The arduous chopping and grinding that has molded Olympians into shape may be over, but now the heat is being turned up. It’s an intense process that takes intuition, passion, technique, and persistent, but slight, adaptations to extract the last remaining drops of excellence from us. This is our final preparation.
The massive 30x100m sets thrown at us in the beginning have peeled away the unwanted layers, priming us for the imminent refining process. Getting to this level is not about the how, it’s about the why, because when the purpose is greater than the pain, anything is possible.
Most of what we do now is technique-driven, focusing on efficiency: every stroke we make needs to take us further faster and with less energy. Little surprises start popping up as we begin to see our times getting faster and we are constantly comparing the most recent race to the previous one. I’m still about five seconds off my world record time of 2.04.81 and if I am to get anywhere close to that again, every stroke, kick, and turn needs to be perfect. This process can be frustrating due to the continual failures but also the most rewarding, because when we add the perfect touch at the right time, we create magic. We can’t go through those enormous sets again as we need to focus – so our sets are condensed to somewhere around 8x100m. This allows every set to be scrutinized, consistently testing and adding pinches of change to get the perfect form.
The testing and competitions we go through are essential in bringing our bubbling nerves to a simmer. Our minds become clearer as the sensory impact of these ‘good nerves’ help sustain our focus. Overthinking is an unnecessary energy that can cloud our mind and create the potential for our nerves to boil over. “Did I do everything in my control,” is a common question among athletes and I came up with a method that uses four basic, yet not-so-easy, rules to follow: never skip practice; arrive early; do what the coach tells me; and leave late.
I have often been jeered and laughed at because this is the behavior of a ‘teacher’s pet’. I have learned to make sure that any noise like this dies down in the last few months of training. I become selfish. This is my time to marinate. A time when the perfect balance of everything we have worked on begins to slowly release and all the goodness needs to rise to the surface. Any major changes, pointless additions or negative stimulus will have an adverse effect on just how good this will be. The little surprises we start seeing elevate our confidence, clearing our mind from any negativity. Then it arrives, the time to trust that we’ll be rewarded for all the sweat we’ve poured into our work.
Every day has been about focusing on the Olympics but now, the night before an event, is the longest night; our thoughts begin to stir and the ‘bad nerves’ can set in. Athletes are extremely self-critical and we can generally handle this internal pressure. Tomorrow is different. We are about to be judged by the world. This external pressure is internally motivated and can allow self-doubt to build up. Athletes need to find a way of letting off steam: my coach has a list of jokes at hand and we talk a lot about nothing.
I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning, an inner timer lets me know I am ready. We have breakfast. I’m not thinking about that. We get on the bus that takes us to the pool. I’m not thinking about that either. I know my coach is telling me jokes because we are both laughing. I know I need to walk to the starting blocks because an official escorts me there. I know the spectators are loud because I can see their excitement. I know I’m supposed to wave to them because they will be announcing my name. I hear nothing. My body instinctively explodes forward on the sound of the starter. I hear a single voice now. It’s the voice of my coach encouraging me forward, driving me harder and pushing me faster than I have ever been. This is when it all comes together, all the hard work, long hours, and tedious workouts. This is the moment when I can finally share my efforts with my friends, family and fans.

