Man Indicted In US For Drug Deal Elected Senator In Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria - A man indicted in America for allegedly smuggling heroin, in a court case that was the basis for the TV hit "Orange Is The New Black," has been elected a senator in Nigeria.

Buruji Kashamu was little known before he returned home in 2003 from Britain despite a U.S. extradition order to become a major financier of President Goodluck Jonathan's party.

Election results posted late Wednesday identify Kashamu as a senator-elect in southwest Ogun state. Opponents are challenging his victory in court, saying ballots were rigged.

Kashamu, 56, hung up the phone twice when the AP called for comment about the drug case on Thursday. Kashamu has said he is "a clean businessman" and that the 1998 indictment by a grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiracy to import and distribute heroin in the United States is a case of mistaken identity. 

He has said Chicago prosecutors really want the dead brother he closely resembles.
A British court refused a U.S. extradition request in 2003 over uncertainty about Kashamu's identity. Chicago Judge Richard Posner thought otherwise when he refused a motion to dismiss Kashamu's case last year.

A dozen people were long ago tried and jailed in the case, including American Piper Kerman, whose memoir about her jail time became the Netflix hit "Orange Is The New Black." Kerman's book never identified Kashamu by name, but there is a West African drug kingpin whom she
calls "Alhaji," meaning one who has completed the haj or pilgrimage to Mecca.

A Nigerian federal court last year ordered Kashamu's extradition, an order upheld by an appeals court. But Nigeria's government has not extradited him.

That failure caused Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, to warn that "drug barons ... will buy candidates, parties and eventually buy power or be in power themselves."

Jonathan's perceived protection of Kashamu was a factor that led Obasanjo to defect from the ruling party before recent elections to the opposition that won most votes in Ogun, the home state of Kashamu and Obasanjo.

Kashamu is suing Obasanjo for libel for stating that Kashamu is a fugitive from U.S. justice. He had won a court order halting publication of Obasanjo's autobiography but a judge this week rescinded it, saying Kashamu had misled the court. 

Obasanjo's lawyer argued that the truth cannot be libel.

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator who had people jailed for littering in the 1980s, has promised to fight corruption, has many politicians fearful in a country where corruption is endemic.

Jonathan Supporters Planned To Kidnap Jega

Reuters) - As Muhammadu Buhari closed in on Nigeria's presidency, an aide to election commission chairman Attahiru Jega sent a text message to an independent voting monitor, warning of an imminent threat to the electoral process.

The aide had unearthed a plot by supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan to disrupt the public announcement of the national election results and kidnap Jega in a bid to wreck the count, according to pro-democracy advocates and a Nigeria-based diplomat.

Central to the plan, they said, were Jega's security detail and Godsday Orubebe, a former cabinet minister from Jonathan's Niger Delta, an area whose leaders feared a change of power would mean an end to the perks it enjoyed under Jonathan's presidency.

Orubebe's role was to cause a disturbance at the headquarters of the commission as cover for the abduction of Jega. Orubebe did not respond to requests for comment on the details of the plot.

The commission, called INEC, also declined to comment and turned down requests for an interview with Jega, whom Reuters was unable to reach independently. Reuters found no evidence to suggest that Jonathan, who conceded defeat in the election, was involved. His spokesman and his party, the PDP, did not respond to requests for comment.

While the plot would likely not have changed the result, it could have unleashed fury among Buhari supporters in the north, where 800 people were killed in rioting after his last election defeat in 2011.

But the plot's failure enabled Africa's most populous country to complete its first credible vote since independence in 1960.


Supporters of the presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressive Congress (APC) party celebrate in Kano March 31, 2015. 

"NIGERIA ON TRIAL"

The plot to derail the election in its closing moments was pieced together by Reuters from the text message, events on the ground and interviews with democracy advocates and diplomats in the capital, Abuja.

When he sent the SMS, the election official, whom the sources declined to name for his own protection, hoped the outside world would hear of the plot, the text of the message made clear.

"Fellow countrymen, Nigeria on Trial," read the SMS sent on the morning of March 31 to Clement Nwankwo, head of the Situation Room, an Abuja-based coalition of human rights groups and democracy advocates monitoring the polls. Reuters later saw the SMS.

"Plans are on storm [sic] the podium at the ICC Collation Centre and disrupt the process," it continued, the official dropping words and letters in his haste.

"Nobody is sue [sic] what will happen. Please share this as widely as possible."

