HOW LONG WILL STEPHEN KESHI LAST?

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Posted: Nov 13, 2011

In the history of Nigerian football only two coaches have ever survived the axe of the NFA. Even then, both of them left in circumstances that are not different from being sacked. Clemens Westerhof, touted to be the most successful coach in the country's history, abandoned the Eagles in America following a 'mutiny' by the players and never returned to his job. Incidentally, he was at the tail end of his contract and Nigerians seemed to have had enough of him with a section of the media already campaigning that his assistant was the one doing all the work and should be hired in his place.
Othman Calder, the German coach that was hired to raise a new Green Eagles following the shocking and humiliating defeat of Nigeria by Zambia in 1974, absconded from the country after working for just a few weeks as coach of the senior national team. Nigerians woke up one day to find that his room at the Eko Hotel was empty and Othman had disappeared without informing his employers, the National Sports Commission. No one can tell specifically till this day what made him run away from Nigeria.
Otherwise, every other coach, Nigerian or foreign, that had the opportunity to handle the national team suffered the 'indignity' of being sacked from the job. It is the lot of coaches to be hired with fanfare and relieved of the same job with ignominy. If that really is the case, it makes sense therefore, to assume that Stephen Keshi, with all the ceremony of his appointment, some time into the future, will also suffer the inevitable fate of being sacked, and in his own case, being a Nigerian with nowhere else but Nigeria to abscond to when things go awry as they inevitably would do some day, he would sit back at home and face the 'music' as Samson Siasia and all those before him have had to do.

It is ironic that some of those who were themselves sacked from the same position for lack of productivity, now find themselves making grandiose speeches and sitting in judgement over Siasia. The title of my column this week must not be misunderstood therefore, because it will not be out of place to peer into the future and see Stephen Keshi also facing a sack. The only question now should be: 'How long will Stephen Keshi last?'
Let me start by dispelling any notion that I have anything against Stephen Keshi and his employment as coach of the national team. Far from it. My respect for him has always been obvious. He is my friend. We played together in the national team when I was captain. Indeed but for political intrigues that ruined our chances in 1981 at the last hurdle of Nigeria's quest to attend her first World Cup, Keshi would have played the final two matches against Algeria and, probably, would have helped the country to qualify for the World Cup of 1982. Professor Otto Gloria who led Nigeria to win the 1980 African Cup of Nations, became a victim of political manipulation when he listened to politicians, abandoned principles for sentiments, replaced a young and effective Stephen Keshi for a retired Christian Chukwu and threw away Nigeria's chances of making history. Many believed that Nigeria would have won with Keshi at the heart of the Nigerian defence. He was Nigeria's best centre-half at the time and for the next 13 years.
At his best as a player, Keshi was in a class of his own - a great captain and motivator who led by example. He was an organiser of his team, directing, almost as a coach, how the team played, taking on responsibility to cover up for his co-defenders when they faltered, and joining the attack when goals failed to come early. Even as centre-half he scored 10 goals in his 64-match national team career.
As a coach he has proven his mettle with his stints outside Nigeria, coaching Togo and Mali, the first Nigerian with that distinction. Keshi will make a good coach anybody, anywhere. He knows the game and has since acquired the necessary professional qualifications to coach any team, with his vast and varied experiences playing under renowned coaches at all levels of the game standing him in good stead.
So, Stefan (for that’s what I call him) is well qualified for the national team assignment and will get my own unequivocal support as he embarks on this journey! My question, therefore, is meant as a warning to him to 'beware the ides of March'.