The Last Length To The Olympics  – Nerves, Jokes and Pain

One of Africa’s biggest artists walks into the room wearing a shiny black suit, white shirt, bright red socks and, of course, dark-shades. His entourage scurries around to make sure he is comfortable. He steps forward, extends his hand and uses the opening line to all his songs, “I am D’banj”.
It’s an introduction that makes women, from Nigeria to Britain, swoon. But life hasn’t always been easy for the 33-year-old musician. He has come a long way from his days in Zaria, in northern Nigeria, where he found his passion for music in unfortunate circumstances.
“When I was 13, my brother died in a plane crash. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what was happening. Before we left for school, I went into his room and found the harmonica among his belongings and took it with me.”
D’banj spent most of his time playing along to Bob Marley and Céline Dion. The harmonica kept the memory of his brother alive.
At university, he began writing his own songs and it wasn’t long before he produced his first hit single The Koko. The song, a collaboration with producer Don Jazzy, gave them both a taste of success.
“We were like Batman and Robin, it was a great synergy. He knew my style, he knew how powerful my voice was, he knew how much energy I had and how I liked to perform. He studied me well.”
The two have since produced many hits which won D’banj an array of awards including: Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards in 2009 and Best International Act: Africa at the BET Awards in 2011.
The pair also created the record label, Mo’Hits Records, which launched the careers of Wande Coal, Dr SID, D’Prince and K-Switch. In 2012, Don Jazzy and D’banj split, sending shock waves through the music industry.
“We just grew apart. Change is the only constant thing and hopefully we changed for the better… Doing music with one producer for eight years, then coming out again, makes you feel brand new. You find skills you didn’t know you had and you find flaws about yourself that you thought you knew…”
It didn’t take long before D’banj moved onto a more lucrative deal under Kanye West’s record label, Good Music. Their partnership began as a case of mistaken identity.
“On my way out of Dubai I stopped at the first class lounge with my entourage. A few airhostesses ran up to me screaming ‘Mr Kanye West’. So I looked at myself, then I looked at them and said ‘I am D’banj. But if I look like Kanye West it means he must be around’”.
They tracked down the American star in the building. West liked D’banj’s fresh Afro-pop sound and they later met in Los Angeles, where D’banj was introduced to some of the industries big names such as Big Sean, Pusha T, Hit-Boy and LA Reid.
Contracts were signed, deals made and in the days that followed D’banj recorded Oliver Twist, the song brought him even greater international success.
“The fans overseas are different. They absorb the music differently and they really want to get to know you as a person, they want to know what you are about. Here, our people are more excited about the music.”
D’banj says getting to the top is the easy part; it’s staying there that’s difficult. Among his biggest competition is fellow Nigerian musicians P-Square.
“If we were in a dance battle they would beat me, I would have to get some help from Chris Brown. But I think overall you would definitely be entertained…”
The African hit maker looks forward to a successful year and the release of his documentary celebrating his 10 years in the music industry. D’banj seemed very confident that he would top the FORBES list of Africa’s 50 Richest, until he realized Aliko Dangote was number one.
“Dangote? Ahhh no, no, no that’s the father… this interview is over. She asks me if my turnover is higher than Dangote… very soon. Maybe in a couple of years,” he jokes while looking at his entourage seated at the back of the room.
I guess we’ll just wait and see.