At that moment, INEC chairman Jega was about to preside over the announcement of results.

TALLY COUNT

Since the end of army rule in 1999, all four previous votes had been marred by violence and ballot-rigging.

The 2015 poll was different in two crucial aspects.

It was a genuine race, pitting Jonathan, saddled with an ailing economy and an Islamist insurgency, against a former general promising to get tough on corruption and the Boko Haram insurgents.

Voters had also been given biometric ID cards linked to their photographs and fingerprints, making it hard to inflate voter numbers significantly.

As tallies from around the country showed Buhari on course for a win, unidentified PDP hard-liners started to panic, seeking ways of manipulating the count, Nwankwo and the diplomat said, citing political contacts in the Delta and Abuja.

Realising they could not engineer an outright win, PDP agents set about doctoring the tally at collation centres in pro-Jonathan areas to ensure Buhari failed to meet a requirement for 25 percent support in two thirds of states, Nwankwo said, citing reports from election monitors on the ground.

A Reuters reporter witnessed and photographed one tally list in Port Harcourt with suspiciously similar totals for registered voters at polling stations: 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 450. In another tally centre in the city, 17,594 valid votes were recorded out of a registered voter population of 11,757, the Reuters reporter said.

Foreign election observers also noted the peculiarities - and contacted diplomats in Abuja who called in international intervention.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his British counterpart Philip Hammond - in Switzerland for talks on Iran - issued a tough statement saying vote counting "may be subject to deliberate political interference".

"CREATE A FRACAS"

But as Buhari's lead grew, some PDP supporters from the Delta, including Orubebe, decided on a final gamble: to create a disturbance in the main INEC hall and have thugs snatch Jega from the stage, according to Nwankwo and the Abuja-based diplomat.

What the group planned to do after the abduction is unclear, the diplomat and Nwankwo said, but the confusion could have triggered nationwide violence.

"It was a desperate thing, mostly by a group of people from the Niger Delta who were in the room," Nwankwo said, describing events that unfolded publicly in the minutes after he received the SMS.

When Jega opened proceedings on the morning of March 31, Orubebe, the former Niger Delta minister, grabbed a microphone and launched into an 11-minute tirade accusing Jega of bias.

"Mr. Chairman, we have lost confidence in you," he shouted, pushing away officials trying to make him surrender the microphone. "You are being very, very selective. You are partial," he continued, surrounded by three or four supporters. "You are tribalistic. We cannot take it."

Nigerians watched, aghast, on live television.

Meanwhile, Jega's security detail was approached by unidentified individuals telling them to stand down, according to Nwankwo and the diplomat.

But the bodyguards refused.

"Some of the guards who had been guarding Jega for years demanded a written order," Nwankwo said. "But it didn't exist."

Jega then rebuked Orubebe: "Let us not disrupt a process that has ended peacefully," he said as Orubebe slumped in his chair.

"Mr. Orubebe, you are a former minister of the Federal Republic. You are a statesman in your own right. You should be careful about what you say or about what allegations you make," he said.

Later, Orubebe congratulated Buhari on Twitter, expressing his "apologies to fellow Nigerians".

IROKOtv Signs Netflix Partnership Deal

We're going places, people.  

In 2013, a FastCompany feature piece on Jason Njoku of IROKOtv said, “Iroko’s Jason Njoku Is Creating The Next Netflix In Nigeria“. Maybe that’s what got Netflix’s attention, maybe not. But that piece has certainly proved correct today.

According to IROKOtv CEO, Jason Njoku, IROKOtv has signed a deal with Netflix to support their launch of a dedicated African section, on Netflix.

Netflix, the world’s leading internet TV service, famous for shows such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, quite recently featured Nigerian movie, October 1st and now, courtesy of IROKOtv, they will feature a larger assortment of African content.

While the terms of the deal are not clear yet, it is a favorable distribution model for IROKOtv as it continues in its quest to bring Internet TV and African content together.



Why this move? Asides from the fact that Netflix has 57m subscribers globally, and will definitely improve the visibility of Nollywood, Jason says, “This is something I yearned for with YouTube so many years ago, and was ultimately the reason I created IROKOtv.”