Stephen Keshi is taking up a most difficult job. He is stepping into the national team job at a very challenging time in the country's football history. The team, under Amodu Shuaibu, steadily became weak and unattractive. It may have qualified for the World Cup and the African Cup of Nations but did not do so in a convincing manner. The standard of performance did not reflect the high expectations of the people who became so disenchanted and disappointed that the clamour for Shuaibu's removal after the dismal outing at the Nations Cup in Angola, before the World Cup, was unanimous. Lars Lagerbeck came and went like a candle in the wind leaving behind a trail of anger and more disappointment. When Siasia arrived he was heralded as the long-awaited messiah, riding on the back of the disenchantment with Amodu and the failure of Lars Lagerbeck. The public support he received was unprecedented. No Nigerian coach before him had enjoyed that level of support and confidence. Even Stephen Keshi that was interviewed along side Siasia backed off and conceded that it was the Bayelsan that the people wanted, and for good reason too. Nigeria needed a new team. Siasia, for 5 years, had been building one from the junior level in 2005. He had taken the core of that same team to the Olympic games and came within touching distance of winning the Gold medal. It made absolute sense at the time that the right way to go was with Samson and his emerging team. So, whatever happened to derail the train that appeared to be so much on course?
The body that employed Samson, and that has now employed Stephen, has not changed. The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has been, and still is, in deep physical and metaphysical crisis since it illegally assumed power following the annulled election process of August 2010 that was so brazenly conducted against the grain of morality and justice. Do you notice that everything the body has 'touched' since then has been haunted and blunted by failure? All the national teams one after the other have been falling and failing. The domestic clubs representing the country, one after the other, have been falling and failing. The domestic game has lost its once-growing shine. Public interest has waned and the sponsorship of the professional league has suffered irreparable and incalculable damage to its image. Unanswered corruption charges litter the football administrative scene. The leadership of the Professional league that the NFF seeks to control has been infected with a plague and has fallen on bad times. It is in disarray and embroiled in its own circle of legal crisis, like the NFF itself, without an end in sight. Nigerian football administration has never been this bad and this poor in the country's history. That is the atmosphere Stephen Keshi is stepping into.
That’s why I worry. Before Samson had even been disengaged many of his colleagues in the national team were scampering to replace him. It was so ugly to observe the seeming desperation to see him go. Stephen Keshi has been given the job and has come in with promises to return Nigerian football to its past glory. I believe he intends to do this by influencing developments at every level of the game, from grassroots to the professional league. He has promised to go to every nook and cranny of Nigeria in search of players and to give every player discovered a chance to prove himself worthy of a place in his team. All of that is good. But what happens to the 'cursed' body to which his good intentions are anchored? My belief is that until the right things are done to right past wrongs and lift the curse of the just, it will not be too long before even Keshi's 'time' will also come. The present NFF must go before Nigerian football will know peace and progress. The writing has been on the wall for almost two years and no one is truthfully reading it and dealing with the real issues. I wish the Big Boss the best of luck and sincerely hope that even against the odds and the elements he will succeed!

RAUF AREGBESOLA!: “LET’S BUILD MEGA CLUBS IN NIGERIA”

I did not know him or anything about him until he became Commissioner of Works in the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Even then I did not have a personal encounter with the man even if his reputation preceded him everywhere. It was almost mystical. He was described by those that knew him as a fanatical workaholic! Since he became Governor of Osun State, I am told, no one in the state has had a dull moment. When the invitation came for me to pay him a visit some weeks ago it came as a pleasant surprise. So, off to Oshogbo I went to meet with Rauf Aregbesola. What a time I had!
Even at three in the morning when we finally met in his home, his eyes were sharp and bright. No trace of the fatigue from meetings that had gone on all day and night with different groups all determined and eager to see him. He wanted to share his thoughts about a novel idea he had. He admitted he was not your usual football follower even though he had known about me and my football exploits since our days as students in the same institution in Ibadan. Since then he has followed my career and my writings through the years.

His idea concerns the great Shooting Stars Football Club. Why can we not have a team like Shooting Stars in Nigeria that had a large fanatical followership of millions of mainly Yoruba's all over the world become a mega club like Manchester United FC, Zamalek FC of Egypt or even FC Barcelona of Spain? He is interested to hear my view about his 'crazy' idea of creating mega clubs in Nigeria instead of the poorly funded mushroom teams particularly in the South West zone of Nigeria. He wants the South-West to show the rest of the country how to achieve this dream.
He remembers the original Shooting Stars FC as a movement of the entire Yoruba race everywhere in the world. Fragmentation of the South-West into several smaller States broke up the followership of the club. He sees the present South West cultural and economic integration plans as a great opportunity to promote the possibility of one or two mega clubs in the region funded by the contribution by all the States in the zone with the eventual benefits of running the mega clubs shared in kind and cash equally amongst them. Such an idea will fit into the agenda of the region and their combined resources will ensure that the club's followership astronomically increases across the zone and beyond, the best players from around the country and the continent can be bought, assembled and paid very well, ownership of the club will be thrown open to the expanded public in the zone, the national league will become better and bigger, the best coaches from any part of the world can be hired, and a mega team that can compete with the best teams in the world can be built!

