Had Nigeria won the 2014 Commonwealth Games bid there were no plans to celebrate its victory, according to Abuja-based BBC reporter Alex Last.
The majority of people in Abuja didn’t know that Friday was the day the Commonwealth Games Federation elected the host city for the 2014 games. There was little in the way of a domestic publicity campaign, reports the BBC, and no special events or parties had even been planned in case Abuja won.
But The Herald reports a planned victory party went ahead with drummers and dancers, despite Abuja’s defeat.
Still those who were aware of the bid and wanted Abuja to win were disappointed.
Nigeria’s bid was primarily based on the fact that the games have never been hosted by an African nation. Some of its modern sporting facilities are in need of upgrading and the government said it would put up the money required. It was hoped the games would create investment in jobs.
But some critics reportedly said the money would be better spent on tackling Nigeria’s basic problems. Others were worried that the games would simply become another source for corruption, reports the BBC.
And as reporter Alex Last put it, the disappointment, lack of surprise and “a good deal of indifference”, might have been very different if Nigeria had been competing to host an international football tournament.
Nigeria’s Vice President Goodluck Jonathon, described as being stoical in defeat, said, “it’s not the end of the world and interest in the Commonwealth and the efforts in sports will continue”.
And the president of Nigeria’s National Olympic Committee, Habu Gumel, who had made part of the presentation, was openly upbeat. “We lost, and congratulate Glasgow,” he told The Herald. “Yes, we are very disappointed, but this does not end. We shall bid again.”