I think about competition in many dimensions. When I burn bridges to focus, they burn. IROKO’s focus is on Android, super encoded and compressed downloads in Lagos. We have established a beach head. We want to win Lagos. Scratch that. We need to win Lagos. I am betting the entire company on it. We are bringing Internet TV to Africa. Lagos first. City by city, thereafter. We are still trying to establish the right price, access (downloads vs streaming) and content mix to drive this mandate. African movies on Netflix has little impact on that, remember, and I have said this numerous times. – Jason Njoku, CEO of IROKOtv


IROKOtv has recently been making ambitious moves like this to put Nollywood on the radar, Techloy’s Loy Okezie certainly predicted how audacious it could get. Two days ago, IROKOtv also signed a deal with African pay TV platform, StarTimes to launch two brand new linear TV channels, IROKO Play and IROKO Plus to launch on the 1st of May, 2015.

Jason ended his blog post with the quote, “iROKOtv is not the Netflix of Africa.“? Do I agree? Maybe. They’re certainly poised to do better things for African content than Netflix would

Man Who Shot South African Lucky Dube Says He Thought He Was A Nigerian.

NEWS NUGGET - Man who shot South African Lucky Dube says he thought he was a Nigerian.

About an hour after they pumped two bullets into Lucky Dube, the alleged killers returned to where the reggae superstar lay dead to see if any of the bystanders recognised them.

This was the chilling evidence of a state witness, who also revealed on Tuesday that the two men on trial for the murder didn't recognise him and thought he was a Nigerian.

Question- So if Lucky Dube was a Nigerian living in South Africa he deserves to die? 

Do you feel our Government have opened up Nigerian market to foreign investors with no protection of Nigerians in same business who can't compete?

Are South African business policies as liberal as ours or more protective of their own? 

DSTV went ahead to increase their rates regardless of court judgement. Can they do this in South Africa?

I'm not an economist but should these companies be compelled to retain a certain amount of their profit in Nigeria unlike what we have now where every kobo of their profit is taken back to develop their country from the sweat of Nigerians. We can only speculate how much of Nigeria's money was used in sponsoring the world cup in South Africa. 

They come with give employment to a few Nigerian, rip us off with profit and take the money out to develop their country. This has to CHANGE.

While Nigeria has opened up her market the South Africans are killing her citizens in return.

Pastor Tunde Bakare Pays Buhari Congratulatory Visit In Kaduna

Pictured are President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari and his former VP candidate, Pastor Tunde Bakare during a congratulatory visit by the latter in Kaduna on Thursday. Kaduna state governor-elect, Mallam El-Rufai was also present at the meet. Pastor Bakare has reportedly been named by Buhari as the chairman of the transition committee ahead of next month's handover. . Muhammadu Buhari and Pastor Bakare ran for the 2011 presidency as presidential and vice-presidential candidates respectively on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which they lost.

National Helm
http://www.nationalhelm.com/2015/04/photos-buharis-former-running-mate.html

Buhari Never Promised APC To Make Naira Equal To Dollar – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied
that its presidential candidate, Muhammadu
Buhari, promised to bring the naira at par with the
dollar if voted into power come March, 28, 2015.
APC also promised to implement the
recommendations of the Presidential Committee
on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal
Government Parastatals, Commissions and
Agencies to merge or scrap some agencies and
parastatals.

Speaking on Tuesday, Director, Policies and
Strategy of the APC campaign group, Bolaji
Abdullahi, made the clarification on Tuesday at the
Nigeria Political Parties Discussion Series (NPPDS)
organised by the Centre for Democracy and
Development (CDD) in Abuja, with the theme;
‘Manifesto Hour: Political Parties and the Citizenry’.

According to him, what Buhari said was that the
current exchange rate of the naira to the dollar was
unacceptable.
“Buhari never said, ‘I will bring naira at par with the
dollars’, he said the current exchange rate was
unacceptable.
“We are going to restructure the way we educate
our youths. We cannot continue to educate our
youths in the way of the 1960s,” he stated.
He also faulted the current educational system,
which gives preference to university education,
saying his party would restructure the system such
that every youth would be employable after
graduation.

While promising to also give the issues of people
living with disabilities adequate focus, he disclosed
that a social security programme has been planned
in which the most vulnerable in the society would
be given N5, 000 per month

Earlier, APC Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed,
said his party’s manifesto centres on job creation,
corruption and security.

www.dailypost.ng/2015/03/26/buhari-never-promised-apc-to-make-naira-equal-to-dollar-apc/

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Photo: Lebanese Woman,others Use EFCC Vests For Robbery

A 32-year-old Lebanese, Amira Abdallahi, along with five other suspects, have been arrested by the police for alleged robberies and frauds totalling N20m in different parts of Lagos and Abuja.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects ─ Princewill Eze, 55; Daniel Okpara, 30; Paul Irior, 37; Bassey Ekpenyong, 39; Royal Nwabuike, 32; and the Lebanese ─ disguised as officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and wore the commission’s branded vests.