My mind is racing. What kind of a weird idea is this? How can the 5 or 6 South West States agree to support only one team? Some already have their own state teams, what happens to those teams? On the surface it looks like an idea that would not even take off not to talk of fly. The Governor insists I think more about his idea. The details of how it will work will be considered later. What he wants is an examination of the concept! I start to think about it. It looks impossible from a distance but the more I think about it, the more I see faint outlines of a truly unique concept and vision. Nigeria could decide to create mega clubs in different parts of the country instead of the mushrooming of many small teams that have achieved little for the country in the global football scene. State boundaries will diminish. Hands of friendship and cooperation will be stretched across the States.
If the idea can crystallise it can really work. What happens to the smaller State teams? I do not know. But one or two big teams in the South-West representing the homogenous peoples of the region cannot be a bad idea at all. One or two clubs in other zones with their combined resources to drive them will create bigger teams and a bigger league. Wow! I like this. Your Excellency, I have thrown this into the public space for some critical reactions. Let’s wait and see what the people have to say!

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Comments

Olaobaju Boluwatife

Nov 13, 2011

This is just what I have been conceiving in my mind, but the private sector will still be the best solution to buy the clubs and sponsor them like odua investement can do with sponsoring shoooting stars, they have a lot in common odua investement is an heritage of the yoruba race and 3sc is synonimous with yoruba people.
Rich individuals can also do with buying clubs and making them multinational just like abramovich is doing for chelsea, aliko dangote can do for kano pillars or mike adenuga for 3sc and jimoh ibrahim for sunshine stars.
Olaobaju Boluwatife

Nov 13, 2011

This is just what I have been conceiving in my mind, but the private sector will still be the best solution to buy the clubs and sponsor them like odua investement can do with sponsoring shoooting stars, they have a lot in common odua investement is an heritage of the yoruba race and 3sc is synonimous with yoruba people.
Rich individuals can also do with buying clubs and making them multinational just like abramovich is doing for chelsea, aliko dangote can do for kano pillars or mike adenuga for 3sc and jimoh ibrahim for sunshine stars.
Orindare Rufus

Nov 13, 2011

It's all well and good but what happens after the originators of the idea leave office? The problem with anything done in Nigeria is continuity. With the current lackluster NPL, the moribund economy and the trifling, estacode hunters at the NFF and the majority of the people living in the lurch, how do we get to convince them to come to the stadium to watch our darling team(s)?. Will our Yoruba billionaires play "ball"? These are trying times indeed but impossible is nothing. The idea can fructify with great planning and minimal governmental interference. Happily, the right mind, in person of this columnist has been charged with the task of identifying ways of making it happen. The idea may even gain currency in the rest of the country but as was the case in the past, the West must lead the way. I will moot the idea of dividing the West into a number of viable zones, with each having a modern stadium in which the team will be able to play as opposed to what obtained in the past when IICC only played at Liberty stadium. Legal gurus of Yoruba extraction should be consulted on ways to prevent future grabbing by the Feds of these stadia as was the case with Liberty stadium. We should device ways of selling the team through advertisements such as selling of mugs, team flags, scarfs, jerseys of marquee players, adoption of a team anthem rendered in Yoruba (akin to Liverpools' you will not walk alone) to be sung at games after the national one has been rendered.
We should also find ways of setting up or signing agreement with current soccer academies to serve as feeder teams for the proposed team.
A great problem will be funding. Most states in Nigeria depend on revenue allocation which, to a great extent has been inadequate for meeting the needs of the people. We should therefore seek the input of financial gurus of Yoruba extraction to find ways of sourcing revenue. We should consider the use of lotteries such as obtain here in Florida where people actually win millions with the rest going to the coffers of the team.
Propaganda is an essential tool in rousing the hoi-polloi. We should look into our past history and find ways of using the name of our primordial ancestor and primogenitor, Oodua Atewonro to rouse our people into supporting the team. We should seek psychologists and anthropologists of Yoruba extraction who can do this. The task ahead is gargantuan but as one of our greatest sons said, "The difficult can be achieved immediately but the impossible takes a little longer" You cannot make fire with water, neither can you go from Lagos to Ibadan in three hours by means of pedestrian locomotion. Hard work is all it takes and this scion of Owa Ajaka Onida rara will not hedge his bet.
Much respect.
Orindare Rufus
batokkinc@aol.com
Aaron Ekong

Nov 14, 2011

We must commend the Governor for deeming it wise to consult the real experts. My candid opinion though is that football thrives best with private entrepreneurs,not government. FC Barcelona was founded by footballers and now owned by its supporters.Even here in Nigeria,Leventis United,Stores and Iwuayanwu Nationale were massive clubs for years until the environment forced them out.