I Am D’banj  And I Am Going To Be Rich

A Creative Power

Art can pull you in deeply. Expressive and raw, it can be believably real, and not. Just like life, it has a fascination; it shows us that it goes on all the time, in straight lines, or abstract.
For all our over-civilized attitudes toward art, our relationship with it is still primal. We are consumed by its emotional involvement with us, constantly wanting to understand its intuitive physical movement in all that stillness, captured on canvas, paper or stone. No wonder it is known as an ‘investment of passion’.
But art is turning out to be more than an unthinking love affair with the aesthetic. It is a tangible investment, and the numbers do not lie. In 2011, the European Fine Art Foundation estimated the global art market was worth $60 billion, a six-fold increase over the past two decades. In 2012, sales at Christie’s auction house were more than $10 billion, up 10% from 2011. And the Citadel Art Price Index, which looks specifically at the South African art industry finished 2012 on a high, at 12.2%.
True, in the past, art was considered a high-end collectable, available only to extremely wealthy individuals. But thanks to the emerging market, trends are finally changing and art acquisition is far more transparent, less guarded and opaque.
Like most investments, buying art requires thought and consideration – it is not only about what is pleasing to the eye. FORBES WOMAN AFRICA spoke to the CEO of Business and Arts South Africa, Michelle Constant, to get a clearer understanding of what you need to get started.
“Let’s face it. Investing in art is a dual investment – both emotional and
financial. Once you invest, you’re stuck with the work as a long-term investment. So first and foremost you must love it. It’s an incredible relationship, owning but also loving the piece of work you’ve bought,” Constant says.
&nbsp;
<h4>WHERE TO BEGIN</h4>
Art is not that much of an enigma. Sometimes it is best to keep it simple. According to Constant, it is useful to visit “galleries, auctions and art fairs, they are good places to get a feel for art and the type of artwork you might want to buy”.
It is also about being informed; you have to learn how the market operates. Sometimes it is best to take at least a year to wrap your head around the ins and outs of the creative space of the industry, before you set out to choose your first artwork. Most importantly, you need to understand your aesthetic, Constant advises. What kind of art do you like? Do you lean more toward painting, sculpture or print, to name just a few?
“Read art magazines and websites (The SA Artist Magazine or www.arttimes.co.za) to find out about openings,” she explains. If you are inte-rested in learning the basics or the history of art by studying a formal course, there are several on offer in South Africa. A good place to start is probably the online directory: www.art.co.za/training.htm. “A great book to read, which will give you wonderful insight, is Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton,” Constant suggests.
Once you have a feel for what you want to buy, engage.
“Go to galleries, auctions, talk to curators and collectors, the market’s expert consultants, so that when you buy your first piece, you are competent in the subject matter.” Try to attend the annual FNB Joburg Art Fair in South Africa, or the Affordable Art Fairs, which take place in America, Asia, Europe and the UK.
&nbsp;
<h4>WHAT TO BUY</h4>
“When it’s time to buy, buy according to what you love, because the return on investment is not guaranteed. What is guaranteed is that you’re going to have to wait at least 10 years, so you really should love it,” Constant advises.
“Remember, once you’ve bought your first work you need to grow your knowledge and become informed in your participation. The more you know, the more you like or don’t like, the more astute you will be in your buying.”
&nbsp;
<h4>WHERE TO GET ADVICE</h4>
You are looking for the kind of company that can offer a range of services – from helping you choose your art, to helping you avoid buying fakes, or stolen goods. Remember that even with all the advice that comes your way, there is no guarantee that you will make queenly profits on any work that you acquire.It is best to book an appointment with auction houses.
Some of the most well known in South Africa are:
Stephan Welz &amp; Co. (<a href="http://www.stephanwelzandco.co.za">www.stephanwelzandco.co.za</a>) Strauss &amp; Co. (www.straussart.co.za)
Artinsure (www.artinsure.co.za) Russell Kaplan Auctioneers  (www.rkauctioneers.co.za)
&nbsp;
<h4>HOW BEST TO INVEST</h4>
Consortiums, an art fund, or as a lone buyer? “As far as I know, there are no real art funds active in South Africa, so you would have to invest in one primarily in the UK or North Ame-rica. The problem with art funds is that they’re set up like private equity funds… but that doesn’t align with the 10-year plan. Their track record is apparently not that brilliant, in general. There are successful consortiums in South Africa. It’s a bit like a ‘stokvel’ (rotating credit unions) and it also provides excellent opportunity for emerging buyers. Importantly, though, all the individuals in the consortium must have the same long-term view.
“For me, lone ownership has been the best way to go. It has meant I can go out and buy smaller works and build my collection. It’s a much more personal process and ties into the concept of a dual investment – emotional and financial,” Constant says.
&nbsp;
<h4>HIDDEN COSTS</h4>
“If you buy from a gallery they will be sharing 40 to 50 percent of the sales price. The work then takes a long time to sell at that or a higher price in the secondary market (auctions, etc). In essence, you need to account for dealer costs, maintenance costs – such as archival and framing – insurance and security. This is why you need at least 10 years. In that time your artist is also building his or her brand, thus growing the value.”
Keep in mind that your artwork must remain in perfect condition. Many experts will advise you to rent proper storage facilities. South Africa is not known for major natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornados or floods, but if your pieces are stored under suitable conditions, they will not deteriorate.
For those storing art at home and on the wall, specialist insurance is key. Barrington Insurance Brokers in Johannesburg is a good place to start:
&nbsp;
<h4>HOW LONG TO HOLD ON</h4>
“A common argument is that for contemporary art you hold on for 10 to 12 years, whilst with modernist art  (a Pierneef or an Irma Stern) it’s around five to seven years. My personal opinion? If you love the work you hold on forever.”

