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The average sub-Saharan Black African knows more about Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, Ajax, Barcelona, and some other European Football Club than his own country or even their own locality. We can analyse European football but can’t dissect our local issues.
Even worse, we will not invest in our nation’s stock exchange. But open a sports betting shop focused on European football, and the average Black African will die there and still lose money.
Do you know how much money flows out of Africa to Europe because of football? Annually, Africa spends more money on our craze for European leagues than we collectively spend on early childhood education.
One of my suggestions to President Tinubu is that he should create a mental shift in Nigerians by watching an Enyimba game in Enyimba Jersey. Then, the next month, he does the same for Kano Pillars. Then, it moves on to Stationery Stores F.C. And so on.
It will ignite in Nigerians first an interest, then a love, and finally a commitment to our own local league. Naturally, when Nigerians see their leaders in front, they will follow.
I do not know about you, but I remember a Nigeria where stadiums were full during local football matches in the early eighties to the nineties.
The President’s mentor, Chief MKO Abiola, was the pillar of sports in Africa. During his active lifetime, Nigerians were more focused on our local league. What killed our league? It was the arrest, detention, and death of Chief Abiola, its main sponsor.
Chief Abiola’s death set off a chain reaction of events that, amongst other things, is why Nigerians are engaging in second slavery by worshipping and financing the English Premier League.
We can end that capital flight and keep more than £5 billion in Nigeria annually by banning sports betting on foreign football teams and introducing an executive order shutting out foreign sports betting apps that make money in Nigeria and ferrying them out of Nigeria.
Those apps are like Binance, which, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, funnelled up to $20 billion out of Nigeria annually before the National Security Adviser saved Nigeria.
We must also require sports betting apps and shops owned by locals to devote at least 35% of their profits to developing our local league so that the Nigeria Premier Football League becomes one of the best in the world and football lovers from other countries start pouring into Nigeria the way Nigerians are currently pouring into Europe.
When that happens, Nigeria will make close to the $13 billion England makes annually from selling the broadcasting rights of the English Premier League.
It is achievable. Chief Abiola started it, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu can finish it.Tap Here for the Full Story
Source: Reno Omokri
