The Spain trip and why big business should take notice

Apart from what I consider the ridiculous involvement of Enyimba players in the All-Star team, I think the Spain trip is another monumental step in the right direction for the NPFL and, were we thinking men, now would be the time to start taking positions in the local football industry. It never ceases to frustrate me when the so-called elite Nigerians point their noses upward when one talks about how we need to support local sport.

They often hold the different sports leaders responsible for the failure of our sports, while they themselves offer no support as they are mostly ensconced in foreign sports. The NPFL organisers have proven that they are keen to make a success of the league and the Spain trip was a further way to globalise Nigerian enterprise. So there is work being done and we all must join in with our little bits to help make this a success for all of us. The joke actually is on the elite if they keep neglecting to support the local league as ultimately the financial consequences will be theirs to bear.

When Ford Motors opted to pay the groundbreaking five dollars per hour in America in the early 20th Century and everyone shouted that it was too much and unsustainable, the Ford management simply said something like “the more money people have, the more of our cars they’d buy”… that is what enlightened self-interest is about. It is a lesson our mostly blank captains of industry should learn in this country. The more successful the local game becomes the more jobs people will have and the more disposable income they will have to spend on businesses locally.

When our banks and other businesses sponsor foreign football and not the local league, they ultimately encourage a capital flight that enhances business for their foreign competitors while weakening their own business communities. If a look at the Nigerian economy of today cannot teach us any wisdom, then our journey has not even begun.