The predominant involvement of government is scaring away big time entrepreneurs from our football,and believe me I know what I'm talking about.His Excellency,the highly respected Ogbeni Aregbesola can actually show others the way by providing world class training and playing facilities for youths and schools in the state,and sponsoring empowerment workshops for interested football investors in the state;but not by establishing clubsides.

It is fair and level-playing competition that will optimise the strength of our football,and we will only get that under a private sector - led model.
Kola, Usa

Nov 14, 2011

Segun Odegbami, pls this is a point of correction, Largerback was not sacked , he quit. After the world cup , the players unanimously voted for Largerback to return as coach, and the NFF offered him the Super Eagles job again , and he turned it down. Largerback was in Nigeria for 3 months, and he was paid a total of $325,000 , and not $325,000 a month for 3months. He played just 3 friendlies before the world cup, and any right thinking person with football mind knows he could not have achieved much in incorporating any meaningfull system in that team within the 6 weeks he took over the team. The players liked his approach and organizational skills, so they wanted him back. There is no country in the world that has a successfull league or football programme that does not involve the government, in America the teams collaborate with the cities or states to own stadium, so that both could make money off the success of the teams. In Nigeria the involvement of the state is different, the states owns , operate, finance and makes the decisions on the teams. The govt should just be involved in tax breaks, areas of promoting youth development, rules of engagement,security, and make some money off these teams, but since everything is political, and no continuity in the programmes of the last regime , it becomes a failure. Keshi will be here as long as his successful enough to make the reasonable fans happy, its not about sacking coaches , but achieving reasonables progress, sacking Amodu because he won a bronze, instead of getting him help, does not make sense. On the other hand, retaining Siasia would have been disastrous, because we thought he was going to improve on Amodu but, he got worse., and he was irrational. In America it's the name of the game till you get the right coach, and because we don't want to be sacking coaches, should not mean we should keep a coach that sets us back 25yrs. Segun my advise to you is to keep your head up, because you think age is not on your side, you forgot if God is on your side you will achieve your goal. Keshi waited his time , while Siasia was rushing , we now see what God has done.
Agbe

Nov 14, 2011

@Kola USA, you are so full of shit. we are talking about football and you're talking about USA. uncle Sege knew what he was talking about, period.

Siasia did more for ths country than you could ever even in your dream.
just pray we don't get a whooping tomorrow. if that happens, your Keshi will be off big time.
Mr Nd

Nov 14, 2011

its workable but only if you can privatise nff,maybe allowing expatrite to bid for nff like in communication remember nitel those days and now mtn and co,u suppose to understand what i mean.i have a master plan reach me at divinesoccer@yahoo.com
Rufus Orindare

Nov 14, 2011

Is Kola saying God had a hand in Siasia's firing? Men who were very bitter were already praying for his downfall anyway. Those who were apparent failure in their assignment, inspite of the longer period of time they had to coach the Eagles now had the effrontery to say Siasia had no experience to coach the team. Same clueless man has been blowing hot and cold that Keshi will reach his target. I wonder what he has seen in just one game to reach that conclusion. No wonder he failed in his time. A nation filled with insincere people as Nigeria MAY never see the light of day. It's amazing that some people in the so called technical committee of the so called NFF are now saying Keshi is better than Siasia inspite of the glaring failure in Mali. That they now think like that makes one wonder why they had then robbed Peter to pay Paul. I guess that shows the type of people running our football. Is it any wonder then why things are the way they are.? Nigeria is just a nation not worth dying for. At least as it's currently constituted.
Whatever happens to a man happens to him for his own good. With benefit of hindsight Siasia, in a few years, will be able to thank his stars that he was fired. Mark my words.
The Watcher

