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What will tourists expect at the FIFA U-17 in Nigeria?

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The FIFA cadet bi annual championship will be holding in Nigeria from late October to mid November 2009 in Nigeria. Most venues are ready and every citizen is expecting the best of football from the future stars who will display their skills for the best clubs in the world. A host of players like Lionel Messi, Mikel Obi and legends like Luis Figo and others have been products of previous championships.

Nigeria is located on the West African coast, bordered by Niger and Chad in the North, Benin in the west and Cameroun in the east. The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea borders it in the south. It has a population of 160 million people and more than five hundred dialects from more than three hundred tribes. The major languages are Hausa in the North, Yoruba in the west and Igbos in the east. It has thirty seven states including the Federal capital Territory, Abuja. IT runs a federal structure with each state having its executive and legislature.

Nigeria got its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and became a republic in 1963. Nigeria has a unique political structure with each state having three representative at the federal legislature. Nigeria reverted back to democratic rule in 1999 after the military led by General Abdul salam Abubaker handed over to civilian president Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then there has been sharp economic policies that have impacted seriously on the landscape. Economic reform programmes, such as the banking reforms that recapitalised banks , pension reforms that transferred pension management from public to the private sector, monetisation that reduced the perks of all cadres of civil servants from goverment assets to money, privatisation of non performing public assets and implementation of public private partnership programmes.

Our economy is a mono cultural, heavily dependent on oil revenue. However, recent policies of the government now favour agricultural and agro allied sector of the economy.

Tourism in Nigeria is untapped and the best opportunities are when the country is hosting an event of this magnitude. I live in the Northern city of Kaduna which hosted one of the semi finals of the FIFA U-20 in 1999 and i could tell you about tourism in this state and what you get to see if you are here for the championship.

Kaduna once served as the capital of Nigeria in the early days of amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate that became Nigeria under Lord Frederick Lugard in 1908 and 1910 and recently celebrated its centenary. Its name was derived from the crocodiles inhabiting the River Kaduna, a tributary of the River Niger. It is situated in the north central geography of Nigeria. It is a city that has a metropolitan nature as all tribes in the Country converge here to do business and live in harmony with each other.It is a liberal environment.

Tourism in Kaduna can be fun. It is the home to the oldest civilisation on the African Continent, Nok People. The Nok People are located in the southern part of the State, less than two and half hours drive from the capital. The relics of that civilisation dating bach to are still preserved 1000 BC to 200 AD by the proud Nok people. This is a tourists delight as this is the only place where the cultural relics are still intact from their periods. These works are preserved in their caves and the palace of the Chief.

Another tourists delight is the ancient city of Zaria. This city was founded sometime in 1200s and has continued to be an important city because it is the capital of the Zazzau Emirate and an important trading point in the former Songhai Empire. Islam is the dominant religion and christainity still exist side by side as most colonial settlers settled in Zaria then. The best periods to visit Zaria is during the Muslim Eid festivals, during which the durbars are held to pay homage to the Emir of Zaria each year. It is also home to famous Queen Amina of Zaria, the only woman Emir in the sixteenth Century.

Another tourist destination is the Lugard Hall which houses the state legislature. It was built as the administrative office of Lord Frederick Lugard from where he ruled the entire Country from. It still retains the early architecture of the colonial masters without any aditions. It is located in the City centre. Close to it is the Murtala Mohammed Square which used to be the training base of the West African Frontier Force in the first and second world wars. It hosts national holiday parades and recently co hosted tha National sports festival along with three other venues.

Other toruists destinations include the Arewa House, former home to late Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, where he was murdered in the 1966 coup led by major Chukwuma Nzeogwu. This and other actions led to the Nigerian Civil war. The home is still preserved in its original form save for some little additions of three multi purpose halls and an extension to the mosque where he prayed.

The stadium in which most of the matches will be played is and the road leading there is named after the late premier. The venue can hold a sizeable crowd of 40,000 people on match days. This include sitting and standing capacity. The normal capacity is 35,000 people. It consists of the grand stand, a covered terrace which can seat 2,500 people including VIPS.It recently hosted an African Champions League match between Kano Pillars and Al Ahly nationale of Egypt.

The city centre boasts of more than a hundred hotels, a good airport and a beautiful road network that is second to none and facilities such as water and electricity. Most hotels have a stand by generating set in case of power outages which occur frequently. Hotels room prices range from a meagre $40 to $250 per night depending on the tourists preference.

The only major nite club is located not far from the old premiers house and it plays host to major shows featuring Nigerian international music artistes. Nightlife in the city is safe as a combined team of security agents comb the town from 11.00 pm each night. They conduct search where necessary and have much respect for those visiting our country from abroad.

There are a lot of foreigners working here and some were born here and some have Nigerianised long ago.

Reply me and tell me some other things you expect from this venue.