Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) wednesday flagged off the mobilisation of support for the senior national football team ahead of the World Cup 2018 in Russia when it unveiled the ‘Raising a Three Million Culture-Friendly Supporters of Super Eagles’ Campaign.
The mobilisation of the three-million supporters is anchored under the hashtag #I Support Nigeria Super Eagles.
Director General of NCAC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, said the campaign was launched to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerians to believe in the national team.
Runsewe said the World Cup is a veritable opportunity to showcase and aggressively market Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and re-brand its national identity as a people.
The event featured the launching of the cultural materials to be used in supporting the Eagles as well as the theme music for Russia 2018.
Runsewe said the campaign will be driven through phone-in television question and answer programmes that will test the public awareness on football.
Prizes ranging from lapel pins, branded pens, mufflers and other promotional materials, will be awarded to those who get the answers correctly.
He said the NCAC is striving to create mass awareness among Nigerians both at home and in Diaspora on the importance of Russia 2018 to Nigeria.
He stressed that as part of the strategy towards boosting the Eagles and show casing Nigeria’s rich culture at the World Cup, NCAC will establish a Nigeria Cultural Village in Russia.
The centre will be the operational base of the members of Nigeria Football Supporters Club and other Nigerians and it will exhibit the best of Nigeria music, fashion, dance , fashion, gourmet, among others.
“The overall goal is to create mass awareness among Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora on the importance of the World Cup to Nigeria and the need for us to support the Super Eagles as a matter of patriotic obligation.
“Nobody will celebrate us for us; we have to do it ourselves. We must re- awaken the spirit of promoting and projecting our arts and cultural items in such a way that even domestic football will benefit. I have strong faith that we will raise even more than three million Nigerians, who are ready to project our culture and wear the green-white-green anytime Nigeria is playing. We will also distribute miniature Nigerian flags to all these supporters, †Runsewe said.
Super Eagles legend, Olusegun Odegbami (MON), who chaired yesterday’s launch, lauded Runsewe for incorporating culture and arts into football.
Odegbami said that just like education, religion, politics and the economy, culture is one of the most potent instruments to dominate the world.
“We need to start to have a full appreciation of who we are, and this concept has come at the right time with the FIFA World Cup – the biggest football showpiece in the universe – just by the corner.
“We need to take Nigeria’s arts and culture to the world the same way we are the second highest exporter of football talents to Europe after Brazil,†Odegbami, a member of the national team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980 said.
He proposed that in every hotel that the Super Eagles will stay during the FIFA World Cup in Russia, a stand should be allocated to conspicuously display Nigeria’s arts and cultural materials.
The launch was graced by the President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo, who was the occasion’s special guest of honour; Director of Communications, NFF, Ademola Olajire; and President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria, Alhaji Rabo Kareem.
