{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mathematical 7","provider_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7","title":"Ogun State, politics and the 2026 World Cup! - Mathematical 7","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"TdQgKS4vyQ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/ogun-state-politics-and-the-2016-world-cup\/\">Ogun State, politics and the 2026 World Cup!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/ogun-state-politics-and-the-2016-world-cup\/embed\/#?secret=TdQgKS4vyQ\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Ogun State, politics and the 2026 World Cup!&#8221; &#8212; Mathematical 7\" data-secret=\"TdQgKS4vyQ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Ogun-State.jpg","thumbnail_width":275,"thumbnail_height":183,"description":"These are politically crazy times in Nigeria.Voluntarily, or not, everyone is involved in the unfolding drama.I am thinking. How can I use the World Cup as a metaphor, a tool to project a vision of change in Ogun State, where I come from, for example?Permit me to attempt a little academic exercise since I claim to look at everything in my world through the prism of sport.In the summer (or winter) of 2022, the football World Cup, the biggest and most lucrative organized event in the world, will take place in the State of Qatar, a small peninsula in Western Asia.Qatar, in a stunning and uncommon victory, won the rights to host the event some three years ago, the first country in the Middle East to do so in the 88-year history of the World Cup.So, like all the countries before it that have hosted the glamorous event, this tiny State was given 7 years to perform the daunting task of re-engineering a whole country and fulfil additional secondary national agenda beyond the primary objective of the football that will be played.These past 3 years the whole of tiny Qatar has become a massive construction site undergoing, probably, the fastest and most ambitious national development project in the Middle East.Qatar has assembled some of the best brains, consultants, engineers, technicians, labourers and all manner of skilled and unskilled workers from various parts of the world in virtually all fields to undertake this mammoth project that must be delivered in the next 4 years, come rain or shine!So, in 2022, when the 800,000 population of tiny Qatar is joined by an equal number, or more, of visitors attending the event, the cumulative global audience, all riveted to television and social media platforms for an entire month, watching as Qatar achieves its secondary objective of marketing, promoting, or simply showcasing the country and\/or its people to the rest of the world, will be between 6 and 7 billion people.What is certain is that through this event the country will make its current status as a major global tourist destination look like a child\u2019s play!Qatar recognizes the power of the football World Cup to make an impression in the world!That\u2019s where Ogun State comes into the picture and the World Cup of 2026 a metaphor. Ogun State will neither bid for nor host the 2026 World Cup, but it can do what Qatar has done using a similar model.Qatar is a rich State with a land area of 11,876 sq. km.Ogun State occupies a land area of some 18,675 sq. km.Qatar is mostly desert, and its main resource is oil!Ogun State, with a population of over 4 million people, may not be quite as rich in actual financial terms as Qatar, but combined with its intellectual and human capital, its better environment, its untapped varied mineral resources, its rich traditions in culture and rich history, without doubt, what Qatar has embarked upon Ogun State can surpass, but with a different agenda in mind!"}