Nov 15, 2011

Only radical thinking like this could save our dying football. It usually starts raw but can be fine-tune over time. Thumbs up therefore to the Governor who has taken the initiative. Based on experience however, it has to start as a combined collaboration between the Government and the private sector - a kind of a public private partnership during which both parties would contribute their strengths and make up for each others weaknesses. Over time, club funding and administration should be taken out of the Government's hand so they can focus on other important issue in the society. The Government role in the future would be to be a watchdog to ensure that the Private Sector continue to observe every rules and operate within the right legal framework,
Orindare Rufus

Nov 15, 2011

All those calling for private sector participation seem to have forgotten that ours is a poor, underdeveloped, mono-cultural economy. Government participation can not be ruled out in any facet of our economy at this point in time. The apostles of privatization forgot that even in the bulwark of capitalism , i.e the US, private banks have had to be propped up with stimulus packages to avoid failure. The average Nigerian investor has no patience. He/she wants no long term investment that will yield bountifully in a few years. They want huge profits now and you can't do that with what is been proposed here. It's got to be nurtured through the development of a virile academy that spews out quality sports men. At this stage of our under-development , yes, under-development, government involment is a veritable sine qua non. And that is the way it is.
Obinna

Nov 20, 2011

It's not workable. Instead let individual states sponsor thier. Let d administrators of the game provide disciplined officials, embark on private sector sponsorship drive n increase d monetary value of participation, check player's welfare
Richard

Nov 22, 2011

When will this Odegbami allow the past be? I know he has tried to lead the FA and have failed several times but what makes him feel he can solve the nigeria football crisis if given the opportunity? Going by his article, i would say that nigeria as a nation is cursed too because we have never elected our leaders in a true democratic way.
Respected Odegbami, your commentary is becoming boring if all you write about week in week out is your feeling of been left out of running nigeria football, but remember the best may not necessarily be in a leading position. I have said it here several time that our football crisis have gone beyond what NFF can handle alone. The current set may not have been perfect but i will say they have tried in the last year to improve. How many time before now have the national team get consistent international friendlies organized? how many times before now have the national teams at all levels been given adequate preparation camps before major tournaments? how many times before now have a coach received a support like Siasia had? common we need to be fair to this NFF sometimes.
What can they do when there is no good road to travel to organize grass root football; how many hours will you take little kids to travel from just Ogbomoso to Ijebu ode? what do you do with NIPOGA for instance when the tertiary institutions are in and out of school? where are the philantropist in the mould of Abiola, Iwanyanwu, etc where are the sports loving governors like Jemibewon, Jim Nwobodo etc what you have now are rogues called politicians that was not the case when our football was rising. How much can the FA do in all these problems; i doubt even you Odegbami can acheive much in the midst of all the problems however good your intentions are.
Let everyone who loves the game find a positive way to contribute rather than castigating people just because you feel 'denied' an opportunity to run the affairs.
With due respect mathematical, i think your commentaries lately is not a demonstration of sportsmanship.
Suya

Nov 24, 2011

the idea is not new. We had IICC, Water works and Abiola babes from Southwest. Rangers, Spartans, Vasco and Enyimba from the East. New Nigeria bank, bendel Insurance, Asabatex from Midwest. Calabar rovers and Sharks from South South. Kano Rovers, mighty jets and Standard of Jos from the north. ACB bank from Lagos.
The majority of Super Eagles came from Rangers and IICC with a sprinkle from the rest of the clubs.

This idea will not work because some of the governors are selfish and myopic.
Ayekoto

Nov 26, 2011

Re: Rufus Orindare
My dear brother, I sincerely thank you for this excellent contribution. Your analysis cum recommendations though a little far-fetched are thought provoking. Your words are a delight to read and you will make an excellent sport commentator if you are not one yet. Well, my only foreboding is that the grand idea may be aborted by the yoruba age-long disunity. We are too weak when it comes to solidifying our front to achieve a common purpose. Our greatest bane has been unhealthy rivalry, diabolical jealousies and lack of true representation. Look at the annal of our oral and documented histories, you will notice that the Yoruba kingdom stop to grow in the second republic when our leaders sold our birthright for nigeria morsel of meat. If we first and foremost confront headlong this demon of disunity, then and only can we see yoruba people/ south-west rising again. I agree that this tribal mega clubs can play a role.
Ayekoto