Investing: The New Art Form

In the game of life, there are always seats reserved for fame, fortune, luck and divine intervention. Add grace and fortitude to the mix and you’ll get a great rags-to-riches story. This has been the run of play so far for Kanu Nwankwo, the Nigerian soccer star who has written his name across world football.
In his 35 years, Nwankwo has become a shining star; a poor boy from the streets who became a global champion and authentic African hero. Now in the twilight of his career, he plays out his footballing days with English club Portsmouth. He is also a devoted husband and father of three, who is fashioning himself into a savvy investor in Nigeria. His £10,000 a week for kicking a ball are being poured into real estate, the hospitality industry, art, photography and philanthropy.
On the soccer field, Nwankwo can do no wrong. His admirers cheer his moves on the field, expecting his every touch of the ball to lead to magic; easily forgiving him when he miskicks or falls down during one of his numerous tricky sorties goal. And when he howls or winces in pain on the pitch, they cry and howl in solidarity. When he scores and breaks into his peculiar two-finger salute and dance, swaying from side to side and flapping his arms in jubilation, they laugh and fall in love with him all over again. That’s blind loyalty for you. Crazy, but that’s what loyal devotees of the game do for their gods.
“Papillo”, as he is fondly called by his fans, is adored by soccer enthusiasts from across Africa and worshipped in his homeland. A level head and obvious sense of propriety off the field is earning him more respect.
Nwankwo’s posh and polished lifestyle is a far cry from his early days. Surrounded by the social accessories of achievement—security guards, butlers, personal masseurs and hairstylists, mansions in the ritzy parts of Lagos
and London, first class air travel, chauffeur-driven SUVs and sedans, you get the picture—he maintains an easy, friendly mien. “I always remember how and where I started,” he says during his FORBES AFRICA interview.
Nwankwo and his three siblings grew up in eastern Nigeria. His older brother, the original “Papillo”, also played soccer in secondary school, until a knee injury shattered his career.
So “Papillo’s brother”, as Nwankwo was then known, gradually earned the name through sheer soccer brilliance, playing his way out of his rustic beginnings into the bright lights.
“My parents were not rich but they were modest, hardworking people,” he told FORBES AFRICA. “They always encouraged us to work hard, pray and do our possible best in whatever we were doing,” he says.
“They never discouraged me from playing football. It’s kind of funny, but everyone believed in me then… I was always winning, throughout my primary and secondary school days. I was always being picked to play for our school teams and later representing my state in age group competitions, and I was always team captain.”
His natural talent for the game earned him many friends early in life, and of course, some extra cash.
“I was having fun, going to school and making some money from football; everyone wanted me to play for their team,” he says.
One of his first clubs, semi-professional Federal Works, used to send a scout to fetch him from home and seek his parents’ permission ahead of their weekend fixtures.
“So I used my talent to support my upkeep…I used the money to buy clothes and books,” he says.
Talent always travels. He didn’t stay at Federal Works, where he scored nine times in 30 games, for too long. Richer, bigger clubs noticed him. In 1992, he laced his boots for Nigerian club side Iwuanyanwu Nationale, playing for slightly over a year before signing for AFC Ajax of Amsterdam for €207,047.
“Ajax was where I had my first taste of international pro football and became a man, soccer-wise. My dream of playing professional football abroad had come true.
“I was happy… It was also a difficult time for me. Suddenly, I found myself in Europe. Everything was new and strange–the environment, the food, the weather, the people, the culture, but I had no choice but to cope,” he says.
Beyond these niggling issues, his star shone brightly at Ajax. His skills matured as the team won three Dutch league titles, the UEFA Champions League trophy, the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
Back home, he was captain of the “Dream Team”—the name of Nigeria’s soccer team that travelled to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Nwankwo helped to demolish soccer giants Brazil and Argentina, winning Nigeria’s first-ever gold medal from Olympic soccer.
A promising future beckoned. He was young, at the top of his game and famous—the perfect blend of talent and tactical discipline. Football and fortune featured in his
future plans.
Just before the 1996 Atlanta Games, Internazionale Milan had shown serious interest in the young man. That summer, for about $4.7 million, Ajax released Nwankwo to the Italian Serie A club. A few weeks later, in Rome, disaster struck. A medical examination revealed he had a potentially life-threatening heart defect.
His reaction was disbelief and denial. Nwankwo and many of his fans were in shock. He had no family history of heart disease. He wondered how the ailment could have been undetected by his previous clubs. He sought varied medical opinions, hoping to debunk the diagnosis.
“Finally, when I realized that ‘oh yes, I may not play football anymore’, I knew that I still had a lot in me. I just put myself in God’s hands. At that time, I was like, well, okay God is going to do it for me. Doctors said I could fix the heart problem later on, but I would not be able to play football. Or, I could do corrective surgery right away and see how things turn out. I felt it was better for me to do the operation rather than wait to do it later. It was the lowest point for me in my career,” he says.
The rest of the story is part of the Nwankwo legend. He had successful heart surgery to replace an aortic valve in the USA in November 1996, recovered well and was back on the practice pitch six months later. “Coming back from that episode was wonderful, you know; I had to be tough, but growing up as a kid toughened me up, so my background growing up in Nigeria helped, it gave me hope that I can achieve under whatever circumstances,” he says.
