FIFA World Cup 2026, it’s glory days for global television, by Okoh Aihe

Nigeria is not at the FIFA World Cup 2026 holding in Mexico, Canada and the United States. This is already well known because failure cannot easily be assuaged with momentary exhilaration or euphoric response to a mundial that has already earned the status of the biggest footballing event ever, 48 national teams playing in three countries.

But Nigerians are at the World Cup, playing for big and even small countries that have put their houses in order and can lay claim to a slice of global pride as nations that push their best forward instead of fetid ethnicisation of life. Nigerians are scoring goals for other nations while the few who understand the meaning of national pride at home are rueing a moment of greatness that should have been.

Marshall McLuhan couldn’t be more correct when, in 1964, he first sketched the concept of the global village in his essay, Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man, forecasting the period a combination of electronic technologies would homogenise the world and make them share actions and activities in real time. At the time, there was no Internet. Television was going through evolutionary stages. And there were no mobile phones in the hands of even the underaged to stoke the firestorm of social media and make the elderly green-eyed.  

Television has come a long way, thus giving a fertile crystallisation of McLuhan’s futuristic theorisation. So, when the World Cup started last Thursday at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico, an estimated 1.2 billion people were watching across the world to see Mexico spank the arrogant and belligerent South Africans who went  to play Rugby instead of Football. They collected two goals and two Red Cards in the opening game! In the US alone, 12.1 million viewers watched across the various platforms, thus setting the record as the most watched World Cup opening game. The global village is truly here. But Nigeria is not at the World Cup and it seems the nation has lost the shame of not featuring in high profile events like this, the place where giants raise their voices to claim their dominance of the world.

But Nigerians are at the World Cup. And Naija no dey carry last! Burna Boy gave us something to celebrate when he performed the World Cup theme song, Dai Dai, with veteran World Cup performing artist, Shakira. Their performance – a blend of Colombian gyration and Nigeria’s Afrobeat energetic dance, featured a commanding splash of dexterous and intricate cross-cultural choreography which will make the elderly begin to think of their younger days and resisting the old bones challenge of feeling hip again. Shakira’s hip waves and pelvis motions are legendary and so is Burna Boy’s imposing stage presence and charisma.  

When they sang, You knew from the day you were born/That here in this place you belong/You been this brave all along/What broke you once made you strong.

Those who govern football in Nigeria ensure that we do not enjoy the expression of the above lyrics. So many of our young people are broken and the return path to being strong again is made even more difficult.

Nigeria is not at the World Cup. Our players are not there, not out of their negligence but attributable to the failings of our soccer managers whose personal fortunes and returns are enhanced no matter the situation while the people bury their heads in shame as scorns are thrown at us from various corners of the world. And they know that nothing will happen because we normalise failure as routine and proceed to the next task that will not be delivered.

Broadcasting doesn’t give a hiding because the global village harbours no secrets. The world knows that Nigeria is not at the World Cup; not in Mexico, not in Canada, and not in America because they cannot see Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman and the rest of our global stars. And they longed to see them. They longed to see Nigeria.

Rema added some more layers to our national pride when he headlined the opening ceremony in Los Angeles alongside Lisa and Annita, to cement his place in the galaxy as a global prodigy. The song, Goals, is more of an open metaphor emblematic of how excited and optimistic the younger generation feels about the world irrespective of global challenges. That performance at the SoFi stadium was watched by a record 24.9 US viewers!

Really Nigerians are at the World Cup. Again, the lyrics betray us. When Rema sang, From Nigeria to Monaco/Anywhere the mission dey tell me I/go show, I go show/Original baller, no dagbo/Take a trip into my mind, you go/see I’m all about the ego/Run,run, run, run, run, run, run/‘Cause I’m coming like the Titan/Everybody, they know I’m the one champion.

Imagine such swankiness and elevated bravura! But our players cannot feel the same at the moment because they are not in that pantheon of global football champions. Nigeria is not there. And the world watches on global television as foretold by Marshall McLuhan.

But here are my two moments of great torment. Each time the flags of participating nations were introduced I felt diminished. Very small nations like Curaçao and Cape Verde with populations of 158,000 and 529,000, respectively, are at the World Cup; countries with less population than Festac in Lagos and Gwarinpa in Abuja.

After an earlier piece, my friend had argued with me very passionately that this is not about population but about countries with laser strategic focus about their future as nations ready to compete in a world where there is hardly any provision for the weak, and even more so for those who squander their agglomerated capital – human and natural resources.

But it was pain mixed with strong emotions when the Norwegian child prodigy, Tius Luka, sang the opening and closing lines of Katy Perry’s Wonder at the Los Angeles ceremony with kindergarten innocence, a metaphoric sandbagging of the ugly situation facing us in Nigeria – Oh, can somebody promise me/Our innocence doesn’t get lost/One day when we’re older, will we still look up and wonder?

Luka sang so innocently. He is ten years old. Just the age of hundreds of our children kidnapped by bandits and herdsmen in Ibadan, Oyo State, and some other states of the north. Their innocence is lost already and our prayer is that they be given the opportunity to get older. Like other children of the world and, one day, mount the global stage like Burna Boy and Rema.

The global TV is unforgiving. Nigeria is not at the World Cup but are we ever going to fight the elements responsible for our serial failure as a country? The world is waiting for Nigeria to take her place. Meanwhile, enjoy the World Cup.

For Uncle Sam Amuka and Prof Femi Osofisan

Two great men doing great work for our nation. Born a few days apart and a decade of seniority, both are homogenised by their acts of kindness and detailed attention to the plight of others. It was Osofisan’s birthday yesterday, June 16. He is 80. Uncle Sam’s happened a few days earlier, June 13. He is 91.

Osofisan was my teacher at the University of Benin, like so many others, including Prof Muyiwa Awodiya, who is also now retired. They taught us about the multi-functionality of a University Degree that could open you up to the pool of opportunities available globally.

Osofisan went beyond teaching. He shepherded some of us virtually through life and provided us with his broad and generous shoulders to stand upon. With Osofisan, there was no tribe, no ethnicity, just love for humanity, and a wish to see everybody ascend in life, just like he survived when he lost his father very early in life.

I couldn’t be at Ibadan yesterday to join the rest of an appreciative community of friends that you have influenced and blessed but writing this from somewhere, doing the work that you have trained and empowered us to do.

As the publisher of Vanguard, Uncle Sam has provided a home, a training ground and a passage for so many people in life. With all his connections and an ascending age, Uncle Sam is kind and simple-minded, and receives everybody with a reaasuring smile. I don’t know how somebody can attain that status in life and still remains humble, Uncle Sam handles it with so much ease and comfort.

To these two great men, I extend my love and I have the permission of my entire family to thank you for what knowing you has done to our lives. Congratulations and may your days ahead be most blessed of God.

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