit me this day, to pay a little tribute to my elder brother.

-THE SECRET FORMULA!

 I am in mourning even as I write this with an utmost sense of responsibility.

 What a week! What an incredible series of UEFA matches.

On March 22, 1980, there were 22 players in the Nigerian national team that won the African Cup of Nations in Nigeria.

In the aftermath of AFCON 2013, the world has returned to the diet of the EPL, La Liga and the European Club championships.

 Recall from last week: It is the evening of the eve of the final match of AFCON 2013.  I am looking at my crystal ball, and I see an eagle hovering high up in the sky in majestic splendor, its squinted eyes riveted on a target below – a gold trophy.

This was the same question I asked when I started my series on Afcon 2013. That was some 11 whole weeks ago! 

As usual, I am writing this on Thursday night, one day after the end of the group matches of AFCON 2013.

Afcon 2013 has been a wonderful spectacle

As the national teams of 15 African countries join host South Africa, to commence the 29th Orange African Cup of Nations, the rainbow nation  is set to explode in a kaleidoscope of colours in celebration, once again, of the brotherhood of the African football family.

 It Is One Week To The Start Of The  2013 Orange African Cup Of Nations

I am caught already in the usual championship fever. That’s what usually happens to me every two years – understandably!

The great Pharaohs of Egypt will not be in South Africa in four weeks time when Afcon 2013 will kick off.  Their absence has been one of the great shocks of this edition’s qualification matches.

I have two things and two people on my mind.

The annual ritual of selecting Africa’s best players and rewarding them is upon us again.

Cameroun have one of the most dreaded national football teams in the world. They are consistent, brutally and physically intimidating, always confident and supremely athletic. For Cape Verde to have taken Cameroun to the cleaners is, indeed, an achievement of no small dimension. But how did Cape Verde do it? That is the one million dollar question.

Last week I thought I was done with commenting on AFCON 2013 until I arrive South Africa next January
Last Wednesday night the result of the match between Zambia and South Africa has now forcefully brought me back again to the matter.

Understandably, some Nigerians are not happy with me, following the headline of this column last week. Their grouse is that I did not promote my country above all others as favourite to win the 2013 African Cup of Nations championship.

Last Wednesday night the whole of Africa watched with keen interest as the draws ceremony of the 2013 African Cup of Nations were conducted in Durban, South Africa.

I have not seen that kind of spontaneous feel-good reaction on the outcome of any football match in a long time. It was a mixture of relief and joy rolled into one.