Nwankwo is forever grateful to Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti for his support during this period of his career.
“Moratti and the rest of the Inter Milan team were fully behind me, they didn’t once stop paying me… they were constantly praying for me to come back. I wish every club president was like him; that’s a huge lesson in loyalty for the rest of the sports world,” he says.
Going under the knife to fix a faulty heart artery did not in any way affect Nwankwo’s football wizardry. He stayed with Inter Milan for another year, and moved on to Arsenal in 1999, playing with panache for the English club for the next five seasons. He has also played for other English sides— West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth, signing a new three-year contract with the latter in August 2010.
Nwankwo’s illustrious international soccer career with Nigeria spanned 16 years at the national team level and 21 years at the club level. He is clearly one of Nigeria’s most celebrated footballers, with a Nigeria Premier League trophy; three Dutch League titles; a UEFA Champions League medal; a UEFA Cup medal; one English Premier League Cup; three English FA Cups; an Olympic gold medal; and the FIFA U-17 title to his name. He has also featured in several FIFA World Cups and African Cup of Nations tournaments.
He was voted CAF African Footballer of the Year in 1996 and 1999, and the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1999.
Nwankwo succeeded teammate and friend Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha as captain of Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, between 2006 and 2010. He won 86 caps and scored 13 goals for his country and is the joint most capped Nigerian player of all time alongside mid-field maestro, the late Muda Lawal.
He holds the record for most substitute appearances in English Premier League history, appearing from the bench 118 times. As the season came to a close, Portsmouth was struggling to avoid relegation at the bottom of the English Championship. Beset by financial problems, the future of the club is uncertain. Nwankwo says he will stick with Portsmouth through thick and thin.
Back home in Nigeria, there is much to do. Inspired by his near-tragic experience, he set up the Nwankwo Heart Care Foundation in 2000. Funded mainly by the soccer legend and a small coterie of friends, he says the foundation has sponsored over 450 indigent children from all over Africa for surgery in England, Israel and India over the last decade.
“I kind of carry the burden of Africa on my shoulders; everyone prayed for me when I was ill,” he tells FORBES AFRICA.
“We get letters from all over Africa. The demand for medical aid from across the continent is huge and our aim is to help any poor African kid who has any medical problem. It’s been very difficult raising funds.”
His grand vision for the foundation is to have specialist hospitals for kids in several African cities. “It’s a very big task, a huge hurdle, and we hope that governments and the private sector in Africa and the Middle East can come to support our noble cause,” he says. The first of such facilities will be a N5 million cardiac hospital for under-12s in Abuja, Nigeria’s administrative and diplomatic capital.
“As a kid, I wanted to be the best man in football. But now, it’s a mixture. FIFA has given me a gold medal for my contributions to football, so I think that now, everyone will at least remember me as ‘Kanu the great footballer’. But what I would really like to be remembered for is as the man who gives hope and joy back to those who need it through our work at the Kanu Heart Care Foundation.”
<div id="attachment_795" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-795" class="size-full wp-image-795" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/KX0P1956.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="1017" />Portsmouth &#8211; Portrait &#8211; kanu &#8211; 24/11/2006</div>
<h3>Kanu On African Football</h3>
Kanu Nwankwo bade farewell to international football with a testimonial game in April 2011. The match featured ex-Nigerian stars and Nwankwo’s colleagues and friends playing in Europe and Africa. 
Now, as a UNICEF Ambassador for Sports, he gets to go to big cities and to the nooks and crannies of the continent, preaching football, giving speeches at town hall meetings and inspiring young folks to attend school as well as play soccer. 
On football administration and management, and the future of the game in Africa, he says: “For me, the most important thing about football in Africa is the administration. The people in charge need to rev up their act. If we don’t have the right people in football, we will keep going round in circles. The game is undergoing an interesting time in Africa. No country is an underdog anymore in Africa… every team has to work very hard, football in Africa is growing so fast…” 
On the matter of foreign coaches versus indigenous coaches: “It all depends on management, but we just can’t sit down and condemn our local coaches. It’s all about constant retraining and refreshing. The football federations need to invest in their human resources; we have seen cases where our African coaches have done well even with little support, while foreign coaches who get all the attention and support of their FAs (football associations) fumble when it matters most.” 
He is modest about his net worth, maintaining that his life has been a blessed one. So which Kanu does he prefer to hang out with: is it Kanu the footballer, Kanu the philanthropist, Kanu the businessman or Kanu the family man? “I would say, Kanu the family man, because family comes first. My family is the key to whatever I have achieved in life. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, Amarachi…our match is made in heaven.” 
His relationship with food can be described as indigenously continental. “I eat all types of food. I can’t stay for long without eating Nigerian food: I either go out to a Nigerian or African restaurant to eat it, or I buy the ingredients. I have to eat African food at least once every week. That’s why we tend to eat Chinese – it’s the closest thing to hot and spicy jollof rice.”

Tag: Passion

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

The Last Length To The Olympics – Nerves, Jokes and Pain

I Am D’banj And I Am Going To Be Rich

A Creative Power

Investing: The New Art Form

Braveheart