In May 2022, he received in his office the team from AFTV (formerly ArsenalFanTV), founded by former BBC reggae radio host, Robbie Lyle. About a year later (3 June 2023), he enthusiastically hosted Arsenal’s star boy, Bukayo Saka, who was on a visit to his home country.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is an Arsenal fan through and through. But he is also, through and through, a man who embraces all sides. He again demonstrated that by throwing the doors of the Lagos State House in Marina open to an Arsenal nemesis, Didier Drogba. How many times did the Chelsea legend deny the north London club victories and trophies between 2004 and 2012, and later in 2014-2015 when he was the main danger man for the Blues?
Drogba received the hospitality of the governor when he visited on Monday, in company of the organisers of E1 World Championship, which Lagos is hosting in September. Racing Team will face Team Drogba during the all-electric race boat contest. The Ivorien football star, who is the driving force for the E1 Sport in Africa, joined the visiting delegation on an exploratory tour of the state’s waterways infrastructure to ensure smooth hosting of the event.
E1 World Championship is an adventurous sport being introduced to Africa to create opportunities for talented young Africans, especially water sports enthusiasts. Some big sports personalties who have shown interest in the tournament include American NBA forward, James LeBron, and the legendary Spanish former tennis superstar, Rafael Nadal.
Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), a subsidiary of Afrexim Bank, who are the sponsors of E1 World Championship, are bringing the sport to Lagos because the 21st century city has indeed become the tourism and entertainment capital of Africa. If in doubt, check the figures. Activities around the last Detty December generated over $71.6 million in revenue across the tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors. And if you throw sports such as EI racing into that mix, you can only imagine the spiral effects on the economy of the people and government of Nigeria’s Centre of Excellence.
The E1 World Championship, coming in September, is another avenue to boost Lagos’ Gross Domestic Product, which have been manifesting through a mix of policies and programmes that include infrastructural development, provision of world-class transportation services, entertainment and tourism. The championship has confirmed that Lagos has become the hub of business, the haven of tourism, and the preferred destination for Nigerians, Africans and other world citizens inspired by return on investment.
On behalf of the championship’s organising team, Drogba explained that discussions to introduce the electric boat racing sport to Africa started in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, where his team met with the E1 Racing Team. For the ex-international footballer, his interest was fired by the sustainability part of the sport in Africa, a continent that was looking forward to driving positive changes through the effort.
‘In my position as a public figure in Africa, I think I can use my influence to make the sport impactful in the continent. Whatever it is for sustainability, and even for other sports in terms of inspiration, we will use our position to inspire the young athletes and even the elders to say it is possible.
‘Africa has got the best athletes in the world. I believe Lagos is ready to compete in the sport. We have come here to have the support of the government, because we need to start the game and we need to start well. We need to send a message to the world to say that the competition is here in Lagos and we can replicate it anywhere’, Drogba said.
The governor told the team, led by FEDA’s Chief Executive Officer, Marlene Ngoyi Mvidia, that the state government ‘encourages collaboration between sports and community engagement, as it highlights our commitment to promoting sports in our state’.
For him, the choice of Lagos to host the tournament presented ‘another unique opportunity’ to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner. He assured the organisers that the state was prepared and ready to host the world race boat championship. Lagos is prepared to take full advantage of opportunities coming with the tournament, Sanwo-Olu assured, adding that the state had adequate manpower and infrastructure to be able to take in all participating visitors and athletes.
He said: ‘Our governing vision is not just making Lagos a global city; we are building Lagos to be an African model city where global corporations can come and take advantage of the opportunities that are available here. We are excited about the initiative which E1 Racing Team and other partners are trying to achieve. For us, we believe this is not just your own success, but the glory of the African dream.
‘We see this as another unique opportunity to tell the Lagos story in a sustainable manner. We are fully prepared and transaction ready for the tournament. I want to assure the athletes and visitors who will be participating in the competition that we are ready in terms of manpower and infrastructure to be able to take in all of the opportunities that are coming with the project’.
On Drogba, the governor said that the organisers made the best choice to have him as an influencer for the tournament, pointing out that the former Chelsea striker had become a household name not just in football, but also in talent development across Africa.
‘Drogba is an inspiration and an icon whose name opens doors’, Sanwo-Olu said, thanking Afrexim Bank and E1 Racing team, which included the Chairman of E1 Racing, Aleyandro Agag, and the Strategic Adviser, Pablo Agag, for the vision.
The governor also announced that Formula One is on its way to Lagos, with the organisers recently undertaking an exploratory tour of Lagos to understudy the traffic flow and infrastructure in the transportation sector. This, he said, attested to the renewed interest in the state by multinational organisations. Sanwo-Olu said the state is in partnership with the French Development Bank to improve waterways experience, emphasising the efforts towards changing the state-owned ferries from hydrocarbon to electric boats.
‘We are growing and building the city in an organised manner but extremely aggressive, because we see the state as part of the global community in entertainment and innovation. Lagos is surrounded by water and has enormous space that will be able to take up the logistics. Participants and visitors will enjoy the warmness of our environment and the unique hospitality Lagos offers’, he further said.
First, the football community and its stars; next special sports like EI racing and Formula One. What else is coming to the state of aquatic splendor?
