On Sunday 5th June, 2016, I and a few friends [L-R: Nosa Ogbemudia, Dipo Adesina, Ahmed Saliu and myself] went to the
Liberation Stadium in Port-Harcourt to watch the NPFL match between Rivers
United of Port-Harcourt and Lobi Stars of Makurdi. The game ended with the home
team winning by a lone goal.
It was my first time watching a live NPFL match at a stadium
so during the match and on the way back home my mind was restless with thoughts
of the numerous opportunities having a very functional and properly-run Nigeria
would bring to its teeming population.
Thoughts of how teams could and would perform better and be properly
funded if sponsorship and advertisement were gotten right crossed my mind. I
thought about how each team in the NPFL could have really robust football
academies, giving young and vulnerable teenagers the opportunity to channel
their talents before they’re caught between joining Boko Haram, MEND or Niger
Delta Avengers.
My mind also dwelt on transportation and how with a good and
solid road, air and train network around Nigeria, fans could travel with their
teams to watch, support and cheer them. Coincidentally, the Rivers United side
was billed to play against Enyimba FC of Aba at mid-week but unfortunately,
that PH-Aba road is so bad that a journey of 30mins would take 2hrs to
complete. Now imagine the road was fantastic or the train really functional; I
would close from work at 4pm quickly hop on the train to Aba, watch my ‘newly-beloved’
Rivers United and return home to my wife and daughter in PH before 7pm, like it’s
NOTHING!
During the game at the stadium, a player from Rivers United
took a knock on the head which had to be bandaged. While there was a stand-by
ambulance with Rivers Government House inscription at the stadium, I began to
imagine the opportunities for numerous first-aiders, nurses and doctors all
over the country during periods when the NPFL would be ongoing and even much
later after matches.
Lo, I even dreamt about sports medicine and research centers
for sports related medical issues after all it was a Nigerian Doctor, Bennet
Omalu who was the first to discover and publish findings of chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) by examining American football players NFL. Now imagine
that doctor didn’t have to travel out of Nigeria and utilizes his skills to
bring about such discoveries and their solutions here in this our land!
I didn’t stop dreaming.
The stadium was half-full but I imagined what a full stadium
would mean in terms of increased trade after matches have been properly
advertised and security of attendees assured. The gate takings would sky-rocket
and the facility managers would generate more money by leasing out spaces for
shops and other activities within the complex.
The opportunities that abound only in sports are even beyond
my imagination but ultimately I thought about the urgent need for Nigeria to
wake up and make sure these opportunities don’t go to waste and are properly
harnessed by putting in place the right environment.
It brought me back to our political leadership and how they
all need to realize that putting these infrastructure in place: ROADS, AIRPORTS,
TRAINS and POWER, would create more prosperity for the people thereby
increasing opportunity again for increased tax revenues and even slightly more
money for ‘stealing’ and diversion later, if that happens to be their calling. Basically,
the more infrastructure, the more opportunities the people can create, the
better prosperous they become and the more tax revenues government is able to accrue
and make available to do MORE.
Having lived a greater part of my life in Warri, Delta
state, I would use the government of James Ibori as an example because I find a
similarity of ideas. Now, as governor of oil-rich Delta state, James Ibori,
created so much opportunities for the state to develop with roads, schools and
other projects. He empowered so many people, old and young with contracts and
jobs such that till today he is seen as god-sent. Albeit, we all didn’t know
that he was stealing so much too because we were blinded by the opportunities
he was creating until he was arrested tried and convicted.
The same cannot be said of the government of his cousin that
came after him. That government held on to most of the money claiming to be
paying off debts incurred by Ibori, while creating opportunities for only very
few people. If Ibori didn’t default on the loans he may have taken to execute
those projects why not continue on that path and then the sustained and
increased prosperity of the populace would generate more tax revenues to meet
up with loan and interest repayments over time.
Back to the football match at the Liberation Stadium which brought
about all this thinking; the stadium wasn’t looking it’s best but any effort to
refurbish it by government would probably be priced at five times the ‘real’
cost, which will set the stage for waste and continued corruption down the
chain to even the football kits that have to be replaced.
In conclusion, we see that the Nigerian politician is so
selfish and greedy not realizing that his ability to delay gratification while
actually doing the right things and putting the appropriate infrastructure in
place would result to increased prosperity for ALL thereby making more money
and power available to him to continue to dispense with as he/she pleases.
This is the school of thought we need to convince our
politicians to move to, that a more prosperous population would ultimately
translate to a wealthier and more powerful him. We need to teach our politicians and in fact teach ALL NIGERIANS that when we create opportunities for others to be prosperous we are actually creating opportunities for ourselves to become wealthier, happier and at peace with our environment.
I will continue to dream of a Nigeria where prosperity for
ALL is possible because it truly is.
God Bless Nigeria....
