Killing the Unborn Child

 By

Ezugwu Benson Whyte

ezugwu2008@yahoo.com

 

 

 

ʽIn grip of political psychosis, reason and common sense give way to instinct, passion and base emotion'', ---Karl Marx

 

 

 

As at the time of writing this piece, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) were still meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, its corporate headquarters, deliberating on the surprise withdrawal of Nigeria from hosting the 2009 world U-17 football championship.

 

The terrible news of the country's withdrawal hit the sports community like a thunder storm. As usual it all started as rumour mill until the media confirmed the obvious. Media reports said that the president had frowned at the budgeted amount to be expended by the country in hosting the event. We are told that the country required about N37 billion to successfully host the world at the cadet level of the FIFA organized championship.

 

It would be recalled that the country hosted FIFA organized championship for the first time in 1999 at the U-20 level. That was during the dying days of the last military junta, General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd). The success of that event in Nigeria motivated the country to bid for the hosting of the Commonwealth games and the 2010 world cup, all of which later ended unsuccessfully.

 

My worries are not that the acclaimed giant of Africa has pulled out of the hosting right which, in the first place it won on a platter of gold owing to the brilliant performance of our cadet teams in the tournament in recent times. Rather, I am worried for the reasons given by the presidency. Media reports quoted the president as having asked of what Nigeria stands to gain for hosting the tournament with such a huge amount.  

 

The president might be right by asking such question, but is it his constitutional responsibility to allocate funds for such event? I think it is the responsibility of the National Assembly to approve such funds if they find it to be in the interest of the  electorate. And since  the Legislators  represent the people whatever they say is generally assumed to be the choice of the people.  We are aware that many state governments have pumped in money for the rehabilitation of the venues to be used  in their respective states.  States such as Enugu, Cross River, Delta, Lagos,  Kaduna,  Kano  and others have injected funds to rehabilitate the stadiums in their respective states so that they can meet the FIFA  requirements as venues for some of the matches of the tournament.

 

It is  difficult to say if the president actually consulted with these state governors before taking a position on the matter. If actually the entire government machinery have found the hosting as a burden to the country, there must be a consensus among the affected state governors and the president, more especially when the governors are seen to be representing the people of the states.  The issue would have been a tripartite system where both the national assembly, the affected state governments and the presidency put heads together and take a holistic decision based on the needs of the populace.  What of the minister for Sports or Chairman of the National Sports Commission, which input did he make in convincing the presidency on the desirability of Nigeria hosting the tournament?

 

And this brings us to the issue of putting square pegs in square holes. Since 1999, till date the ministry for sports have been occupied by people who ordinarily have nothing to do with sports. If the current minister for sports Abdulrahaman Gimba is versatile in sports administration he would have been able to convince the president on the importance and benefits of hosting such very important event.

 

It is very ridiculous for Yar'Adua to ask the economic value of hosting such tournament by a country adjudged as the giant of Africa. And even more ridiculous for him to have given finance as an excuse for not hosting the tournament. This is a country that is ranked as the sixth largest oil producing country in the world. This is a country that, the world over, is regarded as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. This is a country that her citizens own the best houses in London, America and other cities in Europe and Asia. This is a country where a head of state once boasted that money was not the problem but how to spend it. This is a country where government office is regarded as a gold digging venture where one can convert billions of naira meant for the development of the local governments and still pose as a senator and nothing happens. Yet it can not spend a paltry N37 billion to make its citizens happy. What a country!

 

Now, what has the government that is claiming to be thrifty done to the electorate since it was sworn-in on May 29th 2007. In less than one year from now, the present government will begin campaign for a second tenure inspite of the fact that nothing visible has been achieved by the administration since its inception. Across the states of the federation, federal roads are in a state of disrepair, no electricity, no portable water, no employment; virtually everything are at a standstill.  Yet sports which is the only instrument that glues our fragile nation together is regarded as luxury.  Something must be wrong somewhere.

 

I  agreed, as a friend posited in this regard, that the president can not be everywhere or know everything at the same time, but then since he takes the responsibility for failure of his administration, Yar'Adua should consult marabouts if need be before selecting ministers during his cabinet shakeup soon. People should be appointed on the basis of merit and not necessarily on party inclinations. Technocrats should be appointed rather than politicians if we are to move forward. For a lame lawyer who never participated in sports,  either in school or outside to man such people oriented ministry  such as sports is an aberration.

 

From all indications the man incharge of ministry for sports has failed woefully. He has demonstrated his incompetence for the job for which he was appointed and should not be left in that office any longer.  It is also a pity that a president of the most populous black nation on earth does not comprehend the importance of sports in the economic and social life of a nation.

 

Like as I have said here time without numbers, the truth remains that the president has continued to prove some of us right that he had no prior  personal agenda of governing this great country. If youth empowerment was part of his 7-point agenda then he should have known  that this can't be achieved without sports. And so the failure of his government to host the world U-17 football championship, amounts to nothing but  aborting the unborn child.

 

 

 

Ezugwu  Benson Whyte is an Abuja based  current affairs analyst,