Nov 26, 2011

Re: Rufus Orindare
My dear brother, I sincerely thank you for this excellent contribution. Your analysis cum recommendations though a little far-fetched are thought provoking. Your words are a delight to read and you will make an excellent sport commentator if you are not one yet. Well, my only foreboding is that the grand idea may be aborted by the yoruba age-long disunity. We are too weak when it comes to solidifying our front to achieve a common purpose. Our greatest bane has been unhealthy rivalry, diabolical jealousies and lack of true representation. Look at the annal of our oral and documented histories, you will notice that the Yoruba kingdom stop to grow in the second republic when our leaders sold our birthright for nigeria morsel of meat. If we first and foremost confront headlong this demon of disunity, then and only can we see yoruba people/ south-west rising again. I agree that this tribal mega clubs can play a role.
Ayekoto

Nov 26, 2011

Re: Rufus Orindare
My dear brother, I sincerely thank you for this excellent contribution. Your analysis cum recommendations though a little far-fetched are thought provoking. Your words are a delight to read and you will make an excellent sport commentator if you are not one yet. Well, my only foreboding is that the grand idea may be aborted by the yoruba age-long disunity. We are too weak when it comes to solidifying our front to achieve a common purpose. Our greatest bane has been unhealthy rivalry, diabolical jealousies and lack of true representation. Look at the annal of our oral and documented histories, you will notice that the Yoruba kingdom stop to grow in the second republic when our leaders sold our birthright for nigeria morsel of meat. If we first and foremost confront headlong this demon of disunity, then and only can we see yoruba people/ south-west rising again. I agree that this tribal mega clubs can play a role.
Rufus Orindare

Nov 26, 2011

Sir Ayekooto. I am only an architect and not a commentator. We can overcome anything we lay our hands cum eyes on. And that is what makes us unique. I have read countless articles and books written by non-Yoruba about Yoruba and there is no reason to be ashamed of who we are. There are 256 Odus in Ifa divination and each comes with countless number of verses. If our fathers can memorize 10 or more verses in each of these Odus, master their application, internalize the use of associated herbs and incantation, then , setting up soccer clubs will be just a breeze.
Awa l'omo Oduduwa.
Olusola Akinsanmi.

Dec 04, 2011

uncle sege,
my fear to start with is that befoer you know what os going on the politicians would hijack the thing they want to be on board and bring in there family and cronies,i agree with what someone said that only the private sector is best to handle such especially in these country of ours.
sola akinsanmi
onike-yaba.
Olusola Akinsanmi.

Dec 04, 2011

uncle sege,
my fear to start with is that befoer you know what os going on the politicians would hijack the thing they want to be on board and bring in there family and cronies,i agree with what someone said that only the private sector is best to handle such especially in these country of ours.
sola akinsanmi
onike-yaba.
Olusola Akinsanmi.

Dec 04, 2011

uncle sege,
my fear to start with is that befoer you know what os going on the politicians would hijack the thing they want to be on board and bring in there family and cronies,i agree with what someone said that only the private sector is best to handle such especially in these country of ours.
sola akinsanmi
onike-yaba.
Olusola Akinsanmi

Dec 04, 2011

uncle sege,
as for the lasting of the big boss-steven keshi,as long as he and his team keep chunning out good results with the team he shall remain there but otherwise he would be shown the gates not the doors out of the national team.but uncle sege come to think of it the nff's illegal occupation of office can never bring us as anation any good cos what was illegally acquired does not last compared to what was acquired truthfully so says my late father and i belive its so generally as well,see the result in all our national teams not that we dont have good coaches but when the head is rotten what else do you expect.
Olusola Akinsanmi

Dec 04, 2011

uncle sege,
as for the lasting of the big boss-steven keshi,as long as he and his team keep chunning out good results with the team he shall remain there but otherwise he would be shown the gates not the doors out of the national team.but uncle sege come to think of it the nff's illegal occupation of office can never bring us as anation any good cos what was illegally acquired does not last compared to what was acquired truthfully so says my late father and i belive its so generally as well,see the result in all our national teams not that we dont have good coaches but when the head is rotten what else do you expect.
Eniawifun..

Dec 07, 2011

QUESTION - HOW LONG WILL KESHI LAST?
ANSWER - 18 MONTHS OR THEREABOUT.