Obinna Aligwekwe wrote: The New Akwa-Ibom Stadium: A Worthwhile Venture or Needless Ego Trip? First off, let me admit that it will be worthy of note that the current Governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Goodwill Akpabio will be leaving his state more beautiful than he met it in 2007. He embarked on numerous utility and beautification projects that will leave many to argue he is not your average governor. True, I know Akwa-Ibom state has earned a lot since Oil broke through the $15 per barrel ceiling over a decade ago, and it will be difficult to place his absolute/actual performance in the face of all the national sleaze going on. It will be difficult to say how Mr. A managed $1,000 for instance when $500 gets stolen and he is able to invest the remaining $500 compared with Mr. B who had only $300 for starters. So, for all we know, Akpabios achievements may be an illusion of performance when relativity is taken into account, but no doubt, he has been able to put some of it into good use, and his sins may not be as obvious as those who despite their very low allocations used theirs for building Mosques and carrying out Mass weddings. As regards the stadium, I notice some singing his praises, while some question the rationale behind such venture. I will pitch tent with the latter, and while I will not deliberate Akpabios performance as a whole, will offer insight into how we are supposed to reason as a people and call those ruling us into account at every turn. 1..Yes, Nigeria is a sports loving nation, but we do not have the kind of sports industry that can CONSISTENTLY sustain investment in sports. No nation grappling with back breaking poverty can ever have a profitable sports industrial machine. Winning International trophies is different from having a home-grown, self-sustaining sports industry. Ask England, the nation with about the most publicised and most profitable league on the globe, but has not won a world cup since 1966, or any trophy of note in a long while. 2. Even in countries with super-leagues and sports systems, Public built and funded stadia are seen as a waste of funds. Remember the riots in Brazil prior to the last world cup? Brazil is a country far richer than Nigeria, with a higher GDP, higher Per Capita, and much larger economy (larger than the UK, and currently worlds number 7). Yet many Brazilians felt it was unwise expending such on stadia, despite the fact that the same facilities will be used in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. 3. Have we not learnt from the past? We spent over 60 billion naira building the stadium in Abuja for the COJA Games in 2003. The stadium became overgrown with weeds shortly after. Even today, NOBODY can really fathom what can be done to bring the stadium to profitability. I am not sure the stadium has made a tenth of what it was built with, over a decade later. So you see, unless there is a miraculous wand Akpabio is going to wave, that stadium is going to be more of a drain than otherwise, unless my Akwa- Ibom brothers tell me they are more than satisfied that the feeling of owning a world class stadium is much better than the opportunity cost that the money would have found use for. As per opportunity cost, while I am a Nigerian in diaspora and cannot start counting how much has been invested in Education, Roads, Health care and the like, I am sure there are many worth-while projects that 39 billion naira could have finished from scratch, within the incumbents tenure. 1. Unless you want to tell me every house-hold in Akwa-Ibom can boast of clean water, 39 billion can construct a full-fledged water treatment plant that can serve millions. 2. The last time I checked, power generation was on the concurrent list, which means state governments can actually build power stations. At the very least, Uyo can be pulled off the national grid and a 500MW station built to serve the state capital. 39 billion naira, or slightly more, can easily achieve this. 3. We complain we do not refine enough Crude for our local consumption. What stops the administration from partnering to build a refinery that will serve not only the local populace, but environs while raking in very large profits? I have not even mentioned Housing, Rural road network, Agriculture and many other areas. These projects will be self-sustaining, not only because they are sensible, but because they serve the very basis of the populace needs. It is for this same reason, with all its epileptic service, the telecoms industry still remains alive today. It serves a basic need. Electricity is a basic need. Water is a basic need. Fuel is a basic need. Any investment channelled to these areas will be self-maintaining, generate profit (especially with private-partnership), while easing the lives of the average citizen. A stadium? Apart from crusades that will be few and far between, occasional matches and a very high over-head maintenance ( a culture which we are yet to imbibe even in more crucial areas ), that stadium may face the same fate as the National Stadium in Surulere, the Teslim Balogun Stadium just opposite, The Abuja Stadium, and wait for it.......yes, the stadium in Athens, Greece which hosted the 2004 Olympics, currently over-grown with weeds. The argument is also not helped by the allegation that Akpabio is actually planning to name the stadium after himself. P:S- If it is actually true that a modern stadium, with all the amenities and the like was built with 39 billion naira, what the hell did they need 60 billion to build Abuja stadium in 2003, over 10 years ago?
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:41:43 +0000
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