It was gathered that they allegedly defrauded some Bureau de Change outlets in Lagos with the vests.

Our correspondent learnt that Eze, who is said to be the gang leader, was arrested by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state command on February 27 in the VGC, Ajah area of Lagos.

Eze’s confessions, it was gathered, led to the arrest of the Lebanese woman and other gang members.

Items said to have been recovered from the gang included six Toyota vehicles, one single-barrelled pistol with four cartridges and a Bryco pistol with six rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.

The police also recovered N4m and $13, 000 from the gang.

During a parade on Wednesday, Abdallahi, whose father is a Lebanese and mother from Ishan, Edo State, said she joined the gang in 2014, and had done six deals with them where she realised about N10m.

She said, “I was born in Nigeria and I grew up in Lagos. I stay in Lekki area with my family. I am married with five daughters. The first money I got from the deals was $5,000. I could not stop because the money was tempting.

“I was formerly doing interior decorations work. That was how I met Eze, who is nicknamed Senator. I did some interior design jobs for him in a hotel he owned. That was around March 2014.

“I had done about six deals with the gang. My role is just to talk on phone with our would-be victims. They think I am a foreigner, and they are willing to trust us. I have made about N10m so far, but all the accounts have been drained now. I handed everything over to the police.”

Eze, the gang leader, from Nkanu, Enugu State, said, “Before we rob our victims, we usually tell them that we want to purchase dollars, but we know most of them do not have an operating licence. So, we will pretend to be officials of the EFCC, and we will harass them for not having a licence. Later, we will ask them to pay a fine.

“They will bring the money to us in convenient places like hotels and banks. I was formerly a businessman. I also run a hotel. It is about five years now that we started this project. I was arrested by the police four years ago for a similar issue, but I was granted bail by the court.

“The police walkie-talkie and other gadgets recovered from me were obtained during the Anambra elections. I was not into politics, but I was part of that election.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, said the command would continue to ensure that criminals did not have a hideout in Lagos, adding that efforts were ongoing to get the remaining gang member.

He said, “We have recovered several items which the suspects procured with the proceeds of their robbery escapades. Eze, the ring leader, built a hotel in Edo, while other members also have houses in Delta, Ogun and Lagos states.

“Serious efforts are on to arrest the only gang member at large.

“The command assures residents of Lagos that it always has arrangements to ensure safety of lives and property.”

NO REGRETS FOR NOT SUPPORTING BUHARI -OHANAEZE

Awka—OHANAEZE Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, said yesterday, that it had no regrets not supporting the ambition of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, who won the March 28, 2015 presidential poll.
Ohanaeze also flayed the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, over the death threat he allegedly issued to Igbo people residing in Lagos before the governorship election.

Speaking in an interview in Awka, the national treasurer of the group, Chief Damian Ogene, said the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation supported President Goodluck Jonathan because of what he described as Buhari’s negative antecedents to Ndigbo.

According to him, the rejection of Buhari during the presidential poll is to remind him of the injustices perpetrated against Igbo during his earlier tenure as military Head of State.

He, however, said that since God had given Buhari an opportunity to be a democratic President of Nigeria, he should strive to right his earlier wrongs.
Ogene said: “We are ready to co-operate with him and to believe in his administration in the hope that he will, this time, address the injustices meted out to us since after the Nigerian civil war.”

He also advised the President-elect to deal only with the core people in Igbo land, rather than with the money-bags that were out of touch with Igbo nation and the masses.

“These billionaires have been using their oil money to block government from reaching the people at the grassroots level.

“He should liaise with people-oriented organisations like Anambra Association of Town Unions, ASATU, rather than with intermediaries,” he said.

He suggested to General Buhari to ensure that Igbo people, who were displaced in the northern part of the country due to the Boko Haram insurgency, received compensation as their northern counterparts, in the spirit of equity and justice.

IS FOOTBALL FAILING BLACK MANAGERS? -BBC SPORT

Is football failing black managers?

