As my people are quick to say, what is good is good. Yes, I
do agree; and might add that what is worth doing is worth doing well. So it was
that Ibomites – as the people of Akwa Ibom call themselves – and Nigerians
marveled at the state-of the-art stadium unveiled recently by the government of
Akwa Ibom state. The presence of the current Ghanaian and Ivorian presidents,
along with the ever-loved Jerry Rawlings, former Ghanaian president, in the
company of President Goodluck Jonathan, added pump to the ceremony. Indeed, it
was a stadium befitting of a state which has blazed the trail in development in
modern Nigerian governance.
Akwa Ibom state boasts a population of about 4 million
people scattered over 31 local governments, with an estimated 1.5m people
within the 14-59 labor force age bracket. It is an agrarian state, with few
solid minerals but plenty of the Black Gold off-shore; therefore, its federal
allocation – NGN260b in 2013, an average of NGN21.6b monthly (plus NGN1.13b IGR
-2012) – topping the list of the 36 states and the FCT. So, the state has
enough money to throw around. The state’s GDP is estimated at $13.7b (2013),
with a per capita income of $2,779 (2012); compared to Nigeria’s GDP of $522b
and per capita of $2,800 (2012), Akwa Ibom is a state from which much is
expected. It is heartening to say that the governments have not entirely
disappointed.
Having said that, Akwa Ibom is also a state infected with
the same national plague that bedevils the Nigerian nation; misplacement of
priorities, high unemployment, and lack of rural roads, electricity, and
adequate rural health clinics are still problems in the state. Granted, the
government has made noticeable strides in some of these areas; however, for a
state that’s internally-generated revenue (IGR) depends on food crops, or
agriculture, high priority should be place on not only modernization of
agriculture but, also, provision of access for movement of the produce. While
the flash and dash of the state is mostly evidence in the major cities of Uyo,
Ikot Ekpene, etc. places like Nkana, Obotme and the rest of the rural
communities seem to have been forgotten. The roads are hardly passable, the
lights are more of a twinkle, primary education facilities are far and few
between communities and the residents in these communities are at a loss where
they belong, Abia or Akwa Ibom. So, having all these priority needs, was
spending $96m on a stadium a wise decision? My guess is that it depends on what
the state government considers important.
The sum of $96m is equivalent to about NGN16.3b, which is a
lot of money to spend on a stadium with very little benefit to the majority of
the state’s population. With this amount, the state can provide any of the
following: 4 23-km roads which will greatly benefit rural farmers and dwellers;
31 rural clinics to provide easy access to primary healthcare where it is
needed most; 20 primary schools (by Nigerian standard) to decongest existing
schools; 2 four-year universities, or 4 two-year polytechnics to increase
admission space for intending students; one fully-operation hospital in each of
the three senatorial zones for secondary and tertiary healthcare services; 16
vocational training centers for training of tomorrow’s engineers in various
fields; 31 rural recreational facilities to provide unemployed and unemployable
youths an outlet to relax and let off
frustration; or 6 strategically located food processing plants (2 in each
senatorial zone) to harvest and process the state’s agricultural resources for both
consumption and export as a revenue earner and source of employment. There are
many more uses for NGN16.3b; however, since it chose, instead, to build a
30,070-seat stadium, any of the above-listed is considered an opportunity cost
of building the stadium. Now, what does Ibomites stand to benefit from this 30,000-seat
stadium?
Of course, as with everything Nigerian, the stadium is cited
at Uyo, the state capital, meaning that residents outside the state capital
wanting to participate in any function going on in the stadium will have to
fund their way to the place. Since it is not the official home of Akwa United
FC, the Nigerian premier soccer team based in Akwa Ibom, the prospects of a
steady stream of revenue to the state, during Premier League season, is very
dim. Expectedly, the team will on occasions, play important matches in the
stadium; thereby, attracting paying fans. Unfortunately, since Nigerians prefer
to patronize European soccer teams – for reasons yet to be discerned – the
stadium will never be of full capacity for any of the Akwa United FC games.
Now, when one factor’s in the cost of admission to these marches, say
NGN1000-1500, affordability becomes an issue; thereby reducing access to only
those who could afford to easily spend such amount. It is estimated that on any
given Akwa United FC match, the stadium will be a half capacity – 15,000. For
matches involving the Super Eagles, Falcons and/or any of the junior national
teams, ticket prices will likely double that of the local team, further
restricting access for many soccer fans and reducing government projected
revenue from these matches.
Another use for the stadium are likely to be concerts by
popular national and international artists whose tickets run into the north side
of NGN5, 000 per show – affordable only to the very rich; athletic events like
track and field which holds twice or three times in a school year and attract
very little in terms of revenue; and Holy Ghost nights, and sundry weekend
activities, by evangelical churches who attract huge crowd to these events and
are able to rent the stadium. Unfortunately, with these kinds of clientele, the
stadium will experience exponential deterioration due to overuse of its
facilities. Businesses are less likely to avail themselves of the stadium for
their conferences and AGMs, because the state already has a conference center
and a 3-star hotel, and these business events do not attract huge crowds. Of
course, state-sponsored events are free at the stadium, and do not generate
revenue. Basically, the recovery period for the expended NGN16.3b would take up
to 30 years – well beyond the contractual maintenance period entered into with
Julius Berger. If one should go by experience, especially in Nigeria, the
stadium would be in the same state as the Abuja stadium today in the next 10 to
15 years.
Like I said at the start of this write-up; what is good is
good, and worth doing well. Nigerians do appreciate beautiful things, and will
like to be associated with such beauties. Unfortunately, such appreciation is
very flighty and short-lived. We have had such breathe-takers as the National
Theater, Iganmu, the National stadium, Surulere and, in recent times, Tinapa,
the Abuja stadium, Nnamdi Azikiwe airport, and many other magnificent national
and state landmarks, only to watch them deteriorate with such speed, and within
such a short period of time, that one wonders if Nigeria is some deserted island
in the middle of nowhere.
This stadium, as beautiful as it may look today, as admired
as it may be by not just the Ibomites, but the nation as a whole, and as
jealous as other states may be of Akwa Ibom today, this is not a gift that
keeps on giving to the people of the state. A progressive government does not
invest NGN16.3 on one structure – not infrastructure – when citizens of
employable age and education are jobless, and the rural farmers cannot bring
their harvest to the market. It will not spend that amount of money on a
stadium when infant and adult mortality rate remains high, and access to
primary education and healthcare for the poor is still a problem. A progressive
government would have invested that amount in job-creating ventures, which will
generate more tax revenues that would be used, in due course, to build such a
stadium.
For now, the state has made its choice and the people are
happy. For now…..
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