Thread by @RayToluAyo

#TheAnalysis with #TheSportsIlluminator
Guest: @RandaAndrew
Introduction
Andrew Randa is a journalist,
content creator, graphics designer and a member of the @thenff media team
He has two educational degrees amongst other certificates. Enjoy this thread on Andrew Randa
Here We Go

Growing Up
I think I am bit lucky whenever I listened to people’s story. Growing up was brilliant. I grew up in a good Christian home, had supportive parents with good values. We were not rich, we were not poor. My father could afford to send me to the school he could afford to

send me to the school he could afford with his salary at that time.
I grew up in a staff quarters so I had a lot of sporting facilities to play around with.

Education
I went to Federal Government College, Azare in Bauchi State

First Degree: Ahmadu Bello University - Graphics Design with bias for visual communication
Second Degree: Coventry University in the UK - Graphics communication with emphasis on sports communication
Few courses at Ajax Amsterdam basically about football scouting.

Sport Business Institute in Barcelona – Digital media reporting for leagues.
Reuters certificate in Investigating Journalism.

Football Career
I played with FC Nasara in Zaria before suffering an injury.

Falling In Love With Journalism
I love to teach, I love to talk and write football. I knew I was going to do either of one of those things.
I use to go to doctor’s common room to pick up magazines and newspaper that was when I begin to follow the league that's around 1983/1984.

Anytime I go to the Doctor’s common room, I use to visualize the description of the goals or whatever I read. This where the whole graphics of a thing comes in.
It was during my secondary school that I knew where my life will be going.

I was forced to join the press club. And I was the anchor of the sport show on the assembly. They call me 'The Walking Sport Dictionary' because anybody that needs any information on football or sport they knew who they are going to ask.

The Beginning of Journalism
After my injury in football, I went for my @officialnyscng in Sokoto State. I begin to write and send sport news to newspaper such as Standard Jos and Triumph Newspaper in Kano. They use my story but will not include my byline (my name).

My write up was popular in Kaduna, Jos and Kano but people didn’t know I was the writer. Even my friends didn’t believe me until I started showing them the story I wrote before giving it to the newpaper to publish. I will telling my friends to watchout for the story in two

to three days time. So my friend started beliving me and encouraging me I was doing it for free.
The Breakthrough
It was in 1999 that I got my breakthrough when Nigeria hosted the @FIFAcom U-20 world cup. I was doing my IT at NTA Jos where I was co-anchoring.

I got called into the studio on this day to talk about the game before linking up with NTA Lagos to show the game and then come back for halftime analysis.
People saw me on TV and they were shocked because they never knew I was vast. The TV brought me out and people started

noticing me
First International Breakthrough
Emaka Nyadike, publisher of Kickoff in 2003 needed someone who knew the North very well to cover the football games at the All African games in Bauchi State. I never knew he was noticing what in was doing especially in the north.

Experience
My first international experience has to be one of the worst experience. Coming back to Jos from Bauchi in 2003, I was attacked by thieves in Aturo Local Government.I wasn’t beaten but they took everything on me. Filing the report back to @KickOffMagazine was difficult

Ilorin, I wasn’t a journalist by then but I was following football. I got to Ilorin to watch the FA Cup match. I couldn’t get accreditation so I cant enter and I was very young and I don’t have the gate fee. So I went to the back of the stadium. There was a crack in the wall.

I could see a bit and I put my head through the wall and I was watching the game. Unfortunately, Soldiers were coming to chase people away and someone tapped me, guy run, soldiers are coming but unfortunately, my head couldn’t come out.

My head was inside, my body was outside the wall, infact it took some people to chisel some part of the wall before I can be able to get out but before that, those soldiers have used my buttocks for their experiment. They beat me blue and black. I cant forget that day.
😝😛🤣😅🤣

Rampan Stadium in Jos
@plateau_united vs Rangers in 2001.
Plateau United and Mighty Jets were rivals in the same city in Jos. There was this game against Rangers, Mighty Jets supporters wore red to the stadium and you know Rangers also wears red as their traditional jersey.

They came to the stadium to support Rangers. Rangers scored first and then Plateau equalized and from there all hell broke loose. There was tear gas, there were knives, they were stabbing each other. That was my first tear gas experience in the Nigerian league.

I don’t know where to run to because all the gates were locked which is one of the problems I have with the Nigerian stadium.
I had a lot of tear gas on me, I could see supporters chasing women, ripping their cloths apart, wether they were raped, I don’t know because

I was struggling to get out of the stadium. I could bearly reach home. Infact I had margarine for more than a week. There was mucur and blood coming out from my mouth and at that time I swore never to go watch any @LMCNPFL game. 21 years later, we are still going to the stadium.

Best Experience
Watching @NGSuperEagles win two nil over Iceland in Russia 2018 @FIFAWorldCup. I was by the pitch side so I saw everything. There are things you don’t get to see on television, these I saw.
Also Nigeria versus @Argentina, I was by the pitch side, during warm up

Lionel Messi kicked a ball that came through and I picked the ball and sent it back to him. He looked at me and gave me thumbs up. I was star strucked. I was contemplating wether to pick my phone and enter the pitch and take selfie with this guy but I called myself back and had

to act professionally. It was incredible seeing Lionel Messi in flesh. That five to ten minutes seeing Messi was mad.
C'est Fini.
I hope you enjoy the thread on Oga Andrew.
I don leak all the secret finish.
You can retweet and follow me for more thread.
♥️

My previous thread

https://twitter.com/RayToluAyo/status/1521099342093991937?t=79VGxIcFe_SktAkm3_gsqQ&s=19

Super Eagles forward @sikiru16 could have become ___________ if he hadn't be a professional footballer.

Enjoy it!

Another one

https://twitter.com/RayToluAyo/status/1523729557601144832?t=9JfEJzt-9THlqW4ASYyBrA&s=19

@NasarawaUnited defender who still dreams of becoming an Engineer!

Enjoy this too

@Kindwale101 said i should this about Andrew Randa.

According to Wale, Andrew Randa is a KNIGHT in Nigerian football. He's also the Nigerian long lost midfielder.
If you have more on oga Andrew, drop your comment.

@threadreaderapp roll it