$5 Million Football Game In Abuja

_{I don't know where to post this, politics,business,travel or crime even}

The Nigerian government is financing this event alongside, Eddie Robinson Foundation, an Atlanta-US based foundation which is committed to the promotion of American Football.

American Football is different from what other parts of the world regard as football. The Americans only regard what Nigeria and the rest of the world call football, soccer.

Although the football event was billed to take place on December 16, a last minute realization that the party conventions would be holding about the same time making hotel bookings an Herculean task has forced a postponement, according to Michael Robinson Watkins, the Chief Executive Officer of the Eddie Robinson Foundation, the not-for-profit US organisation the federal government is partnering with for the American Football event.

Watkins said the event is a chance to introduce American Football to Nigeria in addition to soccer playing. Although there would be one game, he said there would be practice opportunities to train Nigerians in the game of American Football, which is different from what Nigerians know as football. He said the event was important to both Nigerians and people of color because it brings the people together-both Nigerians and Black Americans.

But a Nigerian US based lawyer Henry Adeleye,said "the question is, how well have you managed the globally accepted football that Nigerians have been playing for decades to warrant importing the American brand of  football played  which is only played by the United States and nobody else? Did the Minister and people working with him do a study of the game and its suitability to the Nigerian system? I think it's high time someone stopped turning individual brain-waves into government and national policies."

Information Minister Frank Nweke Jnr said recently in the US that his ministry and the Federal Sports Ministry are collaborating on the project with the US foundation. Nweke, even though noted that the project was more of a Sports Ministry event, added that his ministry wanted to use the opportunity of the event to showcase the finer attributes of the country as part of the recently launched Heart of Africa project-aimed as disabusing the negative perceptions about Nigeria abroad.

According to him, the Information Ministry would brand the event, including the Abuja Stadium and other places where the American teams and their supporters may also visit. Although there would be one game, Nweke suggested that other places would be branded by the Information Ministry in regard to the American Football event.

He disclosed that the project would be jointly financed by the federal government and the Eddie Robinson Foundation. He did not volunteer information about the total cost, but the US based foundation CEO, Watkins, confirmed that the entire budget for the one day event was $5m. Watkins also confirmed that the event would be financed by both the Nigerian government and the Eddie Robinson Foundation. However he also refused to comment on how much each side would bring to the table to make up the $5m figure.

Knowledgeable sources said the Nigerian government was carrying most of the financial burden because the idea was introduced by Nigeria's Ambassador to the US Professor George Obiozor to the Americans. Indeed Obiozor confirmed that he saw the idea as a wonderful one and as a means of "enhancing relations between the two countries and between Nigerians and African-Americans."

When asked about the budget of the event and how much would be Nigeria's own contribution, Obiozor said once he linked up both the Eddie Robinson Foundation and the Ministry of Sports, he knew nothing else about the details. Indeed, the postponement of the event was even news to him.

Even though Watkins did not detail how much Nigeria or the Eddie Robinson Foundation would spend, he did say the responsibility of the Foundation was to provide the American football players, referees, and supporters. He added that a reputable  American High School Band would be playing at the event. This same band played in a US movie Dreamline.

Asked if he felt the $5m dollars was not on the high side considering that Nigeria is a developing country, Watkins said "Nigeria is the strongest country in Africa, and one of the largest producer of oil in the world, I don't see Nigeria as a developing or even 3rd world country."
He said he had visited Nigeria several times and conceded that there are parts of the country that needs development, yet he submitted that he has also seen places in Lagos and Abuja that are "above and beyond developed nations." [we have 36 states!]

On the actual numbers of Americans coming Watkins said it is about 750, but Nweke had said the number might be up to 1000. The programme is being promoted on the foundation;s website as the First Annual Eddie Robinson Motherland Classic in Nigeria.
Another Nigerian based abroad, Emma Ogebe also noted that "as $5 million is being spent to bring 1000 Americans, within the next 10 days about 4000 Nigerians abroad will spend $5 million daily flying home for Christmas. Nigerian government has never a day put down $5 million and said to us in Diaspora bring an investor or a project home. We do it on our own yet they decided to do it for American football."
 
He said "I am happy it has been postponed because the 1000 Americans added pressure on airplane seats in this high peak travel season so Nigerians who are going home on economy ticket now pay up to $3000. Besides you don't want foreigners around during a major political period for security reasons. Hopefully they will re-evaluate their priorities about this event because even US female soccer matches in Nigeria is better than the current planVillagesquare

Na wa o, just for one day