By Simon Stone - BBC Sport

John Barnes says his colour has stopped him getting other managerial jobs

John Barnes says black managers don't get many second chances, while Viv Anderson, another former England international, thinks he will be dead before a black man is made boss of the England men's team.

The statistics appear to give credence to both views, but that hasn't stopped a number of black coaches thinking big.

"I want to be England manager," one tells BBC Sport. "It's a ridiculous dream, but how amazing would that be?"

Another says he will "kick doors down" to progress, insisting the gloomy predictions of some will not put him off.

"I know people who have given up, but I am stubborn," he adds. "I have sacrificed relationships and job opportunities already to get to this point."

The issue of black and ethnic minority (BAME) coaches in football remains a live issue. BBC Sport takes a closer look.

So what do the stats tell us?

QPR's Chris Ramsey is the only black manager in the English Premier League. Not so long ago, there were none.

But take a look lower down the footballing pyramid.

Of the 230 clubs that make up the seven tiers of English football below the top flight, only 14 have black managers (6.09%).

There are no black managers in the Women's Super League either.

England's black managers (to tier seven)
Chris Ramsey, Queens Park Rangers	Liam McDonald,Redditch United
Chris Powell,Huddersfield Town	Zema and Nathan Abbey (joint),Arlesey Town
Chris Hughton,Brighton & Hove Albion	Marcus Bignot,Solihull Moors
Fabio Liverani,Leyton Orient	Johnson Hippolyte,Maidenhead United
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink,Burton Albion	Tony Sullivan,Witton Albion
Keith Curle,Carlisle United	Tony Fontanelle,Dunstable Town
Loui Fazakerley,Welling United	Gavin RoseDulwich Hamlet

What about the rest of the United Kingdom?

Well, there are no black managers in the top four divisions of Scottish football. Or in Northern Ireland's top flight. As for Wales, Airbus UK's Andy Preece is the only black manager in the country's elite league.

Is this bad?

The figures fluctuate all the time, but the situation has been a lot worse.

A year ago, when Hughton lost his job at Norwich, the number of black managers in the top four divisions of English football was zero.

To get a better steer of the current situation, it is worth comparing the number of black players with the number of black managers.

About 25% of players in the Premier League and Football League are black. Based on current figures, about 6.5% of managers in the top four divisions - or six in 92 - are black.

As for coaches, well, that's an even sorrier tale.

A recent study claimed that of 552 key coaching jobs in English football, 19 were occupied by people from black and ethnic backgrounds.

Football Association board member Heather Rabbatts said it was further evidence "that bodies across the game need to work together to challenge discrimination", while Sports Minister Helen Grant said the findings of a Think Tank were both "appalling and worrying".

So progress is negligible?

Anderson thinks so. He says football has failed black managers in the 20 years since he was in charge of Barnsley.

"I don't think we have changed at all," says the former Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday player.

Anderson played 30 times for England

"There were two black managers - myself and Keith Alexander - and there's not much more now.

"When there were two of us, there was talk at the time of it being the start of something, but it has never materialised."

Hope Powell is one of the foremost black managers in British football.

She coached the England women's team for 15 years and was tipped to make the switch to the men's game at one stage, with Grimsby Town reportedly a suitor.

"It would be great, visually, to see more black people in the game, both male and female," she says. "It is disappointing there are not more."

Is John Barnes right?

Former England and Liverpool winger John Barnes claims he would have found another managerial job had he been white.

He has managed Celtic and Jamaica but his last managerial job was with Tranmere Rovers in 2009.

"A white manager loses his job and gets another job, he loses his job, he gets another job," he said recently.

"Very few black managers can lose their job and get another job."

Chris Ramsey is the highest-ranked black coach in English football

That view resonates with Ramsey. He may be in a job right now with QPR, but he fears for his future should he lose it. He says "any manager of any race" struggles to find work but adds it is more difficult "as a black man".

Former England striker Les Ferdinand, now QPR's director of football, also believes "covert racism" still exists in football.

Anyone bucking that view?

Who are the "very few black managers" that Barnes refers to that continue to get employment? Four come to mind.

Hughton is in charge of Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion but has also managed Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Norwich City. He was also assistant boss at Tottenham and the Republic of Ireland.

Sacked by Charlton in March 2014, former England left-back Powell was back in management with Huddersfield Town six months later.

Curle is currently in charge of Carlisle United but has also managed Mansfield Town, Chester City, Torquay United and Notts County.

