Football as ‘cosmeticism’ in Nigeria

Published in the Nigerian Compass of Tuesday July6, 2010.

WHILE watching a television programme yesterday morning on the Nigerian Television Authority about the poor showing of the nation’s senior soccer team, the Super Eagles, at the ongoing World Cup in South Africa. There was a playback, showing House of Representatives members speaking about the precarious situation Nigerian football has found itself. A member’s submission caught my attention. The member in question, who I believe is speaking the mind of almost all our leaders, Abdul Ningi, declared that “Football is life and it is the only thing that makes Nigerians happy”.



Putting Honourable Ningi in perspective, he, representing government, is not happy that the Super Eagles are fumbling because Nigerians are not happy. Or, government could have been happy that Nigerians are happy because the Super Eagles are playing well and also winning. Whichever way one looks at it, the government is only interested in a ‘happy Nigeria’ for just 90 minutes, even if the remainder part of the day, which is 22 hours 30 minutes, is horrid, sorrowful, undelightful and filled with pangs of poverty.

This is the problem! When President Goodluck Jonathan announced last week, the suspension or self imposed ban, on the National Teams of Nigeria, from international scenes for two years, I was relieved. For readers who have been following this columnist for sometime, it may not be strange, but for ‘first timers’ this columnist is not patriotic in this sense and he doesn’t regret it. I have decided since France ’98 World Cup that until the government hands off the funding of football in Nigeria, I will never see anything bad in not supporting the national teams.

Most Nigerian players playing abroad are very rich and I see no need to add the meager resources in the country to their already bloated purse, and the output is failure and heartache for ‘patriotic’ Nigerians. So many Nigerian sectors are begging for adequate funding, yet football is given priority over them. Why not? As Ninigi pointed out earlier, “it makes Nigerians happy”. Even when Nigeria wins; are Nigerians happy? The government has seen football as an escape route to distract attention from issues. It is this escapism that is responsible for its involvement in football and other sports. Millions, even billions, of naira are being spent on football annually, while many children are dropping out of school. In just ten years of ‘demo-Crazy’ over 820 firms were reported to have closed shop in Nigeria due to unfriendly environment. Lecturers from all levels of tertiary institutions are downing tools now and then and there seems to be no end in sight. Roads across the country are increasingly becoming death traps and the various tiers of government seem not to bother. Health facilities are unavailable and where available, are either inadequate or ridden with unqualified personnel. Poverty is as common as air as it blows around unhindered. Lives and property are no longer secure as security has broken down everywhere. Prostitution, armed robbery, hired assassination, corruption etc, have taken over the country. Yet, football is mentioned as if it contributes to development. A friend once told me during a conversation that led to argument, that there is a great deal of influence and affluence our foreign footballers bring home from abroad. How much they make and how they cater for their people back in Nigeria. But I posed a question to him, which he could not answer; how many Americans play internationally and how much influence do their wealth has on the economy of the united states of America? He simply winked at me and went away, defeated!

The yardstick for measuring growth and development does not include football exports. It is based basically on the real sector, which Nigeria has neglected; the standard of living; per capita income; and related indices. For a country to now spend so much on this ‘white elephant project’ is criminal and inimical to development.

So, the self imposed ban or suspension by Jonathan is a welcome development and even if FIFA in the end adds its own ban for whatever years it deems fit, it is better. Let us cut the frivolous spending and concentrate on productive things. I know that sportswriters may have different views, maybe for economic reasons, but the interest of all Nigerians should be put first. The President should be supported and by the time we re-emerge after the ‘FIFA ban’ we would have been better for it. Enough of this ‘cosmeticism’!