December 16, (THEWILL) – Babatunde Fashola, the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, has challenged Nigeria to submit a bid for the World Cup, and if at all feasible, try to win the hosting rights.
The Minister was speaking on the topic, “An Integrated West African Transport and Infrastructure History, Potential and Feasibility” during a segment of “The Conversation Series 3 by Segun Odegbami.”
As a former Governor of Lagos State, Fashola revealed during the event at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, that the State benefited much from hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2010 and the National Sports Festival in 2012.
He insisted that London was enhanced with the hosting of the 2012 London Olympics in the same way that China opened herself to the world after constructing infrastructure by putting in a bid for and hosting the Olympics in 2008. Fashola emphasised that South Africa’s rail, communications, and other infrastructure benefited from hosting the 2010 World Cup, noting that he was there when Mumbai was getting ready to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Fashola said: “A bid to host the world cup by Nigeria alone or along with other West African nations must be led by Nigeria. The challenges of launching a successful bid are enormous enough but they are nothing compared to the actual hosting.”