And Paul Ince has managed Macclesfield Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Blackburn Rovers, Notts County and Blackpool.

Good players but not good coaches?

A pioneering black player with West Bromwich Albion in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Brendon Batson has devoted a large amount of time to anti-racism causes.

Now a consultant to the Football Association on equality, he is heavily involved with a bursary programme seeking to get more black, Asian and ethnic minority coaches involved in the game.

Batson played in a WBA team with Cyrille Regis and Laurie Cunningham

"More than 25% of professional footballers are black," says Batson. "What we have not seen is the transition.

"The message, almost by default, has been 'we think you are good players, but we don't think you are good coaches'."

That view is backed up by a recent study, carried out by the Sports Persons' Think Tank.

It found that people from BAME backgrounds filled only 19 of the 552 'top' coaching positions at professional English clubs.

Is anything changing?

Batson thinks so. He says that, "for the first time" in his experience, would-be black coaches and managers are being told they are wanted.

"Now it is not about the old-boys network and who you know," says the 62-year-old, who was named an OBE in 2015 for his services to football. "It's a qualifications-based industry."

Powell agrees. With more black players coming through, she believe there is an opportunity to "convert" those players into coaches.

Acknowledging there is an issue with underrepresentation, the FA wants to drive up the numbers of BAME coaches.

So what's the FA doing?

By 2016, the FA wants 10% of coaches to be from BAME backgrounds at each stage of the qualification process. See table below.

Key stats
Percentage of BAME coaches amongst those 'self-declaring' their ethnicity on the respective FA courses from May 2014
Level One: 6%
Level Two: 9%
Uefa B Licence: 5.6%*
Uefa A Licence: 12.9%*
Uefa Pro-Licence: 6.5%*
Level One (female): 7%
Level Two (female): 5%
* Figures for three seasons, covering August 2011 - May 2014

The Coach bursary programme, (external)backed and facilitated by the FA, Premier League, Professional Footballers' Association and League Managers' Association, is helping achieve that goal.

Now in its third year, it has funded 90% of coaching course fees for more than 100 male and female coaches from BAME backgrounds.

In 2011, its inception year, 45 bursaries were offered. By 2015, that number had risen to 75. The FA expects the upward trend to continue.

At least 10 candidates from year one of the scheme have secured roles at academies, centres of excellence and Premier League clubs.

So it's working?

Batson says more would-be coaches from BAME backgrounds believe the FA's work can improve their chances of progressing in the game.

"They recognise there is an opportunity to follow their dreams," he says. "All of those people here want to be career coaches."

What about those that perhaps wonder what the point of doing a course is if they cannot find work?

"That may have been the case even three or four years ago," says Batson. "I see that is changing now. "

Geoff Pike, the FA's head of coaching awards, says "no-one has a crystal ball" but urges BAME coaches to give themselves the best chance.

"If you are looking at the end and saying there is no chance, you will never have a chance," adds the former West Ham United player.

Could the Rooney Rule work?

To address the lack of black managers in the British game, there has been talk of adopting American football's Rooney Rule.

Established in 2003, it stipulates that all National Football League clubs must interview a minimum of one BAME candidate for head coach and senior football vacancies.

Former professionals Paul Davis and Jason Roberts believe the Rooney Rule would have a positive impact, with the latter claiming there is an "open resistance" to hiring black managers, but Anderson is sceptical.

Hughton is now in charge of his fourth Premier League or Championship club

He agrees "everyone should be on the same playing field" but says chairmen and owners need to take a leading role.

Hughton, in charge of his fourth professional club, hopes football can solve its problems without the need for the Rooney Rule.

"If we can change that without legislation, that's the best way," he says.

So what happens now?

It's about building momentum, says Batson. "If you can't see anyone who looks like you, why would you invest in yourself," he says.

But Anderson needs more convincing. "As we speak today, we won't see a black England manager in my lifetime," he says.

"We have to break the mould, break the stereotype of black managers. Then who knows?"

The European Cup winner hopes someone like Raheem Sterling or Danny Welbeck may want to give management a go when their playing careers are over.

Raheem Sterling has won 14 England caps by the age of 20 - but could he ever manage his country?

"Young black kids in east London have to see that if you dedicate yourself you achieve this, that and the other," adds Anderson.

"Why can't they be the next England manager?

"But you have to be given the opportunity. It was talked about 20 years ago, but it is about action, not talk. The time for talking is over."