Van Gaal hard to please – Klose

Miroslav Klose claims the years he spent playing under new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal were the hardest of his career.

Klose, Germany’s all-time leading goalscorer with 71 goals, left Bayern Munich in 2011 after struggling to satisfy the Dutchman. The 36-year-old played 60 games while Van Gaal was in charge of Bayern, but scored only 12 goals.

“It was a tough time, particularly working with Van Gaal,” Klose told Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper.

“I didn’t feel free. It was very difficult for me to fulfil his expectations. He was asking me to make runs I just couldn’t see. I didn’t feel free. It was very difficult for me to fulfil his expectations. He was asking me to make runs I just couldn’t see.”

“I gave it all I could, but sometimes it just wasn’t enough.”

Had it not been for the backing of the fans and the faith shown in him by Germany coach Joachim Low, Klose says he may not have emerged from the two years he spent under Van Gaal the way he did.

Klose has since gone on to score 41 goals in 101 games for Lazio, and broken Gerd Muller’s goalscoring record for his country on his way to winning the World Cup last month.

Eto’o thanks Mourinho

Samuel Eto’o has rubbished talk of a rift with Jose Mourinho as he prepares for the possibility of an Everton debut against his old boss, Sky Sports reports.

Eto’o was part of Mourinho’s Champions League-winning side at Inter Milan and came to England a year ago to rejoin the Portuguese at Chelsea.

But the pair’s relationship was questioned when Mourinho was caught on camera joking about Eto’o’s age, and the 33-year-old left Stamford Bridge in the summer before joining Everton this week.

Samuel Eto’o gave his first press conference on Wednesday as an Everton player, and explained why he chose to join the club.

Chelsea visit Goodison Park on Saturday evening and speaking at his official unveiling as an Everton player Eto’o said, “I am not concerned about that aspect of it, that it is against my ex-team.

“The important thing is to integrate myself into my team-mates’ way of working and get myself ready during the training and preparation, potentially, for that match.

“The only thing I have to say vis-a-vis Jose Mourinho is to thank him. It is down to Jose Mourinho that I had the opportunity to be accepted and integrated into the Premier League, to play some great matches. That is the end of the discussion.”

Eto’o’s attitude may persuade Roberto Martinez to involve the striker against Chelsea – earlier than he had envisaged.

Adeboye’s Facebook fans hit two million

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has identified the social media as a veritable tool for the propagation of the gospel.

Adeboye stated this just as he hit the two million followers’ mark on Facebook.

Offering words of prayers and appreciation to his Facebook fans, the RCCG spiritual leader explained that social media platforms had come handy for his evangelisation.

Adeboye, who towers higher than President Goodluck Jonathan in terms of social media following, is also the most visible Nigerian clergyman online.

In February, a creative online intelligence firm, Alder Consulting, in a report ranked Adeboye as the cleric that makes the most prolific use of social media in the country.

“I would like to thank you all for making me hit the two million followers on Facebook. May the Lord bless you and speedily answer all your prayers in Jesus name. Let us continue to spread the good news,” a message penned by Adeboye on Facebook read.

To register his appreciation, Adeboye posted a new photograph on Facebook, with a “Thank You” inscription on it.

Apart from Facebook, Adeboye, who is also active on Twitter, YouTube and Google+, as of Wednesday boasted a combined online following of 2,386,201.

Writing on his Twitter page, the septuagenarian confessed that God had been very faithful to him in all his dealings.

“Because Jesus was before me, He was there when my life was being planned. He is the one that knows and can change my destiny. No man can. I challenge you to take a critical look at your life. Are you making progress or going about in circles?

“If God is with us, we can fight anyone and win but if God is against us, we are finished. May the covenant-keeping God help me remain faithful to you as you have remained faithful to me,” he added.

Adeboye’s wife, Mrs. Folu Adeboye, has also taken a cue from her husband by leveraging on various social networking sites to propagate the gospel. Folu blogs at faadeboye.com and she has digital presence on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

She described herself as a “virtuous woman, strong pillar and efficient planner” who complements the efforts of her husband in Christendom.

“She is endowed with immense initiative, and great capacity for hard work. Her attributes have helped the G.O (Adeboye) obey God’s command to be great.

“Mummy G.O. has not only been mother to her biological children and grandchildren, she has also been mother to the RCCG spiritual children and more importantly has been shouldering numerous responsibilities on behalf of the Redeemed Christian Church of God mission,” her resume posted on the blog added.

Folu advised parents not to be a bad example to their children, saying, “As a parent, be careful what you do now. If it is evil, it will not only affect you but your future and the ones coming after you.”

Another leading religious leader leveraging on the new media is the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor Temitope Joshua.

Just as thousands of worshippers throng the popular televangelist’s Lagos-based church; his social media pages are also a beehive of activities as they receive hundreds of visitors on a regular basis.

Apart from having presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, TB Joshua is one of the few clergymen in the country who make use of Pinterest.

Pinterest is a social network that allows users to upload, save, sort, and manage images—known as pins—and other media content, such as videos and images through collections known as pinboards.

Besides, Alder Consulting also ranked the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Rev. Sam Adeyemi, in a 2013 report, as a prolific digital media enthusiast.

Apart from regular ministrations via his social media pages, Adeyemi gives tips to young adults about ways of succeeding in their various careers.

According to him, the ideas he shares via his online pages are to enable his followers to achieve “extraordinary results” with a change of character and proven leadership skills in their various places of employment.

