he Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) was established to provide additional sources of revenue for the federal government. Specifically, to beyond just a large number of tourists, also attract investment into the country. Attending international expos and organising same are part of its mandate. One such opportunity presented itself at the last World Cup tournament held in Brazil this year. According to the official statement of the NTDC, the corporation had an agreement with a company, ZA Entertainment to, among other things, get sponsors for the Nigerian Football Fans Village in Brazil (NFFV Brazil 2014) and also to construct the NFFV in Sao Paulo, and maintain and supervise it for the duration of the tournament. This did not happen, because ZA Entertainment failed to meet its end of the bargain. The story from ZA Entertainment, however, is that the corporation, specifically the director general, Mrs Sally Mbanefo, allegedly intercepted funds raised by giving a different account number to the sponsors.
In Brazil, it was a show of shame and an unwholesome exhibition of a lack of commitment to project Nigeria. It was bad enough that the Super Eagles had a disastrous outing at the tournament, but the failure to have a NFFV like other countries was disheartening. On the heels of this embarrassment came another show of mediocrity and incompetence, to the chagrin of Nigerians and the rest of the world. The so-called Abuja Carnival; a grand failure if ever there was one.
The director general either does not understand her mandate or simply doesn’t care. Either way, it’s the Nigerian people that bear the fallout of these disasters. Assuming it’s true that ZA Entertainment failed to deliver as agreed, why did the corporation allow the firm to get away with it for as long as it did? Claiming that the DG and her team from the corporation did not realise that there was no NFFV constructed until they got to Brazil is a pathetic attempt to explain away very obvious incompetence. In our view, what the NTDC is admitting to is its lack of a monitoring and evaluation unit to ensure that all contracts are duly carried out to the latter, in accordance with legal agreements signed. This basic requirement could even have been taken care of by a committee, which would have ensured that all was going according to plan.
It is galling that the NTDC could issue such a tepid explanation to Nigerians. This, to us, is disrespect and impunity combined. It is taking Nigerians too much for granted. Mrs Sally Mbanefo needs to go to Calabar and ask how things are done. But first, we need explanations for both these cases.