Common-Sense Ideology: Fans, Colonial Mentality and Nigeria Football in the 21st Century

 

Written by Benson Chukwueke, a Sport Marketing and Management Professional. President and CEO of FantaXtik. A great mind when it comes to football ideologies and in depth knowledge implementations, to deliver satisfactory football utility on a global scale.

This article draws on 525,000 responses from football (soccer) fans in Nigeria to an anonymous online survey posted from June to November 2022 examining the extent of interest in the consumption of Nigeria football. 

The overall findings are that 99 out of every 100 fans in Nigeria prefer to patronize the top five European leagues than any level of local football. This rise in reports of a kind of blacklist of Nigeria football can be linked to massive corruption in the system: boardroom manipulations, match fixing, referee bribery, hooliganism, poor playing standards and players desire to migrate abroad, especially to Europe.

Statistics gathered by Fantaxtik Sport Marketing and Management ltd showed reports of hooliganism in Nigeria football rose by 41% - from 84 to 125 -  2021/22 season.

"We're seeing a lot of reports of away teams being attacked and referees maimed or constant harassment at most venues of both Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and Nigeria national league (NNL) which we haven't seen for a while, which seems to be  a relapse of the "Home Win Syndrome."

Despite the creation of League Management Company (LMC) to ensure better organisation, to enforce prosecution of clubs: banishment and payment of fines has not reduced the self destruction of the local leagues by club owners and their employed thugs. 

Fans overt disassociation and a kind of media blacklist of local football exists a 'neo-colonial mentality' in the massive consumption of English Premier League in Nigeria.

Neocolonialism can be described as the subtle propagation of socio-economic and political activity by former colonial rulers aimed at reinforcing capitalism, neo-liberal globalization, and cultural subjugation of their former colonies. 

The common sense ideology points to how Nigerians have enslaved themselves to their former British colonial masters by their self submission to such cultural subjugation in football consumption. Self destruction of local leagues and the massive promotion of English Premier League and other European leagues in Nigeria.

Common Sense Ideology

The common sense ideology being inspired by Senator Ben Murray-Bruce's book "Common Sense Revolution." points to the fact that everyone have such knowledge unspoken and unwritten sound judgement that we take for granted. We acquire it imperceptibly from the day we are born. For example, it is common sense that when you purchase and consume foreign products, you are enriching the foreign country that produce that product and impoverishing your own country by such consumption pattern.  Forget about the story of globalization.

The love and consumption rate of football in Nigeria can make the industry a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country's economy, but the capital flight is enormous:

1. Through the subscriptions of pay TV presently dominated by Multi choice, a South African company, which broadcast Premier League to Nigerian households and viewing centers. While our stadiums do no make money and deteriorate due to fans lack of attendance to league matches.

2. Through the fans massive purchase of European clubs replica jerseys and memorabilia manufactured in China and distributed by Adidas, a German company and Nike, an American company or even by the foreign clubs themselves. Our local sportswear manufacturing companies such as Owu, Haggai, Select are struggling to survive due to lack of local patronage.

3. Through Sponsorships and endorsements of these foreign clubs and leagues by companies operating in Nigeria. While leagues and clubs do have any form of corporate sponsorship.

4 Through massive betting habits on foreign Sport Betting platforms like Betway, Bet365, 1Xbet... intensive competition with locally own Bet9ja, Kingsbet etc.

Most fans say they will never patronize Nigerian leagues because they are largely substandard and does not deliver such level of entertainment required at this 21st century. But that's the point, the more fans in Nigeria patronize Premier League, English football industry gets better and richer, while the Nigerian football get worst and poorer.

Conclusion

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), League administrators and club owners must protect their sport property and go the extra mile to ensure its economic growth. They must always look at the bigger picture than their parochial interest of winning at all cost, while destroying the leagues.

There should be a massive re-orientation drive and media pally to  promote our local football contents from grassroots to elite leagues, and to ensure fans begin to look inwards and desire to patronize them and to attract massive financial investment for local football. This is common Sense!!