Adeyemi’s wife, Nike, an architect, has also followed the footsteps of her husband, focusing on social media engagement for women’s rights activism.

Nike has refused to forget about the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the over 200 Chibok girls, as she urged the authorities to do more to ensure their rescue.

“Whatever part of the world you (Chibok girls) are located today, may you see the daylight. May light shine unto you and all who suffer.

“To all those who suffer unjustly for their faith, race, tribe, gender, size, and even for no reason, may peace and comfort of the Lord be on you,” she wrote on Twitter.

Uzo Aduba wins ‘Outstanding Guest Actress’ at 2014 Emmys

Nigerian-born American artiste, Uzo Aduba, has won the `Outstanding Guest Actress’ for the comedy entitled: `Orange is the New Black’ in the Emmy Award for 2014

An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, is awarded in recognition of excellence in various sectors of the American television industry.

The sectors are: Academy Award (for film); Tony Award (for theatre); and Grammy Award (for music).

Aduba won the award a week before the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place on Aug. 25 at the Nokia Los Angeles Theatre in California.

Aduba played the character Suzanne Warren in the film.

Aduba, who was raised in Medfield, Massachusetts, attended Medfield High School and the University of Boston, where she studied classical voice.

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Aduba is listed number seven on its directory of Nigerian Americans.

Mutiny: Four military officers quizzed

Strong indications emerged on Wednesday that the military high command had started taking decisive steps against security personnel involved in acts inimical to the military tradition.

It was gathered on Wednesday that four army officers were arrested for allegedly encouraging some soldiers, who disobeyed a directive on posting to Bama, one of the areas where Nigerian troops are fighting   Boko Haram insurgents.

Mutiny is defined as a situation, in which a group of people such as sailors or soldiers refuse to obey orders and try to take control away from their superiors.

The posting was said to have affected mainly the 21 Armoured Brigade Garrison, Maiduguri in Borno State whose men were said to be on standby for redeployment to Bama.

It was learnt on Wednesday that the posting did not go down well with the men of the unit, who were of the view that the garrison should have been a rear party (support unit) rather than being posted to the area of operation.

Investigations further revealed that the soldiers felt that they were being moved out for the men of the division to take over Maiduguri metropolis.

The soldiers in the units were also said to have complained that they were involved in three operations such as the multinational Joint Task Force, the Joint Task Force in Damaturu, Yobe State and the task force in Mubi, Adamawa State. They believed that they should have been addressed collectively before any such deployment.

A source, who confided in one of our correspondents, said the military authorities became alarmed when some of the soldiers decided not to honour the posting. This made the   military high command to   order the arrest of four of the officers of the formation.

It was learnt the commanders of the 21 Armoured Brigade Garrison in Maiduguri, comprising a Lieutenant Colonel , a Captain and two lieutenants, were arrested two weeks ago .

However, after a thorough process of investigation, the military authorities released the four officers after finding them not guilty of the suspicion that they   had a hand in the reluctance of the troops to leave Maiduguri   for Bama.

It was gathered that the Lieutenant Colonel had been posted   to another unit while the other three officers had been deployed to Bama.

Investigations further revealed that the military leadership had arrested several soldiers, who dropped their guns to desert from the Army.

Although, the source did not give a figure, the soldiers were said to have been moved to Abuja to face interrogation.

The source said the arrested soldiers came from different battalions.

It was, however, gathered that the military authorities were also investigating some soldiers of 195 Batalion, Agenebode, Edo State over the attack on Danboa

The Agenebode battalion which is in charge of Danboa is said to be affected by the issue of desertion in the Army.

A security source said that the military authorities were serious about taking decisive steps against misdemeanours in the ongoing efforts to prevent the troops from being discouraged by deserters.

The source stated that the military leadership was determined to ensure that disobedience and cowardice were not condoned because of their grave implications on the success of the counter-terrorist operation.

One of our correspondents made repeated efforts to speak with the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, without success.

As of 8.37pm on Wednesday, he had not responded to an SMS sent to him.

Cameroonian troops kill 27 B’Haram insurgents

Cameroonian soldiers have   killed 27 members of the Islamist group, Boko Haram, near a border town with Nigeria.

Reuters quoted Cameroon’s state radio on Wednesday, saying the insurgents   crossed the border into Cameroon earlier this week, after attacking a military base and police station in Gamboru Ngala in Borno State.

“Cameroon soldiers have killed 27 Boko Haram elements during an attack in a locality near Fotokol in the far-north,” the state radio, CRTV said,.

It added   that the deaths occurred on Monday and Tuesday. There was no word on any Cameroonian casualties.

A Cameroonian soldier in the region said the militants had been pushed back into Nigeria, with calm returning to the area on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve out a de facto Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks in Cameroon, leading the central African country to increase deployments along its border with Nigeria..

President Paul Biya dismissed two senior army officers last month following attacks in which at least seven people were killed and the wife of the vice prime minister was kidnapped

Insurgents attempt to blow Nigeria-Cameroon bridge

Meanwhile, the insurgents have attempted blowing up a bridge on the Nigerian border with Cameroon after overrunning a town and sending residents as well as soldiers fleeing.

A Cameroonian police officer stationed in   Fotokol told the Agence France Presse that the militants tried on Tuesday to destroy the bridge, which leads to Gamboru Ngala in Borno State.

Three children were reportedly injured by flying shrapnel when explosives were detonated, possibly by firing from the Cameroonian side of the border on Monday.